3x3 Gan 356 Air M Review

[MichaelZRC]

Gan 356 Air M Review
A revolutionary cube, or just another rehash of the XS?
​

Basics:
The Gan 356 Air M is a 56mm magnetic puzzle that weighs in at 62 grams making it one of the lighter puzzles on the market. In the box, there are the GES Pro nuts with the adjustment tool, a Gan bag, Gan CFOP pamphlet, and the GES Pro guide. The magnet strength is medium-strong which most cubers will enjoy, the customization options are nothing too new with your standard GES Pro that comes with the more recent GAN cubes today, and comes standard with the light blue nuts. I lubed this puzzle with Traxxas 30k and Cubicle Labs Silk for a smooth crunchy feeling. Like most recent Gan cubes the exterior has a matte finish which is very slippery at first but eventually becomes smoother after time. You can buy the puzzle here for $46.99 and comes in black and stickerless plastic. Turning and solves here
First impressions:
Out of the box, the cube was extremely quick and unstable and had a crunchy, quick, and light feeling very similar to the XS. After tensioning and set up, the cube had a smooth, quick, light and slightly crunchy and felt like a slightly lighter XS which I enjoyed.
Solving:
After doing about 100 solves on the Air M, the experience was very similar to the XS as mentioned previously and I could achieve normal times with a few last layer lockups due to the speed of the cube. One of the best things about this cube is the corner-cutting, during my solves, the corner-cuts were effortless and extremely smooth, a quality liked by many. One thing that was difficult to get used to was the matte finish on the cube, it made the cube very slippery and fell out of my hands many times during the first few solves, after time this does go away and the cube becomes much easier to grip.
Final thoughts:
The Gan 356 Air M is a strange puzzle, it's like a Gan 356 XS without the magnet customizations but still with a premium price tag, don't get me wrong this cube has a great feel and performs great, but it feels like Gan is trying to take away a feature from its flagship and rebranding it as a new puzzle. Bottom line: if you don't care for magnet customizations and don't own the XS this puzzle is good for you, but if you already own an XS and/or care about magnet customizations this puzzle is not for you. And to answer the question in the beginning, I am afraid to say that, it is a rehash of the XS.
Pictures:
The box

The cube and accessories


The cube inside the box

Thank you GAN for sending me this cube!​

 

[Spacey10]

Thanks! What is the difference between the GES Pro and Pro GES guide and the normal GES and GES guide?

 

[Cubingcubecuber]

Gan 356 Air M Review
A revolutionary cube, or just another rehash of the XS?
​

Basics:
The Gan 356 Air M is a 56mm magnetic puzzle that weighs in at 62 grams making it one of the lighter puzzles on the market. In the box, there are the GES Pro nuts with the adjustment tool, a Gan bag, Gan CFOP pamphlet, and the GES Pro guide. The magnet strength is medium-strong which most cubers will enjoy, the customization options are nothing too new with your standard GES Pro that comes with the more recent GAN cubes today, and comes standard with the light blue nuts. I lubed this puzzle with Traxxas 30k and Cubicle Labs Silk for a smooth crunchy feeling. Like most recent Gan cubes the exterior has a matte finish which is very slippery at first but eventually becomes smoother after time. You can buy the puzzle here for $46.99 and comes in black and stickerless plastic. Turning and solves here
First impressions:
Out of the box, the cube was extremely quick and unstable and had a crunchy, quick, and light feeling very similar to the XS. After tensioning and set up, the cube had a smooth, quick, light and slightly crunchy and felt like a slightly lighter XS which I enjoyed.
Solving:
After doing about 100 solves on the Air M, the experience was very similar to the XS as mentioned previously and I could achieve normal times with a few last layer lockups due to the speed of the cube. One of the best things about this cube is the corner-cutting, during my solves, the corner-cuts were effortless and extremely smooth, a quality liked by many. One thing that was difficult to get used to was the matte finish on the cube, it made the cube very slippery and fell out of my hands many times during the first few solves, after time this does go away and the cube becomes much easier to grip.
Final thoughts:
The Gan 356 Air M is a strange puzzle, it's like a Gan 356 XS without the magnet customizations but still with a premium price tag, don't get me wrong this cube has a great feel and performs great, but it feels like Gan is trying to take away a feature from its flagship and rebranding it as a new puzzle. Bottom line: if you don't care for magnet customizations and don't own the XS this puzzle is good for you, but if you already own an XS and/or care about magnet customizations this puzzle is not for you. And to answer the question in the beginning, I am afraid to say that, it is a rehash of the XS.
Pictures:
The box
View attachment 12725
The cube and accessories

View attachment 12727View attachment 12726
The cube inside the box


View attachment 12730

Thank you GAN for sending me this cube!​

Nice review. Mine will be out in a by tomorrow, just have to record a voiceover

 

[chocool6]

Why would anyone get this instead of the 356m? You do get extra tensioning/elasticity options on here but most of the extra ones that you can't achieve on the 356m are probably not very good anyway.

 

[Nmile7300]

Why would anyone get this instead of the 356m? You do get extra tensioning/elasticity options on here but most of the extra ones that you can't achieve on the 356m are probably not very good anyway.

The Air M is a downgraded XS, the 356 M is a downgraded X. So if you like the feel of one of those, then this is for a cheaper price. But wait, if you like the feel of one of those that probably means you have one of them, so there is no point in getting them at all..........






Gan makes no sense.

 

[MichaelZRC]

Thanks! What is the difference between the GES Pro and Pro GES guide and the normal GES and GES guide?

They tell you how to use them for each specific GES type

 

[Spacey10]

They tell you how to use them for each specific GES type

But what are the pro GES for? Are they any different?

 

[MichaelZRC]

But what are the pro GES for? Are they any different?

The GES pro is more similar to the Moyu adjustment system, unlike the traditional swapping out GES nuts, you can adjust elasticity and tension with one tool JPerm shows it well here: