Rounding out our advance coverage of yoyo offerings at the 2014 International Toy Fair is a peek at what YoYoFactory will be showing at their booth.
The new catalog is our first look at the upcoming release of the standard version of the Hubstack yoyo. With the Afterglow version shipping to stores at the end of the month, we know the specs and know what to expect. The Hubstack will be responsive out of the box, and is expected to retail for around $20.
The Preview page of the catalog is where we get to the good stuff! We get a first look at the Glow Collection Round 2, which features white glow-in-the-dark plastic versions of the Northstar, Loop 1080, and Hubstack. These are going to look great, and should be shipping to stores around the end of the month.
We also get a look at the next version of the signature model for Harold Owens III…the Too H.O.T., due in March. Refined weight distribution and a new profile should make this a top-notch competitive yoyo.
Jason Lee is getting a unique signature model…the Detour. We don’t have any specs, but this model appears to be based on the Supernova, with feedback from Jason. This is Jason’s first signature model that wasn’t a color way of something else…FINALLY! One of the most gifted natural yoyo players in the world, it’s about time we got a Jason Lee yoyo.
And coming this spring, looks like we have a new signature model for Patrick Borgerding, the CYBORG, and a new signature design for Paul Kerbel! As usual, I think we can expect great stuff from YoYoFactory this year in the metal yoyo department.
And finally, we have YoYoFactory doing what they do best: bringing new players into the sport. YoYoFactory seems to have refined their in-store teaching program, called PLAY, and created their own tiered learning system for retailers. Combined with constant touring by YoYoFactory demonstrators as well as local support, PLAY looks to be the big winner for 2014 in terms of a major manufacturer working to create new yoyo players.
YoyoFactory’s great, modern branding helped me get back into yoyoing. I saw the attractive designs and thought, “Maybe yoyo’s are different from when I was five.” No company is perfect, but it’s great to have a brand I can trust from Gravity Pulls to Slack mastery!
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