News

The MS3V1 is a new cube by a new brand: MSCube, designed by a designer who used to work for Gancube but left to create his own brand. it is nice and smooth and does not feel too Gan-like, feeling similar to cubes such as the MGC elite and the Valk elite. It comes with the standard elasticity adjustment features so you can adjust it to suit your preferences. The Enhanced version also comes with centre-edge magnets along with the standard corner-edge magnets, this makes the magnets feel stronger and more even but is not actually too noticeable as the centre-edge magnets are at the bottom of the centre by the core which means they are pretty weak.

This was rather suddenly released without any of the constant teasing we get from other cube brands so we knew very little about how good we could expect it to be. It represents a return to full size speedcubes (56mm), the GuHong V3M was 54mm and was not very good in my opinion. It is very light at just 65.5g and the magnets are a bit weak making it slightly too fast for some. In some ways it feels like a faster version of the TengYun V2M without all the customisation options though. It is a nice option for people who want a light, fast cube and don't want to get the Gan 11 M PRO

The YJ ZhiLong is the first mass produced magnetic 50mm 3x3x3 speedcube, it does have all the features of top-range big cubes such as the full range of corner cutting and a smooth, stable performance. The other popular 50mm cube, the MoFang JiaoShi mini 3x3x3 was popular amongst some in the One-Handed Solving event and we expect this to be the same, it certainly will not suit everyone but if you like small cubes then this is definitely the cube for you! Size: 50mm weight: 57.5g

We are very excited to get this cube up for pre-order and hope it will arrive soon, it is a 50mm magnetic 3x3x3 speedcube which will probably feel similar to cubes such as the YuLong V2M. Pre-release reviews suggest that its performance is similar to top-range 56mm speedcubes, the main problem being the size, for people who like smaller cubes though, this will not be a problem so this cube may be perfect for you.

We are very excited to get this cube up for pre-order, very little is known about the performance of this cube, as far as I am aware, it has not been sent out to many testers so it is very difficult to know how well it will perform, it is rumoured to have medium strength magnets and a core like the TengYun v1 and be quite quiet but not as quiet as the TengYun v1. We will have to wait and see...

The Gan 11 M PRO actually has a new design unlike previous Gan cubes released last year which are all essentialy the same. It genuinely seems to be a very nice cube, I have broken my PB AO50 anf AO100 with it. It also comes with magnets between the corner and core as well as the standard edge-corner magnets. It is definitely worth the £48 price tag if you are willing to spend that much on a new cube!

This cubing comparison may be the decider for some people who cannot make up their mind on whether to purchase the QiYi MS 3x3, or the RS3M 2020. This is part one of the experiment to decide which cube can do better under different circumstances. In this case, I wanted to see which cube would do better (solve time wise), without any cube lubrication. The quick answer to this, is the RS3M 2020. Here is the long answer. When using the same scrambles for each solve, even though I used the RS3M 2020 for the first run-through, it still had a fastest average. What I mean by this, is that when already using the scrambles for the first solve set, the MS, could not keep up with the memory I have already ingrained from the RS3M 2020’s solves, to how much I could solve the MS I. The same time. This is because the MS has some major flaws when it comes to not being lubed. First one is, that it locks up way more than if it was lined. Secondly, it is scratchy and dry feeling when it is not lubed. That may slow down times, as the magnet strength is “stronger” when their is nothing holding back how fast a person turns. The RS3M 2020, still feels like it is lubricated a bit, even after it being thoroughly cleaned out. These are just some of the flaws that the MS has. Some flaws that the RS3M 2020 has, is it just feels a tad bit too slow because it feels lubed a tiny bit. That is about the only flaw that the RS3M has. One good thing about the MS, is that the magnets are stronger than the RS3M. One good thing about the RS3M, is that it does not lock up as much as the MS. In this experiment, clearly the RS3M 2020 is better than the MS. This may not be the final answer though, as their are some more experiments to come! Please stay tuned! This has been Lukas Batema, and I am signing out!

YJ have recently teased some mini cubes recently, I predict they will be released relatively soon and will be in a similar price-range to the Yu V2M line. YJ have uploaded some good solves on the ZhiLong on Instagram. I predict that these cubes will be very good, probably not for me personally but for those with smaller hands. These will be the first mass produced mini magnetic cubes, previously cubers have magnetized cubes such as the MF 50mm cubes or the mini 47.4mm Valk 3 but now we will no longer have to do that. Mini cubes are often used by some for one-handed solving, although most top-cubers use full size cubes anyway, these will probably be reasonably popular, they may also lead to more people doing 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 one-handed.

Yet another new offering for speedcubers? First we have size-adjustability, then core-corner magnets and now repelling magnets? For years, speedcubers have looked at the corner cutting and while cubes nowadays can normally corner cut from anywhere, this does not even let you hold the cube at 45° so whether or not it can corner cut 45° is irrelevant. It will be interesting to see whether this new feature works or whether it will just be some weird thing that no one really likes.

I am glad to finally get this video out, as discussed previously, the YuXin Little Magic 3x3x3 M is an excellent new budget cube from YuXin that can compete with the RS3M 2020, Meilong 3M and QiYi MS very well. I am no longer committing to a main speedcube as they all perform very well but I can see good cubers using this over much more expensive cubes, it is all down to personal preference now.