Is the GAN Air UM the best speedcube?

The GAN Air UM is the most recent and most premium addition to the GANcube lineup. With GES nuts, beautiful packaging and a high quality design, this puzzle is without a doubt one of the best cubes on the market. That being said, as with most things, this flagship puzzle with all of it’s benefits, also comes with a very hefty price tag. In fact, it is the most expensive puzzle on our site at this point in time.

The GAN Air UM is the Best 3x3 Speedcube

The reason I choose to give it this title is for quite a couple of reasons, some cubers may disagree, others may not, but these are my opinions. It’s undeniable that this cube is good, Felik’s used it to set his 4.73 world record, but whether it is the best for you, may differ from individual to individual. That being said you can watch this video here on why I think it’s worth it or not, or keep on reading my opinion in this post.

The GAN Air UM Turns Like No Other Cube

The Air UM lives up to it’s name in the sense that it is so incredibly light and easy to turn, some might say as light as air. The amount of effort that goes into turning one of the sides is so much less than any other cube that I’ve used. It’s pretty hard to fully grasp how important that is until you’ve held one in your hands. I never really thought that the weight of the puzzle would have such an effect on my experience when solving it, but I was wrong.

There are 3 things that define the turning on the puzzles. The magnets, the weight, the speed. By all 3 of those metrics, this cube has the strongest 3x3 magnets, it is the lightest I’ve ever used and also the fastest I’ve ever used. Therefore, by those standards, this is my favourite cube that I’ve ever turned. The tactile feedback from the magnets, the springiness of the layers and the speed of the turning, all work together to make this the most premium cube that I’ve ever felt.  

The GAN Air UM is the Most Premium 3x3

With a specially designed tensioning mechanism, high quality stickers, and fancy packaging, this cube is no doubt aimed at high tier speedcubers. The stickers are crazy vibrant and also endure aggressive turning with no issues at all. The GES nuts, allow for even and consistent tensions. And the puzzles comes all packaged in this nice, clear, hard plastic case.

GAN Air UM Stickerless?

This is my only big issue with this puzzle. Due to the piece design of the Air UM, it is not possible to order this puzzle in stickerless. I really enjoy the feel of a stickerless puzzle and wish that this cube would come in that variant. Having it come in stickerless would perfectly round out this cube for me and make it an insta-main (not that it isn’t already)

The GAN Air is the Most Expensive 3x3

As previously mentioned, this is the most expensive puzzle on our site, and while I do believe there is good reason for that, it also makes me question how much value I attach to a 3x3. $60 is a lot to fork out on a cube, and definitely makes me question how much I want it.

Only for the Hardcore Cubers

For me, cubing is all about the community, the hardware, YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, etc. Getting incrementally faster is always fun, and it’s nice to improve, but it’s not my number one goal when it comes to cubing. Because of that, I would only recommend this cube to people seriously looking to improve their times. If you just want a new feel or design, buy a GTS2M or a YueXiao Pro but if you want to seriously cut down your times and feel that hardware might be your limitation, then you can give this puzzle a try!