Question about Custom’s Reactor and Axl Elite - I know these yoyos were popular in the late 90s during the boom. I remember seeing them in my yoyo catalog and marveling them at the time.
I have never tried any of Custom’s products so I have no idea how they are performance-wise and naturally, I come with loaded questions for those who may have played one in the past or recently.
I’m aware that the Reactor is an undersized. I was interested in seeing how an undersized modern responsive would play. The Axl Elite is more of like a full sized version of the Reactor (or the Reactor is like a mini version of the Axl Elite)
Fast forward to 2020 where everything old is new again, I was eyeballing these 2 throws and wondering how they’d handle for modern responsive tricks. I know they both use an A-size bearing. Do their performance rings response system last? I know it’s more of a friction sticker than a recess.
I’ve got both of these, although my Reactor is the original fixie version that I bought back in the day at the mall cart I worked at. I picked up my AXL Elite in the last year after reading this from Doc Pop: Doc Pop’s take on the AXL Elite
Before I get into it, it bears mentioning that I’m nearly 50 years old, and learned all my basics on slimlines before the Great Enwidening. I’m not a better player for it or anything, but the frustration of unforgiving catch zones is just normal for me.
So, I just took both throws out and gave them a run through the responsive stuff I know. Keep in mind, I’m still pretty new to modern responsive stuff. I can land kickflips, and I can stall in most of the normal single string mounts and can get from stall to stall without too many issues.
The Reactor has a lot going for it for 0A play, shape wise. Walls are high enough to stall well, gap is wide enough to not feel overly punishing. It’s also flared enough to balance well on things like back of the hand stalls. It also loops fairly well, if you’re into that sort of thing. Not so well that I don’t have to pay attention to it, but good enough to not feel like I’m fighting to keep it on angle for 3 or four loops. The cons for the Reactor are two main issues for me, and these MAY have to do with the fact that mine is a fixed axle version. It just feels heavy, and kinda slow. And it requires a decent amount of spin to get back to the hand, but it’s really smooth for a fixie, so it can be hard for me to tell when I’ve passed the point of no return (pun intended). But, it is kind of the only game in town for undersized modern responsive, so I can live with it, since it’s otherwise quite capable.
And I love my AXL Elite, and until I got my Spinworthy Bloodcell, it was my go-to for 0A. If you find the Weekender intriguing, but the price daunting, it’s worth a look. I got mine recently, but it appears to be the older, pre A-size bearing version. So consider buying direct from Custom, as I’d imagine they have the more “recent” version. All the positives for the Reactor are pretty much the same in the Elite, even though it’s a VERY different throw. Here’s the thing about it that I really like: It’s just so light! You can just flick it around. It takes very little effort on the throw for stall play, and on regenerations I actually have to hold back to prevent gaining too much spin if I’m headed into another stall. Also, it’ll return or at least get into regen range with very little spin remaining. The response on mine is snappy and predictable, although I did put a few drops of lube in the bearing. I can’t speak to the longevity of the response, tho. I’d imagine it’ll last for a good long time, as it shows no signs of wear after several months of play. I’m pretty sure that some old school folks have alternate means of replacing them when they do wear out. If I recall correctly, Rubbermaid tub strips were cut down for the purpose back in the day.
Thanks for the detailed info! Ended up pulling the trigger on both of them. I read somewhere too that the Axl Elite was one of the influences for the Weekender.
I’d love to see what the insides look like on the current batches of both of these, if you get a second the next time you have them taken apart. For comparison, this is what the guts of mine look like. I threw an A-size bearing into the photo, so you can see that what’s in my Axl Elite is something different, it’s got a bit smaller OD, and it’s quite a bit narrower. Also worth noting is the weird axle sleeve in the Reactor. I’m not even sure what it’s made out of, but it does work pretty well.
Awesome, thanks so much! This wiki page says that Custom switched to A-size in 2008, but since we’ve both got ones that aren’t that, maybe they switched again to something else.
Oof, I had a reactor wood axle and a normal blue AXL.
The AXL response pads wore out over a couple years but not so much the pad as the sticky backing that held it to the yoyo. Obviously you can replace it with better stuff now.
I had the hardest time playing the Axl as a kid as i remember only really being able to land Trapezes. When i took it out of the old memory box as an adult i was a bit better with it but i had already gotten used to wide gap unresponsives.
I didnt really enjoy the Reactor all to much, mostly due to the fixed axle. Wasnt fun as a looper and hurt when it hit back for obvious reasons. Im not the biggest into 0A though so take that for what its worth. Both cool throws but not really all that fun for me now adays.
Yeah, half-spec A would be a pretty good way to put it, for sure.
When I first picked up the fixed Reactor back in the '90s, I kinda had the same issues. It was a cool pocket throw, and metal, but it wasn’t really great for anything. So mine also went into the memory box for years. Glad I kept it, since I’m finding myself drawn more and more to 0A, but outside of that particular style of play, the fixie version is just a cool bit of history.
I had a very similar experience back in 2010 when I picked up a Duncan Dragonfly. As a kid I never got around to getting a Bumble Bee GT. I quickly felt like I outgrew the dragonfly as I was already binding and throwing unresponsive, wasn’t my thing. Fast forward to early this year, found out to be a solid 0A throw. Everything old is new again.
