TheChaiCuber
Member
My review of the GuoGuan YueXiao!
I set up my cube by putting a drop of weight 4 and a drop of weight 5 on the pieces. The tensions are moderate and I have not adjusted it out-of-the-box.
Pros
1 - Almost full corner-cutting. Normal cuts are nearly 2 pieces and the reverse turning can cut 1 piece. It's so ridiculous that sometimes you think that if you reach a point that the cube can't cut normal, it'll just reverse corner-cut instead of lock-up.
2 - This is a very stable cube. The weight is distributed pretty evenly throughout all the layers to provide a comfortable turning experience. It's not super flexible. I would compare the flexibility of this cube to an AoLong V2.
3 - This thing never corner-twists. Should corner-twisting even be talked about when squared-off corners are a feature?
4 - Lock-ups aren't an issue due to the insane corner-cutting (Catches are listed in the Cons category).
Cons:
1 - The combination of the smoothness and speed of this cube caused me to overshoot a lot. Although catches aren't something that occur directly due to the mechanism of the cube, it is a by-product of the constant overshooting. I fixed this by lubing it as described above.
Feel
Since this is subjective I decided not to list this in either the pro or con section.
I actually believe this cube carries the feel and resemblance of 4 cubes: the TangLong, the MeiYing, the YuXin and the AoLong V2. The cube carries the smoothness of a TangLong and at the same time carries the bumpiness of the MeiYing and YuXin which is quite contradictory. The reason I listed the YuXin here is because the YueXiao's layers can be effortlessly turned. The MeiYing and TangLong just require more force to turn the layers. The force needed to turn this puzzle is similar to the Yuxin modded with maru CX3 soft springs. YueXiao is very snappy and the cube doesn't really flex (edge pieces don't move around during big cuts) much like the Aolong V2.
Conclusion
In terms of turning and solving performance, this cube is hands down the best cube on the market. It cuts anywhere, it doesn't flex, doesn't corner-twist, doesn't lock-up and doesn't catch if lubed correctly. The feel is also one of the more unique feels for 3x3s. One could argue it carries a very similar resemblance to the MeiYing, but this cube takes so many feels from other cubes and combines them all together. I think the feel is its own. I believe the only reason one would not choose this cube as their main is because they cannot lube the cube to their liking in terms of speed and overshooting, or they prefer the feel of another cube over this one.
I'm with JRCUBER in saying that unless you are a collector or you are being sponsored that you shouldn't try and get every single new 3x3 out there, but to me this is the exception. I think this is one of those revolutionary cubes that leave a huge imprint on the market such as the ZhanChi and AoLong V2 releases. I cannot be more blatant enough: Get this cube! Even if it doesn't turn out to be your main, it's something that's worth having.
Grade: A+
I set up my cube by putting a drop of weight 4 and a drop of weight 5 on the pieces. The tensions are moderate and I have not adjusted it out-of-the-box.
Pros
1 - Almost full corner-cutting. Normal cuts are nearly 2 pieces and the reverse turning can cut 1 piece. It's so ridiculous that sometimes you think that if you reach a point that the cube can't cut normal, it'll just reverse corner-cut instead of lock-up.
2 - This is a very stable cube. The weight is distributed pretty evenly throughout all the layers to provide a comfortable turning experience. It's not super flexible. I would compare the flexibility of this cube to an AoLong V2.
3 - This thing never corner-twists. Should corner-twisting even be talked about when squared-off corners are a feature?
4 - Lock-ups aren't an issue due to the insane corner-cutting (Catches are listed in the Cons category).
Cons:
1 - The combination of the smoothness and speed of this cube caused me to overshoot a lot. Although catches aren't something that occur directly due to the mechanism of the cube, it is a by-product of the constant overshooting. I fixed this by lubing it as described above.
Feel
Since this is subjective I decided not to list this in either the pro or con section.
I actually believe this cube carries the feel and resemblance of 4 cubes: the TangLong, the MeiYing, the YuXin and the AoLong V2. The cube carries the smoothness of a TangLong and at the same time carries the bumpiness of the MeiYing and YuXin which is quite contradictory. The reason I listed the YuXin here is because the YueXiao's layers can be effortlessly turned. The MeiYing and TangLong just require more force to turn the layers. The force needed to turn this puzzle is similar to the Yuxin modded with maru CX3 soft springs. YueXiao is very snappy and the cube doesn't really flex (edge pieces don't move around during big cuts) much like the Aolong V2.
Conclusion
In terms of turning and solving performance, this cube is hands down the best cube on the market. It cuts anywhere, it doesn't flex, doesn't corner-twist, doesn't lock-up and doesn't catch if lubed correctly. The feel is also one of the more unique feels for 3x3s. One could argue it carries a very similar resemblance to the MeiYing, but this cube takes so many feels from other cubes and combines them all together. I think the feel is its own. I believe the only reason one would not choose this cube as their main is because they cannot lube the cube to their liking in terms of speed and overshooting, or they prefer the feel of another cube over this one.
I'm with JRCUBER in saying that unless you are a collector or you are being sponsored that you shouldn't try and get every single new 3x3 out there, but to me this is the exception. I think this is one of those revolutionary cubes that leave a huge imprint on the market such as the ZhanChi and AoLong V2 releases. I cannot be more blatant enough: Get this cube! Even if it doesn't turn out to be your main, it's something that's worth having.
Grade: A+