I’ve been having conversations with Jacob Gross about how much I enjoy the GSquared products. Don’t hate me, I didn’t buy them from YYE. I have my reasons, and it has nothing to do with YYE, it has to do with how I try to support small business, that’s all.
Quite some time ago, March 19, 2012 to be exact, I took a chance. Earlier, Jacob Gross and Brett Grimes announced the forming of a yoyo company. I figured this would be good. Real good. Here’s two guys who love this toy, love the community and seem to have their proverbial “ear to the street”. Plus they are working with One Drop for the machining. I figured this would be interesting in a good way. However, looking at the price tag, I was a bit hesitant. Fortunately, some spare money landed in my lap, and so it was a calculated gamble.
Let me move backwards a bit so I can move forward again.
At this point, March 2012, I’ve been doing this about 10 months. I’m not good, but improving(nothing has changed, still no good, but still improving). I’ve developed a taste for expensive metal yoyos. Yeah, I like the good stuff and got the money to back it up and the preferences that say “oh yeah, that’s sweet”. My first $100 metal I paid for was the Corli Prototype, but I’ve since bought more stuff more expensive since then. I’ve already acquired some One Drops and CLYW’s at this point. Plastics, metal, even Delrins, I got a bit of everything going on. So, I’ve got some experience.
So I order the Albatross, it arrives a bit later. I open it up and it looks better than the pictures. It has a shape that looks comfortable. I unwound it, tied the string to size, then threw it… HOLY COW… SMOOTH as glass. Comfortable in the hand, even has a nice texture that really feels nice. Organic in shape. This yoyo moves fantastic. Smooth, solid, stable, good weight and distribution and size. A couple more throws and it was just reinforcing what I already knew.
It’s no surprise the Nessie was another item I had to get. A completely different beast, but like the Albatross, a safe bet. The Albatross is definitely a CLYW kind of inspired design, while the Nessie was more One Drop-esque, being a more “engineered” shape. Two completely different models, two amazing players.
When I go to meets, I barely see these. The kids want to know “Hey, do you have an Albatross/Nessie” and I say “yes, I do” and they want to try them and I say “yes you can” and the come back loving their choices. Adults/older players too.
Look if you’re not buying this stuff, I gotta ask “why aren’t you?” OK, if you don’t have the money, OK. But if you do, why aren’t you strongly considering this brand? I am NOT kidding when I say this brand is UP THERE with CLYW and One Drop. It is worth the money.
Now, my only complaint with the Albatross is that I prefer heavier, but even so, it’s still got a great weight on it. It’s just my preferences. Here comes the AL-7 Albatross, 2.2 grams heavier and made of 7075 aluminum. MUST HAVE THIS. Let me re-state: I MUST HAVE THIS.
With an AL-7 Albatross heading my way, this is probably one of the last few yoyos where I’ve got a lot of excitement for getting this. Even with the recent Puffin arrival, scoring a Dingo, YFactor, Project and other stuff, this is really the one I am looking forward to. The part that sucks is that I have other unboxing videos to shoot, and that I might have to shelve this one for a bit. The good thing is that this animation would be relatively simple and may have to be bumped up in the priority list.
If you want these, they are dropping on December 8, 2012 in very limited quantities. However, sadly, they are not being released at YYE. I hope these sell out fast and that Brett and Jacob are forced to make more and sell them all over the place. If you’re truly interested in these, you know where to go. If you’re not, well, why aren’t you?
Not to bring in a tangent, but my kid, who at the moment is 6, prefers the Albatross over my CLYW’s and OneDrops and other expensive stuff. Yeah, he’s throw my Peaks, Chief, AC, GE, Cascade, Code 2 and more. I’m not joking and I didn’t press him. He picked this on his own.
I’m not sponsored by any company. I’m just a guy who talks a lot about stuff I like. I have no motivation here other than to say “these are great items and if you miss out, you may be truly missing out”. This may be a possible collectors item, but trust me, this is being thrown and not just gonna sit pretty in the case. It’s gonna be shared and enjoyed. I may be collecting, but I don’t just collect it to have it. As I said, it’s gonna be played. A lot.
Now, to bring it back to YYE:
The Nessie and Albatross are in stock. Looking for something to try? This is one of many new brands worth checking into. Both are worth every penny you spend. Absoltely. They play above their price point too. Just fantastic
I like not being sponsored. I can say what I want and not have to worry about it, well, provided I’m not saying something offensive.
There are many great new brands as well. Rayoyo’s with their Chupacabra. Eternal Throw with their Victory, Square Wheels with their Royale. if there’s any new brands I left out, it’s because I don’t have your stuff, so go PM me and let me get familiar with you. I’m not expecting a hand-out. If I like what I see and hear, I’m more than willing to place an order. But, I will let your business determine how you want to proceed.
Take a chance. It’s safe these days. I am left with a clear impression that these new companies know what the heck they are doing!
I’m glad our product speaks for us.