C3YoyoDesign Halo
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
August 16, 2011
Introduction
I love a good success story. C3 started off kind of rocky but has learned from their initial release, coming back to dazzle the scene time and again. Their yo-yos are reaching critical acclaim and becoming highly sought after. Their aluminum yo-yos have been holding their own against their western counterparts for quite some time now. Not to be pigeon holed into one medium, C3 has decided to enter the plastic and budget markets at the same time. Instead of going the normal injection molded route that a lot of companies employ for their plastic lines, C3 has decided to make their first plastic out of medical grade Delrin. Thus the Halo was born. The pluses are that since Delrin is machined like aluminum the company will have tighter control over the quality but the big minus in the room will be price. Usually Delrin yo-yos are the same price point as their metal counterparts. At $60 the Halo fits into the budget market for high performance yo-yos. Now we get to see if the enormous success of C3’s metal line will translate to their new plastic design.
Specs
• Diameter: 57.50 mm
• Width: 42.41 mm
• Gap: 4.50 mm
• Weight: 68.70 mm
• Bearing: C-Size Centre Trac Bearing
• Response: C3Yoyodesign Silicon Pads
Construction
The Halo arrived in a frosted transparent box that lets you see that, yes there is a yo-yo in there but not get a good look at the details. When I pulled the yo-yo out of the box the first thing that struck me was the size. This is not an undersized yo-yo, instead coming in larger than the Duncan Freehand Zero. The profile of the Halo is the standard butterfly shape but with flat rims transitioning into the catch zone. The outer walls curve almost completely into the gap leaving very little wall to come into contact with the string. The cup of the Halo is pretty shallow with no IGR at all. The floor is slightly raised from the rest of the yo-yo with a channel cut along the diameter between it and the inner rim. The hub in the center is made from machined aluminum and is pressed completely through each half, doubling as the bearing seat on the backside. The hub comes in a variety of colors giving it an understated break in the all white Delrin body. The hubs come in pretty much all colors of the rainbow. There is no anodizing or finish to talk about, it is a solid Delrin yo-yo so it will have the same self lubricating properties and soapy feel that all other Delrin yo-yos have. The butterfly shape of the Halo is very comfortable in the hand with no sharp angles to hit wrong. I like the design, keeping it classic makes it more accessible to a wider audience, about the only people that may be intimidated by the Halo are people with small hands
Weight
The Halo is almost 69 grams, but with it being so large it does not feel like a brick on the string. I found that it was a medium speed yoyo with great spin times. The weight is pretty much all center weighted so it is very stable on the string.
Response and Bearing
The response is C3’s white silicone pads. I was first introduced to them during my Darkstar review and thought they were way to grippy at first. I don’t know if they have changed manufacturers or if I just had an off batch in the Darkstar but the pads in the Halo are great. They started off unresponsive and have stayed that way through out. I am not the only person who likes these pads; Chris M. from CLYW recently announced that he has C3 making a custom version of these pads to fit their response groove, calling them snow tires. I can’t wait to try a pair in my Wooly Marmot and my Gnarwhal.
The bearing is my one sticking point with this yo-yo. C3 has gone with the Centre Trac again. While there is nothing mechanically wrong with the Centre Trac I am not the biggest fan. It is very loud even after three drops of V4M lube. The only difference between before lube and after is that after it is loud and responsive. I swapped it out with a 10-Ball at first and then a General-Yo AIGR bearing. Both of them felt smoother and made the yo-yo quieter during play.
Playability
On the first throw I was impressed with the smoothness of this yo-yo. It is not dead smooth but it was relatively vibe free. Now I should get this out of the way right now, there is no such thing as a “smooth as glass” plastic yo-yo. They will all have little imperfections that cause some sort of vibe. Now some will have the slightest of Peak vibe while others will vibe like an unbalanced washing machine. I am happy to say that this one falls well towards the Peak vibe end of the spectrum. There is no vibe on the string and just a little of it during grinds. As I said before it is very stable on the string. During the play test of this yo-yo I decided to just go pick a trick from the Rethinkyoyo contest submissions on YouTube. I found nolsoe94’s Bindcepion trick and decided I needed to learn that. It is a regen trick where you have to catch the yo-yo in your non-throw hand after throwing it up in the air from a sideways plastic whip. What makes this yo-yo great for leaning this trick is that it is bigger and easy to catch plus the plastic is easier on the hands. I must have cracked my knuckles several times trying to catch the yo-yo. One last thing I noticed about this yo-yo is that with the pads flush with the walls the regens were strong enough to continue on with other tricks and combos. One area that I would like to talk about is grinds. Usually plastic yo-yos are just not the greatest for grinds. They get sticky and just shoot off your arm. Delrin solves this problem by being self-lubricating; the plastic sweats giving the surface an oily feel. This yo-yo is well suited for arm, palm, and finger grinds. Where it is lacking is thumb grinds. There is no IGR and the cups are too shallow to accommodate a thumb if there were. This is by no means a deal breaker; most budget yo-yos kill of the IGR anyways.
Final Thoughts
Ok, so who shouldn’t buy this yo-yo? Thumb grinders with very tiny hands. That is about it. Everyone else should definitely give the Halo a shot. I would put this on my very short list of favorite Delrin yo-yos; right up with the 3Yo3 Volume, which has been my favorite for quite some time. C3 has been making a name for themselves in the metal world and have now shown they can compete in the plastic market as well. Where this bests a lot of the plastic currently on the market is in the quality of the construction. Since they are machined like a metal yo-yo they do not fall victim to the cracking issues that plague a lot of the injection mold plastics out on the market. C3 has shown that they continue to step up their game with each and every release. Now I want to see what they can do with more exotic materials, maybe a titanium yo-yo of some variety.