A first impressions review of the Capital Yoyo –Serum (YYE-Kristiawan)

Specs
Diameter : 56 mm
Width : 44 mm
Weight : 66.5 g
Response : Flowable
Bearing(stock) : Ten Ball concave (not sure if it is KK or not)

Some links:

http://www.yoyoskills.com/?p=13320

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So I picked this up primarily because I was so impressed with the amount of effort that had gone into the production of this yoyo. Kristiawan has obviously put a ton(ne) of work into getting this produced, and also has put enough care into it that there have been several prototypes; I’m sure this is the case with most yoyos but for a single person to put this much TLC into the process was hugely impressive. So many of these ideas end up becoming pipe dreams because the process is difficult and things don’t go as planned, but Kristiawan has worked on this for a long time and come up with a final product. Oh, and the specs match the kinds of things I like

Arrival: So this yoyo came to the US from Indonesia, and was wrapped what seemed like about fifty different ways, and honestly I was OK with that because the box and yoyo were snug and undamaged inside. When I finally broke through the outer layers (I swear it was trying to peel an onion a layer at a time), the first thing that struck me was that so much effort had even gone into the packaging! I’ll add more pics later, but the box sleeve is awesome! The general design is great, it has all the specs written on the box, it’s just fantastic. It really already felt like this was a labor of love, a bit akin to the new CLYW sleeves. I know it takes effort to put together something like this, but it’s just so rewarding for the buyer. Makes you immediately feel like your money was well spent.

Unboxing: The yoyo was mounted on a card insert (some other companies do this) that sat around the bearing keeping the yoyo central in the box. The yoyo is raw (if you look at the BST you’ll see why), but the rims and catch zone are decently polished although not crazy so. It doesn’t look like a Mullicabob or Yoyospirit polished thing but good enough. There is a small amount of space in the cup that is not polished, and I really like this effect, but unfortunately at the edge of this zone where the aluminum angle changes, the machining has made a bit of a mess of the effect. It’s a bit of a shame because otherwise the effect looks really good.

On a throw: So I knew that this had been sili’d and had a decent sounding bearing in it, and that the weight was good, but nothing else really about how this would play as this is something Kristiawan hasn’t really addressed. Actually this yoyo is a really good player. It’s weight is shifted quite dramatically to the rims (or at least it seems so to me) and the rims feel thick. For that reason the spin times are really really good, as is the stability. As with yoyos of this nature it has the tendency to have a little tilt if you knock the rims with the string (man I’m a sloppy player ) but you can also correct that with a little effort. It really is a powerhouse too, it will go through plenty of tricks and has no issues or worries at all. It feels good in the hand, and the silicone is good enough to give a good bind even after a long play time. The gap is really pretty wide, as is the catch zone and it makes it a joy to throw. The bearing seems really good too, which is excellent, and is a great thing for Kristiawan to include because I think it’ll really add to the experience of playing this thing out of the box, which is good when you want good review to get more buyers. It hops fine, but I don’t think I would describe this as floaty, although my definition is probably skewed, my choices for floaty yoyos on the JasonWong thread did not necessarily meet with approval/agreement! There is a little vibe, enough to feel a tiny amount on the string, but it doesn’t affect play in the least. Do not think that this is in anyway a problem, it is considerably less vibey than several other throws I own, all of which play fine – I’m just trying to say it’s not General-yo smooth.

I’ll try and put some more about the play later, but for now go buy one! It’s really really good, especially as a first outing. It’s price point is a little high for a first yoyo at $85 plus shipping, but it easily competes with other things in this price bracket. I guess I’d compare it to the Burnside in playability at the price, and if you like the Burnside you should definitely try this. I also really like the shape and contours, at some point in the not too distant future I’ll get it powder coated, and it really will be a thing of beauty too. Hit Kristiawan up and get an excellent yoyo – I have so much respect!

Get one here:

Great review! Glad to hear the effort and love that have gone into the Serum have paid off.

So glad somebody bought one of these.

It looks like a stellar throw, not entirely my favorite shape, but with the work he put into it it’s gotta be worth the money.

Maybe I’ll snag the other one… Hmmm

Anxious to see it in person. Nothing like having the opportunity to try something new.

Thank You Very Much, reading this things I almost cried, literally.
I should spend more time on YYE, but my job is taking most of my time.
But I promise, I will finish this project, and if is’s a success, there will be another.

Just received the Serum in from Joe to be pc’d. It’s a very nice piece. Very smooth hefty feeling throw that has a very deliberate feel to it. Little bit of a balance issue but nothing that would keep me from picking one up.

I told Joe if the machining gets cleaned up ever so slightly the Serum will be right on par with top level yoyos. Nice to see something like this, congrats.

Stand by for powder…

I wanted to add to this that I have now received an ano’d version from Kristiawan. I am going to be honest and say that the ano is perhaps not as perfect as we have come to expect from new throws (a little appears to have actually rubbed off on the packaging unfortunately - but it is only small and barely noticeable), but regardless, it’s still pretty neat, and the surface suitable for some grinding. The hints of vibe that my previous version have are very much reduced, and once again I am come to thinking this is an excellent first throw. As before the throw arrived incredibly well packaged and in good time despite the international shipping. So much so in fact that Kristiawan was incredibly apologetic for not shipping the day after my purchase, a fact which does him much credit given that it is not uncommon for people to take a few days to ship when purchasing through the BST. There are plenty remaining on his BST I think so please don’t hesitate in picking one up. Of course the only difficulty is that these days there are so many good throws at these kinds of price points: it makes small batch manufacturing difficult because one must compete at as low prices as possible. Regardless, this throw should hold it’s own.