QiYi MP 3x3 M

In isolation it is a perfectly adequate puzzle. Unfortunately for QiYi RS3M 2020 exists. At the time of writing this review RS3M 2020 retails for £4.95 a 50% discount. There is a 2021 Maglev version of RS3M for £8.95. Both of these cubes are better in corner cutting. MP costs £9.95 discounted from just under £12
But let’s focus on the product that I’m actually reviewing.

Pros:
Packaging
The box it comes in is one of the nicest I’ve seen. Maybe it is not sophisticated but it makes up for it with playfulness. You get a display case as well to show of your puzzle and protect it from dust.
Colours
I own 6 different 3×3’s and the MP’s white is the purest one by some margin. The other colours are full and vibrant. Combined with the contrast of black internals it’s one of the best looking cubes out there.
Magnet strength
Since it can’t be adjusted, which is absolutely fine for a product at this price, it was crucial for QiYi to get this right. And I think they nailed it. Couldn’t do better myself and I know that because I own other puzzles with adjustable magnets and was able to match the MP but not surpass it
Adjustment
Changing tension is simple using the tool that comes in the box. The tool is small and flat which means you could store it in your wallet when you’re out and about.
More importantly though each setting is colour coded so you don’t need eyesight of a 10 year old or a magnifying glass to see exactly where you’re at
Shape
It’s more on a square side of things with its sharp edges. Some people prefer rounded. I’m not one of them. It’s solid and sturdy in the hands. Feels more expensive and higher quality than it probably is. Although it drops a notch when you start turning and stability isn’t that impressive

Cons:
Corner Cutting
This is where this cube let’s itself down a little bit. And this is a bit of an overstatement. After lubrication cc isn’t bad objectively speaking. It’s just that, there are so many 3×3’s out there with supreme cc across different price points. There isn’t a setting that would bring cc on this product to the highest performance level out there without turning the cube unusably unstable. So instead I adjusted mine to the tightest setting. Which imo is the best way for it. But even that didn’t make it supremely stable.
Adjustment
I’m aware that I listed this earlier on as a pro. But for the tension to be changed, first the centre cap needs removing. After doing it few times it got borderline loose enough to call it acceptable. Sadly, by that time, there is no need to do it. As it doesn’t take many changes to get it precisely where you want it to be. Unfortunately out of the box you need a f.cking crowbar to do it. My nails were bending. And if they were stronger the centre cap would peel them off my fingers before budging. At the and I used a small screwdriver, which unsurprisingly slipped scraping one of the green pieces.

Summary
Few years ago this could have been one of the favourites. But these days there are other options out there. RS3M 2020 is one of them and for half the price it’s a no brainer when it comes to performance. Nevertheless these are 2 completely different feeling cubes and I can see some people going with QiYi. Looks and presentation are really impressive for the price. Cc is good but not great. Stability acceptable at higher settings.
If you’re able to remove the centre cap without damaging the pieces you might be satisfied. If you’ve been out of cubing for a while or it is your first decent 3×3, you’ll be really happy with it.
3 out of 5 is a reflection of the riches available these days rather than MP being meh. It is a good puzzle. I’m happy with this purchase and can recommend it to other people