Duncan has been slowly showing us that they can hang with the other high end metal yoyo companies with the new installment of yoyos in the De-Luxxe line. First the Raptor which for me has been one of the best yoyos I have played to date. Then Echo which was highly anticipated, brought some great grinding fun to the line up. Now we have the Metropolis. There has not been as much buzz around the Metro as there has been for the Echo even though they dropped about the same time. So I’m going to tell you what this yoyo is all about.
Specs.
Diameter: 53.02 mm / 2.08 inches
Width: 40.35 mm / 1.58 inches
Gap Width: 4.26 mm / .17 inches
Weight: 65.6 grams
Bearing Size: Size C (.250 x .500 x .187)
Response: Duncan SG Silicone Groove Rings
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^^^ found Duncan web site
^^^ found Singapore Yoing blog
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^^^ found Duncan web site
Well as you can see I’m way to lazy to take pictures for this review.
First Impression;
When I first received my Metro I had no Idea what to expect. I had heard that Duncan was going to re-do the packaging for the De-luxxe line but I had not seen it in person yet. The new packaging is a plastic display insert like you would find toys and other game type items in at Walmart. The package has two big half swirls going in to the circumference of the yoyo. The in info found on the package is the same as on the previous package just laid out differently. Not much to the new package. Once you take a scissors to it and get the yoyo out you will notice that the yoyo is light. At just over 65g this yoyo does not have as much beef as its two predecessor had. The Raptor weighs in at 66g and the Echo weighs in at just over 68g. Keep in mind that those weights are not with the caps on which would beef up each yoyo up by almost 4g. I should rephrase what I said, it feels light. Now a days the average weight ranges from 65-69g. You will also notice the unique shape of the yoyo. After the bearing seat and the response system there is a very defined curve, I mean very defined curve. The only way I feel I can explain it is that there are two very small donuts on either side of the bearing seat. From those donuts there is a sharp plane that lead out to the actual wing of the yoyo which come to a nice rounded edge. The shape over all is very angular. The inner cup area curves down to the very small inner face. This is because of the weird donuts around to bearing seat. The small face only allows for very small laser engravings. This was true for the Echo as well.
Guts;
The Metro uses a large C bearing which is now the stander in bearings. The response is Duncan’s SG sticker which I personally like, but you can also use the silicone stickers from YYJ, K-pads, or flow-able. The Metro use a very short axle which I have had problems with as far as stripping. So be mindful of that.
Feel;
In the hand the Metro feels eh…light. I don’t know why it feels so light but it does. I the Raptor feels almost perfect to me and it is only about a 1/2g heavier. I think I has something to do with the donuts and how that spreads out the weight. The Metro does fit well in the hand. The rounded edges hits almost dead center of the main pad of your palm below your thumb. The donuts in the center provide a very nice area for your middle finger to rest. I would have to say that the Metro fits very nicely in the hand. You can also feel the very light blast that has been on the Raptor and the Echo. I love this blast. It is not the most aggressive blast but it does give some softness to the yoyo and some grinding ability.
Play;
Thus far the weight has been a big theme of this review. Well its not when it comes to play. This yoyo plays like a mid-weight. On the throw you can feel a small thump at the bottom of the string and then after that it is very smooth. The Metro is very agile. I would not say that it is super fast, but it does have a little zip to it. The Metro can slide in and out of loops very well. Pops, flops, trans.,swings, hops whatever this yoyo can slip in and out of it very nicely. This yoyo does lack in the area of sleep time. I think this is because the Metro is on the lighter side of the board. The Echo I could not see me every using the caps and the Raptor maybe but I was happy with it. If you could put cap on the Metro I would. The Metro does not have the cap option that was found on the other two De-luxxe yoyos. grinds on the Metro are Ok. Not great but not bad. Over all the Metro plays very well but I think it could play better.
Recap;
The Metro is a good yoyo. For $47, the Metro is a great yoyo with a cool shape. However out of the the three Raptor, Echo, and Metropolis the Metro would be at the bottom. The Raptor has just a perfect combination of everything that’s why I love it so. The Echo has such great grinding ability I would have to put it higher even though I think the Echo is kinda slow. The Metro is like Raptor in so far as it tries to bring everything together. Unlike the Raptor, the Metro has a good combination of everything and not a perfect combination. Over all I love what Duncan has done with these three yoyos. You can go wrong with any of them.