Old but still Fresh - Part #7

There are yo-yos that are old, and then there are yo-yos that are old but still FRESH! Back in the day, Duncan Freehands (now known as Freehand 1s) were the throw to have. When the mould for the Freehands broke, players all over the world desperately seeked for any yo-yo that could replace the forever-gone Freehand 1s. One of the yo-yos that stepped up to the plate was the Buzz-on Element X. It had the same wide butterfly shape like the Freehand 1, but with an additional metal weight ring on the inside of the yo-yo halve.

The Element X was great back in 2003/2004, and it is still one of our favorite yo-yos today. Be it the SPR, or non-SPR version, if you can get your hands on an Element X today, do it with no regrets.

Buzz-on Element X

Buzz-on was a company that was setup by Dave Bazan (Bazan / Buzz-on, get it?) in late 2002 / early 2003 to cater to a growing Spinning scene the world over. With years of yo-yo experience under his belt, Dave decided it was time to take his expertise into the world of yo-yo development, and he released the Element X to a group of yo-yo players who were craving more from yo-yos.

Spinners wanted wider butterfly shaped yo-yos that were in the same vein as the Freehand 1. Renegades, Tigersharks, etc were starting to be more 'slimline' throws and were not cutting it for contest performance back then. The Element X came at a perfect time, filling the need for wide butterfly shaped yo-yos. The Element X is/was a great yo-yo back then and now, but it was not without it's flaws.

Technological Makeup

The Element X features a wide, rounded butterfly shape that made it comfortable to play and hold. Unlike the Freehand 1, the Element X did not have solid plastic moulded sidecaps, but featured thin plastic / paper side caps under thick metal weight rims.

The inside of the Element X features a small, thin bearing that was commonly found in older YoYoJam yo-yos, metal spacers (SPR kits came later on) and Duncan Friction Stickers. Friction stickers was the response of choice back in those days for it's reliable, grippy response, ensuring that with or without binds, the yo-yo would have a tight wind allowing for stronger throws.

The body of the Element X is like a combination between a Spintastics Eclipse and a Duncan Freehand 1. It has the smooth rounded body of a Duncan Freehand with the small bearing and spacer set up of a Spintastics yo-yo. Though the Friction Stickers needed to be replaced relatively often, it always ensured you got tight, reliable string wind-ups whenever you return the yo-yo to your hand.

Sizing Up

The Element X is a solid throw that is nicely weighted due to the metal weight rings. Using the regular thin bearing, thin spacers set-up, the Element X will play more to the responsive side as compared to a Duncan Freehand. Though the Element X is a great yo-yo, it is very hard to come by these days and competitors would definitely choose modern metal yo-yos over these for competition freestyles. But being solid, yet rather responsive is one of the charms of the Element X, and it is a throw that we keep coming back to every now and then.

As we have mentioned before, the Element X shares many characteristics with the Duncan Freehand. Here pictured together with the Element X is a Freehand Zero. Similar in looks, but slightly different in feel and performance.

The Bad

The Element X is good, but that does not mean it is flawless. When the Element X first came out, there was one big main complaint from various players. "Why does my Element X wobble/vibrate so much?" As the Element X features a thick metal weight ring that is pressed into the yo-yo halve, some yo-yos will have a very obvious vibration or wobble due to having 2 separate big pieces on each side. These 2 separate parts, combined with another 2 parts (on the other halve) makes some yo-yos less balanced and more prone to wobbles.

But, there is a way to try and lessen the wobble. It involves tuning the axle / nut on each halve and rotating them to see which position will have the least wobble, or sometimes, no wobble at all! Despite the fact that you may get a wobbly throw, if you knew how to go about fixing it, or if you got a perfectly balanced one out of the package, the Element X was as smooth as butter, and just plainly awesome to throw. Just thinking about it makes us feel like picking one up and playing with it. SO GOOD!

Conclusion

Just like previous throws that were featured on the 'Blast from the Past' column, the Element X is definitely one from an era that has come and gone. Today, the Element X is roughly 10 years old, yet it still remains as one of our favorite plastic throws. It could be due to nostalgia and not so much to do with performance, but if you ever have the chance and come across an Element X, you have to give it a go.

Today, the Element X is both a collectors piece, and an amazing yo-yo that signifies the start of an era where Spinners craved / demanded wider shaped butterfly yo-yos. Those were the days!

Old but still Fresh - Part #6

We are back with this column of Old but still Fresh, and this particular throw was from the 2002 era, almost 12 years ago. Following the footsteps of the Freehand One that everyone loved, companies started to produce wider butterfly shaped yo-yos, and one of these throws was the Spintastics Eclipse.

In our opinion, the Eclipse was one of the better Spintastics yo-yos that was produced, and it was rather unique as it had a thin metal weight ring that is tucked between the yo-yo halve and the caps.

Spintastics Eclipse

Spintastics was made famous back in the day with their super durable models such as the Tornado, Tigershark and Great White (another gem in our opinion that featured a Beefcake bearing setup). The company was set up by National Yo-Yo Master Dale Oliver, and had a pretty solid contest team featuring the likes of World 2-handed Champion Matt Harlow.

At the time it was released, players were getting more into wider butterfly yo-yos for string tricks, and the Eclipse was Spintastics offering for a wide butterfly shaped yo-yo. If you were to compare the Eclipse to modern day yo-yos, you will be able to tell that they're worlds apart. Yo-yos have come a long way since the Eclipse, but nonetheless, it is still a fun yo-yo to revist every now and then for that nostalgic feeling.

Technological Makeup

The Eclipse was rather unique due to the rounded sidecaps sticking out of the yo-yo halve. This gave it a rather strange feeling in the hand, not that it was uncomfortable, but just took some getting use to.

The internal workings of the Eclipse used a small, thin bearing that was commonly found in older YoYoJam yo-yos, and Duncan Friction Stickers. Friction stickers was the response of choice back in those days for it's reliable, grippy response, ensuring that with or without binds, the yo-yo would have a tight wind allowing for stronger throws.

The Eclipse also came with Starburst response, but as the gap of the Eclipse was maxed out with the widest spacers that could fit without the string slipping in-between the bearing and spacer, the Starbursts were rendered unusable as the string would not wind tight, and would cause the yo-yo to slip.

The good-ol' Duncan Friction Stickers always worked like a charm on the Eclipse, giving it reliable performance.

Sizing Up

The Spintastics Eclipse is a sure fun yo-yo to throw around, given that no modern yo-yos would feel like it as yo-yos have evolve immensely over the years. Of course, we wouldn't see modern competition players using the Eclipse on stage now, it's nostalgic feel and make just brings us back to a time when contest yo-yos were still made of plastic, and that unique and different features of a yo-yo would give different players a kick out of throwing it.

The gap of the Eclipse though maxed out, issn't as wide as modern throws and is very similar (slightly narrower) to the gap of the Freehand Zero (pictured above). With this, it also makes the Eclipse less smooth as compared to modern yo-yos.

The Bad

If you were to make a direct comparison of the Eclipse to say a YoYoFactory Protostar now, you would think the Eclipse wasn't any good at all. But bring yourself back to when yo-yos were slimline, even butterfly yo-yos were slimline, and you would think the Eclipse was one of the best yo-yos available for its price.

The Eclipse may not be the most stable, it may not be the most smooth and for sure changing the response stickers every other day/week may seem like a hassle, but that is the beauty of it. A reminder of a time where yo-yos took a little bit of tuning, wearing in and much more practice to get your tricks right. Those were good days. (Excuse this old dude writing this article)

Conclusion

The Eclipse is over 10 years old now, and is definitely a collectors piece to keep as a reminder of what yo-yos were like back in the early 2000s.

Nostalgic and fun, at a time when string trick creativity was at an all time high, the Eclipse will always serve as a reminder of 'the good old days'.

Old but still Fresh - Part #5

Initially, when we went through the list of yo-yos we thought would be good in our “Old but still Fresh” article, we weren’t sure if the Freehand 1 would fit into this category. After all, the Freehand 1’s design still lives on in today’s Freehand Zero, with minor alterations. But after much consideration, we decided that to NOT put this yo-yo in our hall of fame would be unacceptable!

Besides, the Freehand 1, in our opinion, was the yo-yo that opened doors to the next wave of new-generation yo-yos.

Duncan Freehand 1

Regarded by some as the father of modern day yo-yos, the Freehand 1, which was designed by National Yo-Yo Master Steve Brown and marketed by Duncan, was the first yo-yo to specialize in the Counterweight, or Freehand, or 5A division. The yo-yo sported a wide gap, which was not new to the yo-yoing world, but seldom a feature integrated into the designs of yo-yos during that period.

With other companies churning out yo-yos that were more streamline, the Freehand 1 was considered by some to be a yo-yo meant for amateurs due to its wide gap, which wasn’t favored by some who felt slim line yo-yos were harder to hit on string, making it more challenging. 10 years down the road, almost every yo-yo manufactured today sports a wide gap.

Technological Makeup

The Freehand 1’s guts are basically your typical Duncan/Proyo setup - Brass spacers, bearing, and a padded response system.

With adjustable string gaps being quite the hype back in the day, O-rings, which offered “adjustable” gaps were provided to give the Freehand 1 the ability to set a specific bearing gap whenever and wherever, for those who were particular about their yo-yo setup.

The difference between the old bearing seat area and the new Freehand Zero bearing seat would be the area where the O-rings are placed.

From the picture, you can see the Freehand 1 (Left side) has a raised core, as compared to the Freehand Zero (Right side) which no longer adopts this setup.

Sizing Up

There’s really no reason to dislike this yo-yo. It’s fantastic! With just one slightly worn friction sticker, it handles almost everything we throw at it, except thumb grinds and horizontal tricks (not that great at maintaining its horizontal form). Flops were done at ease, so were slacks, boing boings, lacerations etc. Whatever we threw at it, it could handle.

Though the shape and make up of the Freehand Zero is almost similar to that of the Freehand 1, any Freehand 1 owner will tell you that there is a difference in play between the both of them. It’s indescribable, it just feels more solid? Better? You will have to try it for yourself!

The Bad

Some might consider the need to constantly replace response pads to be a hassle. Then again a number of players today adopt some sort of response pad system to begin with so it’s not so much a flaw since it is well accepted in the community these days.

The one thing we did not really like about the Freehand 1 though, was due to the fact that it uses a single-injection mould (Plastic is poured into the Freehand mould through a single point), its plastic isn’t as well distributed as the Freehand Zero, which was manufactured with a 3-point injection mould, making it more stable. This meant that not all Freehand 1s play well. We have had 1 or 2 which were quite a pain to play with because they wobbled so much, whereas the ones that were at their sweet spot faired better than your average Freehand Zero.

Conclusion

The Duncan Freehand has come a long way, seeing through a couple of plastic generations (Freehand 1, Freehand 2, Hyper Freehand, Freehand Zero, Freehand 2010, Freehand Zero with Pulse Technology) and 3 metals (Metal Freehand Gen 1 & 2, Freehand MG). All of this wouldn’t have been possible if it were not for the Freehand 1, which to many will definitely consider it LEGENDARY!

Old but still Fresh - Part #4

This is the fourth installment of the article “Old but still Fresh”. Today we take a look at a yo-yo which gain a lot of popularity during the Proyo craze back in the year 2000: The Cold Fusion GT.

Cold Fusion GT

Back during the 1998 Proyo Craze, everybody (at least, here in Singapore) were raving over the Turbo Bumble Bee, the first ball bearing plastic yo-yo to be heavily marketed on TV. Every kid who loved Proyos had to have one. But soon after, plastics were not enough. People regarded the SB2 by Tom Kuhn as the Rolls Royce of yo-yos, the mentality being “if you want a high end metal, drop the Proyos, get a SB2″. 

A few months into the Proyo campaign, the Cold Fusion came along, marketing itself as an aluminum yo-yo that could rival the playability which the SB2 offered. This yo-yo was an instant hit. It not only looked great, it played great! In order to keep up with the demands of modern string trick play, Playmaxx later released the Cold Fusion GT, which essentially is an aluminum version of the Turbo Bumble Bee GT. 

Being the first aluminum Butterfly yo-yo to make its way into the local market, the Cold Fusion GT(or CFGT for short) was just as big a hit as the original Cold Fusion. It’s been over a good 10 years since the Cold Fusion GT first made headlines in the yo-yo industry. Today, we take it down from its display case and give it a few throws to see if it's still a formidable player in today’s context.

Technological Makeup

The CFGT, like all other ball bearing Proyos, comes with the standard ball bearing and spacer kit, as well as Brake Pads for response. According to Playmaxx back in the day, the bearing that came with the CFGT was high-end, and spun for a great deal of time. At one point in history, the CFGT held the record for the world’s longest sleeper, at 7:08 mins, proving that its bearing and weight distribution were excellent for handling long difficult tricks.

Sizing Up

The CFGT is an incredible player. After 10 years, the bearing that came with it is still spotless! Shiny like the day it was bought, the bearing also spun for a good 4 minutes on a simple throw. We didn’t want the Brake Pads to be too responsive since we were simulating modern day play, so we had the new pads removed and installed old pads for this test. Though the gap is considerably smaller compared to most modern day yo-yos, the CFGT can still handle a lot of today’s tricks. Multiple string layers were not a problem with the Cold Fusion GT, and as though Playmaxx specifically designed this yo-yo for modern day tricks, the CFGT can also handle thumb grinds!

The Bad

Flaws? What flaws? Back when Proyos were the only one really churning out and promoting “Brake Pad” technology, a bunch of players didn’t like it, and stuck to good ol' starbursts. Gone are those days! Nearly half, or more, of today’s high end metals require some sort of padded response to be retrieved to the hand.

The only real “flaw” we found was that it’s profile wasn’t as wide as the modern day metal yo-yo, and that really isn’t much of a flaw. If you can’t land this yo-yo on the string, you really shouldn’t be owning a high end metal to begin with.

Conclusion

The Cold Fusion GT is still an amazing yo-yo, even after 10 years of existence, and what a player it is, definitely worth every penny!

Proyo Cold Fusion GTs can fetch about USD $200 or more if still in mint condition, and are a real collector’s item. If you chance upon one and love collecting old yo-yos, this one is a definite keeper!

Old but still Fresh - Part #3

This article is a continuation of the article “Old but still Fresh”. Today we shall look at a legend, a yo-yo that was regarded as a prestige to own back in 1998 when metals were rare - The SB2.

Silver Bullet II

Made in 1990, the Tom Kuhn Silver Bullet II was a high end ball bearing yo-yo that featured an adjustable gap, and was considered to be ahead of its time. It was available in polished silver, anodized colors, and even came in an assortment of splashed-anodized designs!

Another thing that made the SB2 popular (other than the fact that it had an adjustable gap setting) was its exposure to the media when it was sent to outer space in 1992 as part of an educational video made by NASA.

Technological Makeup

As mentioned, the SB2 came with an adjustable system like no other in 1990. Given its setup, it could allow minute gap adjustments for players who were particular about their yo-yo setting.

As you can see, the adjustable gap system could be tweaked by taking the yo-yo apart and turning the spacers in order to get the desired gap setting. The Spacers are kinda like a screw, that screws into the yo-yo halve for more responsive play, or screws outward from the yo-yo halve for less responsive play. Though not seen in the picture above, the 1999 Tom Kuhn SB2s later came modified with friction pads known as “Turbo Discs” to help aid with the response as players began to max their yo-yo gap settings to cater to more advance styles of play.

Sizing Up

We didn’t have turbo discs at the Spinworkx store to work with. However, what we did have were worn out friction pads which we used instead, for our test setup. Maxing the gap and then adding the pads made the yo-yo more unresponsive than the stock set-up of the SB2, and this made it play more like a modern day unresponsive yo-yo that advance players use.

Almost 20 years on, the SB2 is still fun to play with! Its weight distribution meant that it could keep up with the sleep-time demands of modern yo-yoing, its widest gap setting meant that it could layer strings really well, and its slight Butterfly-profile made landing the yo-yo on the string during difficult tricks slightly easier compared to the Handquake 1.4b (Featured in Part #2). We tried the rubber weight rings that came along with the yo-yo, but took them out after 5 minutes because they made the yo-yo wobble a little more than we expected.

The Bad

As mentioned in previous posts, old yo-yos aren’t without their flaws. In this case, the adjustable gap, although unique, could not maintain its gap setting. After a few throws, one may realise the spacers have shifted a little, either widening or narrowing the gap. This meant that you’d have to take apart your yo-yo every now and then to readjust the spacers if you were really picky about it.

Conclusion

Despite its flaw, the SB2 is an incredible yo-yo, both in terms of play and aesthetics. It may be over 20 years old, but like a classic muscle car, it can still keep up with most modern demands of today’s yo-yoing. SB2s are still available online (if you search hard enough) so you can purchase them if you’d like to own a part of history!

Old but still Fresh - Part #2

This article is a continuation of the article “Old but still Fresh”. Today, we will look into another yo-yo which was regarded as a truly incredible performer, and fine and precisely made yo-yo of its time.

During the 1998 yo-yo boom, many companies wanted in on the trend, and began manufacturing yo-yos in order to make a quick buck. One such company which came to fame was Hspin, a Swiss company headed by Chris Kayatz. Though slim line metal yo-yos were not uncommon during that time, Chris offered to the masses, a different sort of approach towards metal-work, Bimetallic yo-yos.

Handquake 1.4b

The Handquake 1.4b is Hspin’s second attempt at producing a high-end ball-bearing metal yo-yo. Unlike the original Handquake 1.4, the 1.4b featured heavier bronze weights to add additional sleep time. This yo-yo was not only marvelled for its performance of its time, but also for its aesthetics. The deep rich dark blue and black tones of the yo-yo, coupled with the matte finish of bronze around the rims made the Handquake 1.4b an absolute visual stunner!

Technological Makeup

The Handquake 1.4b, as mentioned, sports two bronze metal weights fitted around the rim of the yo-yo. The bearing that came with it is small, smaller than a Yomega Raider bearing in fact. However, the bearing is not stainless steel and prone to rust if not taken care of properly.

The bearing sits on a set of washers that can be interchangeable to set the gap width for different setups depending on the preference of the player. More washes makes the Handquake less responsive, while less washes makes it more responsive.

Sizing Up

To allow the Handquake 1.4b to manage modern day tricks, we had it set to the maximum gap, then added a piece of worn out friction sticker for additional response.

The Handquake 1.4b certainly lives up to its name as a high-precision yo-yo. Apart from the modded response system, this yo-yo has enough spin (thanks to its bimetallic rim weight) in it to pull off pretty decent modern tricks. Gyroscopic flops proved easy with this yo-yo. Furthermore, grinds, slacks, lacerations, etc were done with little effort.

The Handquake 1.4b can also take multiple layers of string at its maximum gap, but being a slim line Butterfly-shaped yo-yo, more strings means more string rubbing against the side walls that will rapidly slow the yo-yo down.

The Handquake isn’t without its flaws. Firstly, and quite significantly, is the fact that the Handquake has a small gap, which made string tricks a little more challenging. With modern day yo-yos being extremely wide in profile and bearing gap, the Handquake 1.4b required some getting use to amongst our crew, who had a little difficulty landing certain tricks which they normally could with a Freehand Zero, YoyoJam Dark Magic, etc.

Conclusion

The Handquake 1.4b may be an old yo-yo, but it is still a fantastic player that can tackle the many demands of modern style play. Its only down side is its profile, which isn’t popular with todays players who are used to much wider-gapped yo-yos. Given its con, it’s definitely no “old bird” considering its performance. If you have one kept in your closet collecting dust, take it out, set it up, and give it a
throw once in awhile, and I guarantee you will enjoy playing with it again.

Old but still Fresh - Part #1

Ball bearing yo-yos have existed for over 30 years (incase you didn’t know!) and through the past 3 decades, they have seen a great deal of technological advances to cater to the demands of aggressive yo-yo play. BUT how do the high-performance yo-yos of yesteryear face up against our modern day demands in terms of yo-yo tricks?

We take a look at a few stunning players of the late 90s and early 2000s, and test them out to see if they can still keep up with today’s extreme styles of yo-yoing.

Superyo Renegade

Praised as one of the best yo-yos before the millennium, the Superyo Renegade has gone through 3 generations, from the initial hexagon axle to the later star-shaped bolt versions, which went through minor but significant changes to improve performance.

Technological Makeup

The Superyo Renegade sports a unique system that allows it to be configured into an Imperial-shaped yo-yo, a Butterfly-shaped design, and a Pagoda shape, which did not really catch on with yo-yo players.

Sporting a starburst system and small bearing, the Renegade has a gap that allows players to explore new tricks unlike other yo-yos from it's age, accepting more string layers for complicated string tricks. Like another yo-yo classic, the Spintastics Tigershark, the Renegade sported weight rings to maximise sleep time with a better rim-weight ratio. However, unlike the Tigershark, the Renegade has a slightly larger bearing, which increases spin times as compared to the Tigershark.

Sizing up

This yo-yo may not be popular with today’s yo-yo players, but it’s still quite the performer. Let’s not forget, this yo-yo became popular around the time when slacks, grinds, whips, suicides and flops were being experimented with. Thus, this yo-yo can keep up with today’s modern day tricks.

Although its starburst system wears out after some time, it can still be easily solved with a piece of response pad (In this case, a Paul Yath Carbon Fibre Stricker) and can be retrieved with a simple bind, which is widely done by most players today.

The Bad

The Renegade isn’t without its flaws. Produced during a time where players wanted both long sleep times and good responsiveness in a yo-yo, the Renegade’s starburst system wore out too fast for its own good, resulting in players who would save their good Renegades just for competition so as to not wear them out too soon. In contrast, todays yo-yos do not face such problems anymore.

A bigger problem that the Renegade faced was its issue with string-slippage, where the string would sometimes get caught between the bearing and its spacer. Although the 2nd and 3rd gen Renegades reduced this problem, it wasn’t completely resolved.

Conclusion

The Superyo Renegade is an awesome yo-yo that can probably still perform well on stage and take on almost all of todays tricks (except, of course, thumb grinds and perhaps horizontal tricks), the biggest drawback being its tendancies to string-slip.

This yo-yo may be an 'old dog', but over 10 years on, it can still handle new tricks.