The Generalyo Essence
A Review by James Reed
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For more pics and comparison shots click here.
Intro: I attended a local DXL meeting and Ernie Kaiser (Owner of Generalyo) was selling the protos of his new yoyo, the Essence. I bought one, my little brother bought one, and even my dad bought one! When I first saw the shape of the yoyo, I could tell I was going to like it. It had the inner shape of a 5 Star, the rims of a Hatrick, and the size of a Torrent. And I really liked all of those yoyos. The one thing I was kind of nervous about was the weight. Generalyo has always put out light yoyos (With the exception of the Torrent and Magnum). And I personally prefer lighter yoyos. And the reason for that is because I prefer fast yoyos. I could tell Ernie was trying to come up with something different with this yoyo. I have played with this yoyo every second of the day for a little over a week, and here is my honest review.
Specs:
53.8 mm
dia.43 mm
wide4.2 gap
67 gr
Looks/Feel: Since this is a proto, it wasn’t anodized, or bead blasted. The yoyo was a true proto, and was right off the lathe. It had a nice raw dull look to it. This yoyo is nice and oversized. I could imagine how nice the production run would look with Generalyo’s solid anodize and it’s nice deep bead blast. This yoyo has a nice solid feel to it. It is solid, and heavy, yet fast and nimble. As I stated before generally like lighter yoyos, cause they tend to be fast. It has a unique heavy fast feel to it, kind of like an H shape yoyo, which is what I really like about the feel of the yoyo. It is not really a floaty yoyo like most of the previous Generalyo’s; due to the weight it carries. But it defiantly isn’t a rock and just sinks when you pull it up for a whip. It defiantly has enough airtime for me to pull off my whip tricks.
Response: I really love Hat Pads. The thing I like about them is that they last quite a long time. Whenever I take a yoyo anywhere, I always take my beater Hatrick. Which uses Hat Pads like the Essence. They last me a month of play minimum. Whenever I tried my Essence, it gave the same nice tight binds and never snagged during play. Whenever you install new Hat Pads in your yoyo, I don’t even have to break them in. They don’t snag, or make your yoyo responsive, and give tight binds as soon as you play it. After long periods of play, when the Hat Pads are ready for a change, they usually stop giving as tight of binds. They are nice and sticky, and stay put in the yoyo until they are all used up. Anyway, to sum it up, it’s a great response system, and I would recommend it.
Bearing: The AIRG bearings are aircraft quality bearings, and I say they are yoyo quality bearings too. These bearings are superb. They spin long, and are smooth. They require lubrication to continue running nice and strong. The main thing I like about the bearing is that it’s smooth. For some reason, these bearings remind me of a 10 ball bearing. Similar to a 10 ball bearing, you can feel its smoothness and quality. The bearing can be a little loud and some points. Its never bothered me, but I know some people would prefer a quieter bearing. But what I tell them is just to drop some thin lube in, and it will be nice and silent.
Play: Like I said earlier in the review, the Essence is a unique yoyo. It has a solid unique shape to it that declines downward tword the center like the 5 Star. It fits nice firm in your hand. And as you throw it down it gives a nice “thunk” and responds fast to your every trick command. And wow, this yoyo is extremely stable, just like the other Generalyo’s. The Essence has a ton of rim weight to it. This yoyo can’t be tilted easily. It will stay nice and horizontal during your tricks, and is fairly forgiving on a bad throw. It is very wide, which gives you the upper hand on Eli Hops and other tricks. It gives you maximum control going in and out of gaps. This yoyo is 100% smooth and vibe free. If Ernie puts the same bead blast finish on it as he usually puts on his yoyos, this yoyo will grind forever. The bead blasting on Generalyo’s are deep, and allow the yoyo to grind for a long amount of time.
Final Thoughts: This yoyo is truly great. It’s stable, fast, and heavy. I can’t find anything I don’t like in it. I can hardly wait to see it come out to stores, and what ano colors Ernie will use on the production runs. I suggest to everyone that they try this yoyo out. It is a yoyo I can see lots of people falling in love with.
Thanks for reading!
-James Reed
