Stickerless vs Stickered

[EngiNerdBrian]

I've no pretentions to be a speed-solver (at my age) , but I just love solving cubes. I find I prefer stickered, except for the 2x2 & Megaminx.

I think the stickerless ones look cooler, but when it comes to actually solving them, I find stickered ones easier to find pieces on.

I'm the complete opposite. Recognition is much better on stickerless, but stickered cubes look cooler to me. I see a lot of blind solvers using stickered cubes, which I find interesting.

I do think i have a marginal increase in recognition on stickerless puzzles since there is objectively more color available to the eye but I much prefer the look of stickered cubes. Classy . Plus, I'm shade obsessed and enjoy swapping stickers.

 

[GodCubing]

techniquly cheat by turning the layer 45 degrees and seeing the stickers in the back. This is a really nice cheat, but it is quite hard to perform in a solve (especially if you have magnets)

 

[dudefaceguy]

I do think i have a marginal increase in recognition on stickerless puzzles since there is objectively more color available to the eye but I much prefer the look of stickered cubes. Classy . Plus, I'm shade obsessed and enjoy swapping stickers.

Honestly it's just an excuse for me to buy more puzzles. Sometimes I'm in the mood for stickers, sometimes stickerless.

 

[Sub1Hour]

techniquly cheat by turning the layer 45 degrees and seeing the stickers in the back. This is a really nice cheat, but it is quite hard to perform in a solve (especially if you have magnets)

"Welcome to the WCA in 2014, if we allow stickerless cubes people will use this cheat so we can't allow it! Stickered only!"

We realized around 5 years ago that it's useless to do this since its faster to just do a pseudo rotation to look around the cube than try and look at the small exposed portion. Also I'm not quite sure how its a "cheat" or how its nice at all.

 

[Spacey10]

Sorta wanna res this thread
Imo, stickerless looks better for patterns or yt vids, or even grip in some cases, where as stickered always has good gripsbut it is hard to recog or weird to make patterns

 

[qwr]

As a slow solver / collector: No difference, though stickered has a more classic look, especially white plastic. When I solve, the thin black or white lines (which are really milky and a bit translucent for Dayan puzzles) just fade into the background and aren't considered at all.

 

[vidcapper]

I prefer stickerless as they are generally lighter.

 

[CFOP2020]

For all Stickered cube lovers, please rant here why you think they are better than stickerless cubes. Your rant can be a full 6 paragraph essay, or just a sentence. I just want the world to hear why stickered cubes are objectively optimal.

Stickered cubes
A. Look way cleaner than stickerless cubes
B. Are customizable in color shades for optimal solving experience
C. Can be anything you want. If you don't like the black rim around the stickers, JUST USE FULL FITTED STICKERS.
D. I (personally) solve better on stickered cubes
E. You don't ever have to worry about frosted or glossy finishes
F. If you ever scuff a sticker, then just replace the sticker (On stickerless cubes, if you get a big scratch you have to buy an entire new piece)
G. The stickers provide an extra grip for your solves

 

[2018AMSB02]

Well I know this is not what you asked for but what is ranting without opposition?

Stickerless cubes are better.

First, based on turning some cubes turn better stickered and some stickerless, so those cancel each other out.

On stickerless cubes, you can see more sides at once because the plastic merges at the border, but with stickered cubes you need to rotate the cube more to see what piece it is.

My fingernails are annoyingly hard, and that chips stickers which slows down solves and damages cube.

The only way stickered is better is for pyraminx (because of the grip) and for mods

 

[Scrombo]

While I prefer stickerless, I understand the appeal of stickered cubes (black, namely). The shade options coupled with the black outlines of the plastic remedy recognition issues that aren't instantly alleviated in stickerless cubes. You could also argue that certain types of stickers help a tad with grip. The Shengshou Legend comes to mind.

 

[Zubin Park]

I'll be honest, I'm sub-8 with stickerless all the way. Sounds to me that you're just saying that stickered cubes are better because you like them. very few valid or unbiased points that you made.

 

[RiceMan_]

I don't use stickered cubes but i've heard that it has better grip than non-stickered cubes. (not 100% sure)

 

[Zain_A24]

Stickered cubes are practically dying.

In our recent chat with the GAN team, we were told that there were mixed feedback on the black internals and the primary internals, so they kindly made both. They decided AGAINST creating a stickered version.

As anyone would ask, I said "why?". The reason being that stickered cubes aren't selling like they used to. The sales of stickered cubes have depreciated over time, until eventually companies will make stickered cubes in small batches or even not at all.

Why are stickered cubes disappearing?
1 - Stickers - People don't like stickers on their cubes, since they naturally peel or chip with nails. I have a GAN Air M stickered and over a period of a few weeks / months there were small signs of stickers chipping. They weren't major since I never cube with large nails, but is enough to make me feel the roughness on certain sides, which isn't ideal.

2 - Mofang Jiaoshi - I'm not blaming the company directly, but they were the first company to go full-on stickerless (not sure if their recent releases come in stickered or not). Their series being an optimal beginner option, beginners are presented with stickerless cubes, and from there it seems natural to transition to another cube of a stickerless variant. Not sure if this is the case (you're more than welcome to debate), but a possible reason.

3 - Shades - Back in the day, stickerless shades (in my opinion) used to be awful, with companies experimenting with dyes and plastics to get the desired colours. Nowadays, the only ways to get your desired shades are to get the stickerless version or go and get custom stickers with your cube, and I personally would choose stickerless in this example given the points above

4 - Better recognition in lower light - I've noticed that if I am to cube in a less bright environment, that stickerless cubes are the way to go. This is something I've observed with myself and may not apply to others.

Why stickered
1 - More freedom with sticker shades
2 - Performance. I've noticed that GAN stickered cubes had much better performance out of the box compared to their stickerless counterparts. They eventually balance out after plenty of break-in but for a good 300-500 solves, the stickered versions feel far superior.

So those are my thoughts, feel free to continue the discussion below.

 

[Deleted member 54663]

Stickered cubes are practically dying.

In our recent chat with the GAN team, we were told that there were mixed feedback on the black internals and the primary internals, so they kindly made both. They decided AGAINST creating a stickered version.

As anyone would ask, I said "why?". The reason being that stickered cubes aren't selling like they used to. The sales of stickered cubes have depreciated over time, until eventually companies will make stickered cubes in small batches or even not at all.

Why are stickered cubes disappearing?
1 - Stickers - People don't like stickers on their cubes, since they naturally peel or chip with nails. I have a GAN Air M stickered and over a period of a few weeks / months there were small signs of stickers chipping. They weren't major since I never cube with large nails, but is enough to make me feel the roughness on certain sides, which isn't ideal.

2 - Mofang Jiaoshi - I'm not blaming the company directly, but they were the first company to go full-on stickerless (not sure if their recent releases come in stickered or not). Their series being an optimal beginner option, beginners are presented with stickerless cubes, and from there it seems natural to transition to another cube of a stickerless variant. Not sure if this is the case (you're more than welcome to debate), but a possible reason.

3 - Shades - Back in the day, stickerless shades (in my opinion) used to be awful, with companies experimenting with dyes and plastics to get the desired colours. Nowadays, the only ways to get your desired shades are to get the stickerless version or go and get custom stickers with your cube, and I personally would choose stickerless in this example given the points above

4 - Better recognition in lower light - I've noticed that if I am to cube in a less bright environment, that stickerless cubes are the way to go. This is something I've observed with myself and may not apply to others.

Why stickered
1 - More freedom with sticker shades
2 - Performance. I've noticed that GAN stickered cubes had much better performance out of the box compared to their stickerless counterparts. They eventually balance out after plenty of break-in but for a good 300-500 solves, the stickered versions feel far superior.

So those are my thoughts, feel free to continue the discussion below.

With the statement about GAN stickered cubes being better than stickerless, I disagree. Stickered Gan cubes, like the air M, are not better, they are only faster.

 

[CFOP2020]

Stickered cubes are practically dying.

In our recent chat with the GAN team, we were told that there were mixed feedback on the black internals and the primary internals, so they kindly made both. They decided AGAINST creating a stickered version.

As anyone would ask, I said "why?". The reason being that stickered cubes aren't selling like they used to. The sales of stickered cubes have depreciated over time, until eventually companies will make stickered cubes in small batches or even not at all.

Why are stickered cubes disappearing?
1 - Stickers - People don't like stickers on their cubes, since they naturally peel or chip with nails. I have a GAN Air M stickered and over a period of a few weeks / months there were small signs of stickers chipping. They weren't major since I never cube with large nails, but is enough to make me feel the roughness on certain sides, which isn't ideal.

2 - Mofang Jiaoshi - I'm not blaming the company directly, but they were the first company to go full-on stickerless (not sure if their recent releases come in stickered or not). Their series being an optimal beginner option, beginners are presented with stickerless cubes, and from there it seems natural to transition to another cube of a stickerless variant. Not sure if this is the case (you're more than welcome to debate), but a possible reason.

3 - Shades - Back in the day, stickerless shades (in my opinion) used to be awful, with companies experimenting with dyes and plastics to get the desired colours. Nowadays, the only ways to get your desired shades are to get the stickerless version or go and get custom stickers with your cube, and I personally would choose stickerless in this example given the points above

4 - Better recognition in lower light - I've noticed that if I am to cube in a less bright environment, that stickerless cubes are the way to go. This is something I've observed with myself and may not apply to others.

Why stickered
1 - More freedom with sticker shades
2 - Performance. I've noticed that GAN stickered cubes had much better performance out of the box compared to their stickerless counterparts. They eventually balance out after plenty of break-in but for a good 300-500 solves, the stickered versions feel far superior.

So those are my thoughts, feel free to continue the discussion below.

Thank you for your input, and i am sad that cubes are going this way. It takes me back to the days of the SM when GAN cubes used to only come in stickered.

 

[Zain_A24]

With the statement about GAN stickered cubes being better than stickerless, I disagree. Stickered Gan cubes, like the air M, are not better, they are only faster.

Not sure you can disagree on my personal subjective thoughts but I agree the stickered cubes are faster, and for me that means better-performing. When comparing the same cube of different variants side by side (I currently have the XV2 and Air M in both variants) both the stickered versions out of the box were a lot better than their stickerless counterparts. They do end up becoming more balanced though. I respect your opinion.

Thank you for your input, and i am sad that cubes are going this way. It takes me back to the days of the SM when GAN cubes used to only come in stickered.

No problem. I do agree it's a shame but companies have to do this in order to satisfy demand, and right now the demand for stickerless cubes are increasing and demand for stickered is just depreciating as people settle for stickerless cubes.

 

[PetraPine]

I personally prefer stickered because I have a difficult time dropping cubes and usually that doesnt effect stickerless cubes and i don't want to buy stickers all the time,
my hands are also very shaky meaning that its better for me to use cubes with a more consistent feel over the whole face.

 

[EngiNerdBrian]

The outline of a black face behind a sticker just looks so sharp and classy. Its like a picture in a high quality frame or a photo with a nice mat. Stickerless cubes look considerably more childish, almost like a toddlers plastic toy to be beat up and destroyed, not loved and cared for. Stickered cubes look regal; as the cube ages the stickers give it character. Peeling, chips, and fading colors all give the cube personality that sticker less cubes lack.

As the cubes get bigger and bigger the sharp 90° grid created by the black lines beneath stickers just gets more and more visually satisfying. I absolutely love the look of a big cubes with stickers and "sticker maintenance" on these puzzles has never been a problem for me despite it being a common complaint of the masses.

 

[zslane]

I agree that stickered cubes have a more classic, traditional look to them. But even though my experience with the cube goes way back to the Rubik's Cube's first release, back in the day, I have come to prefer stickerless for all the reasons already stated by others. However, I do like the contrast that black internals provides, and that hint of black gives me enough of that vintage stickered aesthetic that I don't really miss stickered cubes. I hate re-stickering cubes, and the durability of stickers--or lack thereof--is a real detraction for me. Plus, the default colors for stickerless cubes are much more appealing to me than the default colors for stickered cubes (I like brighter colors).

 

[OreKehStrah]

I don’t really have a preference either way, but when given the choice, I’ll take a stickered black cube and here’s why:

1. I use a custom color scheme. So long as the stickered version is the same as the stickerless in construction, I can remove the orange stickers for a black side, and then swap black and yellow. No second cube needed, unlike stickerless.
2. I think the way stickered cubes age over time is cool. If you use the same cube long enough, the stickers chip and age, and it shows the time and practice you put in that isn’t shown on a stickerless cube.
3. Grip. While I can use both without issues, the trend stickerless cubes are heading towards is frosted/matte plastic which is definitely not ideal. It only worsens the grip for a while. I think stickerless cubes in general offer slightly worse grip. Don’t believe me? Go watch Jayden’s sub-4 fail on a stickerless cube.

I think recognition is probably better on stickerless cubes due to the larger surface areas.