I want to talk about perhaps the most slept-on throw in history. I’m talking about Yoyoball Narrative’s Hendiatris.
The formal review begins in bold text below.
It first came on my radar when I saw @TheThrowingGnome ranting & raving about it in a few threads on the forum. Its unique use of v5 shells intrigued me, so I started looking for other reviews. There weren’t any (though about two others on the forum had used one), so I dismissed it, thinking that Mr. Gnome was probably just a friend of the company’s owner.
Flash forward to the end of May, and I know Yoyo Day is arriving soon. Still, the Hendiatris isn’t really at the top of my “wants list.” June 6th hits. Most of the yoyos I wanted are older and out of stock, but I did want to pick up a Shooting Star (cause I’m too frugal to buy even a cheap new yoyo unless there’s a sale 
). But, while I’m there, I might as well browse the sales, right? Low and behold, there’s the Hendiatris for 15% off. It’s been on the back burner of my mind, but I’ve still wanted to try one. I knew this was my chance.
I’ve put off this review for a while. Life’s busy, and I’m getting out of the hobby for now. But I had to make a post in appreciation of this magnificent throw because @kadabrium deserves it. I know if I had crafted something so special for it to barely get any reception from the community, I’d be both frustrated and disappointed. I hope this is some small compensation.
The Review
To start with, it came in this nice little pouch with extra hubs. Additionally, while I don’t have one to test it with, this yoyo is designed to be compatible with YoYoBall’s monometal, the Plot Armor. This means you can half-swap with this bimetal and still have a balanced, playable yoyo (in theory). Next level thinking! (Before the OD perspective, btw).
How does it play?
In short, this is the best-performing yoyo I’ve ever used. Full stop.
Feel:
Let’s back up a bit. On first throw, I was pleasantly surprised at just how smooth and quiet this yoyo is given the shells. It’s not dead silent, but it’s considerably quieter than some regular yoyos I have. Additionally, it doesn’t feel overly rim weighted or sharp on catch. On the finger, it can grind for days due to the scalloped body, free-spinning shells, and decent anno (not the absolute best I’ve felt, but by no means bad).
On the string, it’s tough to make comparison to such a unique creature. At first, I was reminded of the Hummingbird due to its light feel, but the Hendiatris is much floatier. To capture its feel in terms of control and weight distribution, the next best comp I can think of is the YYF Bimetal 2024, which makes sense when you look at their ring structures (though again, more float).
Performance:
Looking at performance, this yoyo spins longer than them all. Bad habit of rubbing the string all over the walls? Doing off-axis tricks? Doesn’t matter: this thing is barely slowing down. It’s also about as stable as they come, yet it feels almost as light as the Hummingbird while doing it all.
The combination of the shells, wavy body to reduce string friction, light weight, and stability make this the ultimate yoyo for horizontal in my amateur view. Unfortunately for you, I’m not skilled enough to truly put this to the test. (What I can tell you is that, after purposefully getting this yoyo as off-plane as possible, it just doesn’t want to die). Still, I think it stands to reason that it’s a serious contender. I would love to see some serious players giving this a go for zontals.
Its Achilles heel (in keeping with its mythological name) should be obvious from first glance - finger spins. They might be slightly more possible than say a yoyo with caps, but for ordinary players like myself, they’re a no go. Perhaps the only other gripe to be had is that binds can be a little slippery due to the shells, but it’s plenty manageable enough.
Closing Time
Overall, I’m convinced this is the best playing yoyo I’ve ever thrown (and number two on that list is made of titanium). I think its implementation of V5 shells is the way of the future for yoyos, although I’m afraid the greatness of Kadabrium’s Hendiatris - much like Bach and his compositions - may not be recognized in their time. It sold at a remarkably low price point for such a high-quality, innovative throw. It was also available in pretty solids and unique splashes. So why is there such little love for this yoyo? Was it written off as a gimmick? Was the brand shunned for its name, and doomed from the start?
Whatever the case, stop sleeping on this yoyo, and throwing sleepers with this sleeper
that will be unlike anything else in your collection.
If you know, you yo (with a Hendiatris).
really I stay by this position even when it turns out not impressing that many people elsewhere. There were originally 3 colorways planned but one got completely scraped bringing down the total release from 60 to 55.