3Yo3 Omnicron X Special Edition
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
August 28, 2011
Introduction
Landon is back again with his second metal yo-yo, a metal version of his acrylic masterpiece the Omnicron. I am still in awe at how underrated 3Yo3 is in the industry. Having talked to Landon quite a bit I have come to understand the shear level of precision that goes into each and every yo-yo he produces. Every acrylic, Delrin, or Teflon yo-yo is hand turned by Landon; the fact that they come out so smooth shows off his mastery of the craft. His first metal yo-yo, the Bassline, was an absolutely brilliant design that was loved by the critics but ignored by the community. Funny thing is that when you post a topic on one of the forums asking what yo-yo is underrated you will inevitably get five or six replies about the Bassline, even David from One Drop has expressed his bafflement over how underrated the Baseline is. Lets hope that the same fate does not befall the Omnicron X. Just looking at the design you can tell that it is almost completely opposite in every way when compared to the Bassline. Lets hope that this extreme dichotomy is not only shown in the designs of these two yo-yos but also in how the community perceives it.
Specs
• Diameter: 52.00 mm
• Width: 42.85 mm
• Weight: 67.1 grams
• Bearing: C (.5x.25x.1875)"
• Response: Flowable Silicone or Hat-Pad sized pads
Construction
Once you pull it out of the window topped metal cylinder package you will understand what I am talking about when I say that the design is the anti-Baseline. The Bassline was large and curvy, a very laid back yo-yo while in contrast the Omnicron X is a mid sized, angular, and aggressive looking yo-yo. The profile of the yo-yo shows off the huge rims attached to the H-Shape frame. The rims start off completely flat but transition to a slight angle before hitting the massive first step into the catch zone. In the catch zone there is a smaller step into the high walled gap. The face shows off a concave front rim that drops into the deep cup. The IGR is very sharp coming to a thin edge. There is a small spiked hub in the center that is sharp enough to use for matador play. Now this is a special edition Omnicron X. What makes it special is the coating of the yo-yo. The normal Omnicron X has a Pyramatte finish to it while this one has been bead blasted. The difference is night and day between the two. I have played both the regular and special edition versions of this yo-yo and all I can say is the finish on the special edition should not be special at all; it should be standard. It adds an extra level to the over all feel of the Omnicron X that I will talk more about in the Playability section of this review. The bead blast gives it a very light grey look, but there is one very minor down side. It is so light that the laser etch gets lost. Not a big deal, I just like the artwork on this yo-yo and would love to see it pop a little more. In the hand the yo-yo offers a decent level of comfort but the harsh outer edge can hurt if it hits wrong. You need to pay attention when bringing it back to the hand or it will remind you just how aggressive it is.
Weight
This is a solid 67 gram yo-yo. Not really floaty but by no means a boat anchor on the string. The Omnicron X moves at a decent clip but I would not personally call it fast. That is not to say it is lacking in performance. My first encounter with this yo-yo was at the Ohio State YoYo Contest where I got to play CJ Atkinson’s personal Omnicron X. For those that don’t know, this is CJ’s signature yo-yo. I watched him use this yo-yo throughout the entirety of the contest and I can honestly say that not only does it fit his smooth style but he can also push the Omnicron X to perform better than I could ever hope to.
Response and Bearing
Landon ships the Omnicron X stock with flowable silicon, which lasts quite a while. If you prefer the ease of pads you are in luck, the response groove is designed to accept General-Yo Hat-Pads as well.
The bearing is just a generic steel 8-Ball bearing. I was impressed with how quiet it stayed without being over lubricated. It doesn’t spin as smoothly as a 10-Ball but it isn’t a bad substitute if you need one in a pinch.
Playability
This is a highly stable yo-yo with super long spin times thanks to those large rims. I found the responsiveness to be spot on, reacting quickly to direction changes. Landon masked off guts leaving the walls near the response area smooth. This helps to prevent string wear and it also keeps the suicide loops open, though not quite as wide open as a low walled H-Shape design. During the play testing of this yo-yo I decided to test just how stable this Omnicron X is. In order to do this I set out to learn the bunny picture trick that I saw Guy Wright do in one of his videos. While the trick looks pretty simple there are a lot of wraps and small movements that can knock the yo-yo off kilter. Add to that the fact that is takes a little time to construct the rabbit; you will need a decent amount of spin time to complete the trick. I am happy to say that I never had the yo-yo spin out on me and while it wanted to tilt slightly while merging the body with the head of the bunny, the overall stability of the Omnicron X greatly reduced the amount of time it took for me to perfect the trick; now I have something new to amaze my students with. As I said above, I think the finish on the Special Edition Omnicron X should be standard. This finish is far superior in grinding ability. The yo-yo stays where you want it on your arm or palm during grinds and does not move until you allow it. Thumb grinds are darn near perfect thanks to the knife-edge IRG. There is next to no contact between it and the thumbnail. I found that I was getting longer thumb grind on this than any other yo-yo in my collection. The spikes are very usable for matador play and ripcord starts.
Final Thoughts
This is a very impressive second metal from Landon. I like that he decided to go in the complete opposite direction from his first attempt. There is not much I would change, maybe laser etch the light grey bead blasted model in black instead of the normal white, and give a little more of a radius to the outer rim edge, but this is really just splitting hairs on my part. If you are looking for an Omnicron X the bead blasted special edition is THE edition to get, I know for my collection I am going to try and find one of the special run. If you can’t find one of the specials then do yourself a favor and pick up the regular run. It plays just as well but is a tad bit less grind friendly. With the Bassline and Omnicron X addressing two completely different segments of the yo-yo community, I cannot wait to see what Landon’s next metal yo-yo is going to be.