Well I have been throwing a Metal Drifter for about a month now, straight stock from the package to now no modding or tweaking. I had to clean the bearing once due to dust or something getting into the bearing and that was just last week. So all stock and I was just putting it through its paces and decided to write a review. So enjoy, and this is what I think of the Metal Drifter. 8)
Packaging
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/ize1212/Duncan/IMG_1663.jpg
So it is a pretty typical Duncan Package, just different graphics to suit the Drifter. Really no complaints, just that I hate opening them…so once it is open you have the Metal Drifter which comes with a skull counterweight. (Pretty sweet, but I personally do not like the skull I would have preferred a simple duncan die.)
As you see my Metal Drifter is gold, the other colors are black and blue they contain a red, silver, or gold skull counterweight.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/ize1212/Duncan/IMG_1670.jpg
Stats
Diameter: 53 mm
Width: 39.5 mm
Gap Width: 3 mm
Weight: 61 grams
Recess: 1 mm
Walls: 4 mm (*at recess: 3 mm)
*w/ stock silver spacers installed
There is a cool feature where there are caps on the posts, making the axle and nut accessible. These caps are threaded so they do not pop on and off, but they get screwed on and off. Which can lead to possibilities such as replacing it, tuning it, modding it…
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/ize1212/Duncan/IMG_1782.jpg
Play
After letting the yoyo break in, it took me almost 2 weeks to get this thing playing amazing from naturally breaking it in. However I must say this yoyo is pretty beast and for $20 you definitely can not go wrong.
It feels like how everyone says, an undersized FHZ that is cold and metal. The Drifter has a butterfly shape to it just like the FHZ, but it is also low on the weight scale which means it can play pretty fast. However I do wish it had a little more rim weight to it because I do not find it good for 5A. I also think that it would have to be heavier to be better for 5A but that is also my preference. I’m not saying this yoyo is bad at all. It is not, with a good throw you can get a lot of power behind the Metal Drifter.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/ize1212/Duncan/IMG_1771.jpg
With all this power going on in a good spin, shall we try an arm grind?
Well I decide I should test it out; a grind on this yoyo is not the best out there obviously since it is essentially raw. Although it still does pull off grinds fairly well and return with a good amount of power in its spin.
So we return it to the hand and realize, geez for a $20 yoyo this is pretty smooth. Just a small amount of vibe, which I do not care about at all…actually I kind of like it. Then we throw another trick that the M. Drifter can pull off nicely, that is the suicide. M. Drift pulls it off smoothly due to its friction sticker response.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/ize1212/Duncan/IMG_1780.jpg
Response
The response system is a slight recessed friction sticker, that sits flush and allows dead unresponsive play and still snappy binds when broken in.
I said earlier that M. Drift has stock silver spacers, I find these to play awesome installed even though the gap is slightly too small. I have switched them out w/ gold ones, but I felt that gave the yoyo too much kick back. I do have to say though that one gold and one silver spacer plays pretty swell too just slightly more kick back than normal but not bad.
Long Story Short
If you are looking for a new yoyo to try, something to mess around with, or perhaps practice modding. You should look into picking up a Metal drifter, it is $20 and definitely does not play like a cheap yoyo. I can not wait for the plastic version either, yes a plastic version to pick up also.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/ize1212/Duncan/IMG_1671.jpg
