Am I the only one who prefers single jointed?

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I love my single-jointed dolls! Poseability doesn't mean much to me, and multiple joints usually make me incredibly frustrated and wishing they had less joints (I'm looking at you, A-line minifee boy body).

 

I wouldn't say I prefer single joints, but I do love them! Sometimes the lack of poseability bothers me (mostly for the elbows). but I like the simplicity of them. They are prettier and easier to handle.
No locks and not as many parts that can twist around. You just plop them down and can move them with just one hand.
Certain types of double joints (namely the types with locks) require that you pull the pieces apart to bend them, and a lot look terribly unnatural when posed. I am really picky with my double jointed bodies.

 

You're not alone. I like both to be honest and like the merits of both. The aesthetics of single jointed are amazing, but the posability of double jointed are nice too. It's really give and take as far as what you want I guess? It depends on the doll and their personality for me :3

 

I like them, too.

The aesthetic is nice, and my single-jointed dolls tend to stand sturdier than my double-jointed dolls.
Sometimes double joints aren't ideally engineered and have about as much posability as single-joints, or make the doll floppy if the elastic is slightly loose... >_>

 

Yes! Delfs are aesthetically beautiful, they're great posers too, but the simplicity makes them gorgeous.

 

There's a lot to love about single joints honestly! I think they are the most aesthetically pleasing and "classic" sort of look. Double joints are fun to play with, but usually look strange...especially knees. I do prefer being able to put my dolls in crazy poses, but you just can't beat the look of single joints.

 

Not at all. I'm like you, I appreciate the flexibility but I hate the look of U-shaped elbows. Big peanuts bug me, but I don't mind the style that has a ball and then a hinge that bends second. I wish there were more bodies like the old Domuya flexi-body though. I feel like the idea could've been pushed more with different aesthetics.

 

I absolutely hate the look of kid delfs flat elbows when bent. I try to be careful when taking photos to not show it off. The new way the model delfs arms look are heavenly though and I hope they update KDF arms in that sense too.
I love the way everything is so smooth on my delfs, but.. I still wish I could pose them a bit better. -sigh- the biggest fault of single jointing-

 

Right here! I really don't like the way double-joints look. For example, I LOVE the Souldoll Zenith bodies, but the elbows and knees are just...ew. They just seem unnatural in a really creepy way to me. I wish there were better options, because they pose in ways single-joints can't, but I, personally, put aesthetics above extra pose-ability. What I wouldn't give for a healthy medium...

 

'Definitely not alone, OP. Put me down as another collector who prefers the look of single joints.

As far as posing goes, I've never been shy about wiring and plivering my dolls to make them more adaptable. You can do a lot with that, plus having the proper elastic tension, to close any "posing gap" between double-jointed designs and old school, single-jointed bods.

 

I'm another one who likes my single jointed dolls, though I do have fun with my double-jointed dolls. I just restrung one of my old single-joint boys, and wow, it was so nice to just have to keep left and right straight, and not have to worry about a million different little peanuts and bits, and is this right-side up on the correct limb...DX It bugs me the worst when a double-joint is a huge part of the limb, and so the proportions get weird if the limb is bent only once, and they end up with a hideously long forearm or a tremendously short thigh...I do have to say that a lot of my newer double-joint bodies have dealt with that sort of knees-and-elbows issue nicely, but "mobility" thighs are the bane of my doll-owning existence.

 

It really depends on the doll's engineering. Generally, I prefer double because it usually means better posing, but not always. I like DollZone's first MSDs, I like single jointed FDoll bodies better than double, I like ResinSoul Mei's body better than Rong's, I like Volks SD13 bodies. My boy Dhani was on a Doll Love body that was double jointed, but I felt its posing was stiff and awkward, so I changed him to Iplehouse oYID--also double jointed, more fitting for the characters, but very limited in posing. Now he's on a Luts Senior Delf v1, single jointed, and it poses much better than either of his previous bodies, and IMO it's also more aesthetically pleasing.

 

I agree.
I've had so many dolls, single and double, who could hold pose while having smooth thigh joints, smooth torso, smooth everything! And without sueding! Whenever I see dolls with locks and grooves all over I have to wonder what went wrong in the design.

 

I have...a weird opinion of single joints.

Generally, I say I dislike them, and that's true. I acknowledge their merits, but I really can't stand the limited posing.

My first doll had double jointed knees but single jointed elbows, and I hated them. His arms wouldn't pose at all at all, so that sucked. Then my second doll (a Kid Delf) had double jointed elbows (which I liked a whooole lot more) but single jointed knees. I still have my KDF and I adore him; he stands like a champ, is super easy to restring, and his legs look great both bare and clothed. So in that aspect, single joints are fine. And the double joints at his elbows fix the terrible arm posing problem.

I prefer poseability over aesthetics and like the look of joints. I think they're really cool, honestly, and sometimes buy clothing just to show them off. BJD joints aren't going to look entirely realistic no matter what, so I like displaying the cool engineering! But the biggest thing for me with double joints is that they're basically necessary to achieve as close to the full human range of motion as possible. Aelic (my KDF) can't kneel or bend his knees past 90 degrees without popping his poor knees way out of joint where they won't stay by themselves. Single ball joints in arms don't allow a doll to fold their arm all the way up like a human's can (with the forearm touching the upper arm) and hold the pose.

Now, not even the best jointing, single or double, can exactly match human movement, but I can't stand when I try to go for a specific pose and can't do it because of single joints. I love all the quirky poses I can do with my Dollzone boy, who has double jointed arms and legs! (And the joints look good too. Though I might be biased.) Double joints allow for a range of movement and dynamic body expression that just isn't possible with single joints.

(It also depends on the character for me; Aelic's single joints work fine because he mostly stands/sits there and looks cute, and I don't do too many crazy poses with him. Ilya (my DZ boy), on the other hand, is an extremely dynamic character, so better poseability is a must for him. I love trying out new poses with him!)

This is just my opinion and experience though, and not everyone cares about flexibility as much as I do. Plus Aelic's single jointed knees are the cutest thing when he wears shorts just above the knee.

(It's a shame though that Luts only put double jointed knees on their KDF bodies with the annoying hip peg system. Talk about funky engineering! )

 

I have always liked the look of single jointed dolls better. I also have six of the original Dollzone 70cm male bodies which are double jointed, but the peanuts are hidden when the limbs are straight, and are discreet when the limbs are bent. Occasionally I have purchased dolls that had double joints I couldn't stand the look of, and HAD to sell them.

I do like my dolls to pose well, but when it comes to my oldest dolls, I love them the way they are. I've had them for so long that I wouldn't want to change them.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I've never seen a double jointed doll in person so I can't say for certain. But in pictures, I feel like the double joints look very unnatural if you can see them or tell they're unusually shaped. Considering how natural, or at least semi natural, most dolls work I feel like it can add a level of creepy. But again, I'd have to handle one to say if I had a preference