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[Review] Cubetwist Square-1

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ArcticxWolf

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This thread is for reviews of the Cubetwist Square-1. You can vote in the poll above, but please only vote if you own this particular puzzle.

When posting your review, please follow a template similar to this:

  • Where the puzzle was purchased:
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What are your thoughts of this puzzle? Please vote one of the options above - but please only vote if you own and have used this puzzle extensively!

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Meh, sorry about the s***** quality and lengthiness, I like to ramble.

Video Description said:
So an overview:

Personal Opinions - Which is better at:
Color scheme - n/a (They're different, but I'm more used to MF8)
Corner Cutting - Cubetwist
Speed - MF8
Feel - MF8 (cubetwist feels scratchy)
Resistance to Lockups - Cubetwist
Resistance to Pops - MF8
Reaction to Lube - MF8

Overall decision: MF8, although if Cubetwist fixes its popping problem, then it can be a contender. Right now though, I like my MF8 better. It might be because I like faster sq-1s though, so don't count on my word.

And for anybody who's wondering about the crappy solve, the color scheme is really difficult to change to after getting used to green on top for like, years.
 
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Neo63

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haha your voice sounded so much different on camera.

Nice review (and nice blooper). Do you just not like the cubetwist because of its colour scheme and popping? Because right now I'm actually considering changing the stickers and giving it a try.

Oh also, after doing about twenty solves on my cubetwist, I got completely used to it and when I switched back I was averaging around 25....=/
 

ArcticxWolf

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@jamesdeanludlow - Have you lubed your MF8 yet? My MF8 used to be pretty crappy before (just ask neo) to the point where I considered making a hybrid out of my knockoff square-1 and my MF8. I actually switched the / 'ring' on the 2 square-1s. However, recently I got jigaloo.

What I did was: I took apart everything in the MF8. I literally opened up the sq1 and took out the screw. After that, I took all the pieces out, lined them up on a newspaper, and sprayed the entire thing with jigaloo being careful not to get any on the stickers. I also sprayed the 'ring' and the screw. For the screw, be careful to take out the washer and the spring and lube all 3 seperately. It works wonders, especially on cubes which have that weird "squeaking" sound when you turn them. When I put the MF8 back together again, it was as fast as it was in the video, which is extremely fast considering that it can do / 0,-24 / quite easily (lol). It was a method which I was talking to Neil about at school quite a bit, and I actually went home and tried it. Oh, but one note: this method of lubing is quite dangerous as it can screw up the tension on your sq1. Square-1 tensions generally need to be extremely precise, and you just have to be extremely precise in general. Of course, I kinda used my Knock off square 1 as a lab rat, and just tested out all the tensions on it, so now I know generally what to set it to. I can make a video on it if anybody wants me to, although I'd rather not destroy my knockoff any further >___>.

@Neil - Lol, well, it's not really that different. The main difference was because I was trying not to talk too loudly cause my parents would be like...WTF, and I was kinda tired then lol. Yea, the blooper was pretty fail...

"Okay, so just make sure you turn the / all the way and it'll reduce popping by a lot..."
*pop*
"oh ****"

Umm, well I don't really have anything against the stickers. As I said in the video description, I didn't have any comment on the stickers. I was simply saying that I wasn't that used to the color scheme with white/yellow on U/D. Btw, remember that I do white cross on 3x3 and I'm opposite color neutral XD

The main reason why I don't like the cubetwist as much as the MF8 is because I find the cubetwist is kind of difficult to turn, and although it does cut corners better than the MF8, the overall speed of my solves is considerably slower. It's like using a slow cube such as my A5 after using something fast like your FII. Also, the popping is a pain because my cubetwist is tighter than yours, so when it pops, its a pain in the ass to put the piece back in. Personally, I like the chinese color scheme the best - Black on top, red on bottom, Blue/Green on front. i feel that the black and red really stand out and its so much easier to recognize other than something close like yellow and white. Of course, that could just be me. Of course, the fact that the current WR holder uses it is a factor too, although I suppose I can't really use that as a valid reason XD

Yea, that happened to me too! I suddenly coudln't recognize EO that well on my MF8 after doing like, an ao50 on the cubetwist.

Oh, and to any people wondering:

I personally think that the cubetwist square-1 is a wonderful cube to start with for new cubers who are just beginning to learn sq-1. However, I think that as the cubers get better, the less suited it is for them for speedsolving. For a beginner, popping won't often be a problem because they won't be turning it very fast in the first place (unless you're sean [inside joke]), but as you get faster, the likelihood of popping increases because you turn faster and faster. IMO, the cubetwist is like a ghosthand I 3x3 and an MF8 is like a Storebought. In the beginning, the DIY will obviously be better and will help you a lot more, but it won't really do much beyond that. The MF8 is a cube which starts off kinda crappy, but as you break it in more, the cube also improves as you do. In the end, when it matters, I find the MF8 far more reliable and overall just better after it's been broken in.

However, that being said, I think that the cubetwist does have potential. The problem is, nobody really knows what it can do. Nobody knows how lube affects it, how it gets better or worse over time, or how the cube actually holds up after being used for a while. If they can somehow fix the popping problem and if more is known about this cube, then I think that it would be a rival of the MF8. For now though, I'm probably not going to use it.
 
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