What I will be writing today will be the most anticipated and the most debated issue on any yoyo forum or Facebook page, plastic yoyos or metal yoyos. There are always contradicting opinions on which type of yoyos that plays the best for a yoyo player. Questions has been raised such as , which type of yoyo is your favourite ? , which yoyo do you prefer ? or the most popular ones , why do you choose plastic or metal yoyos ? Well , this article will be your answer. I will be making a comparison between a plastic yoyo and a metal yoyo along with the pro and cons of both type.
In this article , when I make a reference to a plastic yoyo , it means this includes Hybrid yoyos (plastic yoyos that is combined or infused with metal weight rings) but exclude delrin yoyos. We will soon go into details on delrin but for now would be 100% plastic yoyos and hybrids.
Plastic yoyos
Let's start with the plastic yoyo. I am very sure that all of you have played with a plastic yoyos and most of the beginner yoyos are made out of hard plastic. For example , Duncan yoyo company and Yoyofactory yoyo company made alot of plastic yoyos ranging from beginner play all the way to professional level play. Duncan yoyo company made Freehands , Freehand 2 , Flipside , Dragonfly , and Ignite. Not forgetting Yoyojam with Classic. This yoyos are made out of 100% plastics and it is really tough to break.
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Now , ask yourself , what do you feel when you play with a plastic yoyo ? Does it feel light ? Does it feel floaty ? Is it stable or is it out of balance ? For me , a plastic yoyo plays great ! Some of the plastic yoyo manufactured in a way to have a similar feeling to a metal yoyo. Lets take Yoyofactory Protostar and Northstar as an example. Both of this yoyos are superb hybrid plastics yoyo made by Yoyofactory.
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A Protostar weighs at 66.6gram and has a diameter of 56.00 (specs is taken from http://www.28spin.com/v5/index.php/protostar.html) . During play it gives the feel that its a metal yoyo but it has more floaty feel to it compared to a metal yoyo. Its definately made for fast play and the vibrant colours (neon editions) made it easier for the eye to keep track of the yoyo movements.
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| http://www.28spin.com/v5/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/y/y/yyf_protostar_neon_c_2.jpg |
A Northstar weighs at 69.0gram and as you can see , there is a slight difference of 3.0gram compared to Protostar. Despite a minimal increase in the weight , it has a huge impace and changes the way a yoyo player handles the yoyo. Northstar has a heavier feeling compared to any other plastic yoyos. This is to allow the yoyo to have a much more stable feel but limited floaty feel. This does not mean that the yoyo movement is limited , it just means that the yoyo does not make any unnecessary bounces or movements during play.
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| http://www.yoyoz.co.uk/catalog/images/northstar/newgroup.jpg |
The PROS of a plastic yoyo :
1) Plastic yoyos is much cheaper to obtain and it has the similar weight feeling to a metal yoyo.
2) Plastic yoyos will not loose its shine or its paint work because the plastic colour itself is the paint work.
3) The floaty feeling that comes from a plastic yoyo makes it easier to control the yoyo in air or to perform hang-time tricks. With the right technique , your movement seems like you handling an art in the air.
4) You don't need to worry bout ding marks or the smell of burned metal when the yoyo hit floor. For example , C3yoyodesign Speedaholic , Yoyojam Classic , Duncan Freehand 2 and many more.
The CONS of a plastic yoyo :
1) As stable it may be , sometimes when a player plays too fast , they will loose control of the yoyo. This is because no matter what , plastic will have some hollow space in the yoyo in order to maintain that stability for play but by going too fast , the stability will be be slightly off-balance.
2) Friction is inevitable. Some yoyo plastic surface is very shiny and does not have a matt finishing. Therefore , for those yoyo players that has sweaty palms or hands, they will have difficulty handling the yoyo because as soon the yoyo hits your hand , it will bounce off your hand and will just stop spinning.
3) Yes , I did mention that a plastic yoyo is tough to be broken , but it will STILL break if there is enough force applied when you throw the yoyo. Especially kids that refuse to cut their yoyo strings and smashed the yoyo onto the floor. A plastic yoyo has its limit to the amount of damage it can take before it breaks. So remember , cut your strings if you can't handle long length string at the moment.
4) Some hybrid yoyos may have a slight problem with its installation of weight ring. Previously , there were constant complaint on Northstar because the yoyo will have a crack even though it did not drop or hit the floor. This is because the plastic molding could not handle the over expansion of its own metal weight ring. However , this problem has been resolve and there is no more self-crack after the proper modification was taken.
Metal yoyos
For a metal yoyos , it is made out of 100% aluminium or a mixture of titanium. As far as I know there is only 1 yoyo company that managed to mixed Aluminium yoyo with Titanium yoyo weight rings which is sOMEThING by Yoyoaddict : Anglam. Metal yoyos have a much solid feeling compared to a plastic yoyos because there is barely any hollow space left in a metal yoyo.
A metal yoyo has more stability and its much easier for professional yoyo players to handle the yoyo. The spin time of metal yoyos has increased significantly despite a small amount of throw force because the yoyo player do not need to put as much force to throw a metal yoyo compared to a plastic yoyos. This is due to the density of the metal yoyo which subsequently increase the force of throw and results in a longer spin time.
Metal yoyos comes in a variety of design and this affects the play of the yoyo. A plastic yoyo will only have its metal weight ring or the amount of plastic injected into the molding to determine the "feel" or the weight of the yoyo. but as for a metal yoyo , the weight is distributed evenly around the yoyo and the design itself will determine the "feel" of the yoyo.
If you observe carefully , some metal yoyo has a huge chunk of metal at the outer rim of the yoyo. This is to allow an outer weight feel of the yoyo. This gives the yoyo to have a floaty feeling and sufficient hang time in the air to perform complicated string tricks before the yoyo lands back on the string or horizontal combos. If it is centre weighted , then the yoyo rims will be much thinner because this is to add stability to the yoyo. The yoyo does not tilt as much as it needs to and its easier for the player to perform complicated string tricks without bouncing the yoyo around.
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The PROS of a metal yoyo :
1) Metal yoyos has its own finishing touch which makes every yoyo players goes gaga over it , that is the coating of the yoyo. Smooth texture and silky coating feel is the most desirably feel that any yoyo player wants. When the surface of the yoyo is smooth , means that there is less friction to the yoyo player finger or hand and it won't bounce off your hand or suddenly stop spinning when it hits your hand just like a plastic yoyo.
2) The solid feel of a metal yoyo and better control of the yoyo during fast play.
3) A metal yoyo is definately much harder to break compared to a plastic yoyo even a huge force is used to throw the yoyo while hitting the ground.
4) A higher value for trading other yoyos.
The CONS of a metal yoyo :
1) Every nice looking item , comes with a price. The nicer the yoyo looks and the better it plays , the more expensive it is. Plastic yoyos cost half or 3/4 out of the original price of a metal yoyo. For a regular kid without a job , its definately difficult for them to go Pro without the help of their parents to buy such an expensive yoyo.
2) It does not bounce off your hand but if the yoyo player looses control of the yoyo , the yoyo might hit your face and the damage is worst than a plastic.
3) The yoyo won't be damaged if it hits the floor but the axle might be slanted and resulting in a wobbling spin during play.
As an overall summary , each yoyos has its benefit and its downside too. A world yoyo champ , Jensen Kimmit , used a Northstar back in 2010 but as a personal preference , I have been using a metal yoyo since 2008 but this does not mean that a plastic yoyo is bad. I do have my own collection of plastic yoyos that I used them once in awhile. I prefer metal yoyo because of the solid feel that I get during play. There is a saying that "There is no ONE yoyo that is perfect for everyone". So, go out there and try out new yoyos during a yoyo meeting or during a competition. Test the yoyo's performance and feel the yoyo on a string. It does not matter whether it is a plastic or a metal yoyo but remember to ask for permission before trying out any yoyos that does not belong to you because they have put in many effort just to get that expensive yoyo.
Note : I do not own any of the picture posted above and I have no intention of any infringement of copyright law. The picture was posted solely for education wise and it used as a reference for the readers of this blog. Please click on the link for the original content of the pictures.
Till next time,
Wyvern Strings.
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