If you’re looking to start yo-yoing or you want to level up your skills and add a new yo-yo to your collection this guide will walk you through exactly which yo-yo is best for you.

I’m Gentry Stein, two-time World Yo-Yo Champion, and in this video/blog I’m going to help you decide what yo-yo is best for your skill level and your goals.
I'll be taking you through my top five yo-yo recommendations, whether you're a total beginner or an advanced player.

Let’s jump in.

Best Yo-Yo for Beginners in 2026: The New Masterpack 

If you or someone you know wants to get into yo-yoing, there is no better beginner setup than the Yo-Yo Master Pack.

This pack will give you everything you need to go from complete beginner to advanced unresponsive tricks. And with the launch of my new brand, YoYoChampion, this 2026 version is fully refreshed. The new Master Pack Includes these 3 yo-yos: 

1. Yo-Yo Champion: Easy Trick

Your perfect first yo-yo.

• Easy to wind
• Easy to make it spin
• Easy, reliable returns
• Plastic bearing has just the right amount of spin and response for learning new tricks

From there you're ready to speed up your tricks to the second yo-yo in the pack, your first ball bearing yoyo: 

2. The Speedster

Your first ball-bearing yo-yo.

• Still responsive
• Longer spins for intermediate tricks
• Perfect transition from beginner to more advanced fundamentals

It’s perfect for leveling up your game with tricks that need a longer spin. The Speedster is still responsive and easy to use, but it opens the door to intermediate-level string tricks. And once you’re ready to take the next step into unresponsive play, that’s where the Replay Pro comes in.

3. The Replay Pro

This will be your first step into unresponsive yo-yoing. This is the yo-yo I used to win the 2015 national yo-yo contest with.

This yo-yo can handle any trick you want to learn because it is: 

• Extremely long spinning
• Stable and powerful
  
• Designed to take you to the next level of yo-yoing. 

Plus, the pack includes five extra strings in its official Yo-Yo Champion box and before you know it you'll be doing tricks you never thought you could. 

Best Yo-Yos for DNA Tricks

If you specifically want to learn DNA or other finger-spin tricks, I created the ultimate DNA Yo-Yo Pack just for you. 

This pack gives you everything you need to learn the DNA and includes the two yo-yos I recommend as a 2x world champion for taking your finger-spin skills from beginner to your very first DNA and all the way to the most advanced variations.

1. The Arrow

The first yo-yo in the DNA Pack is the Arrow. This is the best yo-yo for learning the basic DNA, it makes learning this trick so easy, all you need to do with this yo-yo is: 

• Throw it down at an angle
• Catch it on your finger
• Let the yo-yo spin
• Line up your top hand

And you’re already doing the trick. This is why the Arrow makes learning the DNA incredibly easy. After this you will be ready for the next yo-yo in the pack. 

2. The Official DNA Yo-Yo

This yo-yo has been specifically designed for you to master the DNA trick and will help you to level up with more advanced DNA variations. 

• Longer finger spins
• Easier centering
• More control for transitions and combos

The pack also includes three DNA Strings which are a total game changer. They let you do DNAs up to 5× longer than regular string, and their advanced swivel design keeps your string tension perfect no matter how long the trick lasts.

And in 2026, the design was improved even further with a new double swivel system that’s more durable and makes DNAs even smoother.

But if you're not knew to yo-yoing or you just want to skip straight to the absolute best DNA yo-yo available, then this next yo-yo will be for you: 

The DNA King

The DNA King was created by a team that has been designing yo-yos for over 40 years, and as a World Champion and a person who helped popularize the DNA trick online, I worked closely with them to shape what a true top-tier DNA yo-yo should be.

This DNA yo-yo is great for non dna tricks too but when it comes to DNA's they will be more locked in than ever.

Here is Why the DNA King is the Best:

• Self-centering finger spin cap that automatically locks your finger in place for smooth, stable finger spins.
• Metal finger spin zone helping to create a precise, friction-reducing surface that centers finger spins effortlessly.
• Advanced control for difficult variations which gives experienced players a huge advantage when learning or mastering the hardest DNA variations.

The DNA King Outperforms Everything Else

The DNA King is incredibly beginner-friendly, making it easier for new players to land and hold their first DNAs.

And the premium construction behind it comes from decades of yo-yo engineering experience, further refined with world champion level finger spin insight to deliver the most refined, consistent, and high-performing DNA yo-yo available.

Full Metal Unresponsive Yo-Yos

Next, let’s talk full metal unresponsive yo-yos. These yo-yos are really the core of the Yo-Yo Champion line and make up the heart of most players’ collections. In the YoYoChampion lineup there are four specific models that each offer a different play experience.

1. G-SPEED

The G-SPEED is the newest YoYoChampion release and is perfect for any player looking to get their first full metal performance yo-yo.

• Built for speed and control
• Smaller 52mm diameter makes it fast on the string
• 50mm width gives you a wide catch zone
• Ideal next step after the Master Pack
• Specifically designed to help players learn Godspeed tricks

If you’ve already got the Master Pack and you’re ready for the next level, the G-SPEED is it.

2. The Shutter

If you prefer something a little more traditional, that’s where the Shutter comes in.

The Shutter is the legendary all-around yo-yo. It’s the yo-yo I won my first world championship with and the model that helped define modern performance play.

• Balanced weight, power, and stability
• Not too light, not too heavy, not too wide, just right
• A proven competition model trusted by players around the world

If you want a yo-yo with a legacy and a track record on the biggest stages in the world, the Shutter is the one for you.

3. Shutter Wide Angle

If you like the feel of the Shutter but want something wider and more powerful, that’s why I created the Shutter Wide Angle.

It was designed as the next evolution to the Shutter yo-yo, the Shutter Wide angle has: 

• Slightly wider profile
• More power and more stability
• Better for horizontal tricks and risky hops
• Makes tough landings easier to control
  

It keeps the iconic Shutter feel while letting you go bigger, faster, and more aggressive with your tricks.

4. The Super G  

The yo-yo to help you unlock your inner superhero.

The Super G pushes the boundaries of modern yo-yo tricks and gives you that unmistakable “superpower” feel on every throw. The Super G is:

• Super wide
• Super stable
• More powerful than anything else in its price range
• Designed for players who want to throw harder and go bigger

The Best Overall Premium Yo-Yo: The GForce 

If you’ve gotten this far, you might be wondering: what is the absolute top-of-the-line, best-performing yo-yo available?

The flagship model of the Yo-Yo Champion line is what you’re looking for, this is the G Force.

Most people would expect the best performing yo-yo to be metal or bi-metal, but the G Force is actually made of mostly plastic.

But trust me, there's a very good reason for that.

A Hybrid Design No One Else Has Done

The GForce is unlike any other yo-yo that exists, and it took over a year of development to get this hybrid design right. It’s extremely difficult to design a hybrid polycarbonate and stainless steel yo-yo that’s this wide, this powerful, and pushes the boundaries of yo-yo play as much as the GeForce.

That's why nobody else has done it before so...

Why Polycarbonate?

Machined polycarbonate is one of the strongest and most durable materials you can possibly use in a yo-yo. When talking about strength, the key characteristic that matters is impact resistance.

Polycarbonate has:

• higher impact resistance than all types of aluminum (including 7068)
• higher impact resistance than titanium
• and it’s extremely light, 55% lighter than aluminum

That weight difference is what makes the GeForce so special.

How the Design Changes Performance

The wider a yo-yo is, the more material you need in the body. That extra material adds weight, which limits how much steel you can push to the rim for spin time and stability.

By building the body of the GeForce out of polycarbonate, I was able to create a level of performance and feel that simply isn’t possible in a wide aluminum bi-metal.

The result is:

• insane stability
• incredible spin time
• and just as importantly, that gravity-defying feel that makes the GeForce so special

As soon as you throw this thing, you’ll feel it.

This yo-yo is the future, and it’s ready for you to throw your best tricks at it.

Most Unique Yo-Yos 

These next yo-yos stand out from everything else in the lineup. They offer unique play experiences and unlock tricks that simply aren’t possible on traditional yo-yos.

1. Shutter Mini

After placing 3rd at Worlds in 2017, I wanted to come back and win my second world title the following year. So in 2018, I completely redesigned all my tricks and doubled my trick difficulty.

The problem was…
I couldn’t hit any of these new tricks consistently.
And I totally messed up my routine at Worlds that year in Shanghai.

To fix that, I needed something to help me lock in, so I came up with a little “hack” for consistency.

That’s where the idea of training with a mini yo-yo came in.

At that time, no other player had ever used this training strategy before, and it quickly became my secret weapon.

I trained with a mini yo-yo for all of 2019, even on the day of the contest and minutes before going on stage and it helped me so much that I won both the U.S. National Championship and World Championship titles that year.

If you want to level up your trick consistency and lock in your control, there’s no better yo-yo for training than the Shutter Mini.

2. Nine Dragons

This is one of the most innovative yo-yos ever created, a yo-yo with a free-spinning outer shell.

It has three ball bearings that spin independently, allowing you to catch the yo-yo in midair while it’s spinning.
That opens up a ton of unique trick possibilities that simply aren’t possible on regular yo-yos.

Construction details from your script:

• Outer shell made of polycarbonate to keep the body light
• Rims and finger spin cup made of aluminum for power and spin time
• Allows you to fully explore freehand-style catches and unique flow tricks

There is truly nothing else that plays like the Nine Dragons.

3. 99 Dragons

This is the yo-yo you had hidden behind you for the entire video, the upgraded, bi-metal evolution of the Nine Dragons.

If you want more power, more spin time, more smoothness, and more control from a free-spinning yo-yo, the 99s is for you.

Compared to the original Nine Dragons, the 99s is:

• More powerful
• Longer spinning
• Smoother
• Quieter
• Built with stainless steel rims for improved precision

And those stainless steel rims make it the quietest free-spinning outer-shell yo-yo on the market by far.

Where to Get These Yo-Yos

Every yo-yo in this guide is available here from YoYoChampion.com, and this post serves as the official 2026 Yo-Yo Champion Buyer Guide.

If you have any questions about any of the models, want help picking the perfect yo-yo, or you’re not sure which one fits your skill level, feel free to reach out or leave a comment, my team and I are always happy to help.

Welcome to the YoYoChampion Family!

And as always…

Keep playing like a champion.