That’s definitely the thing that will turn some people off, and motivate others. I think we’re spoiled for choice for full-sized wide competition-oriented throws. Not too many unique throws out there.
Hope those of you who pick it up enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine, can’t wait to see what the reviewers think. Hope a lot of you make unboxing videos and give your thoughts as well. This was designed with intricate technical tricks and speedy freestyling in mind and it plays how I imagined it would.
I realize it isn’t for everyone, if you feel like you need a super wide throw to hit your tricks it won’t hurt my feelings that this isn’t the throw for you, but if you have an opportunity to give it a test run for a few minutes I bet you it’ll grow on yah!
Well, I gotta get back to spamming my friends about it! ;D
The review confirmed what we already knew to be true: a yoyo that stands apart as a unique entry in a market crowded by what is seen as “standard competition-ready” specs.
Love MFD finishes. Heck with The Gentleman’s opinion on that one.
Honestly, I can’t think of any yoyo reviews really worth reading.
The same meaningless and vague terms are thrown around in every single review. This one’s no different and the most subjective parts of the review are slammed down like they’re definitively right. Having a star-based scoring system is bad. Having three reviewers of such a small scale thing going under these weird psuedonyms (one even making buzzing sounds throughout the review to match his fly persona)… Makes me cringe.
It stands apart from the expertise and professionalism that is used to describe yoyoing throughout the rest of Yoyo News.
It’s not even that I totally disagree, I haven’t even played it. I just generally disagree with how it’s reviewed and the way it’s written.
Awesome! Hope it was at least somewhat useful, too. ;D
YoYoNews is offering reviews because people have demanded it. Personally, I agree that they’re mostly useless because at this point most yoyos are metal and they mostly play just fine. It all comes down to personal preference, and the only thing a review can possibly be good for is pointing out the small details that people develop preferences around and helping people make a decision on something they won’t have a chance to try first.
As for the professionalism of the reviews, they’re being done by some of the best yoyo players in the world. But since they’re pretty much all sponsored by various companies, it’s hard for them to throw their name on a product review for what is usually a competing product. The pseudonyms are my personal love letter to the old EC Comics characters…the Crypt Keeper, the Old Witch, the Vault Keeper, etc. And personally, since I think yoyo reviews are largely ridiculous anyway, we might as well have some fun with them. ;D
Sorry if you feel that we’re being “unprofessional” about these. The reviews are, so far, pretty accurate in my opinion. I haven’t gotten one that seemed off in any way. I personal re-write all of them so that the writing tone can’t be traced back to anyone, and I throw in the bits of “personality” to match with whatever random character I feel like using that day. It’s a feature that people asked for a lot, and we decided to offer in a way that gave us a lot more flexibility than other sites. Hopefully you can find some value or use in it, even if you do think we’re being a little too silly about it.
I think that reviews are a good basis of info that you can use to judge whether or not you’ll like the yoyo. I especially enjoy Yoyoynews reviews because they offer a fresh perspective, and inject some much needed humor into what would otherwise be a wall of text. Plus, I like reading about yoyos.
I do agree that the star system may be flawed in a few ways, especially with characteristics listed like “floaty”. Most of us agree floaty is very vague, and if a yoyo plays solid (like the Forte), then it gets lower stars, giving the illusion of it getting rated poorly.
All in all, I really appreciate what not only Steve has done for the community by creating his website (and his other great accomplishments), but to everyone who attempts to provide info about yoyos. Like I said, I feel I’m one of the few who finds yoyo reviews useful. Keep up the reviews Steve, they rock!
Usually, those two ratings just kind of cancel each other out, but I’m open to ideas on how to rate/explain that better.
Float & Heft are both valid play characteristics, even if they have been badly explained in the past and turned into clichés, and I do think they are important to communicate.
But really, we’re talking about minute differences between a ton of yoyos that are incredibly similar. I personally think it’s more interesting to chart the differences from one design version to the next, like the way that YoYoFactory regularly upgrades/redesigns their more popular models, than to chart differences between completely different designs. I wish I had the time to do a full 888 timeline charting all the design changes, same for the G5, but I’m already up to my eyeballs over here.
I don’t know a better way to grade than stars, other than a simple anecdotal conclusion. But what I do know is that giving 5 stars for “float” implies that the floatiest yoyo is the best, which we know isn’t the case. With the current system, a rock-solid yoyo is going to get 1 or zero stars, which skews the average; even if the yoyo was never designed for “float”.
I got a Forte and I Love it. Not only is it a very nice playing yoyo, but the machine work and the finish are Excellent!
I have ‘nothing’ bad to say about this yoyo.
The Review on Yoyonews almost seems like the guy is talking about a different yoyo.
I know Steve said the reviews are written by very good players, but that just proves to me… That no matter how good somebody is, it is still just an opinion. < not saying I know better, but I sure have a different view of the Forte.
I am certainly not a high level player. But I have thrown so many yoyos, while modding them and collecting them, that I have a fairly good ‘sense’ to know when I am throwing a Boss Hawg or a Sad Dog.
The Forte Rocks!
Yup
Slight update… I changed the string over to a String Labs Ammo. And now I like the Forte even better. The Ammo has a silkier feel and is not wound as tight. So the yoyo has a more cushioned feel when it hits the end of the string. The stock string is wound tighter like a Hamstring and doesn’t handle tension as well as the Ammo. The stock string plays ‘harder’ because it has no bounce because of the tight wind. It coils too easy.
The Ammo really enhances the strong points of the Forte.
And this particular Forte is as Smoooooooth as any yoyo I have: no wobble, no vibe, no fingernail chatter.
Dead smooth.
The Old School narrowness makes you control your throw and makes you pay attention.