Big Brother - TT

Introductions:

I never had a big brother. I have two big sisters who tortured me endlessly, but no big brothers. I may have never gotten a Tata Twister (censors, funny thing), but I got plenty of noogies, rug burns, and psychological damage. This one time, I fell asleep on my sisters bed. She and my other sister picked me up, put me in her closet, and then moved all the furniture around in her room. She had my 6 year old self convinced that I woke up in an alternate universe where our home was backwards and everyone wore shoes on there hands. Ahh the days before Nintendo….. Needless to say, I understand what an older sibling can do to torture you.
The brilliant thing, with Big Brother yo-yo’s is that they name their yo-yo’s after the nefarious acts that remind you of your tortured youth, but this time it’s a good thing. Now you’re the big brother, dishing out Wedgies and TaTa Twisters. I loved the Bully, the Wedgie was fantastic, and now, here is the TT. From Big Brother YoYo’s and YoYoSkills.com, here is the Big Brother TT review.

52mm diameter 41.5mm wide 4.5mm gap D size bearing 66.5 Grams Silicone response New bead blasted finish

First Impressions:

I had seen pictures of the TT’s splash anodization, but when I opened the plastic container to pull mine out, it took my breath away. It is insane. The two inverse tones of dark grey and light grey play off each other so perfectly, it is all I can do to not to drool as I stare at it. Big Brother packaged the TT in the now standard twist top Tupperware container. This makes for a convenient and protective casing for shipping, but I wish it didn’t look so much like a jar of medical balm. A clean striking look and a very smooth finish, so far just by looking at the TT, I have a feeling I am going to enjoy this week of play.

Comfort and Tech:

What an intrigue. The TT has a very square profile. A lot of yo-yo’s have a very open gap with massive amounts of rim weight, but the TT is more full bodied and evenly distributed. There is a good amount of rim weight, but the high walled gap means that this will likely be a very stable through. The high wall rounds out and then cuts to a flat rim giving you a 52mm diameter that fits very nicely in the hand. I have always been a fan of this diameter; 52mm is large enough to be comfortable, but small enough to maneuver. This combo of a just slightly undersized diameter and a progressive 41.5 mm width results is a very comfortable throw that is easy to hold, and has a great feeling finish.
In the cup of the yo-yo is a matador spike. Further investigation reveals that the spike is actually the axle itself. I don’t think I have ever seen a yo-yo that spiked the axle. The spiked axle goes through both halves giving the yo-yo a very sharp pair of matador spikes. Also in the cup is a very defined IRG. The IRG is defined even further by a flair out. The small spike and the big IRG means that even the biggest mammoth hands will have room to pull off an inner ring grind.
The finish is just spectacular. The beadblast reminds me of the finish on the Good and Evil 4 by H-Spin, it is so smooth and soft that it could be mistaken for Teflon.
Inside the gap is a nice deep flowable silicone response, and a D size bearing (Commonly found on H-Spin and Spyy yoyos). This worried me. Here in the States, most yo-yo’s use the larger C size, or the smaller A size. I prefer a C sized bearing just because they are so easy to replace and get specialized models like a KK, Center Trac, AIRG, or Terrapin. There are more and more D sized bearing yo-yo’s coming out so this is probably a moot point but I like the option of tossing in my favorite broken in bearing and go unresponsive right off the bat.

On a Throw:

Pure Joy. The TT is just pure joy. This 66.5 gram little beut is solid, fast, and incredibly stable. The higher inner wall makes tilt correction stupidly easy, and the rim weight is perfectly balanced providing a very smooth and steady rotation on a gyro flop. Thanks to a progressive slope and fairly wide profile, hitting the TT with whips and lacerations is sublime. The 52mm diameter gives you plenty of room to move the TT in and out of chops and segment transfers.
The axle setup had me worried. I was really concerned that a long axle without a post would result in a vibe or wobble, but after playing with it and throwing all I could at the TT, I don’t think that the TT could vibe or wobble if it wanted to. This setup is so surprisingly precise and exact, it delivers a smooth throw with ease.   Doug knew what he was doing. While a smooth and vibe free experience should not be the only thing you look for in a throw, it is important to ensure that the yo-yo will spin as long as possible. While you whip it around, transferring string segments and lacerating to mounts and hops, a vibe or wobble can greatly reduce spin time. The focus here should not be how vibe free the yo-yo is, it should be about how the yo-yo performs, and the yo-yo performs wonderfully. The fact that the TT smoother than buttered silk on greased up slab of ice is really just a bonus.
And then there is the grind. Oh me oh my, what a wonderful grind. The beadblast finish is just so soft and smooth that it practically glides on an arm grind. The full body really helps with extend your finger and arm grinds, and gives you a fantastic platform for incredible grind transfers. I can not wait to see what people do with this finish.

Final Thoughts:

With so many incredible yo-yos on the market it is hard for a new model to stand out. The TT brings a few things to the table. First, it uses a 52mm diameter, something that there are just not a lot of. Considering how many yo-yos are available, and how few of them fall into the 52mm diameter, the fans of a slightly larger undersized throw will be very happy with a new addition to the flock. Second, the finish is spectacular. The beadblast finish gives you a smooth finish, but does not chew your strings like more progressive beadblast finishes. Round out the package with a unique axle design, and you have a great playing yo-yo that has enough to be unique. I may not like the bearing size, but that is just a personal preference, and the playability of the TT is undeniable.

The Big Brother TT is going to be available soon at multiple online retailers. We here at YoYoSkills will do our best to let you know when it drops, but I expect it to hit pretty darn soon. The color options are the Grey/Dark Grey splash, and the solid royal blue. This should make fans of splash anno and fans of traditional solid color happy. Retail price is expected to be around $115 (ish).

Written by Chris “Dr. Yo-Yo” Allen who has had a lifetime fear of waking up in closets.