GAN

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Revision as of 20:40, 4 October 2018 by Galaxy (talk | contribs) (Edited the names of the first 3 GAN 3x3s since they were originally called Ganspuzzle.)
Gans
gans.gif
Company
Founded: unknown
Location: China
Years Active: 2011-present
Areas served: Worldwide
Website: [1]
Production
Products: See below

Gans, Ganspuzzle, or GAN is a puzzle brand created by Ganyuan Jiang (江淦源) who created the first Chinese 3x3 national speed-solving record (in 2007). He was also the co-founder of the GuoJia cube brand.

2x2

Gan 249

Released October 2017. Gans' first 2x2. Received a lot of attention as their 3x3s were many peoples' mains already, however it was generally considered to be a flop. Dull shades and the sliggish feel were the main contributions to its demise. A magnetic version was also offered as the GAN 249M

Gan 2160

Releases 2016? A large 2x2 160mm across each edge made up of 8 GAN 3x3 storage boxes as the cubies. Was meant to store 2x2s, but as it used a 356 core it could be used as a fully-functional 2x2.

Gan 249 V2

Released December 2017. It features a honeycomb design on the corner contact points and an overall smooth feel. The Stickerless version features a bright stickerless color scheme, primary plastic internals, while the black plastic version features the GAN Full Bright color scheme and black plastic internals, as well as many features taken from their 3x3s. A very nice second attempt.

3x3

Ganspuzzle I

Released March 2011.[2] A 3x3x3 cube notable for having a stickerless design, when such cubes were still rare. The Gans I was a fast turner, but would lockup quite badly.

Ganspuzzle II

Released May 2011.[3] A redesign of the original Gans, this one came with stickers, and had far fewer lockups. A sluggish cube straight out of the box, although speed improved after many solves.

Ganspuzzle III

A 3x3x3 cube released August 2013, with a second version (Gans III V2) released in November.

Gans 357

Released March 2014. Called the 357 because it's a Gans-III 57mm cube. An ultimate version was leter released.

Gans 356S

Released May 2015.

Gans 356S V2

Released December 2016. Four variants were offered: the 356S V2, 356S V2 Lite, 356S V2 Master, and 356S V2 Advanced

Gans 356 Air

The Gans 356 Air was released in August 2016. It uses an original dual-adjustment system called Gans Elasticity System (GES) that allows users to swap out the springs to adjust the feel of the cube. It is endorsed by Feliks Zemdegs, Sebastian Weyer, Max Park, and other top speedcubers. Six more non-magnetic variants were offered: The Air Grand Master, Air Master, Air Ultimate, Air Advanced, Air S, and Air S Master

Gans 356 Air UM

The GAN Air UM was released in January 2017. At the first mass produced magnetic 3x3, and at the time, the only one. It was the result of a collaboration between Cubicle Labs and GAN. Cubicle Labs did the magnetism, while GAN made the “U”. U stands for Ultimate, which meant this was a GAN Air Ultimate. The Ultimate was an Air that had the pieces glued together and the screws in the pieces removed to reduce weight. It was also set up by GAN, and had more GES nuts and accessories than the standard Air. The magnets in the UM were considered weak compared to the other magnetic cubes at the time (GTSv1 M and Valk M), but the magnets are stronger than the ones usually used on modern cubes. A prototype (later named as GAN Air 473, which was given away.) was used to break the former 3x3 world record of 4.73 seconds by Feliks Zemdegs. Many of the top cubers, such as Max Park, Feliks Zemdegs, Kian Mansour, etc. used the cube as their main. Many criticized the cube for being very loud and crunchy, compared to the relatively soft Air. Some also had problems with the magnets falling out. In 2017, a limited edition version was manufactered which was a Air UM with Max Park's set-up pre-installed and some newer features. 639 were issued to mark Max Park's 3x3 ao5 WR of 6.39

GAN Air SM

The GAN 356 Air SM was the highly anticipated successor to the GAN 356 Air UM. There were a number of small changes that transformed the crunchy and loud UM into a soft and smooth cube. There is a GES v2 system that is slightly looser than the GES v1, which theoretically allows for a faster cube. In addition, there are slots for the magnets, which ensure accurate placement and fixed the problem of dropping magnets. The biggest change was the honeycomb design on the pieces, which is what contributed to the soft feel. Curiously, GAN said that this was to retain lube, but the cube eats lube. However, the price seems less justified than th UM, since there was no gluing of the pieces, and magnets would be easier to install due to the slots, yet the cube is $3 more expensive. 10/20 of the top 20 3x3 solvers for average use it as their mains. The cube seems less clicky and stable than the UM, but is softer and faster. The magnets are ever so slightly weaker on the SM. This cube is considered the one of 3 cubes that are unanimously considered the best on the market - the SM, Valk M, and MF3RS2M. The GTS2M and Huanlong are considered too fast, and the Valk Power is considered too heavy. In October 2018, GAN will release a new 3x3 called the Gan 356 Air SM 2019. It is simply an Air SM with a slight piece redesign and the new GES v3

Gan 354M

released July 2018, it is smaller than most cubes but many people like the smaller size, especially for one-handed solving. It was the main of many speedcubers like Max Park and Dana Yi due to it's plush, fast, and controllable feel

Gan 356R

Released October 2018, along with the 356X. As of 30/9/18, this cube is unavailable on most cube stores however it is available on puzzlewholesale.com[4] it is Gans first ever 'budget cube' but is still likely to be more of a mid-ranged cube retaling for about $15.

Gan 356X

Released October 2018 along with the 356R. This is the highly anticipated new flagship from GAN with two revolutionary new features; the first ever magnet replacement system, GAN Magnetic System (GMS). This system allows you to change the magnet strength of the cube in the edges (i.e. not corners) to highly change the feel of your cube adding to GAN's philosophy of more customization. The magnet options are strong, medium, weak and null (non-magnetic). The way you change the magnet strength is by simply missalligning the middle layer by about 45 degrees and simply pushing the magnetic rod through, replacing the one already inside. The second feature is the new GES+ which allows for tool-free tensioning somewhat like the MoYu Spring Compression System featured in the MoYu WeiLong GTS3 lineup. In the new GES, there are also only 4 colours of nut with Green pre-installed. The puzzle retails as between $56 and $62 making it the most expensive non-limited edition cube ever released. This is largely due to the magnets adding on an extra ~$10. The cube is already the main of many cubers like Max Park, Feliks Zemdegs, Seung Hyuk-Nam, and Tanzer Balimtas.

4x4

Gan 460M

Released May 2018. Gans' only attempt at a 4x4, it features visible magnets and and the honeycomb design. It has had mixed reviews, with some switching to it over the GTS2M or WuQue M but many sticking with the latter options.

Rubik's Speed

GAN has collaborated with Rubik's to make two speedcubes for the Red Bull World Cup. They feature many GAN elements as they were mostly designed by GAN, however they also have tiles. They are farely average cubes, certainly not bad, but not top of the market. There are currently only a 2x2 and a 3x3

Lubrication

Gans Magic Lube

The Gans Magic Lube was released in August 2017. It is a low-medium viscosity piece lubricant designed to be used in Gans puzzles.

Gans Sticky Lube

The Gans Sticky Lube is a fairly low-viscosity piece lubricant that is slightly thicker than the Gans Standard Lube that was released in June 2016.

Gans Standard Lube

The Gans Standard Lube is a low-viscosity piece lube released in August 2016.