I just ordered a Kyo DNS and am experiencing the excitement and anticipation that comes with getting a new yoyo. I was wondering, has anyone here thrown one? There’s not a whole lot out there on the Kyo DNS but what I’ve been able to find has been pretty positive. I’m just interested in others thoughts.
I think this buy will pretty much put a cap on buying any more yoyos. I’ve already spent more than I’m entirely comfortable with on my two metals and they were both bargains new. It’ll bring my collection to 2 metals and 3 plastics which is all (or more than) I’ll ever really need. (1 responsive, 1 semi-responsive, 3 non-responsive)
I totally understand your “every yoyo on the planet is a good yoyo” crusade but your withering, sarcastic comment is hardly helpful. (and doesn’t come off as especially welcoming or friendly) I’m not asking if it’s good, (I’ll decide that for myself) I’m asking people’s thoughts about it if they’ve thrown one. Is there anything wrong with that? I’m excited about it and would like to hear more about it from anyone who has had experience with it. Sorry if I bothered you.
It’s a good yoyo. It wasn’t really floaty, but it definitely felt a little lighter on the string than it would seem when you first hold it. It wasn’t super fast, but you could make it play somewhat fast. Not sluggish though.
I own 2, and I love them both. I bought my first one at Worlds this year, after David Maddox (I believe) pointed out that they were selling the b-grades for $40. I couldn’t pass up the deal, so I bought it, and have hardly stopped throwing it since. I’ve always tended to like full size or large size yo yo’s, since I threw a Phi and a Pyro for a long time, so if you tend towards the smaller sized yo yo’s, you might not like it. It’s not heavy at all, and after you clean and very lightly lube the bearing, it’s super smooth and quiet. It’s one of those that you can’t even tell is spinning sometimes. Out of all the yo yo’s I bought at Worlds, I like it the best, by far, and so did my girlfriend, so we ended up buying the other color as soon as they started selling the b-grades online last week. I think you’re gonna love it.
I got a B-grade too for $40.00 and like you, couldn’t pass up that deal. They were advertised as B-grades because of one or a few small flaws in the finish. How noticable were the flaws in the finish of the one you picked up? I probably won’t be getting mine until late next week or whenever they send it out. Size and weight wise it appears to be close to a Lyn Fury and a Kickside, both which I like a lot. How does the bearing come? Heavy lube? Light lube? Dry? This will be my first experience with a 10-ball bearing so I’m looking forward to seeing if I can notice a difference between that and a standard bearing.
the flaws in both of mine were miniscule. you had to actively search for both of them to see them. the red one had a slight scratch along the edge of the red side, and the black was perfect. the blue had a small ding in the blue side, and a very slight discoloration in a very small area on the black side. again, i had to really look to find both. both of my bearings came dry and a little loud, and already shieldless, so it was super easy to clean and relube it and then it was practically silent. it played great with a dry bearing, it was just a little loud, which i really don’t mind anyway. also, i don’t know if you used the “compare” option on the site you bought it from, but you’ll find some interesting things if you do. the most interesting thing I found was that, as far as size, thickness and weight, the DNS is almost identical to the CLYW Peak. there’s a 1mm diameter difference, they’re the same thickness, and there’s a 2 gram weight difference. they have a different response system, but i do find them remarkably similar, and that’s a great thing. there are definitely shape and design differences, but i’ve thrown both and i think the DNS throws just as well. all of the CLYW fanboys will probably throw a tantrum if/when they read this, but i really do think that the DNS is just as good as the Peak.
The b-grades are as mentioned just ano flaws… very small ones at that. I got burned by the anodizing company pretty bad on these, and I didn’t feel comfortable selling a product that wasn’t perfect for full retail price… so I decided to make everybody a nice deal on them instead I’m not making anything on them, but as it’s my last production yoyo for a very long time I figured I’d just do something cool with them for those who can’t afford the expensive stuff, or just don’t want to pay for it.
The bearings come de-shielded and pre cleaned. (see how much I love my customers? I did that all myself) Now, they’ve been sitting in those little bags for a bit now, so you may need to clean them again if they’ve collected some dust. The bearings themselves are extremely high quality and tend to be very quiet and spin like mad if properly maintained. These are not the same ‘10 ball’ bearings that OneDrop sells, but they do in fact have 10 balls in them (they’re from a different company).
kyle, i have several things to say about all of this:
yes, the b-grades are purely slight ano-flaws. and i DO mean slight. barely noticeable. i’m sorry you got burned, but, at the same time, i’m thrilled/impressed by your attention to detail. seriously, the DNS is one of the FINEST yo yo’s i’ve ever had the pleasure to throw, and i’ve been throwing for 18 years. i would have GLADLY paid more for it. thank you for selling them for such a great price. $40 is such an incredible price, and i’m sad that so many people will pass it up because they don’t know any better.
also, i’m VERY sad that you aren’t going to produce another yoyo…you obviously know what you’re doing, and i’d be happy to own another KYO yoyo.
i do have a question, though: where do you get those 10 ball bearings? i’d LOVE to buy some, if you’re willing to reveal your source.
I’ve considered selling the bearings separately… they aren’t possible to buy in small quantities directly. The min. order is rather large, but it also means that I do have a rather large number of them remaining They would probably sell for around $8 each.
I’m not going to leave yo-yo making completely, I’m just changing directions. Mass production is a huge headache, and it just isn’t fun anymore. I’m going to turn my attention to smaller more elaborate projects like the bird’s nest yo-yo I did last year. ( http://www.kyostoys.com/mods/bnest1.jpg if you haven’t seen it) Unfortunately the price ranges will dramatically increase as these types of things are extremely costly to make, and they will be limited to 5-20 pieces I imagine.
I have also done some work with Duncan in the past, and plan to continue with that in the future, so it’s possible that you may see more production stuff of mine, just not from me
Kyle, I also wanted to thank you for making the B(+?)-grade DNSs available for such a great price. It made all the difference in me being able to pick up such a nice yoyo that I otherwise would not have been able to afford. I’m really looking forward to throwing it. It’s also nice to see someone doing something cool like that for the community when you still probably could have sold them for more. Thanks again!
I got my B-grade DNS last week; after reading the review at yoyskills.com it seemed like a no brainer. http://www.yoyoskills.com/?p=3988#more-3988
I must say I am very pleased with it as my first metal throw (my level is about halfway through Advanced Part 1 on this site’s list). My only real comparison is the Protostar that I have been working with since late July. It is slightly smaller, but much more rounded and comfortable in the hand. The design is very smooth & almost minimalistic, very nice look to it, and obvious quality machining & components. I got the blue/black, and the blue color is a nice shade. The anno defects consisted of a 1/2" long very superfical scratch and a tiny pinprick defect in the blue section, requiring close inspection to notice. I’ll do worse to it if I forget to take off my wedding ring. Doesn’t have that gigantic V to guide the string into the gap, but actually does better for me on certain tricks like Eli Hops. Fantastic spin time right off, the bearing is smooth, and not as noisy as the Center Trac on the P-star. Any stability & vibe issues seem to be more dependant on my throw than the yoyo, as most of the time there are none. Was able to use it to learn thumb grinds from trapeze with no trouble at all, nice deep rim. Binds are usually tight, occasionally I have a bit of slippage, but again I think this is more my technique at lower speeds or when tilting a bit. Overall, the Protostar might be a bit more forgiving for the intermediate player, but this DNS is a great throw for those who can utilize it’s capabilities. I’m very happy to have found one.
By the way Kyle, I was wondering how many of these you made. Was it a big production run?
haha, nice seriously, you should throw one. i think you’ll really like it. plus, for only $40 for the b-grade, how can you say no? even if you hate it (which i seriously doubt you will) once the b-grades run out, it would trade for much higher. win-win situation, my friend.
No yoyo will magically sleed longer than another. any differences in potential would be so miniscule that they don’t matter. “Sleep time” should never be a factor in trying to decide between two yoyos.
Please check the date of the last post before you leave your reply, please. This one was from over a month ago. Thanks.
seriously, you should throw one. i think you’ll really like it. plus, for only $40 for the b-grade, how can you say no? even if you hate it (which i seriously doubt you will) once the b-grades run out, it would trade for much higher. win-win situation, my friend.