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[Review] GuoGuan YueXiao

Rate this cube 1-10!

  • 10 - Best of the best

    Votes: 35 26.5%
  • 9 - Main material

    Votes: 68 51.5%
  • 8 - Great, but won't be my main

    Votes: 19 14.4%
  • 7 - Decent cube

    Votes: 5 3.8%
  • 6 - Could be better, something is off

    Votes: 2 1.5%
  • 5 - It's pretty average

    Votes: 1 0.8%
  • 4 - Meh

    Votes: 1 0.8%
  • 3 - It's below average

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 - Hype = MeiYu. Reality = MeiYu

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 - Oh my goodness ... this is awful

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Total voters
    132
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
803
WCA
2014BLOC01
I got the stickerless version, and yes, the green and yellow are similar, but I have not had any recognition problems with it. also, everyone is complaining about catching but mine almost never catches. I also know that the stickerless cube has 3 piece corners while the stickered version has 2 piece corners. Maybe that small difference can affect it somehow? idk.

The stickered version has 3 piece corners.
 

jaredye

Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
161
Location
Ithaca, NY
Ok, another question. Im kinda afraid to buy the stickerless cuz some ppl say the greens and yellows are bad. Has anyone who got this had recognition problems? If it is, are the stickers high quality so that they dont tear easily?

I have both the stickered and stickerless version. The stickered one has good quality stickers. I do hate the orange color though, and I'd prefer to change the yellow side as well. For the stickerless version, the green and yellow are indeed very close. It takes a while to get used to. I wouldn't think it will affect your time in the long run.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
193
I think im going with stickered just cuz of the different plastics it is availabe in :D As for other things, im prob gonna get a lingpo and a guansu for my b-day
 

Survfour

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2015
Messages
20
I've had the GuoGuan YueXiao for a few days now. I was expecting a lot because of all the reviews, but at first I wasn't as happy as I expected. Out of the box it was too fast for me, I was catching a lot and the feel was very dry, sandy and airy, which I didn't like. However, it's got a lot better with about 1000 solves, and I'm actually liking it, but it still feels quite dry and not as smooth as I'd like. But maybe that's because I'm comparing it to my TangLong which has over 10000 solves, so it's really smooth and I really like the smoothness of it, but the speed could be a bit faster and that's why I bought the YueXiao.

Even thought I didn't really like the feeling at first and it was catching quite a bit, I got a new pb (12.27) on my 37th solve. After breaking in, tensioning and lubing I've got a new pb single, ao5, ao12 and ao100. I average sub 18 seconds.

The speed is perfect after lubing the pieces with weight 3 (quite a lot of weight 3, I tried putting a bit more lube to get rid of the dry feel) and tensioning it. It's a lot faster than my TangLong but I haven't had many problems with controlling it. Left hand algs and N perms (I use the Z rotation N-perms) are a bit difficult but I'll learn them. I tried weight 5 too but it didn't seem to do much, the cube just felt really dry and I hated it.

About the catching problem many people seem to have. At first I had a lot of those small catches, but now they are mostly gone after proper tenstioning and lubing. My tensions are quite tight. Before I tensioned it the cube catched a lot, flexed too much for my liking and I even had corner twists. I would recommend using tighter tensions. I have heard that sanding down the squared corners can help with catching, but I'm not sure if I wanna do that because that could cause corner twists, and I had some with looser tensions on this cube. And the catching problem is getting better, maybe it catches just because I'm not 100% used to the speed yet.

Corner cutting is great, it cuts almost anything, but that's nothing new, my TangLong cuts the same, with a little bit more force.

After using the YueXiao for a few days my TangLong feels even slower, but I still prefer the feeling of it (except the speed). If the YueXiao will get smoother with more solves, I'll absolutely love it. I'm getting better times with it so I think it'd be stupid to not use it based on the feel.

Overall, I think the YueXiao is a very good cube. Out of the box I didn't like it at all but after breaking in, lubing and tensioning it's getting very nice. People who like light and airy cubes will love it. Based on other reviews it's also very smooth, but I'm comparing is to a TangLong so for me It's a bit sandy and dry feeling, but it's definitely getting smoother. It's fast enough for everyone, maybe even too fast for some people. I don't have much to compare it to because I've only been cubing for about 3 months and I dont have many different 3x3's.

4,5/5

EDIT: Now my YueXiao is amazing, turning is buttery smooth, the catching is gone and the speed is perfect for me. If you don't like it out of the box, setting it up and breaking in makes it better.
 
Last edited:

jaredye

Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
161
Location
Ithaca, NY
Just in case people still need more opinion on this cube, I'll post my review here.

I have both the stickerless and stickered version of Yuexiao. For some unknown reason the stickerless version is smoother (less catchings, and reverse cutting is less bumpy) even though I have exact same setup. Maybe it has to do with the type of plastic they are using. The stickerless version seem to a have slightly softer feeling. If you are deciding between these 2, I would recommend the stickerless version, although I have just 1 data point and what i got could totally be a fluke.

For the stickered version, I hate the orange color, maybe simply because it's a bit nonstandard. That shouldn't be a problem as you can always change it. For the stickerless version, the green face is really close to yellow. There's nothing you can do about it. I'm not color blind so that isn't a problem for me. It does take some time for me to get used to it.

My main is stickerless Hualong with 10k+ solve and I average 18.5 on that. Right now I average 19.5 on Yuexiao but that could be because I'm not fully accustomed to the cube yet. I have about 1000 solves on the stickered version and 500 solves on the stickerless one. I think there's definitely potential for the Yuexiao to be my main.

Right out of the box it's sandy and airy. Despite being very fast, it's surprising stable. It catches a bit since I wasn't familiar with the cube, but now after 1500 solves I don't have problems with catches. I lubed the core with 50k, inner part of pieces with lots of 30k (more than usual) and side of the pieces a little 30k and some Maru. It feel much like a normal cube after that (no longer sandy). I set the tension where I can just cut about 50 degrees. It's not super tight, nor do I loosen it till the point I can cut everywhere. Speed wise it's quite similar to Hualong, but Yuexiao has improved reverse cutting and eliminated the corner twisting and popping problem. The particular way I set it up makes it very similar to Hualong, but if you have a different style Yuexiao can be set up to act quite differently.
 

efattah

Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2016
Messages
711
Another quick review. I found the Yuexiao to be disappointing out of the box at least. Really catchy. My Gans 356 and Tanglong perform much better. Still, the Yuexiao overshoots a lot showing it has tremendous potential. I have not modded or lubed it but I do suspect (as spoken earlier) that with tighter tensions and proper lube it could be unbeatable. However out-of-the-box the Gans 356 V2 and Tanglong perform better in my opinion. Despite the catchy feel of the Yuexiao I got a 19.53 which was close to my 19.11 on the Tanglong.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that it seems the solving method you use has a dramatic impact on which cube works best for you. My non-standard solving method uses a lot of M/U moves (which Roux solvers also need), and the Yuexiao has a low friction M slice which is very promising (lower friction than the above mentioned Gans and Tanglong). However CFOP solvers won't appreciate that as much.

Eric
 

Eduard Khil

Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Messages
169
Right out of the box, it felt really dry and sandy mainly because of the matte texture of the plastic and little lubrication on the pieces. It also felt bumpy which for slow turning the cube felt really slow and sluggish but at higher tps it turned really fast and uncontrollable causing catches due to inaccurate turning. The stickers were somewhat half brights which provided excellent contrast and recognition.

The cube is sturdy and does not flex, pops and corner twists are nearly impossible for the closely hugging pieces and the squared off corners. Lockups are rare for the Yuexiao corner cuts well however catching is a problem, where you would have to readjust your turning style to fit the cube. It is rather lightweight and felt airy and hollow.

The feel of the cube is rather weird with a mix between bumpy and smooth. Some may like it but some may hate it for the bumpiness is rather irritable

Turning is responsive and there seems to be little momentum on the pieces. The best thing about the Yuexiao is that its M-slices were moderately fast, smooth and controllable making it good for Roux for its balance between speed and lookahead.

The cube fits both beginners and advanced solvers alike. At slow turning speeds it stays in one piece and is responsive, while for faster solvers it still promises turning speed, stability, and control.
 

efattah

Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2016
Messages
711
After a month of using this cube for thousands of solves, I no longer think it is revolutionary. It is a really enjoyable cube to use and the huge sharp stickers are very pleasing. It also performs really well, but other cubes such as the Gans 356V2 outperform it in several ways. It is still one of my favorites, but in numerous situations including certain particular algorithms, I find other cubes such as the thunderclap far faster. I also think the Yuexiao is better for CFOP solvers than Roux due to the M slice not being as low drag as I initially thought.

Eric Fattah
Vancouver, BC
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
193
Just saying they're are several different mods for the corners to reduce catching crtiticalcubing has a vid on it
 

thecuber3

Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
23
Location
Somewhere, over the rainbow
WCA
2016MEUN01
I really like this cube, but it is too fast for me. I get a lot of catches and lockups, and sometimes even pops resulting from this. I tried lubing this with Traxxas 50k, which is what I do to slow down any cube that is too incredibly fast. However, this quickly went away. This cube is not my main, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes really fast cubes.
 
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