CLYW had a renaissance back in 2011 with the Sasquatch/Gnarwhal release. When those two were released it kicked the company into a different direction with a renewed focus on more competition centric designs. While the Sasquatch is one of CLYW’s underrated throws, the shape has gone on to spawn some of the more well known and loved yo-yos in the industry including the Avalanche, Arctic Circle, and the One Drop/CLYW collaboration The Summit. Today I am looking at the Arctic Circle 2nd Expedition (AC2 for short), a continuation on the Sasquatch theme. It is time to see if it is played out or if the almost three year old design still ahs some life left in it.
I’m curious if you had the opportunity to throw the original Arctic Circle along side the 2nd Expedition during the time you were reviewing it ? I’m assuming by virtue of what you wrote that you did not.
I bought this YoYo as soon as it was released because of my love for the original, and found it to be a great YoYo, but it did not impress me as a “Version 2” of the original as much as it just seemed like an all around new design period. I do not seem to feel the connection between the original and this version that much at all, especially due to the width and weight changes, and I’m curious if you felt the same as well.
I agree with all the observations you made in your review though, especially your opinion regarding the Sasquatch being one of the most underrated CLYW’s, and I do love the 2nd Expedition, but I’m also holding on to my original versions as well.
I did not get a chance to play an OG side by side with an AC2. The one I did get to throw was only in my pocession for a couple days. It was decent but as I said, seemed a bit off when compared to others based off the Sasquatch design. I am sure if I had spent more time with it, it would have grown on me.
I do agree that this could have easily been a completely new design. One pitfall I think many companies fall into is making a a sequel to a well recieved yoyo. This has its ups and downs, you can capitalize on on the established name but at the same time people may overlook it because they had a negative experience with the original. At the end of the day I think companies like CLYW, One Drop… and even YYF have enough cred that they can release new designs without having to resort to naming new designs after older releases.
On the subject of sequels, I definitely think they can be a double edged sword. CLYW almost cost themselves a $135 purchase from me by calling the Gnarwhal 2 by that name instead of a new design just based on how much the original Gnarwhal didn’t it for me. Not only was CLYW close to not getting my money, I was very close to missing out on an opportunity to throw a yoyo I really really enjoy.
Of course, for every guy out there that might pass on a yoyo based on how they felt about the original, there is a guy out there who will make his decision in large part because of their positive feelings toward the original. That is exactly what made the AC2 a trivially easy purchase for me.
The AC was easily my favorite CLYW up until the release of the 2014 lineup and the AC2 definitely did what I hoped it would do. Aside from the solid feel I don’t really see much Sas/Ava in the AC2 but I definitely echo your opinions on how it plays. For me, AC x Summit summarizes the AC2 pretty well.
I think with the AC2, its name isn’t so much because it’s “connected” with the original, but because it’s Zach Gormley’s second throw. His tastes changed, so they made a new yoyo to match what he had been throwing recently, and kept some cosmetic themes for a bit of a sense of continuity.
If you think of it that way, the name makes sense. The Puffin 2 looks absolutely nothing like the original, but it makes sense to me by way of the same logic (palli wanted a more competition-ready throw)
