For those of you who missed the news, last year Tony Šec has launched his own yoyo brand called Empathy (@empathy_yy on instagram), and with that they released their new yoyo the Physix. Since I managed to get my hands on one, I figured I would share my thoughts about it.
Introduction:
Physix is the first release from Empathy and a signature model for Korean prodigy Kim Min Joon. (fun fact: the name is inspired by Kim Min Joon’s favorite bowling ball, which is another hobby he excels at, I recommend peeking at his instagram @kimmin_joon399_)
The yoyo itself is a smaller, full-sized bimetal with slightly rounded V-shape and comes in 5 solid colorways - royal blue, sage green, silver, shiny baby blue, and shiny rose-pink, each with a silver stainless steel ring. The colorway i got is the matte Sage Green.
Specs:
Diameter: 54.5mm
Width: 45mm
Weight: 65.1g
Gap: 4.6mm
Axle: 8mm
Response: standard 19mm
Bearing: C-sized (Concave)
Body material: Aluminium
Ring material: Stainless Steel
Price: 140USD
Build quality and durability:
As the price point suggests, this yoyo’s quality is top notch. The matte finish is incredibly soft on touch and the yoyo is 12/10 dead smooth on fingernail which is not too common in bimetal designs.
Durability is pretty good as well, this yoyo has been my EDC for over a month now, and naturally it has accumulated some mild damage over the time, but the smooth spin still lingers.
Play:
In hand, the yoyo feels more towards the undersized line of the spectrum, but not too small. The organic curve in the catch zone leading up to the rim makes the yoyo fairly comfortable in hand. As for the width, it is about average for today’s standard.
The yoyo boasts quite thick stainless steel ring concentrated at the very edge of the rim. This results in super solid play-feel, but it does not make the yoyo feel slow or heavier than it needs to be. Quite on the contrary, the yoyo is among the fastest ones I’ve tried, making it a great fit for speed combos, but the solid stable feel and smaller diameter make it a super good yoyo for more intricate technical tricks as well. The size also allows for easy execution of chopstick tricks.
Where I find the yoyo just okay is horizontals, it does well on shorter combos, but longer ones are a little harder to pull off.
The binds are super tight, ever since I got it I am using the stock pads, and the yoyo returns perfectly even after a little wear. It never felt slippy, nor snaggy.
As for fingerspins, they are very much doable, but the cup shape was not optimized for them, so don’t expect miracles, but i guess there’s plenty of other yoyos which deliver on that part these days.
If I had to compare it to some other yoyo, the closest one I can think of is probably the Toru 0.99 - smaller, super stable, fast, fitting for multitude of playstyles.
Watch it in action:
Kim Min Joon’s official promo video:
Physix on stage:
Summary:
PROS:
- minimal, clean design
- great durability
- over the top smoothness
- great binds
- super stable and fun for all sorts of play styles
CONS:
- quite steep price tag
- horizontals are just okay
Would I recommend this yoyo?
If you can justify the price tag and like smaller-sized organic-ish/rounder v-shape yoyos, then my answer is yes, absolutely!
If you have any questions, feel free to let me know in the comments, in case I forgot to cover it in the post.