I’m very late to this thread, but new to the board and doing way too much research on a new yoyo. Found this thread and hits three of the models I’ve been looking at, including the Weekender (there are few reviews on this out there!).
Do you like the Weekender because it’s new, or because you prefer its performance over the Alleycat 650b?
I’m a relative beginner to string tricks, and throwing a cheap metal responsive at the moment. I’ve gotten advice to just move to unresponsive, but I think I want to have one of each. The Confusion GT, Alleycat 650b and the Weekender are my top three choices. Does one of these stand out for helping climb the string trick ladder before making the jump to unresponsive?
Thanks for your time and any insight you can provide!
Thanks for chiming in @Myk_Myk! I have an update, so here goes for those that are looking for discussion on responsive yoyos and go down the Deep State / AlleyCat / Weekender rabbit hole like I did
I acquired a used Confusion GT shortly after my original post, and it was a little too responsive and snappy for me. I didn’t enjoy attempting tricks with it, and on my second busted knuckle I started shopping for something else.
Even though it’s hard to find buzz on the Weekender, I was checking out the promo stuff @DocPop did and was really curious. So, when one popped up on BST I jumped on it. Have now had it for a few days. Amazing. I’m finding out that I’m really picky when it comes to shape, and this one is right in the sweet spot. It’s also silent and dead smooth, like throwing a little orange cloud. I love everything about it.
Not that playing unresponsive isn’t enjoyable, but the Weekender is just…fun. I’m trying a little bit of 0A and basic string tricks right now and really enjoying the experience. To anyone on the fence about the price, or finding it hard to dig up reviews on it, I can’t recommend it enough.
The Weekender is unlike the others in how extremely light it is. It won’t play like your typical metal slimline responsive yoyo (though the Confusion GT isn’t really a slimline). So other than being slim-ish and being responsive, I’m not sure it belongs in quite the same conversation as the others.
The Deep State seemed too slim for my skill level, which was another reason I chose the Weekender. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control it at all on the string. AlleyCat is a little wider I think, and almost went with it before the Weekender appeared.
But after reading @zslane comment, maybe I’m not actually getting a traditional experience. I’m curious then - where does it belong when discussing responsive play (I’m totally new to all of this, btw)? There are so few premium, responsive options out there, and I imagine that the Weekender is in a category of its own due to its weight.
I mean that Delrin Gamer looks really cool, and the others mentioned in this thread are great, but the Weekender is an awesome yoyo! It may be light, but it’s fully capable on string tricks. As far as a yoyo that is great for responsive string tricks, and 0A stuff, it’s as good an experience as you can get, allowing for personal preference of course.
Edit:
These are my thoughts comparing the two. Keep in mind, these are my opinions.
Deep State
Pros:
awesome diameter
side effects
well balanced for fixie style play
long spinning (for what it is)
great regenerations
Cons:
not the snappiest response, hesitates just a tad
not the grippiest stalls
Alleycat 650b
Pros:
super classy looking
A size bearing makes it feel very unique; closer to a fixie yet very powerful spin
very snug stalls
great regenerations
very snappy response
Cons:
diameter is a little big for my tastes
Final thoughts
They are both great yoyos, but imho, the Alleycat plays fixie style better. The Deep State isn’t bad by any means, it’s just a little more finicky. If I were ever in the [highly unlikely] unfortunate situation of being stranded in a wilderness somewhere, and were given one of the two at random, I’d be grateful for either one!
I would LOVE to see an A size bearing version of the Deep State. Guts of the Alleycat in the Deep State; I think that would be pretty sweet.
I felt the exact opposite about the OG Alleycat. I greatly prefer the Deep State with thick lube vs the OG Alleycat (with Duncan friction sticker and greased bearing). My feeling was the OG Alleycat was almost 'response roulette", while the Deep State is predictable. Maybe not fixie responsive, but, predictable. Perhaps one of the Luftwerk blanks would make it more 'fixie like", but, for me, it is good as is.
Never tried the 650b. Was thinking about a 650b, but, worked out a trade for an Alleycat and fell in love. That said, Ed Haponik seems to enjoy his 650b (but, then again, he could put an axle between two glazed donuts and throw amazingr tricks)
I think a lot of this can be chalked up to OG Alleycat vs 650b Alleycat. They are different beasts. I admit that it took me longer to get the response of my OG one dialed in and I still don’t enjoy it quite as much as the 650b. That said, I wouldn’t describe the OG as “response roulette” in my experience. But like I say, I did fiddle with it for a while to get it where I liked.
thank you for your reply. I spent a lot of time with the OG, and, the closest I cam to a predictable response was with a greased bearing and a new friction sticker (which, lets face it, only behaves like new for a dozen throws). I believe the 650b is a completely different beast, and, I love the idea of small bearing and big response pad. That said, the Deep State is currently ringing my bell.
Sounds to me like you need to super-heavy lube the bearing a lot? I don’t see these items as a valid criticism personally? I suggest really packing the bearing with grease and evaluate again?
Which is more bettererest?