Red ‘Thick’ Hat Pads: .037" thick
Gray ‘Thin’ Hat Pads: .019" thick.
Introduction:
It seemed Ernie of General-Yo was tired of the snag that comes with breaking in any regular .555 sized response pads, and decided to re-design the recess size of his new yoyo, the Hatrick. In a sequel to his high-quality Gen Pads, he created Hat Pads to fit this new recess size.
First Impressions:
When I first received my Hatrick, once my jaw was done dropping due to the smoothness, one of the first things I noticed was how tight the yoyo was binding. It felt as good as any flowable silicone job. When I wanted that yoyo back in my hand, it did so immediately, and when I did not, it stayed put. The yoyo truly came DEAD unresponsive out of the box, and yet there was literally no snag throughout any of my combos. Whips, hooks, grinds, and everything else didn’t cause that feeling of grippiness that tends to plague most new pad responses. It was very similar feeling to one of my all time favorite responses, the ILYY Hot Red Silyycone. Within the day I was wishing all my yoyos had this sized recess.
The Perks:
Now, one of the greatest things about this pad size, is it happens to coincide with the CLYW recess. I couldn’t tell you whether it was originally intended or total coincidence, but I’m sure glad it turned out this way. I was as tired as anyone of dealing with the time, mess, and break-in period that came with have to re-do my CLYW’s silicone on a nearly bi-weekly basis. Pads for CLYW have been a largely requested item in the community, and Ernie has come to satisfy the need.
There are two ways to go about using Hat Pads in a CLYW recess. You can either stack two of the red thick pads for a flush response, or stack a thinner gray pad on top of a red pad for a recessed feel(you could also do red on top of gray, but I’ve found this to be harder to fit in properly). The pads are a bit tight occasionally, and it can take a little while to convince them to fit properly (although I assure you they do). That may be my only small complaint about these. Personally my Peak plays great both flush or recessed with the pads, although I’ve found I prefer the response to be a bit recessed to avoid any possible amount of snag. Anyone with a CLYW yoyo should definitely give these pads a try. It’s quite possible you’ll find Hat Pads superior to the home silicone jobs we’ve all become accustomed to.
Here are a few shots of my Peak with Hat Pads!
Durability:
I’ve found my pads to be extremely durable so far. I’ve only been playing them for around a month and a half, but I have yet to change a single pad due to wear and tear, and they still play as tight as ever. I know that Gen Pads have been known to last an extremely long amount of time, and I’m assuming these will be the same. I will update this once I am able to wear out a Hat Pad.
Final Thoughts:
If you’ve got a yoyo that can take these pads, I recommend you give them a try. I’ve played just about every pad and response system I’ve come across, and this is definitely near the top of my list in all aspects. At the price of $1 per pad, it’s certainly worth a try! My only complaint is that more yoyos don’t use this recess size!
Feel free to leave feedback, and let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks for reading!
-Jared
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