Since I got an Akita a couple years ago, I’ve been surprised by the complete lack of conversation around it. There’s like one review from a bigger yoyo youtuber on it, no discussion on forums, no content made with it outside of promotions for the yoyo from when it came out. I just don’t understand it. The Akita is such a great yoyo. It feels so nice in the hand and on the string. It’s a very high performance bimetal, but it manages to retain floatiness and personality that in my opinion rarely come across as strongly with performance bimetal releases. On top of that, it has some really fantastic, beautiful colorways. What are your thoughts on this yoyo, and why it doesn’t get the praise it deserves? Do you have one?
Yes
I agree Akita is fantastic, but I would guess it’s not more mainstream b/c it’s pretty wide. I personally don’t mind wide throws at all but it’s a little wider than what most competitors are typically using. I do love that it’s comfy as hell because of its roundedness, and it’s also no slouch in terms of performance. But unless your preferences are wide throws, IMO the WISH edges it out in terms of being an overall better throw, and the Klondike eats both of those for breakfast.
But yeah, it’s not just Akita, CLYW bimetals in general are extraordinarily underrated.
What do you mean by “eats them for breakfast?” I feel like looking at all three, the Klondike and WISH have profiles and designs that scream “competition bimetal” while the Akita looks like a comfortable throw that happens to be a competition-viable bimetal. It doesn’t really look (or feel) like it’s designed to perform similarly to your standard, super reliable, hard V shape outer ring bimetal. That’s not what I bought it for either, personally. Just looking at all three yoyos, I would expect the Akita to play more fun and comfortable and less “well” in terms of stability, speed, etc, and I think that’s pretty accurate. Like it was designed to do something different from those yoyos to begin with.
Like… Klondike is better than both of them combined lol. Of course it’s all preference/opinion but I feel like I have a well informed one haha
Sorry, when you said this I thought we were having a “very high performance bimetal” discussion, in which case the WISH and even more-so the Klondike definitely take the cake, hence my reply. But yeah, you’re right, in terms of chill vibes and comfort, Akita is one of the best bimetals you can get.
Oh that makes sense. I guess I kinda worded it confusingly lol. My point was that It performs very well in spite of how laid back and fun it is, which are usually descriptors that imply lower performance. I was trying to say “it performs amazingly considering how little it seems to care about that.”
I might have to get a klondike though if you speak so highly of them. I’ll be watching for a drop some time
Dude I was so surprised by the Klondike. Probably in my top 10 at this point and when it re-releases I’m getting another. It’s just so good
Akita does get praise and people love it. I’ve owned two.
Yoyo youtube reviews and forum discussions are two of the least useful measures for determining how comp players or the more general yoyo scene feels about a yoyo. Yoyo youtubers tend to be more on the casual yoyo enthusiast/collector side of the spectrum, and the forums as well. And when youtube reviews are made, they’re generally targeting a more casual yoyo enjoyer crowd.
The only point I’m tying to make with that statement is that those are targeting a specific niche. If you generally want opinions on modern competition geared throws you just have to ask people who’ve played them directly. The people competing in contests or more serious players aren’t posting up reviews of their yoyos, they’re just playing them.
You’ll hear when a yoyo is bad, you’ll hear when a yoyo is hyped up to heck, rarely do you just hear about yoyos that are extremely good but lack the hype.
People like the Akita, people like Mark Mangarin. Banger signature for an amazing player. It doesn’t pack as much of a powerful punch as a heavier or outer rimmed bimetal, but it feels great in the string and in play.
Simon Dubischar just left rvk.rt since they dissolved, and his first post after that he was throwing an Akita. It’s definitely not an under appreciated yoyo, people like it.
Fair enough. I can’t really respond because I haven’t been consistently active in this community for years until this year, and I haven’t attended any clubs or contests at all. I’m hoping to change that this year as I head to college though. It’s good to hear that people like it because I would’ve expected more people to talk about it than what I’ve seen. But I guess my view is more limited than I knew.
Haven’t played yo-yos since 1999, I was about 11. Saw some videos online and decided to get a yo-yo and saw how many options I had, it was a bit overwhelming. Then I saw the Akita, it immediately caught my attention. It’s been an amazing yo-yo. I’ve since bought like 12 yo-yos all high end. But I still play my Akita the most, also signed by mark