YJ Chilong Review

 Hey guys! I’m back from break and ready to get back into blogging! So let’s start off the New Year with the cube that got me a 15.99 in my last competition, the YJ Chilong!

This cube was fast when I took it out of the box. Not quite as fast as the Aolong was, and I actually found the speed quite nice, but it was a little unexpected. I have done well over 300 solves in with it and it still hasn’t lost its speed. I find that this speed is best represented by the sexy move, which I can perform on this cube faster than any I have ever tried. It’s so satisfying to see this occur and it makes me like the cube a lot. As I have become accustomed to this speed and style of the cube, I have come to really enjoy the feel. It is a little clicky feeling and actually feels a little cheap, it the way the plastic feels when it moves. It’s hard to explain this feeling exactly, but despite the fact that it doesn’t feel like a high quality cube, the feeling is one I enjoy a lot.

Reviews don’t even need corner cutting or popping sections anymore, but we refuse to give them up I guess, so I must say this cube has never popped, and I actually find it hard to take pieces out because on my tight tensions the simple anti-pop mechanism does its job. As for corner cutting, this cube is good, but on my tight tensions it can’t quite cut 45 degrees. Reverse is even less than average, barely cutting a fourth of a cubie, which makes it feel blocky, however this is not noticeable for me because it is very controllable for my style. But be warned, this cube can lock up in the last layer, even for me, which leads to a blocky feel and some bad times occasionally.

 As for controversial issues with this cube, the general consensus is that it is a very reasonable beginner speed cube. I would disagree, saying it is very good for even those averaging 16 seconds, which is what I currently average. This puzzle is easily fast enough for it and if you can control the slightly blocky feel, it works well at 16 second speeds. One issue that Cyoubx had with this puzzle was the corner twisting, which might be an issue but my tensions are so tight it is almost impossible to twist a corner if you are literally just hold the cube and twisting the piece, so it just doesn’t happen. I can see it is definitely possible, the mechanism is rounded enough and there is nothing on the corner piece to prevent it, but on tight tensions it just won’t happen.

Overall my grade for this cube is an 8.5 out of 10. I like how this cube feels and is plenty fast, but if you don’t control your cubes well you will have issues with the blocky feeling. But no matter what I recommend you buy this cube, I picked mine up from the thecubicle.us, and it is well worth the price. Thanks!