![]() ![]() Both inner and outer layers turn well, and the cube has no obvious shortcomings. This unobtrusive-looking cube has evenly proportioned pieces, turns reasonably well without setup, is faintly magnetic, and has enough corner cutting to give your turning some freedom. Whether it’s catching, lack of corner cutting, or clunky movement, many budget 4x4s have problems that make them painfully obvious why they’re cheap. I’ve personally always had a hard time recommending economy 4x4s to people because most of them leave quite a few things to be desired. Let’s discuss each one separately starting with the ShengShou Mr. The following three cubes I’m about to discuss follow the trend of economy puzzles having similar properties to flagships, with one exception that I will clearly flag. ![]() Incidentally, having economy cubes resemble competitive speedcubers also theoretically puts pressure on manufacturers to produce cheaper, higher quality flagships as a means to distinguish their better puzzles. After all, it generally makes the cubing better and competitive speedcubes slightly more relatable down the line. ![]() I really like the idea that economy cubes should contain basic features that closely resemble competitive speedcubes. M 3x3, it genuinely feels like the Kylin V2 M was built to be an introductory cube - a solid, no-nonsense puzzle and a great stepping stone to faster, better, more flexible speedcubes. The magnetic strength is reasonable, some corner cutting is appreciable, and the cube has fantastic structural integrity. While the tiles do stick out as a bit unconventional (at least they’re not bumpy in texture), the rest of the cube closely resembles the body of a competitive speedcube. This cube is the Yuxin Kylin V2 M, which also retails for $10. M as a first 3x3, there is one economy 3x3 that I can wholeheartedly recommend (in part because it conforms more closely to the “form follows function” principle). While I cannot completely recommend the ShengShou Mr. There’s something really weird about recommending a puzzle to a beginner that’s so far from the rest of the stuff out there. There is a slight fear that a beginner who picks up this puzzle as a first cube will have an awkward time transitioning to better speedcubes in the future because they developed their practices on a strong, unnecessarily fast magnetic cube with a bumpy texture. M 3x3 make it uncomfortable for me to recommend the puzzle. In all candor, the strange design features of the Mr. Of course, like many things in cube design, there is no easily findable documentation out there that explains why the designer chose these features. It’s as if a person deliberately dressed up in a cocktail dress but also donned a sideways baseball cap, or a classy suit jacket awkwardly paired with athletic shorts. While the cube is functional, the strange design choices make it arguably one of the goofiest, most unconventional 3x3s I’ve seen. It’s a budget magnetic 3x3 for $10 with a strange combination of features including strong, snappy magnets, a faster-than-necessary natural speed, and a textured exterior. Its make sharply contravenes the “form follows function” concept. M 3x3 is a classic case of a confusing product that sends mixed signals. I also consider decent performance with little to no setup important, as beginners are less likely to lube their puzzles. Accordingly, I believe an economy puzzle should provide all the essentials while minimizing distracting features and other attributes that are uncomfortably unconventional. After the beginner becomes familiar with solving a puzzle, he or she should be able to transition easily to other more performance-oriented models. In the speedcubing context, I believe that the purpose of an economy puzzle is to help beginners familiarize. When it comes to these cubes, I strongly believe that design should mostly conform to the concept: “form follows function”. I’m often in a position to recommend puzzles to beginners. Most of the cubes we discuss here fill gaps in rather underdeveloped economy cube markets, which makes these new releases very exciting. Some puzzles like 3x3s have very well developed economy markets while a few don’t. The subject of the best economy cube is an extremely frequently discussed topic. M 5x5 is okay, but for $3 more, you can get a Yuxin Little Magic 5x5 M, an impressive puzzle with many traits that overlap with nicer, competitive 5x5s. The Yuxin Kylin V2 M fills in the gap nicely, and is a wonderful magnetic 3x3 speedcube for $10. M 3x3 was magnetic and economical, but had few extremely unconventional design features that make it awkward to recommend to beginners. Today, I’ll be discussing some new speedcubes: the Yuxin Kylin V2 M, ShengShou Mr. Welcome to my blog post! TheCubicle has graciously given me the opportunity to write about products and events, so I'll be blogging frequently here. ![]()
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