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[Review] GAN 356 Air

MarcelP

Member
Joined
May 24, 2012
Messages
3,854
Location
Noord Holland, The Netherlands
WCA
2012POOT01
YouTube
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I have had the GAN 356 Air for a few days now and have done enough solves to form an opinion on this cube. I watched a few unboxings/reviews before I got it and all of these people said they liked the cube but it probably will not become their main. I have used the GAN 356S and V2 a lot and the S has been my main for a very long time. Few things I noticed:

-Air is exact same size as the S and V2
-Air sticker shades are awesome. I will probably stick with them as they are very contrasting.
-And Orange and Green are brighter than Moyu shades
-Air is as forgiving as S and V2
-Air does not have the ribbed shapes on corners with makes it feel smoother.
-Air has light turning. Complete effortless, and it does hardly overshoot. That is a magical feeling.
-Air is way more stable than S and V2. This is the biggest upgrade feature you will enjoy.
-I did get some catches, but not as much as I did on S and V2. I unscrewed the screws in the corners one turn and catching was gone.
-The pieces are made in a 'cap' way like Fangshi's. Nails can catch these if the pieces are not pressed together.
-Air is expensive, but roughly the same as S and V2.

Right now I choose the GAN 356 Air as my main over the MoYu Weilong GTS because it is more stable and over the TangLong because it is easier turning.

I will put up a review video soon. My unboxing video is not showing enough interresting stuff.
 
Last edited:

PlainCuber

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
36
Location
Harrisonville, Missouri
I have had the GAN 356 Air for a few days now and have done enough solves to form an opinion on this cube. I watched a few unboxings/reviews before I got it and all of these people said they liked the cube but it probably will not become their main. I have used the GAN 356S and V2 a lot and the S has been my main for a very long time. Few things I noticed:
-I did get some catches, but not as much as I did on S and V2. I unscrewed the screws in the corners one turn and catching was gone.
I will put up a review video soon. My unboxing video is not showing enough interresting stuff.

Could you post your YouTube channel URL? I'd like to watch that review. I got my Air 3 days ago and I'm still trying to find the best spring/tension for it. And yes, it locks up on me as well. But I'm going to try unscrewing the corners and we'll see. Thanks for this review! :cool:
 

MarcelP

Member
Joined
May 24, 2012
Messages
3,854
Location
Noord Holland, The Netherlands
WCA
2012POOT01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Could you post your YouTube channel URL? I'd like to watch that review. I got my Air 3 days ago and I'm still trying to find the best spring/tension for it. And yes, it locks up on me as well. But I'm going to try unscrewing the corners and we'll see. Thanks for this review! :cool:
Under the Avatar you see my YouTube url: https://www.youtube.com/Rossiehoorn :)
 

Aysha

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Messages
107
Location
Bahrain
WCA
2017JAMS01
I like the turning on the GAN356 Air but I hate the lockups! I changed the springs and loosened the screws on the corners but no matter what setup I still got lockups (even though I had no lockups on the V1/V2). I decided to switch the V1/V2 edges with the Air's edges and now all the lockups are almost eliminated! In my opinion, the cube performs much better now.

The cube still maintains it's stability, so that shouldn't be an issue. Additionally, I put the Air's edges in my V1 and the lockups started to appear there. So I can definitely say that the torepedoes in the Air's edges are a major cause of the lockups.
 

PlainCuber

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
36
Location
Harrisonville, Missouri
I like the turning on the GAN356 Air but I hate the lockups! I changed the springs and loosened the screws on the corners but no matter what setup I still got lockups (even though I had no lockups on the V1/V2). I decided to switch the V1/V2 edges with the Air's edges and now all the lockups are almost eliminated! In my opinion, the cube performs much better now.

The cube still maintains it's stability, so that shouldn't be an issue. Additionally, I put the Air's edges in my V1 and the lockups started to appear there. So I can definitely say that the torepedoes in the Air's edges are a major cause of the lockups.
Good review. Thanks. I have a love/hate relationship with my GAN Air. I spent at least 2 days trying different springs and tensions, and finally I'm pretty happy with it. I settled on the yellow springs/nuts. :cool: It does have a problem with lockups, though.
 

mrs1986

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
25
Location
Uruguay
Hi!

I just got the Air 356 Air and a Weilong GTS, out of the box, the Weilong feels extremely fast and smooth, it does not catch at all, the air on the other hand, locks up very often...

I can see there is a good amount of lube in this cube, as I'm not an expert, I don't know if this is a good or bad thing...

Can anyone give me some advice in here? Is maybe the cube wrong??
 

TheChaiCuber

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2015
Messages
224
Location
San Francisco
WCA
2016CHAI03
Hi!

I just got the Air 356 Air and a Weilong GTS, out of the box, the Weilong feels extremely fast and smooth, it does not catch at all, the air on the other hand, locks up very often...

I can see there is a good amount of lube in this cube, as I'm not an expert, I don't know if this is a good or bad thing...

Can anyone give me some advice in here? Is maybe the cube wrong??
the gans air has an issue with catching and locking IMO :(
 

mrs1986

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
25
Location
Uruguay
the gans air has an issue with catching and locking IMO :(
It defenitely has, I just can't set it up to be usable, probably is my turning style, but anyhow, I just prefer the GTS...
Awful is hard to sell these things in my country, I should buy another weilong GTS...
 

TheChaiCuber

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2015
Messages
224
Location
San Francisco
WCA
2016CHAI03
It defenitely has, I just can't set it up to be usable, probably is my turning style, but anyhow, I just prefer the GTS...
Awful is hard to sell these things in my country, I should buy another weilong GTS...
if your looking for a cube on a budget, get the thunderclap ;) its been my main forever now (Lubed with 50k on core, 50k+30k+silk on pieces)
 

jaredye

Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
161
Location
Ithaca, NY
I like the turning on the GAN356 Air but I hate the lockups! I changed the springs and loosened the screws on the corners but no matter what setup I still got lockups (even though I had no lockups on the V1/V2). I decided to switch the V1/V2 edges with the Air's edges and now all the lockups are almost eliminated! In my opinion, the cube performs much better now.

The cube still maintains it's stability, so that shouldn't be an issue. Additionally, I put the Air's edges in my V1 and the lockups started to appear there. So I can definitely say that the torepedoes in the Air's edges are a major cause of the lockups.

Did you do anything else to make 356 edges fit in? When I try putting 356 edges into Air, the cube becomes super wobbly as 356 edges are slightly smaller than Air edges. Did you for example tighten the screws on Air corners or loosen screws on 356 edges so that they fit better?

I just can't figure out a way for make 356 edges a good fit for the Air. I also try to sand down the Air edges to reduce catches, but it doesn't work. Plus it made the cube unable to fit tightly together so I wouldn't recommend others to do this.
 

JohnnyReggae

Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2015
Messages
557
Location
Cape Town, South Africa
WCA
2015BOSW01
I had to loosen the screws in both the corners and centers before the catching went away. I still have small catches here and there, but nothing like out of the box. In loosening screws I had to change the GES springs as the tension became too loose.
 

Nate Aviles

Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Messages
3
When changing out the springs for the Gan 356 Air is there any need to add lubricant? I know that for a traditional cube it is usually recommended to lube the springs into the core with heavier lube and then use a lighter more watery lube on the pieces to increase speed. Since the springs are all contained in a single piece is this necessary? Thanks!
 

jaredye

Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
161
Location
Ithaca, NY
When changing out the springs for the Gan 356 Air is there any need to add lubricant? I know that for a traditional cube it is usually recommended to lube the springs into the core with heavier lube and then use a lighter more watery lube on the pieces to increase speed. Since the springs are all contained in a single piece is this necessary? Thanks!
Don't put lube on GES. Seriously don't. If you put lube, it might not stay stably on it, and you'll have to adjust the GES every few solves. Personal experience.
 

Dash Lambda

Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2016
Messages
392
Location
Ambiguaville
WCA
2016SCHU05
Don't put lube on GES. Seriously don't. If you put lube, it might not stay stably on it, and you'll have to adjust the GES every few solves. Personal experience.
I had that problem, but then I used a slightly thicker lubricant, a smaller amount, and made sure to only put it around the shaft for the core. I haven't had that problem since.

I actually bought a new core thinking I'd need to swap it to fix the loose fit, but wiping down the screws and the nuts worked perfectly.
 
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