The Ditch by Caribou Lodge Yo-Yo Works (CLYW) is an interesting and in many ways outstanding unresponsive yo-yo. With a simplistic, clean look and relatively smooth glide in play, this yo packs all the push of an undersized throw and yet lacks the larger price tag many yo-yos of similar play quality are often accompanied by. That being said, the Ditch is certainly not without its downsides. While these more unfortunate aspects of the Ditch’s performance and handling are not necessarily critical in nature, simple yet often quite annoying imperfections such as a relatively uneasy point of balance and less than stellar spin times can easily lead to frustration while throwing this more recent CLYW model.
SPECS:
Diameter: 50.00 mm / 1.97 inches
Width: 32.27 mm / 1.27 inches
Gap Width: 4.50 mm / 0.18 inches
Weight: 62.70 grams
Bearing: Size C
Response: CLYW Snow Tires
Material: 6061 Aluminum
Designed in Canada
Made in China
Released April 2022
The Ditch is priced at $49.99 and proves to be worth the buy fairly quickly. This yo is on the smaller side (great as a pocket carry) and has a crisp anodization job that covers its figure well, a figure that allows a nice bit of space for thumb grinds.
With a comfortably light body and a thoroughly enjoyable quickness to its movement, the Ditch is more than capable of being used to complete tricks of many sorts, particularly those which require more exact handling between segments of string. It is a fun yo-yo to throw and typically seems to leave behind a good, comfortable feeling.
Nevertheless, the Ditch does have a tendency to get a bit unsteady and sometimes runs out of control long before a trick is finished. As always, much of this depends on the power and discipline of the thrower, but in that regard this is not a particularly forgiving yo. In a similar way, the narrowness of the gap on the Ditch along with its lightweight nature also tend to keep a less than perfect breakaway regulated to relatively short and disappointing spin times.
Overall, the Ditch is not a bad choice for many players as it is an appealing and enjoyable yo in more ways than one. For those who may not be as confident or comfortable with their technique, however, it could prove to be slightly problematic.
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