All right, so I haven’t bought a yo-yo for a couple of months and I decided to buy myself a Christmas present. At my local Toys R’ Us was the Duncan Metal Drifter. This review will be separated in several parts one with before adjustments and one with after.
Background info: The Duncan Metal Drifter was introduced at Worlds 2010 and was one of the most anticipated yo-yos of the season. It is the metal counterpart of the regular “Drifter”.
The Razor Pocket Pros Zombie is the lowest pricing ball bearing metal yo-yo on the market but yo-yoers such as the readers were fairly disappointed with the quality. Just recently Yoyofactory released the $26 undersized POPstar that has been getting good reception. In the middle is the Duncan Metal Drifter at a surprising $20.
Packaging: The yo-yo came in the standard Duncan Packaging but this time, they made it look all chromey (shinnnnyyyy…). The presentation will attract the attention of the average shopper at a physical store and I’m pretty sure it was meant to be that way. In the center is the yo-yo itself and under the yo-yo is a skull counterweight. The yo-yo comes in Black, Blue, and Gold with a silver counterweight for the black, bronze on the blue, and red with the gold. I got the gold one. Simple and to the point.
Out of the box: The yo-yo had a nice smooth outer body with a really slick ano in the rim. The gold coloring really reflects light well and the removable caps on the side really blend in with the design. The only downside of this is that the body’s raw parts had some scuffs and scratches which I believe is a sign of mass production.
Tech: The specs of the yo-yo can be found in the shop : here. The metal drifter is bigger than a DV888 and a bit smaller than a speedmaker. From the side the Drifter strangely looks bigger. The shape of the yo-yo is based of the FHZ (freehand zero for those beginners) and is very rounded and flared. The gap seems to be just right for my preference. The weight is light for an all metal yo-yo but we are talking about $20.
The inside of the yo-yo has the slim spacers and the response system is recessed:
Obviously, this is a big step for Duncan as they are updating their line of yo-yos to fit modern preferences.
[b]Before Adjustements:
On the Throw:[/b] One word: SMOOTH! When I threw it down, the yo-yo just rolled out like a snake. On the return the yo-yo was responsive right out the box but not as responsive as other people have said. Slight vibe but a beginner won’t mind it. The sleeper on it lasts only on a short time but enough to maybe do combo.
Tricks: The Metal Drifter was really…“right” going through the air. The thing was center-weighted but I like it. The yo-yo was unresponsive enough to do a Brent Stole (yes a Brent Stole!) yet responsive enough to bring it back up on a tug. It sounds strange but Duncan did a really good job. The only downside of it is that it kind of shoots back up really hard when returning so my hand hurts when it comes back up.
After Adjustments:
I took one pad off, put in the wide spacers from my Throw Monkey, lubed the bearing, and slipped on the polyester.
On the throw: Much better! The yo-yo retained it’s initial smoothness and became doubly unresponsive right off the bat! Once in a while the yo-yo will return on a tug, that just shows you how strong the pads are from Duncan. The spin time on the sleeper is much longer and binds won’t slip. The vibe from before was reduced and only comes in on a shaky throw. The odd thing about it was that once in a while when you bind the Drifter seems to start vibrating heavily and then stops but that’s only cosmetic and won’t affect anything drastically.
Tricks: This yo-yo can take anything you dish out on it! Giving the right conditions you can bust out any combo and trick you can do on it. Not much snagging on those double ons and layers and you can dish out whips and lacerations as if it were a Premium line! For you grinders, grinds are a bit rough on the skin but other than that it goes across the arm pretty decently if you’re willing to sacrifice the spin time in your combo. I do not recommend inner ring thumb grinds as the anodizing inside is smooth to the touch but not enough to the thumbnail (basically saying, they’re rough and sting.) Downside to all this is breaking in the only pad inside.
Quick 5A: Yo-yo does good on 5A and the included counterweight is the perfect match for it. Beesting seems pretty slow though. The flare shape makes a it a great 5A yo-yo and it feels great on the hold. (Note all 5A rights belong to Duncan).
So What: This yo-yo met and exceeded my expectations for it. Although it’s not the best metal yo-yo out there it can contend as a freestyle throw or as a main throw. It is reliable in the terms of tricks and the shape is a classic that any yo-yoer will love. Kinda small compared to something like a Dark Magic or a PGM that a lot of throwers use these days but it will satisfy a thrower of any hand size. It’s pros of shape, weight, size and price outweight it’s appearance, grindability, and response issue. This yo-yo is a great yo-yo for those beginner wanting a metal yo-yo for either just wanting one or wanting to look cool by having one to show off and for the advance players: poly string, one pad off, wide spacer, and clean or lube the bearing (maybe upgrade to a grooved bearing?). This yo-yo will satisfy both types of players and for a price this good, who can resist?
[b]Pros: Shape, Size, weighting, and Price
Cons: Responsiveness, grinding is a bit under satisfactory, and the strange vibration/ stuck during binds sometimes
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~Can be found at your favorite online store and Toys R’ Us for $20
By Chris (yoyong1995 on youtube) who just realized that this yo-yo gave him a total of 2 YYFs, 2 YYJs, 2 Auldeys, 2 peterfishes, and two Duncans. He is jumping for Joy.
~Spin On!
PS: I know the last remark sounds too much like Dr. Yo-yo’s reviews. He was the one who inspired me on what to look for in a review.
