YoyoRecreation Z-ON review:
‘A heavyweight yo-yo that’s easy to handle, the Z-ON is 2008 Asian champion Sojun Miyamura’s signature model.’
This is my first review so please ignore my inadequacies, and leave any constructive criticism necessary. I also should prefix this with the fact that it’s probably a bit ridiculous that my first review is of this particular throw, given that it’s a high end yoyo and I’m sure I don’t have the skills to put it through its paces to the extent that it warrants. I have however played several YYR/YYJoker/TP/Sturm Panzer yoyos and despite such a large selection of other choices that were well touted, many seemed lighter/smaller than I wanted from a yoyo. That being said I will therefore compare this primarily with throws like the YYR Gleipnir, YYJoker Eternity and Sturm Panzer Stealth Ogre.
Without further ado the specs:
Release Year 2012
Weight (g) 69.9
Diameter (mm) 54.95
Width (mm) 42.27
Shape Step Round
Body Material Aluminum
Bearing Size Size C (Large)
Response YYR Broad
(Just in case anyone cares – I used a Twisted Stringz Kevlar string when launching this fellow about)
Packaging and finish: This came in the standard YYR packaging which is really lavish. It makes you feel like you spent a small fortune on a yoyo. Which is good because you did. I actually purchased the raw finish because I couldn’t decide on a color scheme, and because, well, for no good reason actually, I just thought it would look good. It does. It came stock with a curved bearing, and I’m loathed to unscrew it because I don’t particularly want to go through the process of re-tuning it. I’m not sure I notice the curvature during play, but I’m in no hurry to change it out.
Build: The shape is nothing new. Really as far as I can tell it’s just a new combination of weight and size. It does feel heavy in the hand, but as far as I’m concerned that’s great too because it feels like you got plenty of aluminum for your money. The shape feels fine in the hand, but again nothing special. There are no spikes, not flourishes, nothing to switch in and out. But it doesn’t have the crazy Stealth Ogre shape, it’s a really comfortable yoyo to hold, and I quite like the raw thing.Then…
You throw it: This thing feels weighty at every point during play. But that is fantastic! When you throw it, it rolls down the string hard, and the harder you throw it the better it feels. It’s a bit like the Cliff in that regard, it feels like if you don’t really throw it hard you’re just not doing it’s potential justice. It’s smoother than a gravy sandwich, and will sit spinning forever. And this is where the weight must really help, I can barely make this thing stop spinning when I hold it in my hand. However, it doesn’t have the crazy never ending feel quite the way the Sturm Panzer does, which should now really be the benchmark for spin time and stability. Every little ounce of aluminum of the Z-ON is put to use though and drives it through my repertoire at exactly the speed I want, never letting up, never seeming to slow and never going off axis crazy. Tricks that would take up almost all of the spin on some of my other favorite yoyos don’t even dent the spin time on this guy. Incredible. I should qualify this by the fact that I’m not sure how I would feel if I liked to play really fast, but maybe I’d try a different YYR. Suicides and slacks seems good, although with the raw finish grinds are mostly out, or at least more difficult for me, so I won’t comment. On hops it is surprisingly nimble. It’s certainly not floaty by anyone’s definition, but it doesn’t stop it from hopping and popping on demand, and actually the weight/size combination seems, in my opinion, to make it quite precise, very much like the YYJoker Eternity which is surprisingly bouncy for the size. This is where it differs to me from the Gleipnir. In my opinion the Gleipnir feels a little more cumbersome, and difficult to put precisely where you want it, almost like it’s a little slower to catch up than this Z-ON.
Response: In just the same way that you get the best out of this yoyo when you launch it with everything you’ve got, the binds need to be the same. I’m not sure whether this is a product of the YYR IRPad response system or the yoyo but I find I have to grip it and rip it to get it back up. But that’s fine because by that stage it’s made me feel like a yoyo god and I’m so hyped it hits my hand like an avalanche. And I love that too, because it’s not subtle or soft.
Overall: The thing that drew me to this yoyo was in part the price (it was on sale at the time of purchase) but perhaps more importantly the weight. I’m quite a slow player, and so I find weightier yoyos more to my liking, in part because I find them easier to maneuver, but also because I like the added stability/spin which allows me to move through tricks before my slow style runs me out of spin time or tilts me into oblivion. This fits me perfectly. A bit of me wants to say that it’s not a hugely ‘fun’ yoyo because it doesn’t seem quirky or outlandish, and it doesn’t really look that beautiful, but just like every YYR site says, that doesn’t matter because this plays so ridiculously well that you’ll enjoy it when you throw it because you feel like a hero. And actually for me it’s a much more enjoyable experience than the Gleipnir, which is fine and an excellent yoyo but a little bland in comparison. Yoyos like this will enhance my learning rate, because I can fail at something so many times without having to bind or regen which somehow stops me getting so frustrated. I would completely recommend this yoyo if you are looking for pure unadulterated performance. It is perhaps only outdone by the Sturm Panzer in performance, but is from a more tried and tested company, and doesn’t have brass rings if they’re the sort of thing that put you off. While I will be throwing my Stealth Ogre every day, I will also make sure I always pick this up, because it’s great fun to throw and just an all round excellent experience!
As an addendum, I wrote this predominantly because I couldn’t find much info on the Z-ON when I bought it. Also please check out the following excellent and eloquent review of a fantastic yoyo:
“Smoother than a gravy sandwich”; I larfed.