I’m a fan of Luftverk. I’ve owned most every full sized throw Jeffrey has made…for Clyw I’ve tried hard to like them…I really have but found the yo-yos too dense feeling and a little lacking on Performance. The Chief has always been the exception for me. It’s beautiful, interesting, floaty and stable at the same time. A Top 10 Mono Aluminum in my book. The Tundra has been Huge selling regret of mine, it is Special and an amazing earlier collaboration between CLYW and Luftverk. I was hoping for some of that Magic with the Alpine.
Opening the Box from YYE we get a plain small brown box with a CLYW Hatchet Logo with LKFV Script. I’m not a fan of paying extra for fancy boxes but Luftverk packaging in the past has been pretty epic to say the least. I know there was supply chain stuff and boxes and foam were a chore. I can appreciate the minimalist packaging with a Nice Patch and Really Cool Letter of Authenticity. Boxes just collect dust anyway and I hate keeping track of them if I sell it.
The Yo-yo is Stunning!! Wow!! The Machining is perfect with with no visible machine marks but not at all glossy either…this is big…because I hate sticky yoyos, they hit or touch your hand during tight combos and send the yo-yo tilting and losing momentum…It’s annnoying on some Ti’s and I end up giving them a slight sand on a mini lathe. The Alpine is has a Perfect amount of Matte…it is a grind machine and not tacky at all during play, it’s actually a bit slippery and grinds well. On the throw you get pleasantly surprised by a quick and balanced descent, it’s not labored on the throw like a heavily rim weighted throw. It’s so elegant and swift through combos with an effortless swing and redirection feel. My Favorite Luftverks to date are the Acadia and the Evora. The Acadia is heavily rim weighted and it labors a bit thru combos speed wise even at 1.5g less than the Alpine. The Evora is the opposite, a quick mover thru combos but lacks the true spin power and stability of the Acadia. This is where, I think, the CLYW influence merges the two extremes, very much like the Tundra did. With moving the rim weight to a secondary inner rim and a slight increase in center weight by the elegantly engraved protruding cup and large nipple, you recapture the Magic Feel and Floatiness of the Chief!! The catch zone is more Borealis 2 looking than Chief but the feel and play captures the Chief’s Floatiness and Stability in a very premium package that only Titanium can deliver. The Response and bearing seats are flawless…I mean right on the money with the bearing fit and the recession of the response with Snow Tires. I’ve had issues with bearing fit and response pads not fully recessed in Luftverks, to where I had to silicone them up. Out of the box it’s the most refined and best put together throw Luftverk and CLYW has put out
in my opinion. I know Jeffrey has really concentrated hard on consistency with the bearing seats after the Tundra and you can really see the difference. Mine is Dead Smooth and Flawless. Good Job CLYWxLuftverk.