INTRO
I would like to start by stating this is my first official review and I will be writing more and publishing stubs here and full ones on my site. But for now this will be a fully man! So Barco Energy, The Energy comes from a company in Brazil named Barco, why are the named Barco? I don’t know they just are, want me to google it for you, jeez?! This yoyo’s description states that it was built to grind with a special blasting finish I can’t really compare to anything else I have ever felt before. Let’s see how she stands up throughout the review shall we?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
To be honest when I was offered this thing in a trade from Ben Nikitas I was unsure of wether I should go for it or not, I mean I had never heard of Barco, nor had I ever heard of the Energy. So at first I was totally skeptical, I think there were two things that really pushed me over into taking on this throw:
- I took a chance when I bought my Auldey Virus but I really loved it and was not disappointed, so I guess I was willing to try out a small company from yet another country.
AND
- The thing Retailed at $120 and I was going to lose a $45 Dv888? Ch-Yeah I’ll take it, I figured hey if I hate it maybe I can sell it
When the package arrive and I opened her up I almost literally started drooling, the purple with the satined rims and spike was truly a gorgeous sight, and the finish was so soft, I actually compared it out loud to my cat’s mid-length fur. This thing is downright silky, and with the blasting that was done to it makes the anno sparkle in the light. Truly amazing. I am not really big into grinding but hey if this thing was designed to grind I have to give it it’s fair shot. The shape honestly reminded me of a metal Speeder only undersized. I hate speeders, and honestly Mickey isn’t anything special to me anymore, he just seems completely dejected on stage (Flame away :P), but enough about love/hate at first sight on to the Number’s Game.
TECH
I got these from YoYoGuy
Diameter: 51mm
Width: 40mm
Weight: 69g
Bearing Size: C
Response: Pad Groove, comes stock with .555 Kentaro Pads
Nothing more to say here.
PLAY
I want to begin the play section by stating that I have a completely dry, deshielded CenterTrac in mine, as well as Red RTV for a response.
Ok on a throw I was amazed at how heavy this thing played, it is a noticeable difference from my Frantic. I know it shouldn’t be a big shocker considering this thing is 69g and the Frantic is 66g (I think?). Let me explain why I was so surprised, if I take my Frantic in one hand and the Energy in another, the Frantic which is ACTUALLY lighter, FEELS heavier. I guess that just means the weight distribution on the Frantic allows it to play a lot lighter than it actually is. So yeah, heavy, but not too heavy, maybe the right word would be full, so this yoyo feels pretty full during play, but light in the hand. I tossed a couple slacks at it, no problem, whips?, done, Hops?, completely stable, grinds?, RIDICULOUS this thing has a sort of overbite in the cup allowing you to shove your entire thumb into the IRG and since that blasted finish is inside of there as well this thing can make 2 complete thumb transfers and still have enough RPMs to take a finger grind and bind up no problem. Like I said this thing is so soft. The spikes are pronounced enough that if one were proficient with Matador play, you should have no problem, as for me, I just kinda made an idiot outta myself and hurt my fingers. The Spikes aren’t sharp, I just suck If there was one thing that I could complain about, it would probably be that this thing is not forgiving what so ever, you need to play accurate or you can start a tilt that is difficult to recover from, and the gap is narrow enough that if you don’t play with it in a deliberate fashion you will be met with a 69g THWAP to an unforeseen area of your body, don’t say I didn’t warn you
CONCLUSION
Overall I think that the Energy is a great player, just not a great sketchy throw, if you are sloppy you are going to be corrected, forcefully like those DI’s on PI always did to me But this thing can take it all and then some, you can play slow and smooth or faster and jumpier, either way this thing soars. If you get the chance to play one, you would be doing yourself an injustice to not give it a try.
PICS
These pics are from Ben Nikitas’ B/S/T, I don’t have a camera with good enough quality to do this thing justice so I will use his. Also, in these pics the Spike is un-satined.
I hope you enjoyed the review any comments would be greatly appreciated.
-Justin
