I used to use flowable, mainly because I had no other choice with my clyw, but I always hated it. I throw so much everyday I was wearing out flowable in 2-4 days. Even high-temp RTV! I never play for less then a solid 5 min everytime I pick up a yoyo. I play and average of probably 3 hours a day. Using flowable I could start to see the wear after only about 20 min of play (like I said it took a few days to feel it slipping). I have had snow tires in my avalanche all day and ~TAH DAH~ no wear just like a sticker pad should be.
CLYW Snow Tires fit any large bearing CLYW yoyo and unless you are just dead set on refilling your recess every few days I highly reccomend using them. They are easier to install, you dont have to wait for them to dry, NO MESS!!! (unless you count the bag they come in and the sticker paper…) and, in my experiences, stickers last longer. THANKS CLYW!
CLYW makes some of the best yoyos around and NOW THEY MAKE SILI STICKERSSSS!!!
I was thinking the same thing. 3 hours a day is a lot of throwing, but even so, a few days? That just doesn’t sound right. Man, if I could even get 3 hours a week. I’m lucky to get an hour a week these days.
I have a couple of CLYW throws. One is still factory done, send to me as-is off a BST. The other was re-siliconed right before it was sent to me after getting it from BST. All I can say is, even in my lack of experience, I like the feel of the response of the flowable silicone. It makes me want to use flowable silicone on all my compatible yoyos.
I did everything according to all tutorials i saw/read. i used the clear window sealent which levels its self then i tried rtv, packed and leveled it out with a card. I let both kinds set for at least 24 hours before playing.
even the factory silicone that came in my avalanche came out in a few days. the clear stuff just pops out when it wears down. the rtv just wears down then to get it out you have to use amonia or some other kind of solvent. so im done with flowable, but to each his own.
I wouldn’t worry much about your sili not lasting now that you have found something that works for you. Somtimes it would be nice to pop a sticker in and play instead of doing a sili job and then waiting for it to dry.
I just bought a Bassalope from another user here via BST and he siliconed it. It was a small bearing bassalope, and the area for response pads was clearly intended for a sticker response as it’s rather shallow as well as wide. It wore out within minutes, but it was well worn when received. Anyhow, the 12mm Duncan Silicone stickers I ordered from YYE worked like a dream as replacements.
I am all for the convenience of sticker-type replacements, be them the more ring-style ones or something else. The convenience is great. However, flowable silicone, very nice.
It’s nice that CLYW is offering an option now as not everyone wants to mess with silicone or learning new skills. That’s great. Options are always good. However, I think more companies should take that mindset in mind when making their yoyos. Offer a pad, because many will open for the convenience. But, make the yoyo flowable compatible for those who want to go that route as well.
Other than the bassalope, I haven’t had to change any responses yet. I’m sort of itching for my first set of responses on something to wear out and need replacing so I have an excuse to silicone it.
I must say I prefer the flowable silicon over the snow tires. It is more labor-intensive but I think it is slightly better.
I find the snow tires are harder on the string. It seems to fray quickly when using the tires vs. the old silicone jobs. I do like their responsiveness though.
