ILOVEYOYO Greyhound
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
December 24, 2011
Introduction
The Greyhound is the last in ILOVEYOYO’s experimental series of yo-yo, but this one packs one major difference from the other two. This one is actually making it into the big leagues. The boys at ILYY decided that of the Trvth, PYBIT, and Greyhound the last was production ready. When I received all three a while back I had a feeling this yo-yo would make it, it was the most conventional looking of the three. Here is a basic run down of the Experimental Line, the Trvth was an homage to the Silver Bullet, the PYBIT was ILYY’s super wide, and the Greyhound is built for all out speed. After playing all of the experimental line I am glad to see one of them make it into production, lets see if they chose the right one do unleash on the public.
Specs
• Diameter: 53.90mm
• Width: 37.00mm
• Weight: 63.50g
• Response: Hot Red SILYYcone
• Bearing: ILYY KMK 6x13x5mm
Construction
The Greyhound comes in ILOVEYOYO’s standard red velveteen pouch with the ILYY logo embossed on the front. Once rested from the pouch I noticed that the Greyhound is a very rounded H-Shape. The profile shows off an unmistakable butterfly shape with a pronounced rim. The catch zone has a convex rounded wall traveling down into the slightly walled gap. What really took me by surprise was the thin width of the design. It isn’t super thin like the Trvth; more akin to the width of a One Drop M1. This wouldn’t be as eye catching as it is if it hadn’t been for the fact that it is a hair shy of being 54mm in diameter. The cup shows off a hub area lifted straight from the original E1NS design; all curves with not a single angle to be seen. The underside of the rim has a very shallow IGR cut into it. The Greyhound finish is the hard coat Candodize finish reserved for all of ILYY’s prototypes. As far as comfort is concerned it should go without saying that the Greyhound is ultra comfortable in the hand. The entire rounded design just feels right while in your grasp. Overall, the design has a lot going for it especially comfort and being pocket friendly.
Weight
Weighing in at 63.5 grams makes for a very quick yo-yo on the string. The weight feels evenly distributed throughout the entire body of the yo-yo. While this keeps the yo-yo feeling nimble, it has a slight impact on the stability, I would have shifted some of the weight towards the rims to increase the spin times and the stability of the yo-yo.
Response and Bearing
As usual the response is ILYY’s own red Hot SILYYcone. In the Greyhound I found the SILYYcone gripped better and reacted fast thanks to the reduced weight of the yo-yo. This made for incredibly tight binds.
The KMK bearing in the Greyhound is top notch as usual, but I did experience a little problem with the one here. Some dirt must have gotten in one of the balls locking it up. I gave it a lengthy mineral spirits bath and everything was right as rain. The only reason I mention it is to remind everyone to check his or her bearings before giving that initial test throw. Locked up bearings tend to make for a quick, unexpected, and painful return to the hand. All I can say… I’m glad my kids were not in the room.
Playability
With a name like Greyhound one would expect this yo-yo to be quick… but honestly I think Greyhound is a nickname, “Greyhound on a Red Bull” is just way too long. This yo-yo is incredibly zippy and light on the string. I hit on this in the weight section but I found that what I gained in speed I lost in stability. The Greyhound would tilt just a bit during play and I found that I had to compensate a little more than usual. After I got use to compensating I found the greyhound played well. It was able to handle my usual barrage of tricks. Even though there is a slight wall in the gap, loops stayed open during suicides. I was impressed with the Greyhounds ability to pull off most grinds. I have been a tad bit critical of the Candodized finish in the past due to it getting a little sticky and compromising grinds. With the Greyhound being so light I found that it didn’t want to dig in on finger, palm, and arm grinds. The yo-yo felt feather light while on my palm, it would just stay put and spin for as long as I would allow it. Thumb grinds were a bit of a mixed bag. The shallow IGR was a bit slippy. Adding a bit more mass to the rims would allow for a deeper IGR that would grip the thumb better. Over all the play of the Greyhound is impressive but there are a couple of small tweaks that could be made to make it even better.
Final Thoughts
Of the three Experimental Series yo-yos the Greyhound is definitely the one I would have picked for mainstream release. It is going to be a must have for players that love to throw at a breakneck speed. There are some small changes that could be made to flesh out the play but they are not deal breakers. Since this is the last of the Experimental Line I can honestly say that I loved trying all the crazy designs, I hope Frank and Dom decide to do this again. When they throw standard yo-yo conventions out the window they come up with some crazy designs.