This is my second yoyo review. I have been procrastinating for a pretty long time but now the time has come for another review. ;D
So yeah. Ive been surfing around at YYN and saw some posts about the new minisized Aoda and I became curious because I liked the idea of a minisized yoyo, something to carry around in your pocket and test your skills. I had some money on my account and I wait till the price dropped on the site which was selling it. The Littles was for sale for 12$ shipped! I ordered it as soon as I could!
Specifications:
Brand - Aoda
Material – Steel (or Brass? Different sources)
Weight - 55g
Diameter - 35mm
Width - 27mm
Gap - 3.4mm
Profile - Butterfly
Response - push-fit flat silicone O-Ring pads. Could be siliconed using flowable silicone or red RTV
Bearing - regular Size A Concave bearing (bootleg bearing)
First Impressions and Looks
That thing is heavy for its size! You hold it in your hand and you cant believe how heavy it is. That feels a bit unnatural but on a good side.
The surface is smooth and slippery but when you go over it with your finger you feel kind of a little “resistance”. I dont know how to describe this feature of the finish. The finish is raw, polished steel I think. The Littles has a spike in the hub area and next to it the Aoda logo and the label “AODA YOYO”. The label-design is pretty boring as you can see but hey thats not that important is it? The Littles features an IGR for thumb grinds. What I really like about this yoyo that it hasnt got dings or finish flaws unlike other Aoda models (like my dancing pearl). The quality is top notch except for one little thing: the area between the IRG and the hub is not polished nor smoothened. That area is pretty rough (see that picture).
If there wasnt that mistake and the boring logo this yoyo would be in a perfect condition. Nevertheless really good quality and looks for a 12$ yoyo!
Response and Bearing
(I RTV’ed it)
(my pinky)
From my Dancing Pearl I know that the pads are not really good - in quality and playability. I knew they suck but this time they were a complete failure. The pads dont really fit in the response recess, tight binds were nearly impossible and apparently fluffs of strings were caught between the pads and the response recess which caused the bearing to turn responsive. I threw those pads out after a few throws and put red gasket in. Red gasket is the perfect choice to use in that yoyo. The bearing had to be cleaned several times because of those stupid pads.
Dont play the bearing deshielded. I tried to and I had to clean the bearing several times because fluffs of string kept on messing up the bearing but overall the bearing is doing its job! Good spin time and the quality is not as bad as the one I got in my Dancing Pearl. It does its job pretty good. One more thing I wanted to mention: the axle is loose in this yoyo so you have to hand tighten it.
Play
Due to the Brass the yoyo is very heavy for its size which benefits the play. It plays pretty heavy, it almost feels like you throw something undersized or full sized due to the high weight to diameter ratio. This thing can handle anything you throw at it BUT the yoyo might snag on some multiple string layer tricks. The yoyo snags kinda easy so you have to play precise with your string layer tricks to not cause any friction with the response system. There are some sacrifices to be made but at least you can use normal string and have to buy extra string which is another big plus. Regarding grinds: the surface can handle smaller finger grinds but not too long or that yoyo is gonna wobble off your finger ;). Thumb grinds feel awkward due to the strange finish of the surface under the IGR and slow down the yoyo a lot. I tried doing full rotations but it’s a little hard to do due to the nature of the inner hub.
Complex tricks which require you to go through small loops, like Spirit bomb, are much easier to pull off because of the mini diameter. This yoyo wont forgive you your mistakes which will benefit your play since you have to perfect your tricks.
Final thoughts
This yoyo isn’t a competition yoyo but for the price I think it’s the best of its kind. You can carry it anywhere in your pocket and it wont annoy you and you can pop it out whenever you want. Messing around with it is a lot of fun and it helps you perfect your tricks because this yoyo wont “forgive” you your mistakes. Just because of the lack of cosmetics and the snagging this yoyo doesn’t get a perfect rating from me but it still is damn near perfect for that price and play wise! I recommend buying one!
