Hspin ICON, Indeniable Construction of Neat?

Hspin ICON
Reviewed by Sam Brandt
July 24, 2010


Also these pictures don’t appear to have a correct colour… >_> except the second to last.

Introduction:
Firstly I didn’t buy this yoyo, Yeah that’s right. I practically stole it in fact. Nah! I won it from String Burn Live! (http://www.stringburnlive.com/) All I did to get this yoyo was watch the show, And answer the trivia question. The answer, One of my favourite yoyo players, Stefan “Magl33to” Benjamin, has style is nice with good flow. No wonder He’s with Hspin. :slight_smile:

Weight: 65 grams (My scale says 66, but it’s probably rounded.)
Width: 40 mm
Diameter: 54 mm (mm=Yum?)
Gap: ~4 mm
Bearing: D-Sized Steel Bearing (I’ve been using a Terrapin X Chrome bearing, the stock is good too.)
Response: Thin Red Silicone Pads

First Impressions:
I’ve always liked Hspin’s yoyos. Most of them are quite visually striking. When I pulled it out of the Package, I got some comfy socks. It came with two extra sets of pads. As well as some stuff from SBL and sponsors, Terrapin X chrome bearing, tester pack of Gstring, and This SBL velvet bag that I’d never heard of before. Once I took out the yoyo, I noticed the chalkboard like finish. It’s not actually smooth to the touch, but we’ll see how good it grinds when we get there.

There was no IRG, I could swear by the Highspeedyoyo review’s picture that it had one before I got it. The rim has an angle of around 10 degrees so IRGs take a sharp angle of tilt. First throw, It had a bit of a vibe, but It’s been used before, so it probably didn’t have it out of the factory or was donated due to being a B-grade or something. The Colour is rather peculilar, Hspin calls it gold, and Mrs. Rhoads calls it Camel coloured. Personally I’d call it more of a dull bronze, as the really spectacular beadblast dulls the colour quite a bit, I’m imagining what it would look like if it were a 1st run Beysick, go look up that. That’s probably why Hspin called it gold, on a polished ICON I bet it would look similar to the Beysick. I went through some combos, Pretty much amazing. I wish I had tried a D bearing yoyo earlier, it has really tight binds but not as likely to be snaggy like an A is.

Comfort and Tech:
It has a nice rounded classic shape with a nicely sized catch zone. The gap works well with the bearing. The ICON stock uses some thin pads made of silicone. It can also take Flowable silicone, but I’m still using the pads. They bind very nicely, but aren’t overly snaggy. If I’m pinching in a GT it will snag, but most small bearing yos usually do in my opinion. The shape is again a nice curve, but the rims have some sharp spots that make it seem almost organic, like on other reviewer said, and they remind me of clay, especially with the colour a little.

The Finish has a nice chalkboard texture, It isn’t smooth to the touch and feels a little grabby in the hand, and actually is so deep it collects dirt easily, But when it’s spinning it is extremely smooth. Also the spikes are usable for matador. I’m not the greatest at matador, for instance I can’t pop it up and catch it, but for what I can do, the ICON spins well on the spikes. The spikes are quite sharp, and are sharper than SPYY spikes which are also quite good for matador.

The size is nice, 54 mm diameter, I prefer a larger yoyo to those 50 mm tiny things, it just fits in the hand nicely. The width is a nice comfortable 40 mm, not too big, not too thin. The ICON still uses the dinky axle that Hspin has been using, In my experience(Had an Envy once.) they can strip by accident if you are tightening fairly hard. Good thing Hspin provides a spare axle with it.

On a Throw:
The ICON goes down nicely and spins strong. Even though it’s supposed to be a yoyo with some center weight, I feel a TON of weight in the rims, When it comes back up it always whacks my hand, even harder than my SB Hectic which is supposed to have a reputation of hitting hands like it has a ton of rim weight. Thank goodness the rims aren’t sharp. :wink: In play, it always spins amazingly, I don’t think its solely due to the terrapin X bearing either. I can go through a couple combos and still have nice spin to come back up all the way.

It can play pretty fast, but it has a tendency to play floaty. Whips and lacerations are a breeze with this it is really easy to pop up. Oh and of course the grinds, even though mine has a slight vibe,(in my opinion, I do own a SPYY lol) it’s still the best grinder I’ve used. I can do an arm grind and have it slide back down my arm like Guy Wright does in the letter blue no problem.(Except without the knot part. Hehehe.) It can just sit on my finger, feels like ages.


Oops, no gut shot, if any one wants one, let me know, whether in a PM or after your post…

Final Thoughts:
This yoyo is great. If you’re looking for a yoyo which is, affordable, has great grinds, and you like a nice floaty feel, then I highly recommend this yoyo, it is an amazing player and a force to be reckoned with.(Cough YYF with their Fundametals… <_< )
P.S. Thanks Dr. yoyo for your review format. And thanks to Highspeedyoyo.com for the header.

Thanks to Josh Parker and Kirby Kirchgasler of StringBurnLIVE! for hosting an incredible show which without, I wouldn’t have written this review. Also don’t forget other people, like:

Justin Foell… Director…
or say, Landon Thomas, Sound dude… >_>
Andrew Carlson, the guy who supports people when they’re feelin’ down…
or even Derek Anderson. The guy with the banhammer!

Thanks! :smiley: :wink:

…Also! MOAR FOG AND PUPPIES!!! You are quite welcome good sir. :o

Nice review man… ;D Thanks. ;D

Thanks! :smiley: Although it’s my first review so there might be tiny details that are wrong or accidentally left out…
But you know, stuff happens. ::slight_smile:

New goal: Get me an Icon after wearing out my DV888 xD

nice review.