YoYoNews

YoYo Related News From Around The World

  • Home
    • All Posts
  • Learn To YoYo
  • Video
  • Interviews
  • Clubs & Events
  • YoYo Spotlight
  • YoYo Guides
  • Contact
    • About Us
    • Advertising

Toys R Us Bankrupt; Closing All 900 Stores in US and UK

March 15, 2018 By Steve Brown

Toys R Us

It’s a sad day for many generations of “Toys R Us Kids”. Six months after filing for bankruptcy in the US (and one month after filing in the UK), Toys R Us announced will be closing all 900 stores across the United States and the UK.

Toys R Us is one of, if not the largest single retailer for yoyo brands like Duncan, YoYoFactory, and Yomega so this is going to be a huge hit for those companies. Gift cards will be honored in the US for the next 30 days, and we expected liquidation pricing to go into effect soon. It will be a good time to pick up plenty of great yoyos for cheap for your local club, but that’s about the only silver lining we can find here.

Filed Under: Featured, General News Tagged With: bankruptcy, duncan toys, toys r us, yomega, yoyofactory

Kuma Films presents: Looper Ft. Ryo Yamashita

February 26, 2016 By Johnny Le

The guys over at Kuma Films met up with Ryo Yamashita of Yomega to bring about a great showcase of how cool two handed looping can be.

Yoyos used are Yomega Raiders.

Check out Kuma Films other yoyo video featuring Chang Tzu Wei

Filed Under: Manufacturer, Players, Video Tagged With: Kuma Films, Looping, ryo yamashita, two handed, yomega, yoyo tricks, yoyo video

Yomega Announces New Monkey Knuckles Toy

March 4, 2015 By Steve Brown

Yomega Monkey Knuckles toy
Yomega Monkey Knuckles toy

Yomega announced a new skill toy being added to their line during the 2015 International Toy Fair in New York City…Monkey Knuckles! Monkey Knuckles are a ball & string toy, slightly similar to AstroJax. Invented and developed by Matthew Hiebert, I remember seeing early prototypes of these during the end of my time working for Duncan, when I first met Matthew. He was still in the early stages of developing the toy and was looking for a licensing and manufacturing partner…looks like he has found one in Yomega! Monkey Knuckles will retail for $14.99, and will hit stores by April 1st, 2015.

Fun fact: I created this yoyo trick based on a Monkey Knuckles trick that Matthew taught me years ago.

Filed Under: General News, Skill Toys Tagged With: matthew hiebert, monkey knuckles, skill toy, video, yomega

Honza Bui – Y Files 2015

February 10, 2015 By Steve Brown

Honza Bui, dropping bombs! The very first trick in this video is baller, and it just gets better from there.

Yoyo used is the Yomega Prodigy.

Filed Under: Players, Video Tagged With: honza bui, prodigy, yomega, yoyo tricks, yoyo video

Abood Dani – Morning Light

October 27, 2014 By Steve Brown

Yomega player Abood Dani from ArabYoYo.com dropped a solid new video…it’s great to see players leveling up in such a young new scene!

Yoyo used is the Yomega Prodigy.

Filed Under: Players, Video Tagged With: abood dani, arab yoyo, prodigy, video, yomega

Featured YoYo – Yomega Glide

October 7, 2014 By YoYoNews

Yomega Glide
Yomega Glide
Yomega Glide

Yomega Glide
Yomega Glide
Yomega Glide

The Glide is Yomega’s long-awaited professional level yo yo. The result of over a year of engineering and technical refinement, the Glide is a great choice for both casual players and competitors. This fast-playing yoyo is available in a variety of colors and finishes…with specs that suit all levels of play and finishes for all tastes, the Yomega Glide is the perfect yoyo for collectors and players.



The Glide is also available as part of Yomega’s limited edition Star Wars line! Engraved with unmistakable artwork featuring Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and the logos of both the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire, the Star Wars Edition Glides are not only amazing players but great looking collectibles for Star Wars fans of all ages.

Visit Yomega.com to get your Glide today!

SPONSORED BY YOMEGA

Filed Under: Manufacturer, Sponsor News Tagged With: glide, sponsor news, sponsored, yomega, yoyo

Featured YoYo – Yomega Maverick

September 25, 2014 By YoYoNews

Yomega Maverick yoyo
Yomega Maverick yoyo
Yomega Maverick yoyo

Yomega Maverick yoyo
Yomega Maverick yoyo
Yomega Maverick yoyo

The Maverick is a competition quality pocket yoyo from legendary yoyo manufacturers, Yomega! The slim profile keep the Maverick fast and makes it easy to choose as your everyday carry, and the quality and weight distribution make sure it can handle any tricks you can throw at it.

Available now from your favorite yoyo retailers in solid finishes or splash, the Yomega Maverick retails for only $34.99…great play at a great value!

Yomega Maverick Specs:

Diameter: 55.86mm
Width: 40.17mm
Gap: 4.80mm
Weight: 66.4 grams
Bearing: Size C (.250 x .500 x .187)
Response: 19mm Slim Pad

Buy the Yomega Maverick

THIS POST SPONSORED BY YOMEGA

Filed Under: Sponsor News Tagged With: maverick, sponsor, sponsored, yomega

Slusny Thursday

July 24, 2014 By Steve Brown

Slusny dropped a fun 1-minute featuring Jan “Shpek“ Novotný, Tony Šec, and Honza Bui. Good stuff!

Yoyos used are the ICON Collection Protostar by YoYoFactory and the Prodigy by Yomega.

Filed Under: Video Tagged With: slusny, video, yomega, yoyofactory

Yomega Ticayo & KendamaCo

June 25, 2014 By Steve Brown

KendamaCo sponsored player Gus Carstens dropped a new video with some pretty baller kendama tricks, plus some work with the Yomega Ticayo. Sweet!

Filed Under: Kendama Tagged With: Gus Carstens, kendama, ticayo, video, yomega

A Day In The Life of Daniel Dietz

May 12, 2014 By Steve Brown

If you ever wondered what it was like to be Daniel Dietz….now you know.

Yoyos used are the Prodigy and Spectrum by Yomega.

Filed Under: Manufacturer, Players, Video Tagged With: daniel dietz, prodigy, Spectrum, video, yomega

Top 5 Most Egregiously Awful YoYos of All Time

March 6, 2014 By Ed Haponik

Mail Attachment

I’m not sure how many yo-yo’s I’ve played since I first picked up a Midnight Special in the late 80’s. In any case, the number has been significant enough for me to feel appropriately entitled to write this article, whether or not my opinion has merit. Though most people know me as a pretty positive (and/or flakey) guy, and it may not seem like the kind of thing I’d say, there really IS such a thing as a bad yoyo. A yoyo can be “bad” in a few distinct ways. For example, it can not perform as intended or as advertised. It can be fragile, breaking into a dozen poorly-designed pieces upon its first tentative throw. It can LOOK or SEEM so hopelessly dorky that even massive dorks will, themselves, wish to eschew yoyoing so as to improve their social standing.

I have no hope of possibly encapsulating everyone’s least favorite yoyo’s in any top 5, as this kind of list could only ever be subjective. In terms of play, I bet the old Bandai/Yomega Firestorm could probably run literal circles around the first Flores models. Does that alone make them “better”? Sweet lord, child, NO IT DOES NOT. You have to consider the historical context, and in so doing recognize that by the time the hopeless Firestorm came out, there was SUCH A THING as an awesome yoyo, making its craptastic qualities shine all the brighter in relief. And keep in mind, that piece of garbage didn’t even make the list!

It’s definitely important to celebrate the good in our community. Honestly, I think we do that quite a lot. However, there’s also a place for pointing out the idiotic, absurd, and downright horrific, not necessarily to jeer (although in this case, I probably will) but to say, collectively “Good lord, how did the world allow that to happen?!” And thus, I present for your consideration my Top 5 Most Egregiously Awful Yo-Yo’s of All Time:

Yomega Panther

So heavy. So terrible.

5. Yomega Panther: This was such a trainwreck on so many levels. I’ll grant you I’ve only played it once, at the home of Virginia yo-yoer Tony Basch, who gingerly presented it as a mad scientist might some medical oddity in a jar of formaldehyde. Anyway, that was plenty. Honestly, it’s kind of like when Gandalf ALMOST touches the Ring of Power and senses the Eye of Sauron’s presence within it. Where true evil is concerned, a touch is all you need. So Yomega wanted to make a wooden fixed axle yo-yo, which given their yeoman’s effort spent popularizing transaxles, I guess, seemed like a no-brainer (PUN!). Unfortunately, they elected to take a brick-like wooden profile, paint it black, and emblazon on an exquisitely boring graphic which looks more like a double-jointed kid’s sock puppet than an actual panther. All this would be forgivable, had Yomega not then opted to slap a pair of rubber rims over the gap’s circumference. Ostensibly, the rims were there to “protect the yo-yoer’s hands”, which is kind of funny since their addition makes the yo-yo snag unpredictably and somehow dart directly for the user’s skull (JUST LIKE A PANTHER!). Even at a time when Yomega dominated the scene and decent yo-yo’s were relatively few and far-between, there was no risk of running into any sane person who would admit to liking the Panther, which legitimizes its position on this list.

Duncan Yoffy

To use a larger picture would be to unfairly add prestige to this pile of crap.

4. Duncan Yoffy: I’m sorry, Drew Tetz. I know you can do awesome stuff with it. Honestly, you could probably do awesome stuff with some bungee cord attached to my idiot beagle who, just like this yo-yo, eats cat poop. Is this even a yo-yo? I dunno. It seems like the manifestation of some marketing executive’s 2-day-old sushi-infused dream. You know how Pizza Hut is always coming up with new things to DO to pizza (the Insider™, the Edge®, the CheesyBites© – HOW BOUT YOU JUST MAKE A GOOD PIZZA)? The Yoffy is basically the yo-yo equivalent of the P’Zone©™®, and was just as gross. I really want to know how the idea was initially pitched. “Ok guys, let me ask you… what is it that kids love more than anything? RAINBOW RIBBONS, right? And we KNOW they love not being able to make a yo-yo work…” It was a marriage made in the putrescent, bile-stinking sewers of heaven. Needless to say, the Yoffy is pretty much an Imperial, but with one of Mork’s suspenders replacing the string. As such, the only hope this thing ever had for redemption was to be picked up by Drew as a novelty. I’m being merciful in placing it at #4.

YoYoJam Big Kahuna

It hurts so much.

3. YoYoJam Big Kahuna: YoYoJam is kind of like the Jurassic Park of the yo-yo scene – just because you have the TECHNOLOGY to wrap a yo-yo in purple lightning bolts does not mean you HAVE TO USE IT. Indeed, when running down the list of yo-yo’s which cause me to barf in my mouth a little, roughly half of the offenders are YoYoJams.

The Triple Jam. The JamBoo. The Phat Boy. Oh sure, YoYoJam knows how to make an ugly yo-yo. But unfortunately (for this list), most of their stuff plays pretty well. There have been some fragile models (original X-Con), some horribly named ones (Speed Maker?), and some abysmal players (Evo) in YYJ’s history, but nothing that represents the perfect storm of awful play and aesthetics which would land them the dubious distinction of inclusion on this list… Nothing that is, except The Big Kahuna. This model was released way back in YYJ’s early history, and they’ve certainly righted the ship since. Still, this thing was a sucktastic wrecking ball (or would be, if wrecking balls were thin and cylindrical with heavy, bladelike rims). The Kahuna had no response mechanism aside from its tapered gap, which was so narrow and unforgiving as to snag unbidden more often than not. As a result, the yo-yo would dive-bomb its user at random, bludgeoning his knuckles and palms into a pulpy, quivering mush. Add in the hot-stamped party font and the striking graphic (which may or may not represent a breaking wave), and we’ve got a winner. By which I mean loser. To their credit, YYJ discontinued this guy after just a few months, but that’s still a few months of kids beating themselves about the head and neck with a sharp, ugly yo-yo.

Throw Down Lucha Libre

I had no idea that turds came in “white”.

2. Throw Down Lucha Libre: It’s hard for me to put this on here, because at one point I was sponsored by Throw Down, but the Lucha Libre definitely finds a home on this list. It’s not every day that a yo-yo is released which is so hopelessly bad that it results in the complete obliteration of the company which made it. The Lucha Libre was intended to be a delrin version of the popular Luchador, an angular metal model which sold out in 3 different versions. The first prototype of the LL I received was way too light, but played great. It had one of the enormously thick Dif-e-Yo style axles and recessed silicone response. I was worried that the plastic bearing seat would develop problems, but other models (the Gung Fu and the Silk) had similar guts and were reasonably well-liked. Without consulting its team on the design, however, Throw Down elected to go with a cockamamie, over-complicated design, using a thinner axle, spiked hex-nuts, metal shims, and [most unfortunately] paper-thin walls around the bearing seat. The final version was never tested by the team, and I received a pair of them in the mail on the day after they released at Yoyonation.com. The first one broke within an hour of playing it, cracking in a concentric circle around the hex nut. As became clear to everyone who bought it, the Lucha Libre would fall apart under the lightest contact imaginable, either in the way I experienced or with the bearing seat itself snapping off. I heard of LL’s breaking when they hit the ground, when overtightened, when regular-tightened, when CAUGHT. How does a yo-yo break when it hits your fleshy palm?!?! Throw Down’s owner was a good guy, and he promised to refund or replace any and all broken Lucha Libre’s. Unfortunately, in the span of a few weeks, at least 90% of the run had fallen apart in this way. Financially, Throw Down was just as fragile as its yo-yo’s, and there was no way it could afford to replace an entire run of failed stock. The company folded under the weight of its impossible promise and broken reputation. A sad but cautionary tale to all manufacturers who would try to bypass adequate testing.

Rev G YoYo

All hail the undisputed King of Suck!

1. Revolution Rev-G: This is so obvious that I’m afraid it may be an anticlimax, but I guess that alone tells you something about the legendary Rev-G. Personally, I have never been more disappointed with a yo-yo than this one, and that includes the Lucha Libre, which ended my first yo-yo sponsorship. I first tried a Rev-G in my local shopping mall around Y2K. Most yo-yo’s were still pretty cheap back then, and its $80 price point put it right up there with the Cold Fusion and SB-2 in terms of “luxury” expectations. And honestly, I’ll admit that my late-90’s ridiculously-wide-jeans, bleached-hair self thought the Rev-G looked pretty flippin’ sweet. For one, it had a carbon fiber body. CARBON FIBER. Like in Formula One cars and the bones of those Avatar aliens! And yet again, it not only had rubber o-rings stretched around the rims, but also came with a protective, adjustable, silicone finger sleeve which further cushioned your squishy hands from that evil bully, yo-yo string. It was like Yo-Tape that you could use again and again… or would have been, if ANYONE had EVER wanted to use the Rev-G more than once. Sadly, this is the kind of product you get when otherwise intelligent people get together to design something they know nothing about. Revolution was a kite company. Know what would happen if I tried designing a kite? Me either, but it would probably involve some kids in a park with subdural hematoma and a whole lotta lawsuits.

There were a couple things wrong with the Rev-G to put it in this echelon of suck. Most notably, it just didn’t work. Like the aforementioned Kahuna, it had a super-thin gap and a huge diameter, making it uncomfortable to hold and difficult to catch. It was “rim-weighted”, sure, but the whole structure was way too light and unstable. Like some horrible belligerent drunkard, it would wobble and convulse and constantly try to pick a fight. And despite its “aerospace” billing and luxury accoutrements, it was easily outplayed by far less expensive yo-yo’s. Most people will buy an expensive yo-yo, and after doing so will attempt to defend it from criticism, even if it stinks. No one wants to feel like a big dummy for being duped into dropping $80 for a carbon fiber paperweight (which is only heavy enough to hold down like 8 papers). Incredibly though, I have NEVER spoken to anyone who has played or owned a Rev-G who had anything good to say about the way it played. (Granted, it’s hard to talk to most of the people who bought one, since they have changed their name and left the country, their reputation in shambles). Over the years, the Rev-G’s legend has only grown, as like a mighty Spartan warrior, it has fought and clambered its way over the corpses of the most atrocious yo-yo’s to sit, unchallenged, atop the throne of ultimate lameness…

And there you have it! Hopefully, I didn’t tick anyone off too bad. I’m actually a big believer in having fun with any yo-yo. Still, I can’t imagine that even in a vast internet world populated by flame-spewers who will say anything for attention, no one will cop to really liking any one of these. And I have to assume that most of the people responsible for their design either inadvertently blew themselves up in a makeshift lab somewhere or else are incarcerated. If nothing else, each of these yo-yo’s certainly represents a “crime against humanity”. Got a problem with my picks? Have a better awful yo-yo in mind? Let me hear it in the comments. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go heat up this P’Zone.

Filed Under: General News Tagged With: big kahuna, duncan toys, featured, lucha libre, panther, rev g, revolution, throw down, top 5, top five, worst yoyos, yoffy, yomega, YoYoJam

YoYoApartment & Yomega Boys

February 25, 2014 By Steve Brown

Ahmad Kharisma just shared this great video with us, featuring some of his friends from YoYoApartment and Team Yomega. There’s some really nice play in here…enjoy!

Featuring Rifki Syahwidhie, Afif Dhimas, and Rizki Hadiaturrasyid. Yoyos used are the YoYoApartment 9king Super, General Sword, and Yomega Glide.

Filed Under: Video Tagged With: Afif Dhimas, Rifki Syahwidhie, Rizki Hadiaturrasyid, video, yomega, yoyoapartment

YoYoJam x Yomega Videos

February 14, 2014 By Steve Brown

YoYoJam x Yomega

To celebrate the announcement and upcoming release of their new collaborative yoyos, YoYoJam and Yomega have released videos for the Odyssey and Firestorm, featuring both YoYoJam and Yomega players using the new models. Both videos were shot and edited by Ben Conde and Grant Johnson.

Firestorm video featuring Tylor McCallumore and Daniel Dietz,

Odyssey video featuring Eric Koloski, Grant Johnson, Tylor McCallumore, and Daniel Dietz.

Journey video featuring Ben Conde, and players from the Cat & Mouse Games YoYo Club in Chicago, IL.

Filed Under: Manufacturer, Video Tagged With: daniel dietz, eric koloski, Grant Johnson, tylor mccallumore, video, yomega, YoYoJam

Igor Kramarskiy x Yomega

February 14, 2014 By Steve Brown

Yomega has stepped up their metal yoyo game in the past year, and the recent runs of their Glide yoyo have been outstanding. Igor Kramarskiy puts the Yomega Glide through its paces in this quick new video, and gives us a taste of what we can expect from him in the 1A division at EYYC 2014.

Filed Under: Players, Video Tagged With: glide, Igor Kramarskiy, yomega

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

Follow Us

Recent Posts

  • Scales Open Vol. 3 Results & Video
  • Goodbye Collin
  • Duncan Toys Presents: Javier Augusto X Sebastian Lavin
  • First Look – CLYW BOY
  • SFTUTS: Keiran Cooper “Derek Jeter Was An eBoy”

Archives

Recent Posts

  • Scales Open Vol. 3 Results & Video February 19, 2020
  • Goodbye Collin January 25, 2020
  • Duncan Toys Presents: Javier Augusto X Sebastian Lavin January 8, 2020
  • First Look – CLYW BOY December 16, 2019
  • SFTUTS: Keiran Cooper “Derek Jeter Was An eBoy” December 3, 2019
  • Colin Beckford – Biennium December 3, 2019
  • Polo Garbkamol – Trick Dump November 1, 2019
  • Bryan Jardin – What’s Your Setup? October 21, 2019

Follow Us

Posts By Date

March 2023
M T W T F S S
« Feb    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Tags

1A 4a 5A 5a may 2013 2014 c3yoyodesign cabin tutorial charles haycock clyw contest counterweight Czech Republic drew tetz duncan toys eyyc featured freehand gentry stein Harrison Lee japan kendama offstring one drop recess results Russia tyler severance video Werrd world yoyo champion world yoyo contest yoyo yoyo contest yoyo contest results yoyodrop yoyo drop yoyoexpert yoyofactory yoyofficer YoYoJam yoyorecreation yoyo tricks yoyo tutorial yoyo video

Search YoYoNews.com

All content copyright YoYoNews.com, 2016. All rights reserved.