http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/3975/ministar.jpg
SPECS
Name: General Yo Mini Star
Shape: Butterfly
Weight: 62.5 grams
Diameter: 48.36mm
Gap: 4.15mm
Width: 36.10mm
Material: 6061 Aluminum
Response: Hat Pads
Bearing: Size C
INTRODUCTION
Being a huge General-Yo fan, I HAD to buy the Mini Star. It was a necessity… like food, water, and shelter. So I selected my favorite colorway of the yoyo, grabbed an extra set of response pads and completed my order. A couple long, excrusiating days later, it arrived. Unfortunately, I was at work so I had to wait a few hours that felt that much longer. Seven o’ clock struck and my speedometer hit 85. Ten minutes later I arrived to my beloved package waiting for my arrival.
UNBOXING AND PACKAGING
The packaging was everything I expected from YYE. They pad everything well so I never have to worry about something getting damaged or lost. Everything I ordered was in place and I received a hand full of trading cards that I didn’t have. Woohoo! Digging beneath the 100 count of white polyester and the other few odds I purchased, there was the small box which contained the Mini Star.
The box was very ordinary but served its purpose. A very simple block shaped box just big enough to hold the Mini Star inside. General-Yo slapped a catchy little sticker on the front of the box that covered the complete front side. Nothing really amazing but it served its purpose. Perhaps a bit of padding inside could help prevent possible damage. However, my Mini Star came flawless.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND FIRST THROW
After opening the box and taking the yoyo out, I was amazed. It was so tiny and every thing I expected. It’s indeed the smallest throw I owned. However, this isn’t a bad thing at all. The size was everything I expected. The width of the yoyo was a bit slimmer than what I usually play with but I wasn’t skeptical at all. At that point, I slipped the slipknot onto my finger, curled my arm, and tossed the yoyo…
Wow, this thing felt great on the string. The bearing sounded amazing. The perfect amount of “buzz” for me. The yoyo felt extremely smooth but not to the point of “too smooth”. The tiniest bit of vibe lets me know my yoyo is still there and how much “juice” it has. One that that I found really interesting was the weight. Even at around 62g it felt very solid on the string. It was also very stable for its size. The first bind was very tight. It responded when I asked it too and snapped back to my hand, even when the yoyo was starting to loose a bit of its velocity. I continued just throwing and binding for nearly five or six minutes. I found myself falling in love with the little booger.
Time to have a bit of fun.
PLAYABILITY
I’m going to go ahead and get this out of the way. This thing is awesome on the string. I could perform all of my tricks with uber ease. My girlfriend was watching me play and said “wow, your tricks look so much better. Try that one super long spinny-flippy trick you never land…” Kaboom, done. I’m not saying that the yoyo makes you land your tricks because that’s just silly. What I am saying is it’s awesome for me. The size, the shape, everything feels super comfortable for me. I can play the yoyo very fast. It looks awesome just whizzing by. I wanna make myself believe that I can hear whooshes. The tiny size allows me to easily pull of technical transfers and passes.
I’ve heard a few people say it plays a bit snaggy. Let me tell you the yoyo has yet to snag on me. Durring those “grippy” parts of tricks the yoyo slides right through the resistance (if you’re smooth enough). Never had any problems with it.
Grinds. It does really well. It feels exactly how I thought it would. I don’t know but the flat tones of the yoyo made me think it’s going to be sooo smooth on grinds. My foresight was right. I can grind it on my palms for a few seconds. Drive that thing around body parts like I’m playing Need for Speed. Also, if it’s your thing, thumb grinds are extremely easy on this thing. The lip is nice and deep and surt of curled up so your finger or thumb fits right into it.
After playing for a few hours, an occasional bind has slipped every now and then. However 95% of the binds snap back with attitude.
The bearing also plays great from the moment you take it out of the box. Didn’t take long for me to break it in either. However, I did play non-stop for hours.
AFTERMATH
After throwing this yoyo like crazy it’s definitely one of my favorite throws. If you don’t like undersized yoyos that have the slightest buzz on the end of the string then maybe this isn’t for you. Also, if you’re really afraid of damaging your throw this yoyo is pretty prone to being scuffed. That being said, I can’t really think of anything negative about it. It’s a great pocket throw, fits in small hands nicely, and it’s an amazing all around player. That being said… I would recommend this to the intermediate/advanced player. Perhaps the smallish size could be difficult for a beginner to learn on. Not impossible or even improbable, but just saying.
I’m going to leave you guys with a size comparison of the Mini Star, dv888, and FHZ. Just a couple common yoyos most have seen and played with so they can get an idea of the size.
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/1359/comparisonx.jpg
Hope this review helped you guys!