Most of my favorite throws are organics and these both look great, but pretty similar. For anyone who has or has played both, how different are they? Any pros/cons of each? Thanks for any opinions!
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These are two of my absolutely favorite throws. I love organics as well - my very favorite shape. I have them both and I love them both. So, if you can I would honestly recommend getting one of each.
Grail is a bit floatier and less stable. Life has an undercut IRG so you can get in for thumb grinds. This adds rim weight which makes it more stable but a little more solid on the string.
The Life is my daily carry. It’s a beautiful design. Honestly it’s the undercut IRG that is the kicker for me - I like to do a thumb grind into trap/regen that is just not possible for me with the straight to rim design on the Grail.
With the Life there is a wrinkle in that the G2 version is a different finish than the A-RT one. They both play slightly differently. My preference is for the A-RT just because the finish seems to drag less on thumb grinds. A-RT version is basically the pyramatte finish from OD as far as I can tell. G2 is blasted and varies slightly by colorway - I’ve had three and they have slight play differences. The G2 ones are straight up ART (pun intended). I have Unicorn Speckle and Snoz. Had First Blood as well but sold that to a pal locally who didn’t have a Life (another pun intended).
All minor details though - you really can’t go wrong with either. My daily carry is my clear Life right now, but I throw the Grail on the regular.
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Here’s something I wrote up for someone who pm’d me about this question a bit.
The Grail is the ultimate in float. It’s very speedy and responds really quick to changes in direction. I feel like I have the most control over the Grail during play compared to other yoyos. It’s really light weight overall, and the even weight distribution makes it seem even lighter. Even though there’s hardly any rim weight, it’s not noticeably unstable or lacking in power. It’s definitely not a powerful yoyo, but I’ve never had it run out of spin time on me during tricks. Rejections are easier on the Grail compared to the Life also.
The Life is like G2 took the Grail and kicked up the performance. The weight is much more on the rims than the Grail, giving it better spin time and stability. The Life is overall a better performer than the Grail in my opinion. The Life is a little less fast, and a lot less floaty. The Grail has a float to it that I’ve never felt in any other yoyo, while the Life almost feels like a brick in comparison. It’s definitely more floaty than most yoyos, but compared to the Grail almost everything is brick.
I personally prefer the Grail over the Life. The Life is a solid player, but the experience it offers is less unique than what the Grail offers in my opinion. The Life is just a plan solid organic, but the Grail is something completely unique.
Here’s a shot of the shapes side by side. The only real difference is the depth and size of the shmoove rings.
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There wouldn’t be a Life without the Grail.
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Great comparison. I used to have both and they aren’t in my wheelhouse. But, your description of both is almost exactly how I feel. I would say the Grail is less stable than the majority of modern throws, but it only manifests with poor technique. So, it’s more suited to a more advanced thrower, imo.
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That’s interesting about the difference in finish – I like the pyramatte finish just fine, but a good bead blast is a step up, for me. I’d definitely like to have both - might depend on what becomes available first. I’ve seen a couple on the BST. Thanks for the response - very helpful!
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Interesting - I didn’t realize how much more pronounced the schmoove rings were in the Life though I guess that focuses more of the weight toward the rims. I’m actually surprised to hear how differently they play.
Yeah, they play way more differently than I was expecting also. Completely different beasts with very similar builds.
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G2 Warthog undercut.
The Life is the offspring of a devil’s threesome between the Grail, Warthog, and Triton.
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I’m struggling to contain my laughter.
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I don’t understand influence of the Triton with this one…
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Weight distribution, the G2 gang always include that the Triton has some influence in this collab. Nate and Jake.
1:30 in or 3:15 into this video.
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Ooooh, so it’s more of an “under the hood” influence.
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