Archive for category Reviews
Product Review - One Drop - MarkMont Next
Introduction:
The original MarkMont Project was a slightly tweaked version of the OneDrop Project. It held the same relative shape and specs, a slightly heavier frame, and a nickel coating. The MarkMont was hugely popular for many reasons including the play feel, durability, clean look, and the person the yo-yo is named for. Lets face it, Mark is a cool guy. If the original MarkMont was named after Carrot Top, it would probably not be nearly as loved. Over the last year, OneDrop has been hard at work at a new MarkMont yo-yo. The initial speculation was that OneDrop would nickel plate a P2 and call it done, but instead they redesigned the original MarkMont, updated the tech, polished the details, and after a year of prototyping and a brilliant three week marketing campaign, the MarkMont Next was released (and instantly sold out). OneDrop sent me a MarkMont Next for review and I will freely admit right now that this yo-yo had me waiting on pins and needles to get it into a review session. I want to play it, write about it, and photograph the heck out of it.
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Product Review - Sky Walker by Vs. Newton
Introduction:
Pictures of the Sky Walker have been floating around for a while now. Thanks to Heath’s “Open Source” style, the yo-yo community has had the privilege of seeing the Sky Walker at nearly every stage of development. From early CAD drawings to the tables at the Bay Area Classic, every stage of the Sky Walker was public. It was Heath’s first yo-yo and after almost not coming out, after nearly a year of anticipation and curiosity, the Sky Walker finally emerged. May, 2010, Bay Area Classics. The first retail run of the Sky Walker was released.
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Product Review - RecRev No.9
Horton Hears a No.9
Introduction:
Alex Kim is really carving out a nice niche for himself. The third base-priced yo-yo from RecRev is the No.9, a unique looking throw with full tilt design specs. Alex caught up with me at the Bay Area Classics and popped an unlabeled plastic container into my hands. It had “No.9” scrawled on top. I had seem pictures of the No.9 on theglasslab.com and was really intrigued by the design. The RecRev No.9 comes in a rainbow of colors, and much like the “i”, each color has a different pattern. Alex must know I like bright yo-yos, because he handed me the brightest color he carried. Neon pink.
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Product Review - Hand Candy by Yomerica Spindustries
Introduction:
Have you ever underestimated a yo-yo? I don’t just mean being surprised on how it plays, I am talking about every aspect of the yo-yo’s performance. This was my experience this week with the Yomerica Spindustries Hand Candy. I knew that Aman knew how to make good yoyos because the Planet 9 was a very fun throw. I had seen the Hand Candy and thought it looked fun, but I honestly didn’t think the yo-yo would be more than just a fun casual throw. I was wrong.
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Product Review - The Man by DreamYo
All dressed up with everywhere to go
Introduction:
DreamYo is quickly making a name for itself. The Wing came in a few months ago and outperformed expectations. The Pixy was… an interesting novelty, and just yesterday DreamYo announced their new line; Four brand new yoyo designs, bringing their existing line to 7 designs. I have reviewed the Wing, the Pixy, and now rounding out DreamYo’s initial line is the Man, designed in Macau by Kuto Ng.
Product Review - YoYoJam Fiesta by Jayyo
Review by Josh “Jayyo” Yee
Introduction:
When I first heard about the new Yoyojam Fiesta, I immediately had high expectations for it. Yoyojam has a history of making great quality 4A yoyos like the Aquarius and the Bigyo, so upon hearing of this yoyo, I had a feeling that it was going to be something truly awesome, and after seeing Bryan Figueroa use it to take 1st place in 4A at PNWR 2010, I just had to try one for myself. Chris asking me to do this review was the perfect chance.
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Product Review - Pixy by DreamYo
Introduction:
The world just seems to be getting smaller. A bit too small for a big guy like me. Cell phones keep shrinking in size. Cars are getting smaller. For a big guy like me this is torture. I am 6’3, have giant palm tree branches for hands and as things get smaller they just get harder for me to use. I understand why making certain things smaller is a good thing; I remember when cell phones used to come in suit cases. There is sleekness to a small presentation that I can appreciate, but how small is too small? The yo-yo world has a few mini entries already. The Mighty Flea has two models. The Dingo and Saint Eel are not much bigger than a Duncan Freehand Keychain. We have a new one now. The DreamYo Pixy. Of any yo-yo using a standard modern bearing size, the Pixy is the smallest to date.
Product Review - The HSpin ICON
Before the use of computers, the word Icon had a completely different meaning. An icon was a visual representation of an idea, or culture. To say something was Iconic was to say that something was a representation of an idea or location; Such as the Statue of Liberty, the Eifel Tower, Chuck Norris or Neil Patrick Harris. HSpin, a company known for unique designs and impressive graphics, has been the long time sponsor of Stefan “Magl33to” Benjamin, and has finally honored him with a signature yo-yo. The ICON has been in development for a while and after an unveiling at the European Yo-Yo Meet, feedback has been rolling in.
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Product Review - The Torino by ILYY
Introduction:
For a company initially created by two guys in a garage seeking to create a throw both players could enjoy, ILOVEYOYO has certainly grown up. Frank and Dominik have done a terrific job taking a small co-op project and turning it into an international staple of premium quality yo-yos. One of the latest new designs that ILOVEYOYO has released is the Torino, an updated adaptation of the Wasabi. Over the last few years, the Wasabi has generated mixed feedback. At only 60 grams, it was a bit lighter than comparably popular models which acted as an interest barrier to many players. Listening from the customer base, ILOVEYOYO revisited the Wasabi design and moved around the specs for the Wasabi 09 edition. ILYY was not done, and changed up the new design again to produce an entire new release tuned for Dominik’s preferred play style. The Torino was born.
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Product Review - Loop 900 by Josh Yee
Thats right, I outsourced this review to the extremly talented Josh “Jayyo” Yee. I havent spent alot of time looping seriously in almost 10 years, but I am slowy working my way back using my pair of white Loop 900’s and Joe Harris’s instructional DVD. I wanted to get the Loop 900’s reviewed, but my 2a level of experiance is not at a level that I feel I can appropriatly provide feedback so I defered to Josh who is arguably, one of the best 2a players not currently sponsored by a company. In this case, I purchased an extra pair of Loop 900’s for Josh when they dropped at YoYoExpert. He played them for a week, and gave me a write up. I present YoYoSkills.com’s first associate reivew, the Loop 900’s by Josh Yee.
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Product Review - General Yo - Mini-Star
Happy Birthday America! This week I had the privilege to play test a General Yo Mini-Star. General Yo has had three killer releases, all of which were quick sell out and highly demanded. Ernie has been working on this release for a few months. When he told me he was making an mini yo-yo, I could not wait to try it. Pictures of the polished raw model surfaced and the yo-yo community did what it usually does when great products get previewed and drooled collectively. High fives were exchanged. The National Debt immediatly balanced and America won the World Cup! Alright, maybe not, but people were excited. Today on the Fourth of July, I present to you the YoYoSkills.com review of the General Yo Mini-Star.
Product Review - The ILYY Void
Introduction:
Budget metal lines are a very popular thing in the yo-yo industry. One Drop kicked up the craze with the M1 over a year ago. YoYoFactory has a line dedicated to low price metals. HSpin has the Core series. Even Caribou Lodge has the Campfire. ILYY has MANY new designs but found one that they could introduce at the budget price, thereby filling the “Void” in ILYY line…… seewhatididthar?
The ILYY Void came to me in a bulk shipment of review units from ILYY, and this week, I got to spend some quality time with ILYY’s new budget yo-yo.
Product Review - The Bass Line by 3yo3
I am a fan of 3yo3. Landon takes some of the craziest ideas and makes them real. Yo-Yo hand turned from Acrylic? Check. Acrylic metal hybrid? Can do. Delrin? He’s got that. Landon offers many different options in yo-yo color, material, and responses. Over the last few months, Landon has been talking about making a metal yo-yo. Landon worked out a shape in CAD, sent it off to Ernie at General-Yo for input, and then had them machined. A trip to the anodizer, OneDrop for a Pyramatte finish, a buddy who specialized in laser engraving, and the Bass Line was finished. Truly, the Bass Line was a work of respect between friends. Landon got a gold Base Line in my hands for a review and I am more than happy to oblige.
Product Review - OneDrop Y Factor
I had this crazy idea to make the entire first paragraph of this review references to Elvis songs. Ever since I first posted pictures of the Y-Factor I have been jokingly calling it the Elvis. I should explain. When pictures of the Y-Factor were leaked to me, OneDrop had not yet settled on a name. When the package arrived on my door from Shawn, I had a chance to play it for a few minutes and put up my own preview pictures, and was told that the name had still not been released. Well I had to put up the article, so I referred to the Y Factor as ‘The Elvis” mainly because that was what was playing on Pandora at the time, and the yo-yo felt like it had this attitude and swagger about it that screamed “Girls pass out when they see me.”
What I didn’t know was that Shawn at OneDrop had a special place in his bowels for Elvis. He hates Elvis. From the sideburns to the tight jeans, Shawn hates Elvis. So when he called me, and jokingly got on my case for calling it the Elvis, I said, I don’t know what your talking about, I was obviously talking about Elvis Costello…. Since then, the joke has stuck. I had nicknamed the Y Factor the Elvis because it needed a name for my article, and it was just too funny to give up after that. Y Factor was just not as fun to say, partially because it does not have this grandiose inside joke behind it. Regardless, the yo-yo is not called the Elvis, it is called Y Factor, and I am here in my Blue Suede Shoes, All Shook Up with anticipation of presenting the review to you, and lets face it; That’s All Right…. (see what I did there?)
Product Review - Route 66 by Chico Yo-Yo Company
Shortly after the Chico Yo-Yo Company released the Del Toro, they put an image up of a new design that they had codenamed, the Whitewall. Over 100 comments later, the yo-yo designed with input from the Chico Yo-Yo Club was dubbed the Route 66. With stepped outer rims and bold lines, the shape was like no other yo-yo I had seen. What had the Chico Brain trust stumbled upon this time? Fresh off a CYYC Del Toro review, I was happy to carry the Route 66 for a week and provide my feedback. Where the Route 66 was concerned, we didn’t need roads… (audience groans).
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Product Review - YoYoFactory California v2 (2010ed)
I loved the first California. I have a special affection for full sized throws. The first edition of the YoYoFactory California took the body of the 401k, reworked the bearing response setup, added hub stacks, and labeled it the California. I loved it. Full size and full of personality. I nearly wept when YoYoFactory announced that they were discontinuing it. The DNA was a good full sized replacement, but I always felt that the California got the short end of the production stick. About a week before the California State Yo-Yo Championship, Ben at YoYoFactory dropped me an instant message. “The NEW California will debut at Cal States.” I was pretty much ecstatic. So much had already suddenly got right when it came to setting up Cal States, and this was just a cherry on top. When the pictures were leaked and I saw that little California license plate with a March sticker, I was stoked. I had to have one. YoYoFactory was kind enough to send one to me.
Product Review - DNS by KYO
Kyle Weems is a unique individual. The tem “Incredible Genius” comes to mind. I imagine that he sees formulas and math in everything, catching mathematical equations where the average person sees only an ice cream cone. Let me put it this way. If he were to point his math genius towards a goat, it would not only faint, it would explode… I kid (kinda), but every time Kyle and I talk about anything that could possible segway to math, he wows me every time. He is a great guy and always a pleasure to talk to. Anytime I am looking for a debate, I can count on him to not only state his view plainly, but have all the data ready to support it. That said, I am not exactly a fanboy when it comes to his designs. I remember meeting him at Nationals, and telling him my favorite yo-yo of his was the Cyclotron, only to have him tell me that he didn’t design it, only produced it. The rest of his yo-yos just never hit me the right way. When he asked me to review the DNS, I was honestly surprised. The last yo-yo I reviewed of his design was the Vendetta and it was not exactly a positive one. I did what I always do: Promise an honest review with no bias. A few weeks later the DNS was on my doorstep.
Product Review - Adegle RhongTo
I am not a fan of exotic fruits. Mango is just about the foulest tastes that I have ever experienced. Papaya always smells like it is 30 seconds away from rotting. Kiwi disables my taste buds for a week. I am more of a orange, banana, and apple kind of guy. Tropical and exotic fruit never appealed to me, and those genetic hybrids like plumcots just freak me out. Abominations. All that aside, I have always been curious of starfruits.
Starfruits, also known as Carambola, is a unique star shaped fruit that grows in temperate climates like Thailand, Australia, Florida and Hawaii. Its unique shape is where it gets its name. When I was contacted by Taiwanese yo-yo maker Adegle about reviewing a RhonTo, I knew that I would have to go against my dislike of exotic tropical fruits for the sake of the review, and eat a starfruit. After all, the shape is what inspired the unique spoke on the RhongTo, and RhongTo itself is the Hakka dialect pronunciation for the starfruit.
Product Review - Katz Meow by Foxland Precision
~ rawr ~
Among the great joys I have in writing reviews is the opportunity to help discover and credit a new yo-yo manufacturer. I had caught a few bits of news about Foxland Precision and Alvin’s work, and when he called me up to ask about sending me a Katz Meow review unit (and a few sponsorship units for Cal States) I was thrilled. Here was a new yo-yo that people were interested in by a new company based in the heart of Tennessee. This week I got a chance to play the Katz Meow and talk to Alvin about what is going into the next run of Katz Meows scheduled to come out soon.
Product Review - YoYoFactory x Turning Point - Chaotic
YoYoFactory has been pumping out an incredible amount of new designs. One of those designs, the Lunatic, made its way into 3a World Champion Kentaro’s hands. A few tweaks here, a nip and tuck there, and a whole lot of rim weight later, YoYoFactory and Turning Point introduced the Chaotic. The root word of Chaotic is chaos, which is defined by lack of order or predictability. You have to wonder exactly what Turning Point and YoYoFactory were trying to say with the name. Seven days, one yo-yo, one review, and a mountain of bad puns. Here you will find my review, of the Chaotic.
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