ILYY Sakura
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
December 20, 2010
Introduction
By now everyone knows the story behind ILOVEYOYO. The company was started in August of 2006 as a joint venture between friends Dominik and Frank, college students who decided that they wanted to make the highest quality but still very affordable yo-yos that are worth the players’ money. The first yo-yo to come out of the company was the much-loved E1NS. This first yo-yo was designed by both owners to meet their needs at the time. From that first yo-yo on, the owners have codesigned most of the line-up but every once in a while Frank will put one of his own designs into the market. To date we have seen his design work on the wildly popular Liopleurodon and the underrated Enigma. The Sakura that I am looking at today brings the “Frank Only” designed yo-yos count up to three. For this release Frank’s goal was to bring out a “midsized, fully rim weighted powerhouse.” Lofty but not wholly unexpected goals coming from this well respected company. Now is the time to see if the third time is the charm for Frank’s designs.
Specs
• Diameter: 52.00mm
• Width: 41.00mm
• Weight: 65.30g
• Response: Hot Red SILYYcone
• Bearing: ILYY KMK 6×13x5mm
Construction
As with any ILYY product, the first thing you are greeted with is a fuzzy, red, drawstring pouch embossed with the ILYY logo. Inside the bag is the yo-yo, a standard white string, and an ILYY pin that is usually color coordinated to the yo-yo you just bought. The pin is a classy little touch that usually finds itself stuck to the foam in my case next to my newest ILYY acquisition. Once wrested from pouch I was able to get my first look at the Sakura, my initial thought was just “wow, this is a stunning looking yo-yo.” The profile shows off the massive rims of the yo-yo and the steep h-shape drop into the catch zone that transition to a high walled gap. The cups of the yo-yos can best be described as ripples in a pond. The floor has waves radiating out from the subdued spike in the center, perfectly mimicking water after a drop of rain hits. The cups do have a small v-shaped IRG carved into them, but it appears to be shallow as to not reduce the weight of those large rims. The yo-yo has been wrapped in ILYY’s newer hard coat Candodize finish giving it a deep purple color and a durable exterior that holds up against the bumps and scrapes hurled at it by today’s players. While this yo-yo is a beautiful piece, there are two things that I would like to see change. The spikes on it are not sharp enough to be useful during play. I own the unreleased ILYY prototype that this spike design originated on and they were plenty sharp for matador play. I would have liked to see the originals on the Sakura. The second change I would like to see is a change in finish. While the Candodized finish is gorgeous and grinds well I have always loved the Candy Blast finish. There is currently no equal to the Candy Blast finish in terms of the way it catches the light. Other than those two issues, the Sakura’s look is pure win from ILYY.
Weight
The Sakura clocks in at a modest 65.3 grams, making it a solid middleweight. Just going on looks alone you can see that most of the weight is in the rims. This gives the yo-yo a good amount of spin time without giving it a heavy thunk at the end of the string. I have been gravitating towards lighter yo-yos as of late so the weight distribution of the Sakura is just about perfect for me, light enough to be speedy but not so light that it is unwieldy.
Response and Bearing
ILYY products always come set up with their proprietary Red Hot sILYYcone installed in the response groove. In the past I have complained about not being able to replace it if needed but in all honesty it was kind of a silly complaint. It gives ultra snappy binds and I have yet to wear out the stock installation on an ILYY yo-yo. I’m not saying it is impossible to wear out but it is quite durable and lasts longer than expected.
The bearing is ILYY’s KMK Metric bearing. A more than capable bearing that is on par with the likes of other top notch bearing like the General-Yo AIGR bearing. I still love the fact that ILYY took the complaints of the community to heart and began shipping them without shields.
Playability
While there are two things I would change about the construction of the yo-yo, I would not change a thing about its performance. On the first throw I was rewarded with a solid, stable, and slightly floaty player. This yo-yo is easy to control on the string and, like most ILYY yo-yos, very forgiving on a less than stellar throw. The width is narrow enough to weave around the strings without getting caught up. During the review session I have been working on a star to tower trick that requires a hop through the middle of a cluster of strings. Some of the bigger yo-yos have issues with the hop but I have found the Sakura to be just about the right size to pull it off. Suicides are easy on the Sakura with the loops staying open even tough the string rubs lightly against the high walled gap. The catch zone is a breeze to hit during whips and slacks as well. Grinds are your standard fair with the Candodized finish. It is extremely capable for such a smooth finish. Thumb grinds work well on the Sakura thanks to that V-shaped IRG channel in the rims. There is no Matador play with the Sakura but that is to be expected, ILYY is not a company you think of for a matador capable yo-yo. All in all this yo-yo is a top shelf performer.
Final Thoughts
Frank has hit it out of the park again with the Sakura. It ranks right up there with his freshman solo effort, the Liopleurodon a yo-yo that I consider one of ILYY’s greatest releases to date. Other than the two niggles I mentioned in the construction section, I really love the play of this yo-yo. It feels comfortable in the hand and moves like gangbusters on the string. After this release there should be no question that Frank from ILYY is a solid designer not only when collaborating with Dom but on his own as well.
