The Good & Evil 4 is the last in the HSPIN G&E line (at this point in time). This one has an all aluminum shell, whereas the first three were bi-metallic - aluminum bodies fitted with brass or steel weight rings. It comes with a de-shielded 5x11x5 mm bearing and recessed silicone stickers. It has a pronounced IRG lip which contributes to the significant rim weight. It’s been made available in a multitude of color/design variations. Like YYF, HSPIN has discovered that you can extend the life of the line by offering various color and graphics choices.
This was my first HSPIN yoyo and I have to say I was impressed. I picked up a very minty G&E4 Black Lily in a trade last year and it quickly became one of my main players. Love this yoyo. Very smooth, nice weight, nice shape and feel, and anno’d finish. In fact I liked it so well I bought another very nice one a few of weeks later. I play one with the stock 5x11x5 mm bearing and the other with a 5x11x4 mm bearing.
A few glamor shots…
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/lily-face2.jpg http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/lily-face3.jpg
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/twins2.jpg http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/twins1.jpg
That said, when I first got this yoyo I hated it after about the first 5 minutes. I could not get it to return no how, no way, never. And there was huge kickback. Note that it didn’t come with the stock silicone stickers, which I have since found offer a lot of improvement with the stock bearing. With the stock bearing this thing has a huge gap of almost 5 mm. The first one came with what appear to be dif pads. I tried two new thick difs, added a Duncan FS to one side, lubed the bearing, triple wrapped the string. No matter what I did my binds were not up to it, and I just couldn’t get it up…
Other than the fact that I couldn’t get it to return I really liked how it played so I decided to try to find a narrower bearing. I went to a hobby shop and they had one - 5x11x4 mm. That silly millimeter difference made all the difference in the world in how it played. With two thin difs and a light lube it played just fine. Both the response and the kickback problems were solved. A couple of days later I checked in at the HSPIN site and saw that they were also offering the same size bearing (optional at extra cost).
Some bearing pix: 5mm and 4mm
Stock bearing with thin dif pads, Difeo HSPIN kk with stock silicone stickers.
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/stock-w-kk.jpg
More bearing pix: 5mm and 4mm
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/bearing-2.jpg
I used the new bearing without cleaning it. It’s an RC car bearing and came pretty well lubed. Even in that condition this yoyo has enough rim weight to spin very well. It’s fairly well broken in and takes a bind to return unless it’s lubed a bit.
I mentioned above that the last one I acquired came with the stock silicone stickers. With the stock stickers and bearing the yoyo plays surprisingly well. There is enough response in them to be able to return the yoyo, and the kickback is minimal. I also have lubed the bearing since I like a little response in my play. I’ve also used the Difeyo HSPIN sized KK bearing in it and it too plays well. Overall though I like the way this yoyo plays with the narrower bearing.
I picked up some of the Duncan silicone pads. With the stock bearing they play just like the red ones that come with it. I can’t tell any difference and they’re about 30 cents cheaper for one. Note that if you get the Duncan pads you need the “large bearing” size (13.7 mm ID). The reason for this is the raised shoulder around the bearing seat. The 12 mm pads will not clear the raised area. With the narrower bearing I’ve only used the thin dif pads and they work quite well. Also, with the thick dif pads I could feel the string hitting on the edge of the pad on mounts. Not a big deal but noticeable.
Side Note: As far as the sticker recess goes I don’t think it’s deep enough to hold silicone, but what do I know…
The overall quality of the yoyo is very good, though the axle fit has given me some slight concern. It fits very loose in the threads initially, but as you tighten the halves it does seem to fit better and you can snug the two halves up pretty good. When I got the first one I thought maybe the threads were stripped because it was so loose initially. The second one was the same way and I have since seen others note the same thing, so this is just the way it fits. The axle has a fine thread and you do have to be careful not to cross thread it when you initially start to put the halves together. I put plumbers tape on them to snug them up a little bit.
One point to note is that this yoyo has the “new and improved” HSPIN axle.
[quote=dif-e-yo]The newer Axles are made of slightly hardened Steel and dull Black in color. Less prone to bending and will not stretch and snap.
[/quote]
The G&E4 is very similar in size, shape and weight to the Anti-Yo Fluchs as seen below. Not surprisingly it feels much the same on the string, though it is noticeably smoother without a lot of fiddling like the Fluchs requires. Interestingly when the Fluchs came out it was compared to the G&E2.
Comparison specs: G&E4 & Anti-Yo Fluchs. (Published specs unless otherwise noted:)
[tr][td]Name: HSPIN G&E4 Anti-Yo Fluchs[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Diameter (mm): 59 55 (58 actual meas.)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Width (mm): 40 38 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Weight (grams): 66 70 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Gap Width (mm): 5 (4.8 meas.) 3.48 (meas.)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bearing Size: 5x11x5 mm .250x.500x.187 in. (6.4x12.7x4.8 mm)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td](ID x OD x W) (large YYJ bearing)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Stock Response: 2 Silicone 1 dif pad & 1 duncan FS [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Stickers (currently 2 thin dif pads)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td] (recessed) (surface mount)[/td][/tr]
Comparison shots of the Lily and Fluchs.
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/lily-fluchs-4.jpg http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/lily-fluchs-1.jpg
Comparison shots of the Lily and Fluchs clearly showing the diameter sizes of 59 mm and 58 mm respectively.
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr120/jhb8426/black%20lily/size-matters2.jpg
So how does it play already??? Very nice. It’s very smooth and stable, and it feels solid on the string. The smoothness is as good as or better than other smooth players that I have - the SPYY Addict and MKII, and the Diffeo Tank come to mind. It is extremely stable due to the weight distribution. The pronounced IRG lip puts a good portion of the weight on the rims. This, along with the narrow width makes for a very stable player that tolerates less than perfect throws a lot better than some of the wider models that are currently popular. The rim weight also contributes to good spin times.
Grinds - not real important to me, but with my limited ability with them it seems to work ok. Thumb grinds work well due to the aforementioned IRG lip.
Like other yoyos in this weight range it tends to be a string eater. After a couple of hours of play the string is pretty well used up as far as spring or elasticity are concerned. For some this is not a big deal but I prefer a little springiness in the string, if for no other reason than it alleviates the stresses on the string when the yoyo hits the end of the string. I haven’t noticed any problems with string wear due to the anno’d finish.
To summarize, I like this yoyo a lot. It’s a good looker and a good player, with good overall quality to boot. The new axle is said to be stronger and more durable than the one previously used, solving the axle weakness problems some HSPIN’s have reportedly had. It has a huge gap with the stock bearing which contributes to some slight kickback. While it plays well with the stock 5x11x5 bearing and silicone stickers, I prefer the way it plays with the narrower 5x11x4 bearing. But that’s just me.
These are no longer in production but they are available at times in the BS&T sections of various forums.
