excited to try them both, would be interesting to feel the difference between the 6061 and 7068 designs
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The Aspen Project
An informal introduction to a little project Dressel Designs (@hobbygod), Adrian Velez (@Aridnavleez) and I have cooked up: The Aspen. A project for a friend, by a friend with the enormous help of a friend.
The People:
Adrian Velez is someone I have had the pleasure of getting to know as a friend through my personal journey back into yo-yoing. So when I was throwing around the idea of making a team, he was one of the first to come to mind. A fantastic player who has some of the most unique and beautifully designed tricks, as well as an outgoing community member who helped organize and run the Minnesota yo-yo club, during his time there.
He embodies what an Edition Team member is: A community first individual who also turns it up to 11 on the stage.
With all of this taken into consideration I wanted to have a design which would be truly special in capturing his preferences in a yo-yo from a design perspective. To do this I paired with none other but Patrick Dressel over at Dressel Designs. Someone who has been a continuous supporter of the Edition page since its infancy as well as a design legend. I cannot thank Dressel enough for taking on this project and for the long history of late night design chats, prototype testing and photo conversations.
As always I entrusted the execution of this to FPM, another key player in this project. Without their great attention to detail, and extreme knowledge of complex manufacturing techniques, this would have never been possible. All of the yo-yo’s arrived in flawless condition!
The Project:
The Aspen is a grade 5 titanium capped 7068 bi-metal! The internal rim structure follows design notes from extended rim performance bi-metals. This means we are able to offer the same benefits from performance weight distributions while still retaining a cap, resulting in a mix of casual play with the power, stability and control you would crave in order to hit your tech routine if asked to.
Specs:
Diameter: 57mm
Width: 45mm
Weight: 66.6g
~24g rings and 8g body per half.
Adrian:
Hey! This is Adrian. I just wanted to add a little bit about the design process on my part. When Max introduced the idea of making a signature yo-yo back in March, I was so pumped because I wanted to be able to make something unique and perfect for casual play.
Design Inspiration:
When thinking of the design, I knew I wanted a capped yo-yo. Motif by Daniel Kim and UNPRLD is one of my favorite yo-yo’s to come out in the last year. The “floatiness” and shape resonated with me as it had a unique feel that I had never been able to play with before. I used that yo-yo for months while I would go to class or work and I knew that I wanted a similar feel for any future signature yo-yo.
Additionally, I have a warm spot in my heart for Turning Point yo-yo’s. With Kentaro’s genius with regards to distributing weight and having a yo-yo feel almost perfect each time he releases something new, I had to draw some inspiration from his yo-yo’s. My all-time favorite yo-yo he has released was the Palpitation, the signature yo-yo for Takeshi Matsuura, and the MSG, the signature yo-yo for Yuta Kashiwaya. As a technical player, I usually gravitate towards high-stability yo-yo’s that can handle large amounts of stress. This allows me to perform tricks with multilayered string formations around the gap of the yo-yo without being worried about lacking spin. These two qualities are upheld by both the MSG and Palpitation, making them perfect yo-yo’s for a style that I like to do. However, I noticed something was missing in each of those yo-yo’s. While the Motif is extremely fun and “floaty”, it was not as stable as the Turning Points. On the other hand, the opposite was true for the Turning Points, where they were extremely stable, but at times too perfectly executed and I was unable to enjoy them for long periods. So when Max asked me exactly what I wanted in my signature, I told him that it needed to be fun, unique, and able to handle my tricks.
The Name:
With regards to the naming of the yo-yo, “Aspen” resonated with me. When I was studying at the University of Minnesota to obtain my degree in Microbiology, I became great friends with an environmental science major. We used to go for walks every day after class and he would teach me the names of all the trees we passed. The one that resonated with us was the Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides), as it had some of the most beautiful leaves. When the wind hit the leaves, it would shake, seeming like it was waving at you when you passed by them. The leaves flutter in the wind, making a distinct noise. When Max started designing the yo-yo with caps, I knew that the yo-yo would ring in the ear, similarly to the tree’s shimmer noise, making the name of the yo-yo so fitting.
A Thank You:
I want to thank Max for believing in me with regards to my yo-yoing and my ideas. I know, from time to time, I can be a bit obnoxious and weird and can be a little trouble-maker but I appreciate that he took the time to make this yo-yo for me. He is someone I cherish in my life as being a great friend outside of yo-yo play, as I can talk to him about anything, splash ideas back and forth. He is such a nice, smart, and amazing person so if you get the opportunity to meet with him, grab a beer, or just sesh a bit, you will realize how much of a sweetheart he is. I also want to thank Dressel for putting in the work to make this yoyo since I know his ability as a designer is top-notch. Lastly, I want to thank the community for helping me get to where I am today as a Yo-yo player and for being kind as I struggle to accept my happiness within myself as a growing yo-yoer. There is so much more to learn about yo-yoing and design, and I hope everyone who can own one or try it enjoys the yo-yo as much as I do.
A special note:
I want to make sure recognition falls on those who helped support this prototype run, two made it into the hands of the public/close friends. It would not have been possible without their help. One of the prototypes and 1 D2v2 ended up lost in the mail and one of the individuals volunteered to let theirs go in order to replace the one that got lost on its way to Adrian for testing. These folks will be receiving a special package as a token of my thanks.
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Mark your calendars! December 16th, 12:30 CT
Aspen will officially listed for Pre-Order!
Sign up for the official drop count down on IG (If you do social media, no pressure if not!)
We will list 50 pieces on the Edition page and 25 on Dressel’s page!
Each color will have a 10 piece buffer for the sake of playing it safe in terms of ensuring folks will not receive B-grades! This also means that there might be room to swap colors in case you end up deciding to change your preference later on!
Want Artwork?
We have you covered! We are working with two incredible artists on this run so please keep your eyes out for those announcements!
Thank you for everyone’s support thus far on this project! We cannot wait to get these in your hands!
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This is one of the first yoyos I’ve found interesting in a long time. Can’t wait
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Thank you for your kind words boss.
Bro this yoyo looks absolutely insane, loved it from the first pictures, love all this capped stuff coming out, so curious about the artwork with those caps you can really do crazy stuff!
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It looks great!! 24g ti rings and 8g body sounds like such an interesting design
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this yoyo is wild
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Looks so good and interesting
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Great looking throw 
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I appreciate the support Bruce!
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That really means a lot @Albertino I really appreciate the excitement and I hope it’s shared by many!
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Lets all show some love for one of our artists for this project: Mag!
https://www.instagram.com/magnificentmicrowave/
Mag is someone I have personally known since the hectic days of the “old” Thesis Discord. I have always been a major fan of their work so it brings me great joy to have them work on this project!
The Mag edition Aspens will feature two engravings pictured above and will come in a blasted pink finish!
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mags art is stunning and i love everything they make, im so happy with this collab, hope I get to pick one up soon 
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LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO (full sentence
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Amazing artwork great job Mag!
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I was lucky enough to have one of the prototypes of the aspen. I had to send it off and have literally been missing it ever since. You do NOT want to miss this yoyo if it looks at all interesting to you. IMO it’s basically the best ‘chill’ tech yoyo out there. I’ll definitely be preordering another one just to get the sick artwork.
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Do we know a price yet?
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This Saturday we will be opening the pre-orders for the Aspen!
For those who are following along, you know that we are just as excited for this run as you are and we cannot wait to get these into your hands! Made for Adrian Velez with the help of @hobbygod. This is truly a homie project and we hope we have your support on it!
A reminder of the specs:
Materials: TC4 + 7068 AL
Diameter: 57 mm
Width: 45 mm
Weight: 66.6 g
Ring weight: 24 g ( per half )
Body weight: 8 g ( per half )
Takumi has been putting in overtime to get the artwork done for us and we cannot wait to share it with you all!
Due to the nature of Adrian and I finishing up uni related activities (I actually graduated this semester woot woot), videos and other content will be delayed as he will be flying over to the Bay Area so that we can work together in person on all sorts of goodies for you all!
If you made it this far and are worried about missing the drop we welcome you to check out our pinned post on the Edition IG to subscribe for the drop countdown alert: Countdown post!
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