The Best 5x5 Speed Cubes Review Guide

Published: September 2016.

The great thing about 5x5 speedcubing is the balanced combination between agility and expertise. While in smaller cubers such as the 2x2, and even the 3x3, where world records belongs only the quickest hands, in the 5x5 world it is not only about the speed, making room for more talented cubers to stand out.

As the biggest mainstream cube, there are many great 5x5 speed cubes today. In this guide I'll review the best among them and will advise on which one you should go for.

This guide is the result of a vast research I've made, checking all popular cubes, speedcubers opinions, and world-record holders cube choices. This is relevant for both world class speedcubers and new cubers who would like to get a great cube to practice with.

Intro

Unlike the popular 3x3 cubes, and definitely the 2x2's, bigger cubes such as the 5x5, are not perfect. The bigger the cube is, the harder it is to maintain some of its qualities such as corner-cutting, lock-ups and speed, slowing down solving pace. This situation makes these factors, especially lock-up resistance and speed the most important factors in rating a cube overall score. With that being said, dramatic improvements occurred in the big cubes recently, making them greater than ever before, especially for 5x5.

The Best 5x5 Speed Cubes Today

Below are the top 3 5x5 cubes as of today, they are all awesome, and difference can still come into a self-preference.

YuXin 5x5

Where to get: eBay | Amazon
Used by most of the top-speedcubers today, this cube was used in both the single fastest current world record (44.83s), and average WR (49.32s) by Feliks Zemdegs. The YuXin 5x5 has a satisfying feel in hand while playing with it. Great in all aspects, very smooth and fast even though it’s a 5x5. The cube can corner cut about 1 piece, which is great for a 5x5. Moderate inner layer corner cutting. Despite its amazing performance it still comes with a relatively low price compared to other cubes, which makes it even greater.

Overall score: 9.1
Speed: 9.5 ; Corner cutting: 8.5 ; Reverse cutting: 8.5 ; Pops resistance: 9 ; Lock-up resistance: 9 ; Corner twist resistance: 9 ; Weight: 136 gr

MoYu HuaChuang

Where to get: eBay | Amazon
This is MoYu's best 5x5 cube (best version of both AoChuang, BoChuang & WeiChuang). Although this cube is not responsible for a top ranking result for 5x5, I would say this cube is not falling from the YuXin in quality, as to MoYu's tradition. Very fast turning, great corner cutting of both inner and outer layers, and reverse as well. This cube will almost never pop-up during a solve! And also least to get stuck while solving comparing any other cube on the market. The MoYu HuaChuang is more expensive than the other 5x5 cubes.

QiYi WuShuang

Where to get: eBay | Amazon
This is a really new cube on the market, and surprising everyone for the good. Although being new, it already supplied us with the 2nd fastest single 5x5 solve by Mats Valk (49.49s). The QiYi WuShuang is pretty much great in all qualities! Its main difference is its ability to avoid cube mess ups (when trying to turn it unaligned) which can be good for some cubers (avoiding a pop-up), while bad for other (a cube lock-up). It's cheaper than the other top 5x5 cubes which is even greater.

So, which one should I get?

My pick for the best 5x5 is the YuXin 5x5, even though I gave it the same overall score as the MoYu HuaChuang. Judging by performance alone – I would say that’s a matter of self-preference. However, since most of the top-cubers today are using the YuXin, including the WRs, and the price difference – The YuXin wins.

Watch the current 44.83s WR by Feliks Zemdegs - with YuXin 5x5 (stickerless)

What 5x5 cubes does the top-ranked cubers in the world use?

Single fastest 5x5 solve
Rank	Name	Result	At the event	Cube used
1	Feliks Zemdegs	44.83	Cubing Classic 2016	YuXin 5x5
2	Mats Valk	49.49	Kaohsiung Open 2016	QiYi WuShuang
3	Kevin Hays	49.85	US Nationals 2016	YuXin 5x5
4	Robert Yau	50.56	Exeter Open 2016	YuXin 5x5
5	Seung Hyuk Nahm	51.04	Korean Championship 2016	YuXin 5x5

Fastest average 5x5 solve (3 out of 5)
Rank	Name	Result	At the event	Cube used
1	Feliks Zemdegs	49.32	Euro 2016	YuXin 5x5
2	Kevin Hays	54.73	Euro 2016	YuXin 5x5
3	Seung Hyuk Nahm	54.83	Jeonju Spring 2016	YuXin 5x5
4	Mats Valk	56.72	Kaohsiung Open 2016	QiYi WuShuang
5	Sebastian Weyer	57.36	Euro 2016	n/a