Well, that certainly came out of the blue, didn't it?
I've been getting back into cubing and neglected to update this blog about it. Oops. It's been nearly 4 years, which means I missed 4 years of my favorite part about cubing: new speedcubes! To make up for lost time, I decided to buy...er...34 speedcubes that were released in those 4 years (plus one of the venerable Dayan Zhanchi).
(Hopefully more 3D printing content will come soon.)
Some of them have already arrived, so here are my impressions on them. This is by no means a definitive answer to "which cube should I buy": I'm a firm proponent of the idea that you should aggregate reviews before making a decision.
All impressions are
out of the box, unless otherwise stated. I don't have the patience to lube and tension so many cubes.
I'm introducing a new metric: effective corner and reverse cutting. I don't see the point in saying a cube can cut 50 degrees if you need to use the strength of your entire hand to force it through. Effective cutting is approximately how far it will be able to cut with only the force that might be used during a typical solve, so it's more representative of real world conditions.
Of course, such a metric is highly subjective, and I'm just going by my own experience. All the same, it could be useful to determining how well a cube would actually cut in a solve, not in a controlled test.
MoYu Weilong GTS
Let's start with the supposed new king, shall we?
Look and feel
Rather standard. It's more rounded than some speedcubes on the market and has big Florian cuts, but that does apply for a lot of MoYu cubes. It's fairly light, coming in at 81 grams.
Sticker scheme is standard MoYu shade: bright colors except for a moderate red and blue. I like it.
The stickers could be better. Right out of the box there were some white lines around the orange stickers, and furthermore the orange stickers on my blue GTS turned red after a day in the sun. I'm not sure if this will happen to my black one, seeing as it just came in today.
It has a rather high pitched clacky sound. Honestly, it's the one sound I don't like in cubes, and the one thing I wish I could have changed about my Zhanchi during the four years where it was my main.
The cube comes in at a rather light ~81.5 grams.
Turning
This was one thing that REALLY disappointed me on my first GTS. Everywhere I had read reviews about the GTS being extremely fast, but my first GTS was actually much slower than my Zhanchi. What's more, there was a persistent sticky feeling in the turning that I could not get rid of, regardless of how I lubed it. I was literally getting fatigued from using it.
I talked to CubeDepot, and they said some people have been getting more sluggish GTS's than usual. This seems to be true: my second GTS is much faster and isn't sticky at all. However, oddly enough it still isn't quite fast as I would call it: it seems more of an average speed for a modern speedcube.
Both of them seem quite unstable, e.g. they flex a lot during solves.
My first GTS had a crisp, slightly bumpy feel. My second GTS is much smoother but also bumpy. I'm not a huge fan of either but feel is a subjective thing.
I have a third GTS on the way. (yeah, I know.) I'll update this when that one comes in.
Corner cutting
Max corner cutting: ~52 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~45 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~34 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~33 degrees
Pretty good, the only cube that matches it in this comparison is the Guoguan Yuexiao.. I don't really see the famous full cutting people talk about on this cube, though,
That being said, pretty much any modern cube (including almost all of the ones in this post) cut far more than anyone could need.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twist
Very good. I've not yet had either on my thousand or so solves on my first GTS, and as a preliminary judgement I won't on my second GTS either. It's hard to take apart by hand, let alone pop during a solve.
Conclusions
Objective score:
9/10
I can see why a lot of people love this cube, even if I don't. There's objectively nothing wrong with it, and performance is up there.
Subjective score:
6/10
Can't say I like this cube as much as some people do. It's not as fast as I prefer and my alg execution is slower for some reason.I'll give it another chance when my third one arrives, but even if that one blows it out of the water I might have to take a point off from the objective score because of inconsistency.
Pricing
$16-$17 from a US seller, $12-$13 from China. Standard high-end cube pricing.
GuoGuan YueXiao
High hopes for this one, I've heard a lot of good things. Let's dive in.
Look and feel
Still the standard MoYu look and feel, though right off the bat I notice the stickers are much higher quality than the Weilong GTS stickers. They don't have any white lines and cover more of each cubie as well.
The build is excellent. I don't see a single seam in any of the cubies, even though that often happens with multi-piece cubies.
Color scheme is standard MoYu: bright except for red and blue. Still like it, though I like it more than the Weilong GTS's scheme for some reason.
The sound is a fairly deep swish sound, and the weight is a solid 86.5 grams.
Turning
The Yuexiao turns on the fast side out of the box, though not enough to be uncontrollable. There's a bit of scratchiness that makes it feel a bit like a smoother Yuxin 3x3, but I've heard it goes away after a while. It's very stable, and barely ever flexes during solves.
I do really like it, despite usually liking smoother cubes. There aren't any problems, which is about as much as I can say for it.
Corner cutting
Max corner cutting: ~53 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~35 degrees (???!!!)
Max reverse cutting: ~36 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~35 degrees
Mine doesn't have the famous full corner cutting that a lot of people talk about, but out of all of the cubes I have it comes the closest. The deadzone between cutting and reverse cutting is on the order of a fraction of a degree, so it's effectively nonexistent.
Surprisingly, the force required to cut skyrocketed short of even line to line. If I ever encountered a line to line cut on this cube during a solve, I would not be able to cut it.
The feel of the cut is very nice, though: it's a solid snap into the next turn. No flexing at all.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twist
Anti-pop is very good. It's still hard to take the cube apart by hand, let alone pop it during a solve.
Anti-corner twisting is decent. It's fairly easy to turn a corner by hand despite the squared corners, but I doubt it will happen during a solve.
Conclusions
Objective score: 9/10
Again, there's objectively nothing wrong with it, and the performance is excellent. However, to earn the 10/10 there needs to be something huge that would give this cube an advantage over all other flagships.
Subjective score: 10/10
I really really like this cube. I like how it turns despite my usual preference for smooth cubes, and I like deep swish it makes while turning. I like the speed and the snappy corner cutting, and I like how it doesn't flex at all.
I get my fastest alg executions on this cube and have gotten some of my best times on it. There's literally nothing that could make this cube better for me.
Pricing
$16-$17 from a US seller, $12-$13 from China. Standard high-end cube pricing.
QiYi Thunderclap
 |
| Speedcubeshop gave me this nice box, whereas China only gave me a little bag. :( |
The supposed best budget cube available. I bought...er...7. 2 have come in so far.
Look and feel
It's a very blocky looking cube, with even cubies, nearly symmetric Florian cuts, and big black lines between stickers. It's actually practically indistinguishable from a Hualong, just slightly different Florian holes. It's an interesting look, but personally I feel like big stickers, small lines, and squared off corners is a more elegant and modern look.
Then again, look is subjective.
Color scheme is almost identical to MoYu shades, though with a darker green. Note that in stickerless the colors are extremely bright, almost fluorescent.
Build is just fine. It had one small seam that was quickly pressed together, and it feels solid enough to not break. I have to note, though, a friend of mine got a stickerless Thunderclap and pulled a corner straight out because he didn't know how to properly take it apart, and from there that corner never sat flush with the other pieces ever again.
Moral of the story is do not pull corners out before edges.
It comes in at a fairly light 80.1 grams and makes a loud, lower pitched clacky sound. Nothing to complain about here.
Turning
The Thunderclap turns VERY fast, fastest out of all the cubes I own. I like fast cubes, but the Thunderclap is just a tiny bit uncontrollable for me. It can be slowed down with lube, of course.
It feels smooth but a bit blocky to turn. Not sure why, but the turning feeling gives me the impression that it can't corner cut.
It's fairly stable unless you're inaccurate. On one of my solves I actually managed to flex it so much that I got a finger caught between two cubies, but that hasn't happened since.
Corner cutting
Max corner cutting: ~45 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~37 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~29 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~25 degrees
Here we do see the Thunderclap start to fall a bit short. Max cutting is significantly lower than the 50+ degrees of more expensive cubes. The center cubies aren't rounded much past the florian cuts, so reverse cuts also fall back quite a lot.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twist
Anti-pop out of the box was only acceptable for my first Thunderclap but good for my second. My first had tensions set so loose that it popped about as frequently as my Zhanchi, which is to say compared to modern cubes, very often. After tightening it the pops stopped but the performance stayed the same. My second came pre-tightened but otherwise the same.
The corners aren't squared so corner twists do happen, I don't generally corner twist any cube but on one particularly sloppy execution of a new V-perm alg, I did manage to twist a corner. Would not have happened with squared corners.
Conclusions
Objective score: 7/10
I'm not taking pricing into account on scoring. The Thunderclap falls short in both areas that I score on.
Subjective score: 8/10 10/10
I actually really like many aspects of this cube. The look is weird but not bad, and the turning feels snappy and satisfying. However, I am getting a fair share of lockups on this cube especially during PLL, stemming from (as far as I can tell) its speed making me misalign the M slice.
That being said, I won't slow it down. Thunder is fast.
I have now slowed it down with a tiny dab of SCS Weight 3 on the locking pieces, and oh boy is it good. It's a different feel from my Yuexiao, but I enjoy it just as much. I'm getting no lockups but it's almost just as fast, and my alg execution is just as fast (and sounds cooler, too).
10/10. No regrets buying 7 8 now.
Pricing
$8-$9 from a US seller, just $5-$6 from China. Very very cheap cube, excellent value. It's a great first speedcube or a cube to lend out at competitions if you want to be nice and not just have duffle bags full of Guanlongs.
Gans 356S V2 (Master)
Supposedly one of the best, and Feliks' main. Rather expensive too.
It did come in a very nice box.
Look and feel
Phew. This thing is SOLID. I'm not sure what it is, but from the moment you pick it up you get the feeling, "this will never break."
Stickers have slightly darker oranges than MoYus, and cover less of the cubie (larger dark lines). I like the round center sticker, but plenty of people don't.
It comes in at a fairly hefty 87.3 grams. Not saying the number of grams is actually hefty, the cube just feels hefty.
The sound is a high pitched...cube sound. Not clacky or swishy, just high pitched.
Turning
Out of the box, the cube was quite slow. After lubing it up with some weight 1 on pieces, it turns much faster, though it's still slower than I'd like. I haven't tried changing the springs, but I've heard that can make a huge difference.
The feel is quite buttery smooth. It's probably the smoothest out of all of the cubes I own, including some very smooth older Dayans. It's fairly stable, but it can flex a small amount at times during solves.
Corner Cutting
Max corner cutting: ~50 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~43 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~34 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~34 degrees
Still fairly standard. I'm sure this varies based on which spring I pick but these are just the metrics on the stock springs.
One thing to note is that any reverse cut is completely effortless. There's a clack telling you that you've just reverse cut, but besides that it feels just like a normal turn.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twist
Excellent on both accounts. It's a pain to take apart and difficult to twist by hand.
Conclusions
Objective score: 10/10
Objectively a flawless cube, No real problems, and performance is way up there. Its customizability with the included springs (only on the Master edition) and the individually adjustable cubies give it a leg up on competitors, so it easily competes with the MoYus for best cube in existence right now.
Taking price into account it might be different, but I don't for the score.
Subjective score: 7/10 9/10
It's a good cube for me, make no mistake. But its weighty feel and slow turns stop it from being my main. I can't execute the push-type moves during an E perm at all, and repeated solves fatigue me.
That being said, I love the weight and the slow speed for one thing: blindfold solving. It lets me keep track of exactly what turns I've made very well, and doesn't ever slip.
I've since relubed it and swapped the springs out for the S9 springs, the softest included. It's much faster now and I can do everything without a problem.
I like it a lot now, but it's still not my favorite. It's a bit too smooth and not tactile enough, and I don't feel when I've completed a turn like I do on some other cubes. Unfortunately, since I lost the advantage it had for blindfold solving, it's now been relegated to a shelf piece/occasional cube, and my Yuexiao is now also my blindfold main.
Pricing
Oof. $22 for the normal version and $25 for the Master edition, both in and out of China. Make no mistake, this is an expensive cube.
I'm not really short on money anymore, but a few years ago when I was still cubing, as a kid with no financial resources or responsibility I would have never purchased this cube. Seeing the lower average age of cubers, I imagine a lot are in the same boat as I was.
Cong's Design Meiying
Another MoYu cube, heard a lot of good things about it as well. Let's see what it's all about.
Look and feel
Still standard for a Moyu cube, including colors. It's slightly blockier and more angled than both the Yuexiao and the Weilong GTS, though only by a little bit.
This one tips the scale at 81.9 grams-very close to the Weilong GTS. The sound is a high-pitched swish sound-similar to the Yuexiao, but higher pitched and less "hollow" sounding.
Turning
Also similarly to the Yuexiao, it turns on the fast side out of the box. The difference is that it's VERY bumpy-it feels almost as if it's riding on miniature ball bearings rather than smooth plastic. It actually feels quite satisfying to turn.
It's also quite stable. Very little flexing during solves.
Corner cutting
Max corner cutting: ~45 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~35 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~33 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~28 degrees
This time the max cutting falls short, and similarly to the Yuexiao the effective cutting is a bit low compared to the max cutting. Reverse cutting is also a bit short of some of the other cubes.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twist
Excellent again on both accounts. This one seems to resist corner twisting a bit more than the Yuexiao, but otherwise it's fairly similar.
Conclusions
Objective score: 9/10
It's basically as objectively good as a Yuexiao, except that it corner cuts a little less and resists corner twists a little better.
Subjective score: 10/10
For me this cube is effectively a Yuexiao, just with a different feel. I don't mind the feel, so that makes this cube very very good in my eyes. It's a real shame that I only bought 1 (I bought two of every cube that was available in blue), so at some point I'll probably pick up another black one and a flourescent stickerless one to complete the set.
Which to pick, Yuexiao or Meiying? Well, as far as I can tell the only practical difference between them (max corner cutting aside) is the feel, so if you like smooth go Yuexiao, and if you like bumpy go Meiying.
Pricing
$14-16 from a US seller, $11-$12 from China. Still rather standard for high-end speedcubes.
MoYu Aolong GT
This Moyu seems to be one of the ones that isn't recommended as often, despite the GT in its name. I wonder why.
Look and Feel
The shape is pretty much identical to most modern Moyus with squared corners, but the colors are very different: they're much darker, almost reminiscent of the old Dayan colors. It looks slightly depressing compared to the cheerful bright colors of newer cubes, to be honest.
It tips the scale at 102.4 grams - significantly heavier than all of the other cubes on this list. It makes a high-pitched, blocky sound, similar to the Gans 356S.
Turning
Slow and blocky. It takes about as much force to turn as my 356S did out of the box, which isn't a good thing in my eyes. That does make it very controllable, though. Surprisingly the blocky feel also made it quite satisfying to turn-you really feel when each layer is aligned again.
It's very stable-possibly the most stable out of all of the MoYus I have. That does make it feel a bit stiff, however-not stiff as in hard to turn, but stiff as in inflexible, almost Rubik's like.
Corner Cutting
Max corner cutting: ~47 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~37 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~34 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~26 degrees
This cube also has the problem that some other MoYus have where the effective cutting is nowhere near the max cutting. Corner cutting falls a bit short in both max and effective, and reverse cutting is rather standard at max but is quite bad at effective.
Still more than you need if you ask me, but it could be better.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twisting
Anti-corner twisting is fair-about as good as the Yuexiao. (Turnable by hand but probably won't happen in a solve.) Anti-pop is different. As a preliminary test, I tried to remove a piece by hand, and after twisting the edge it came right out. Curious, I started doing a series of very very sloppy moves, catching it everywhere, etc. Sure enough, a few seconds in a row (3 cubies) popped out.
I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's nowhere near rock solid like the GTS, Yuexiao, or 356S are. If you have a sloppy turning style this probably isn't for you.
Conclusions
Objective score: 7/10
It's technically nowhere near the level of the Yuexiao or the Meiying. Pops might happen and corner cutting falls pretty far short, especially in reverse cutting. Seeing as it was released in November 2015, the only excuse I can see for this is that MoYu wanted to retain the classic Aolong feel.
Subjective score: 5/10
It's far too slow for me and doesn't feel right. While my turning style is probably never going to pop it, I enjoy the security that I get from the Yuexiao through knowing I will never pop it and I don't have that here.
Also, the colors are depressing. I like to be happy when I'm cubing.
Pricing
$15-$17 from a US seller, $13-$14 from China. Too much if you ask me.
MoYu Tanglong
I accidentally got mine in brown instead of black.
Look and feel
Very much like an Aolong GT, if I'm honest. The florian holes are sharper and more angled, but that's the main difference in the design.
However, the stock stickers are much brighter and much more cheerful. The cube weighs 90.7 grams and makes a deeper blocky sound-not quite "deep", but still deeper than the Aolong GT.
I'm just going to compare it to the Aolong GT from here on, since it's almost the same thing.
Turning
Very similar to the Aolong GT-slow, smooth, and blocky. In fact, the only difference as far as I can tell is that it's blockier, but not by much. Stability is the same as well.
It's not for me.
Corner Cutting
Max corner cutting: ~49 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~39 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~33 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~28 degrees
All around slightly better than the Aolong GT, except for max reverse cut.
Anti-pop and Anti-corner twist
Still almost exactly the same as the Aolong GT. Corner twisting is rare but pops are pretty easy if you're cubing sloppily.
Conclusions
Objective score: 7/10
It's basically an Aolong GT.
Subjective score: 5/10
It's basically an Aolong GT.
Pricing
$15-$17 from a US seller, $11-$13 from China. Still too much if you ask me.
MoYu Hualong
The similarities didn't stop with the Yuexiao vs Meiying and the Aolong GT vs Tanglong. As I already mentioned, the Hualong looks very similar to the Thunderclap; however, as I discovered, the similarities extend past the looks.
My Chinese name happens to be Hualong, matching the cube exactly including the specific Chinese characters. Maybe this will give me luck?
Look and Feel
As I said, it looks very much like the Thunderclap, stickers included. Aesthetically, the only differences are the logo and the florian cuts (which are rounder on the Hualong).
It comes in at a heavier 88.3 grams and makes a higher pitched sound.
Turning
Almost identical to the Thunderclap, sound aside. It's just as fast and has the same slightly blocky feel.
Corner cutting
Max corner cutting: ~42 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~35 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~26 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~21 degrees
Here the Hualong actually fell short of even the Thunderclap by quite a bit, especially in reverse cutting.
This is the one time that I noticed the poor corner cutting was actually introducing some locking into my solves. Because of its speed, I'm actively trying to lower the force I use to turn, but that means that during a solve my effective corner cutting ability is actually lower than usual. I'm locking on a fair amount of reverse cuts.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twist
It was pretty easy to pull an edge piece out, so I put it through the same routine that I did on the Aolong GT and the Tanglong. This time, it didn't pop.
Corner twisting is slightly harder than the Thunderclap. It shouldn't happen during solves.
Conclusions
Objective score: 6/10
It's almost identical to a Thunderclap technically, except that corner cutting is actually noticeably worse.
Subjective score: 5/10
It's similar to a Thunderclap, which I actually liked a lot. The problem is that I'm now not only getting lockups during PLL, but actually during F2L as well because of the poor reverse cutting.
I wanted to like this cube, I really did. After all, it shares my name. However, the poor reverse cutting and the fact that Thunderclaps are actually cheaper makes me have to recommend against it.
Pricing
$14-$16 from a US seller, $11 from China. Remember, Thunderclaps can be had for basically half of that price.
YuXin 3x3
Finally, we have our last cube for today. Don't worry, I have more on the way.
Look and Feel
It's different, which is refreshing. It's a tiny bit larger than the 56mm puzzles I've gotten used to over the past 8 cubes, and feels like it has sharper edges even if the difference is small. It has huge florian cuts and rather nice bright stickers, which were unfortunately applied misaligned from the factory.
It weighs a reasonably hefty 91.1 grams. It makes a high pitched scratchy noise, which fits well with its turning feel.
Turning
Out of the box it's on the slow side, though not quite enough to really be considered slow. It's very scratchy, which makes for an interesting feel. I can't say I like it, but I'm actually rather intrigued by it.
It's also unstable, causing me no small amount of lockups.
Corner Cutting
Max corner cutting: ~47 degrees
Effective corner cutting: ~35 degrees
Max reverse cutting: ~30 degrees
Effective reverse cutting: ~25 degrees (doesn't feel right)
Corner cutting on this one is interesting. Forward cutting has the same problem MoYus have, where the effective cutting is far lower than the max cutting. However, reverse cutting is interesting in that instead of a lot of modern cubes which simply slide into the cut, on the YuXin the cube actually feels like it's caught before it cuts, even on smaller cuts on the order of 10 degrees. This is a bit reminiscent of Zhanchis and Guhongs and is really not something I want to get back to.
I'm guessing some of my lockups aren't actually lockups. They're simply me trying to reverse cut, feeling what appears to be a lockup, and immediately reversing the attempt to try to realign the layers.
Anti-pop and anti-corner twist
Pieces are fairly easy to remove by hand but putting it through the same test as the Aolong GT the cube didn't pop. However, corner twists are the worst on this cube out of all of the cubes I've tested by far. I've gotten a corner twist here and there during lockups and even once during scrambling.
Conclusions
Objective score: 6.5/10
Falls short especially on reverse cutting and corner twisting. It's missing a lot of the recent innovations that allow for smooth reverse cuts.
Subjective score: 4/10
It's an interesting feeling puzzle to play around with, but the excessive amount of lockups I get with it make it literally unusable for speedsolving. This will be relegated to a shelf piece for my collection.
Pricing
$9 from a US seller, $6 from China.
Final conclusions
Well, going through all of my new cubes and writing this has actually been rather eye-opening. I've experienced what has come out recently in my hiatus (and soon will experience much more). I've compared some cubes and I think I've found my favorites as well.
What are they? Well, the Yuexiao instantly became my main with the Meiying at a close second, for my backup. I enjoy the Thunderclap tremendously and may just keep buying them, considering how cheap they are. The GTS...eh. So many people have switched over, some even from Yuexiaos or other comparably recent cubes, but I just can't enjoy it as much. I'll keep trying to adapt to the feel, but honestly it might not happen.
Ultimately, whatever cube you buy comes down to your own preference. I'm just one person, and I can't account for what the variation between different copies of the same cube are or what kind of a feel you prefer. Watch tons of reviews and pick a cube you think you'll enjoy, not one that I know I did.
And a word of advice: I've often found that your first speedcube shapes your future taste in cubes. If your first speedcube is buttery smooth you'll like buttery smooth cubes from then on: if it's scratchy you'll love scratchy cubes. If you're looking for a first, get a good, neutral cube like the Thunderclap. It leaves a lot of room to expand, and doesn't confine you to anything.
