I have been waiting a while to get this throw. There is just an appeal to try out a small business making throws. Kind of like rooting for the underdog. Some like buying stuff made in the USA. The Thunder Wasp is made by Foxland Precision right here in Tennessee. Foxland Precision is basically 1 man and his machine shop. That can be a good thing because Alvin can do all the quality control from design to finished product.
So, on to the Thunder Wasp.
Specs:
Width: 39 mm
Diameter: 52.3 mm
Gap: 3.7 with slim bearing. 4.7 with wide bearing
Bearing: Size D. 2 provided. 5 x 11 x 4 and 5 x 11 x 5
Weight: 62.5
Response: Silicone recess
What came in the box:
Thunder Wasp Yoyo in Black with White Weight Rings. Already siliconed. And 5 x 11 x 4 bearing in it.
A Baggie containing 2 response pads and 5 x 11 x 5 bearing.
Another Baggie with some extra green strings.
A Paper Sticker.
Looks: What can I say? It’s black and shiny. I see no ano flaws in it. Looks sort of retro with the white rings accenting it. Nice engraving inside the cup giving an almost classy feel. The shape is different. The Shinwoo Dolphin I reviewed before had that shape that was stuck between a wing and a H shape. The Thunder Wasp is about the same but a different profile to it than the Dolphin. Holding it in hand it almost reminded me a larger Dolphin with how my finger fits down nicely in the middle. It also feels smaller than you would think.
On to pulling the small bearing out and replacing with the cleaned wide bearing. Tight seat so I had to use pliers to wiggle it out.
Throwing with the rings on. It was a ok feel to it. Not fast and zippy. I can only describe it as a ok feeling. Nothing really special or different. I would actually put the rings on to learn a new trick if I needed to slow the yoyo down some.
Taking the rings off is like taking the gloves off. This just takes your foot off the brakes. It could have been named Zippy the Thunder Squirrel. Not really a floaty feeling to me but most definitely not a rock with a string tied to it. With the rings off it felt really nice. Someone with more experience than me could turn this into a speed daemon with ease. It goes where you put it even if it is not where you really want it to go…lol… I was able to get my fingers on the spikes fairly easy. One review I was able to find, if I remember correctly said it was not that great of a finger grinder. I really did not have a problem pulling them off. I have not tried any thumb grinds as of yet but it should be able to handle them with its cup ring.
The Thunder Wasp will take its place right beside my Dang as favorite throw and I don’t see any problem for someone to use it as a main or competition throw. You can get all the same stuff I got for $75 (all inclusive… no shipping charge) from Foxland Precisions website. While there, you can take a look at the other yoyo’s Alvin makes such as Katz Meow, Minotaur and Foxtail. You could also call or email Alvin for B-Grades that he has listed for $45