YoYo Related News From Around The World
CLYW team member Chris Rodrigues is getting his own signature colorway on the newest run of the Peak 2, dropping tonight, and he seems pretty stoked on it.
Check out his new video with the Peak 2, and pick up your own tonight at 10 pm EDT / 7 pm EDT at YoYoExpert.com.
C3yoyodesign has one of the most well-rounded and complete product lines on the market, with something for nearly every taste and need. Magic YoYo has one of the largest ranges of entry level price points for a variety of styles. The two companies met years ago at a contest in China, and hit it off. After bumping into each other again last year, they decided to work together on a new model and we got the Vapormotion, a new fingerspin yoyo designed for high performance at a low price.
The C3yoyodesign x Magic YoYo Vapormotion is a full plastic/metal hybrid, something we haven’t a lot of since YoYoJam closed up shop. An incredibly minimal plastic body holds together two large metal side panels that act as both weight rings and fingerspin cups.
The C3 x Magic YoYo Vapormotion plays almost absurdly fast! Fans of a quick, light play style will absolutely adore the Vapormotion as it’s perfect for zipping through a ton of tricks quickly with a light touch on the string. It definitely feels like a 64 gram yoyo on the string, with that unique hybrid feel that’s bi-metal performance at a bargain price.
The spin time is pretty excellent, thanks to the extreme weight distribution created by the large metal cup design, and as you can imagine it’s fantastic for fingerspin tricks. If you’re looking for a fingerspin yoyo, you’ve found it. If you’re looking for something that is stable and fast for speed combos, you’ve found it. If you’re looking for something that really doesn’t feel like any other yoyo released in the past couple of years, you’ve found it.
The Vapormotion keeps things simple without a lot of engraving or splash anodizing. This is a yoyo that was designed to play and play well, and they’ve allowed the actual design of the yoyo to really be the visual standout here. The box graphics (which follow the theme of the video thumbnail above) are a nod to Memorex cassette tapes from the late 80s / early 90s, but the looks of the yoyo itself are kept clean and distraction-free. Since the entire cup of the yoyo is meant to be a play area, there is no engraving that would interfere with play, and this allows you to really appreciate the shape that they designed. The Vapormotion is available in either solid colors or acid washes, both of which look great and are nicely done. (The acid washes do not interfere with play, since there is not the same kind of build-up that you get with splash anodizing.)
The C3yoyodesign x Magic YoYo Vapormotion retails for $45 for solid colors and $55 for acid washes, making it an easy purchase for casual players and an affordable competition model for serious players who will need a half-dozen of them for contests. Fans of C3 and Magic YoYo should cop this yoyo immediately, fans of Ethan Wong Wing Hang should cop this yoyo immediately, and anyone who just loves unique yoyo design and great play should cop. this. yoyo. immediately!
The C3yoyodesign x Magic YoYo Vapormotion is available now at YoYoExpert.com.
One Drop YoYos and SF YoYos have teamed up for a new release, available first at the Pacific Northwest Regional YoYo Contest this weekend in Seattle. Check out full specs and details below!
SF + OD = SK
We love collaborations. This time we are proud to be working with SF. If you are already a fan of SF, you know the deal. If you haven’t heard of them, the thing to know is that there isn’t much to know except that their yoyos are well loved, coveted and collected. Who are they? Few people know and the mystery is what makes them fun.
You can learn more by following them on Facebook (go give them some love):
https://www.facebook.com/Sfyoyos/
The yo-yo is called the SK. In keeping with the theme, the product page on our site doesn’t give you too much go on. But know this: It’s bead blasted, made in America at the One Drop factory, is finger spin ready and will sell for $44.
http://onedropyoyos.com/yoyos/sk/
The first run will be released this weekend at the Pacific Northwest Regional Yo-Yo Contest in Seattle. Both companies will have a booth and SKs. Come say hi.
If you can’t make it to PNWR, more SKs will release in a few weeks from both the SF and the One Drop websites.
Salsa dance with the enigma. It’s that feeling all the time.
Doc Pop has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production for the Bolt Part 2, the official follow up to his much loved plastic yoyo, the Bolt.
Originally manufactured by YoYoJam, the original Bolt was a fun plastic yoyo that was great for beginners and advanced players, and had that extra bit of charm that all of Doc’s projects seem to carry. The Bolt Part 2 looks like it will be another great, fun yoyo and with manufacturing by C3yoyodesign the quality is going to be top notch.
Check out the project description below, and then head over to Kickstarter to back the project and guarantee your own!
The Original Bolt was a hell of a throw, and was manufactured for over 5 years, with devout fans all over the world. After 12 years, we’ve taken the best of the Bolt design and updated it for modern play.
The final design is a collaboration between myself (Doc Pop) and Hadrien Bennaceur (who has designed some of my favorite yo-yos) and will manufactured by the awesome folks at C3 Yo-Yo Design, makers of the Re:Master Galaxy, FingerSpin, and Speedaholic (just to name a few). Big shout out to Hadrien, Walter, and Ron for working on this yo-yo with me.
The Bolt Part 2 is made from machined delrin, with aluminum hubs and side caps for better play and longer spins. The caps feature a new “cubby hole” design for horizontal finger spins and delrin body has “schmoove grooves” to reduce string friction. It fits comfortably in your pocket, but still has a nice catch-zone.
Most importantly, it still feels fun.
CLYW has announced their first new model of 2018, the Pickaxe! Designed to be a kind of “mini Chief”, the shape and features are familiar, but at a 52mm diameter it’s a very different yoyo. From their site:
Introducing: the Pickaxe.
With a focus on fun over competition specs, the Pickaxe is an undersized version of our long-time standard bearer, the Chief. Featuring our iconic double-rim design and an incredibly comfortable profile, the Pickaxe is designed to be hurled around with reckless abandon while you work out ridiculous tricks that will score zero points.
Remember when you spent four days coming up with picture tricks that were all inside jokes about your friends? Remember when it was 4 am at Worlds and you accidentally hit that one triangle that you still don’t understand how it works? Remember when there were 40 people in Paul Escolar’s hotel room at Las Vegas Open and Bryan Figueroa did that thing and Steve called it The Doughy Frenchman and everyone giggled for like 20 minutes?
That’s what the Pickaxe is for. Have fun!
C3yoyodesign and MagicYoYo have teamed up for a new collaboration, the Vapor Motion! This plastic/aluminum hybrid design is the next evolution of C3yoyodesigns amazing fingerspin yoyos, and another leap forward for Magic YoYo collaborations.
Following the success of last year’s Fingerspin release (a dual signature model for Ethan Wong and Kohta Watanabe), C3 wanted to try out some new ideas. The result is a polycarbonate plastic body with 6061 aluminum fingerspin caps with great weight distribution and a ton of rim weight, and the seal of approval from fingerspin pioneer Ethan Wong.
Check out full specs below and then head over to YoYoExpert to pick up one now!
The third iteration of the CLYW Puffin, signature model for Icelandic champ Palli Gudmundsson, will be available at YoYoExpert on November 9th! There was initially a small release at the 2017 World YoYo Contest in Iceland, but this is the first full production release of this new design.
From CLYW:
OFFICIAL RETAIL RELEASE DATE:
NORTH AMERICA – THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 / 10 PM EDT / 7 PM PDT
JAPAN – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH, 11 AM JST
EUROPE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH, 4 AM CESTThe Puffin is the newest signature model for Icelandic champ Palli Gudmundsson!
The evolution of the Puffin has matched Palli’s growth as a player. Always a wide return top to help Palli land his most difficult and acrobatic tricks, the newest version of the Puffin is the result of several years of conversations and refinement as Palli honed in on exactly what he needs on stage. The result is one of our most daring monometal designs, with a ton of rim weight pushed to the edge by an undercut that was intensely difficult to pull off.
The result is a truly unique return top that speaks to Palli’s skill, daring, and innovation as a player while still delivering a degree of familiarity that lets you know you’re throwing something from CLYW. We’re very proud of this design, and can’t wait to see what you do with it!
The new Puffin hits YoYoExpert on November 9th at 10pm EDT in all colors. Check out full specs and more photos below!
MagicYoYo has long been a standard for super affordable, entry-level yoyos but with recent projects like the Skyva and Metal Skyva with Jeffrey Pang they have begun moving into higher quality, specialty releases. The MagicYoYo REX is the culmination of this…a titanium/stainless steel bi-metal yoyo designed in collaboration with Yixing Tan. The result is absolutely stunning…the MagicYoYo REX plays with speed and power only available with this kind of extraordinary weight distribution.
The body is machined out of titanium, a high strength/low weight ratio material that has become more popular among yoyo companies. According to MagicYoYo, processing each piece of titanium body takes more than 45 minutes, and when you include processing and assembling the stainless steel rim it takes approximately 1 hour to fabricate one half of a REX yoyo; that’s almost 15 times as long as making a normal aluminum yoyo half. The REX has a body thickness of only 0.5 to 0.7 mm…the same thickness as a few sheets of paper.
The rims are made of high-density stainless steel. The edge of the outer rim is only 2.17mm, which makes the whole yoyo seem to possess a homogeneous thickness, like a single, smooth arc. This makes the REX feel very comfortable in the hand and very pleasing to the eye, but the real function is weight distribution. The rims account for over 55% of the total weight of the yoyo, making for absolutely incredible spin times.
The MagicYoYo Rex is one of the absolute fastest and most stable competition yoyos on the market. There is always a lot of discussion about “speed combos” among competitive players, and this is the kind of yoyo that can help make you a speed player or accelerate your existing speed combos in a way that you have to try to believe. Some yoyos have a natural tendency towards faster or slower play, and while equipment is not a substitute for practice, having a yoyo that just naturally plays faster can definitely give you an edge. The MagicYoYo REX plays faster. From the gap to the materials to the weight distribution, everything about the REX is built for pure speed, and it definitely delivers.
It’s very easy to buy into hype for a high-end release, but the MagicYoYo REX really does deliver a play experience on-par with the Luftverk Fulvia BTM or the Something Anglam TISS…extraordinary speed, stability, control, and quality at the highest-end of the production spectrum.
There is a lot of beauty to be found in simplicity, and the MagicYoYo REX delivers on a very simple aesthetic that makes it feel even more like a premium art object. The REX was designed with heavy inspiration from the Bauhaus art movement. From TheArtStory.org:
The motivations behind the creation of the Bauhaus lay in the 19th century, in anxieties about the soullessness of manufacturing and its products, and in fears about art’s loss of purpose in society. Creativity and manufacturing were drifting apart, and the Bauhaus aimed to unite them once again, rejuvenating design for everyday life.
With this aesthetic and philosophy in mind, the REX was created to be functional, simple, pleasing to the eye and hand, and reflect an ideal of creativity into an inanimate object. The result is incredibly appealing to the eye and to the hand.
The MagicYoYo REX retails for $469 USD. This is a truly premium item, manufacturing to exacting tolerances out of the best materials available, and the price tag definitely reflects that. That said, it’s still $100-$400 less expensive than similar titanium/steel bi-metal yoyos from other manufacturers…so if you are looking to try out the ultra-high end of the market for titanium bi-metals, this is a perfect way to start with great quality and value.
The MagicYoYo REX is available now at YoYoExpert.com.
CLYW has given us our first look at the retail release of the Snow Lzzard, the new monometal signature yoyo for Andrew Maider. First released as a special contest edition at the 2017 World YoYo Contest in Iceland, the Snow Lzzard is hitting YoYoExpert soon in a mix of classic and new CLYW colorways. Check out full details, specs, and photos below!
OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 31ST / 10 PM EDT
The Snow Lzzard is a new mono-metal signature return top for Andrew Maider! Modeled after his bi-metal signature model, the Blizzard, the Snow Lzzard brings plenty of power and style in a more affordable package. Andrew is one of the most talented competitors on the scene today, and he wanted a new signature model that was more accessible to his fans. Several prototypes and loads of testing later, we’re proud to offer this fantastic return top!
Designed by Andrew Maider and CLYW owner Chris Mikulin, the Snow Lzzard has the look and feel that we are known for, with great weight distribution and top quality fit and finish. The Snow Lzzard isn’t just a great extension of Andrew’s style…it’s the next step in developing yours.
SNOW LZZARD SPECS:
DIAMETER – 55.5 MM
WIDTH – 44.2 MM
WEIGHT – 66 GRAMS
BEARING – CT BEARING
RESPONSE – SNOW TIRES
We have your first look at the new machined plastic yoyo from G Squared! Check out full specs and more pics below, along with details on the release direct from G Squared.
The Ghost is G2’s first attempt at a plastic yoyo, but this is no ordinary plastic. Jake decided to design a yoyo using PTFE (Teflon), you know the stuff the is used as a coating for your non-stick pots and pans. Besides the obvious grindability reasons, PTFE was used to take advantage of the plastics higher density. Allowing for thinner walls and more aggressive weight distribution than most plastic yoyos on the market today.
The Ghost will be released in white with multiple hub colorways throughout the summer starting in late July. Estimated retail is $65. Want one before then? You might be lucky enough to snag one from the G2 booth at Ohio States or SEC.
Both the design and play were greatly inspired from the Banshee which can easily been seen from the angles in catch zone, along with the speed and agility felt on the string.
Throw Revolution has announced the Zephyr II, a bi-metal version of their mono-metal budget yoyo released last year. They’ve kept the weight down to 64 grams to hold to the current trend towards lighter yoyos, but upped the ratio of how much of that weight is concentrated in the rims. Expect the Zephyr II to throw heavy, play light, and spin for a loooong time!
Expect to see the Zephyr II at YoYoExpert.com soon. Check out specs and more photos below!
After a two-year hiatus, Whimsy YoYos is back!
The company that brought us the Poker Face, Aloha, Roar, and OMG are back with a new bi-metal release, the Aloha Encore, and it’s their strongest design yet. Incorporating design elements from the Aloha, the most popular of their original releases, and upgrading it with new weight distribution and stainless steel weight rings, the Aloha Encore aims to be a new competition yoyo from the reborn Whimsy YoYos. We got a chance to play with one of these pre-release models and it’s definitely a great upgrade from the original Aloha…lots more power but still feels great in the hand.
A limited pre-release (plus some b-grades) will be available direct from the Whimsy website on April 28th, with a full retail release of the Aloha Encore following shortly after. Check out specs and more pics below!
It’s hard to get much better than 2x World YoYo Champion Yuuki Spencer kicking around in Texas and throwing some tricks. We could watch 20 minutes of this, easily. His trick construction, his flow, his style…all of it is just too damn good! Check out this new video from CLYW, just in time for a Kayak restock tomorrow night at 10 pm EST.
Yoyo used is the CLYW Kayak.
Jeffrey Pang, owner of Luftverk, dropped details for his next titanium yoyo release and for fans of responsive pocket yoyos, it’s just what you’ve been waiting for. Taking design cues from a bunch of mid-school designs, the Daytona is the latest masterpiece from a guy who has gotten really good at creating masterpieces. Specs and pics are below, and you can head over to the Luftverk site for Jeffrey’s full write-up of the project.
