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Review: My Experience with the X-Man Tornado V4 Pioneer (vs GAN 356M)
The first speedcube I ever bought was a GAN 356 M, and I loved it right away. It was the first cube I’d used that made it easy to see the colors clearly, and I liked how the magnets gave that satisfying “snap” into alignment and allowed me to cut corners with ease. There was a lot to like about that cube.
But there was one thing my wife didn’t like — the clicky sound. Every turn made a sharp click, probably because the magnets are a little loose inside the corner pieces and hit the surrounding plastic. It made the cube noticeably noisy, and you couldn’t really cube discreetly with it. If you were in a quiet room or trying to practice while someone else was watching TV, it was just loud enough to be distracting.
Honestly, I’d probably still be using that cube today if not for that one issue. But since I wanted something smoother and quieter, I started looking for a replacement — something that felt high-quality, tunable, and reasonably priced.
After doing a bunch of research into price, quietness, and adjustability, I landed on the X-Man Tornado V4 Pioneer. I picked up the UV-coated version for around $38–$39 — a little pricier than the GAN 356 M, but definitely a step up.
🧠 First Impressions
Right away, it was a very different experience from the GAN.
The shiny UV surface caught my eye at first — I wasn’t sure I liked it — but now I actually do. It feels premium, and more importantly, the color contrast is better, especially in low light. I used to struggle telling white from yellow on the GAN, but on the Tornado that’s much easier.
The first thing I noticed after that was how quiet it was. Night-and-day difference. It’s much more muted, with a soft, smooth sound that makes it great for situations where you don’t want to annoy anyone nearby. The cube also feels tighter and more precise — less “sloppy” than the GAN — which I liked a lot.
⚙️ Performance and Tuning
That said, it wasn’t perfect out of the box. While it was controlled and stable, it didn’t feel as fast or effortless as a friend’s inexpensive GAN MagLev, which felt extremely quick even if a bit loose. My Tornado V4 Pioneer (also MagLev) didn’t have that same sense of speed at first.
So I decided to clean and relube it. I’ve tried several lubrication setups, but honestly, it’s really easy to over-lube a cube. These days I mostly clean it out and use just a tiny bit of medium-weight lube on the tracks — no more, no less. I also have Silk, but I’ve stopped using it for now since the medium lube gives me the feel I like.
Once I got comfortable with that, it was time to start tuning.
The Tornado V4 has two adjustment systems under each center cap:
- The center dial controls tension — how tightly the pieces are pulled toward the core.
- The outer diamond-pattern ring controls spring compression / travel distance — basically how much flexibility or “slop” you get.
I left the magnet settings alone because I liked their strength as-is. What I was chasing was a balance — just a little more freedom of movement and a touch more speed.
🔧 My Current Setup
Right now, I’m running the Tornado V4 Pioneer with the center dial on 3 and the outer diamond ring on 2 (green).
That combo gives me a really nice balance between control and speed — not too tight, but not sloppy either. It’s stable enough that I don’t get unintended corner twists, but it’s quick and quiet, which is exactly what I was hoping for.
💭 Final Thoughts
Overall, I really like the Tornado V4 Pioneer. It’s a very refined cube — quiet, smooth, and stable — and it feels solid in a way that gives me confidence while I’m solving. The UV finish has grown on me, and the color contrast is great, especially when I’m cubing in lower-light conditions.
The biggest thing I appreciate is how controlled it feels. It doesn’t have that loose, clacky behavior my old GAN 356 M had, and once I found my preferred setup, it turned exactly how I wanted it to. For me, the V4 Pioneer hits that middle ground between being buttery smooth and still fast enough to keep up when I’m turning aggressively.
If there’s anything I’d change, it would just be to give it a little more natural speed right out of the box. It took some experimenting with lube and tuning to get it to where I wanted it, but that’s also part of the fun if you like customizing your cube’s feel.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely — especially if you want a quiet, premium-feeling cube that you can tune exactly how you like. It might not be the absolute fastest cube on the market, but for the combination of performance, build quality, and quietness, it’s easily one of my favorites so far.
