YYF Czech Point Pivot. It was the first yoyo I bought when I got back into yoyo after 12 years. But nostalgia isn’t why I like it.
I’ve now tried 11 bimetals, and this $55 monometal has held its own against every single one. The only ones I feel come close overall are the Edge 2022 (this will probably beat it out in time - saving it to reward myself after completing a trick list) and the Batsquatch. That’s not to say there weren’t others I thought were good or enjoyable. But, from an objective performance standpoint, I can’t say they were better (I’ve actually been disappointed in a number of bimetals because they didn’t play as well as this thing). There have even been yoyos I wanted to like more than it, but at the end of the day it just feels like “home.”
Performance
It’s probably the most powerful yoyo I’ve thrown. The Hybrid Fulvia (og) and Motion Centrifugal come pretty close, though. It’s extremely long-spinning in play, which makes it so forgiving on long combos.
As far as speed & control, this thing is a joy to play. Instead of feeling like I’m playing with two SS rings that lag behind what I want it to do (cough outer-rim bimetals cough), this feels like moving one solid yoyo. It doesn’t have any of that rim-weighted inertia slowing it down, so you get all that speed from the start. At the same time, it doesn’t feel like it’s “getting away from you.” It may not move like the flyweights (Tachyon, Spright, etc.) or even an Outlier 3, but it’s no slouch.
Stability is good - several bimetals & hybrids have bested it in this category, but it’s still plenty stable (I used it as a noob and have had no problem there). Not sure if I’ve tried any monos that are better, but OD Reboot & Rebirth are pretty stable as well. In casual play, it’s kind of nice for it not to feel so immovable sometimes, but again, no issue that would make me hesitant to compete with it (if I ever practiced enough to think about that).
Despite being a hard W, it’s actually quite comfortable as well.
So why is it my favorite? A combination of performance with how natural/comfortable it feels to me and the price point.
I could go on, but overall I think it’s quite underrated. It probably gets dismissed as a “finger spin yoyo,” but the Pivot cup is probably the thing I care least about. It’s not bad in any way - it will most certainly extend your finger spin times. It feels pretty solid/not vibey too, being injection molded onto the yoyo.
You asked what I would change. Two things:
- Erase the delrin cup.
It’s great, but I prefer the feeling of metal. The OG BettyNova is probably the closest I’ll get to that, though.
– it doesn’t rattle, but it’s probably holding it back from being glass smooth (both CPPs I’ve owned had nail vibe). It would also make thumb grinds possible and therefore this yoyo literally capable of any trick/combo.
– side effects to replace it would be interesting - Alter the gap area
This would go changing the feel & play of the yoyo too much again, but it’d be awesome if the gap was more accessible to make axel knots easier to untangle by hand w/o unscrewing the yoyo. A small response bump or making a slight “U” shape toward the center could likely accomplish this.
Honorable Mentions
1A: Edge 2022, Hybrid Fulvia, Batsquatch
5A: Monarch (favorite for 5A)