Cubing Essentials; What You Need to Get Started

Cubing is one of those hobbies that take very little things to get started. Some of the world’s best cubers still only use the bare essentials. All you technically need to get started is just a cube. But if you’re willing to spend a little more, a little more can go a long way. This article will cover the top three essentials you’ll need to have the best cubing experience possible. 

The first thing you need to get started is obviously a cube. There are many cubes at different cost levels, but to sum it up, here are some of the best cubes at each price point;

Price	Option 1	Option 2
$5	Yuxin Little Magic	Yuxin Little Magic M
$8	MoYu rs3m 2020	QuYi Ms
$25	Xman Tornado	DaYan Tengyun V1
$35	MoYu Weilong GTS3m	Gan 365 Air
$60	Gan 11 M Pro

Cubes on the cheaper side; like the MoYu rs3m, or the Yuxin Little Magic are good choices if you are just getting into cubing. If the cubes seem too expensive for you, then think about it like this – If you choose a different hobby like sports or art, then you have to pay hundreds of dollars for classes. In cubing there are no classes so only a fraction of the money you would have spent on classes would go into buying better cubes. 

Of course this is not meant to discourage the doing of other hobbies as it is just a justification to why spending ten to twenty dollars on a cube is not as bad as it may seem. 

After choosing a cube, you are basically set, there is basically nothing else — except a few things that will be talked about later — that you can buy to “enhance” your cubing ability. But, there are things you can buy to make cubing more fun, or more convenient.  

One of them is a stackmat timer, a small device that acts as a timer for cubing. To use it, the cuber places a hand on each side of the timer and when ready, releases the hands and solves the cube. When finished they place their hands back on the timer and it stops and records the time. Stackmat timers are especially useful because you no longer need to use a computer to time the solves. The stackmat timer costs around thirty – dollars on speedcubeshop.com. 

The final important item is lube. Lube, or lubricant is a fluid that can be applied to the cube to make it turn smoother, faster, or more controllably. Lubricant is sold in bottles with sizes from 5ml to 15ml and only a few drops are needed for the lube to take action. This drastically improves the performance and feel of the cube. Even some of the worst cubes can be hugely improved with just a few drops of lube. One of the best lubricants to buy is the “Lunar” line of lubes. Lunar makes the cube feel fast yet controllable, which is why it is amongst the favourites of cubers. 

These things are the best and most important tools you need for your whole cubing journey. A stackmat timer is one of the most useful cubing tools and is one-hundred percent worth it, and lubricant is the key to making your cube feel perfect, and preform just the way you like it.

These three items togeather make for the most fun and entertaining cubing experience one can have. Once you have these tools on your desk, you’ll never want to put your cube down again.