If you're new to yoyoing there is a HUGE range out there to choose from. It can be quite a challenge to choose the right one for you. Maybe you're a parent or relative that has no clue about yoyos and wanting to buy for the kids; this is the page for you.

Note from Jono: Whenever someone asks me to recommend them a beginner yoyo, I start by asking their age and if they've had any prior yoyo experience. Based on my past conversations with customers and observing beginner players, I have broken down the guide by age and skill level.

If you're wanting to learn DNA or godspeed yoyo trick, or anything else you've seen on Tik Tok, there are some tips at the bottom of the page !!!

 

Best yoyo for age/skill level:

Yoyos are typically recommended for ages 8+ due to the development of fine motor skills required. Children develop at different rates so may be ready for a more advanced one. Here is a summary of type of yoyo for ages/skill level that are shown on this page.

Age/Skill level	Type of yoyo
Age below 6	Auto return yoyo
No yoyo experience / Age 6-8	Tight response yoyo
Some yoyo experience / Age 6-10+	Semi responsive/butterfly yoyo
Unsure about unresponsive / Age 10 to 12+	Upgradeable yoyo
Can throw long sleeper and basic tricks / Age 12+	Unresponsive yoyo
Interested in other styles	2A Looping, 4A offstring, 5A counterweight
Want to learn godspeed and DNA	Depends

If not all the yoyo terms mentioned above make sense to you, don't worry; I go into more depth below!

 

Ages below 6 years old:

It is more about fun! The learning curve can be steep so a yoyo too advanced may be discouraging for them. The Auto Return Yoyo is a spring-retractable string toy which mimics the motion of the yoyo. It is built to be durable and won't break so easily when hitting the ground. Perfect for younger siblings that want a yoyo but are not ready for one yet.

Recommendation: Auldey Auto Return Yoyo

If your child has developed their motor skills then they may be able to start with a yoyo in the next age group

 

No experience in yoyo / younger age group 6-8:

A tighter response yoyo is recommended to learn the basics with ease; this means that on the tug, the yoyo will come up more easily. To identify yoyos with tighter response: look for the narrow gap (classic ball shape yoyo) and starburst response.

There are also clutch system yoyos that will sleep when the yoyo is thrown hard enough, and then auto return once it slows down. This is the Duncan Reflex. Perfect for the kids which are not quite ready for a full sleeping yoyo yet and want to train their throw power.

Duncan Reflex - Clutch system yoyo (sleeps when thrown hard enough)

Any "2A looping yoyo" will be fine for tight response, however my top picks are D1 and Loop 720. 

MagicYoYo D1 is great if you're on a tight budget or for young children. If it gets broken it won't be as painful emotionally, and gives great performance for it's price. It is slightly smaller diameter which helps for small hands.

Get the YoYoFactory Loop 720 if you want quality. World champion Shu Takada setup for looping style. This will be a great introduction yoyo to looping style.

Summary for absolute beginner / age 6-8:

Auto return/training => Duncan Reflex
Budget => MagicYoYo D1
Quality => YoYoFactory Loop 720
Others 2A yoyos => https://yoyoshopsg.com/collections/2a-style-looping

Some experience / age 6-10+:

Want to throw long sleepers?

One of the phases of yoyoing is throwing the longest sleeper possible. This requires a lot of practice to throw straight and also throw hard. While it depends a lot on practice, the yoyo makes a huge difference too. A wider butterfly shape yoyo is recommended. This is where the tradeoff between response (how easily the yoyo tugs back up) and sleep time come into play. A deeper understanding of the physics behind the yoyo (intuitive once you've played a while) is required, which is why semi-responsive yoyos may be difficult for completely new players.

The "I want to try but don't want to spend big" yoyo is the illusion. We wanted something in the store to fit in that middle region between non yoyo player and very serious yoyo player. It has a wider gap allowing longer sleepers but still a tug response yoyo. Perfect for learning your classic tricks like round the world, walk the dog, rock the baby.

Now if you're serious about really getting into yoyo, I would definitely go for an upgradeable one. A semi-responsive yoyo typically only gets ~30s sleep time while unresponsive can raise it to 5-10 min (skill required). It opens up a whole new world of yoyo tricks possible. The yoyo quickly becomes the limiting factor if you put in the practice. A way to tell when you're ready to upgrade is if you've mastered the basics tricks (rock the baby, round the world, eiffel tower, trapeze etc.) and can consistently get 30s sleep time. From what I've seen, it typically takes only a few weeks to master these and then you're ready for an upgradeable yoyo.

The 2 top selling upgradeable yoyos are YoYoFactory Arrow and OFFSET Ascent.

How to choose from the 2? Arrow has a tighter response and is slightly easier to get started, probably better if you have less experience. It is also better for younger children who may be rough with the yoyo; the longer axle enables a few more hits on the ground (but pls try not to!).  Ascent has a more aggressive H shape for rim weight. Overall it has better performance after the upgrade to unresponsive.

Summary for Some experience / age 6-10+:

Want to try => illusion

Serious => Upgradeable yoyo YoYoFactory Arrow or OFFSET Ascent

 

Unsure about unresponsive / Age 10 to 12+

The fundamentals are extremely important before going unresponsive which is why I would recommend starting with responsive (if you don't already own one). The upgradeable yoyos above - YoYoFactory Arrow / OFFSET Ascent are a perfect choice.

If you haven't learnt the basics yet, simple -> get an upgradeable yoyo. If you can consistently throw a strong straight sleeper (~30s) then you're probably ready to jump straight into unresponsive; see next section

My pro tip: before going unresponsive - learn the half wind yoyo trick first {VIDEO COMING SOON} and learning unresponsive will be 300% more intuitive.

Can throw long sleeper and basic tricks / Age 12+

For your first unresponsive yoyo I would definitely recommend plastic. There is almost a 100% guarantee you'll accidentally hit the ground and plastic yoyos can take the impact better than metal ones (and also not get jagged sharp bits sticking out).

Honestly there are so many good unresponsive plastic yoyos out there, here are a few:

YoYoFactory Replay Pro
C3 Speedaholic XX
iYoYo Shooting star (Responsive with upgrade bearing)
MagicYoYo H01 Cloud
ThrowRevolution Jello
YoYoFriends AoE
W1LD Wilderness PC
Luftverk - Any plastic from them is good

Although plastic yoyos are more durable than metal, the shorter axle ones can still be broken on hard impact or over tightening. Please be careful! If you need durability, the Replay Pro is the toughest, having a ridiculously long axle.

 

Metal yoyos?

For adults and parents that don't mind their children dinging their yoyo on the ground, a budget metal is good. I don't recommend spending more than $20-40 range on a first metal yoyo as it will get beat up - my first metal yoyo got beat up ... and I thought I was careful.

Some budget metals:
MagicYoYo Y01, N12, V8

Why these ones speficially? You'll notice they don't have a fingerspin dimple for DNA tricks. Having that dimple reduces the material around the axle, meaning shorter axle & more likely to get damaged on impact. I definitely recommend something more durable to power through the initially learning period. Learning how to maintain the yoyo and bearing is part of this process, so don't ruin your expensive yoyo until you test it out what works on a cheaper one :)

Ready for top performance?

Mono metal yoyos have a huge range and the top brands typically price around $45-55USD. These have really really long spin times, and most are competition oriented.

Our top selling monometal yoyo is XENON, signature yoyo of 4x Singapore Champion Xavier Ng. You don't need to hear it from me, the yoyo community has spoken. It is good.

 

 

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WORK IN PROGRESS - more sections coming soon!

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DNA, godspeed - viral yoyo tricks?

If you have no yoyo experience yet, it is still recommended to work your way up with the basics first by following our guide... Or there is a simple method: Whether it's angel2up (Angelo), Gentry Stein, Brandon Vu, or even Brandon's dad, find your favourite player/influencer's yoyo and if they can do certain tricks, then you can too :)

Happy throwing! hope this guide helps