They claim it spins a yoyo for 3.5 min. from just letting the yoyo roll out of your hand, which is impressive. What are your thoughts and experiences with this bearing?
I thought it was a perfectly acceptable bearing. My first one got responsive fast. I tried cleaning it but with no luck. The vendor replaced it immediately at at his own expense, which is good customer service.
The next one got responsive, too, but cleaning it brought it back to life. I’ve seen that story numerous times on the forums, so I think there’s something about the first bit of play that knocks… something… loose and requires the bearing to have one good cleaning before you’re off to the races.
It continues to spin nicely in one of my yoyos, and spin time is appreciably longer when you’re just throwing a sleeper.
But since nobody “just throws a sleeper”, it doesn’t really make me able to throw longer combos. No matter how good your technique is, strings will rub against walls or response at least a little… making the spin-time gains exponentially less significant until the playing field is pretty level…
At the end of the day, it wasn’t worth the extra money to me. But I’m one man, and as the owner will rush to point out, “not a competitor” and that his bearings are meant for “serious competition” or something.
For my money, the Northern Spin CORE is preferable… costs less, but is 8 balls instead of 10; however, despite the difference in ball count, the CORE is much quieter. It comes lightly lubed (unlike the dry Terrapin bearing… dry is the best way to get long spins) which I enjoy and some may not.
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I love ceramic bearings. I find that they do spin forever and ever. That being said, it is absolutely NOT a necessity or necessary. Name one combo that you need 3.5 minutes of spin for? Even contest freestyles are not that long. I have a terrapin ceramic and I have a dif-e-yo konkave ceramic. They are probably my longest spinning bearings but I never perform combos that are worthy of their spin-time. If you are interested and feel like spending the money, go for it. Like I said, I did. They spin long but they are absolutely not a necessity.
Not at all IMO. Not worth it.
Get yourself a OD 10 ball or KK bearing.
No they don’t spin that long. The guy who makes/distributes them claims you can do it but no not really, not worth it. If your paying that much might as well get a Gold Centertrac might as well get some bling out of it.
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Here’s my thoughts…
The Terrapin Wing Cut bearings are the best on the market. Ceramic or steel, as long as it’s Wing Cut you’re getting a great bearing. Here’s the only downside I see in it all. Currently, the Ceramic and steel wing cuts are 10 ball bearings. Now, 10 balls is almost always better than 8, and that proves true in this situation also. The only negative with the new 10 ball Terrapin wing cuts over the old 8 ball wing cuts is the fact that the groove in the bearing is more shallow than the old 8 ball Ceramics (I’m not sure if the 8 ball steel bearings were cut the exact same way as the 8 ball ceramics). In my opinion, the depth of the cut in the 8 ball Ceramics was perfect. It kept the string centered amazingly, but if felt like you were using a flat bearing when doing suicides and binding, and the string doesn’t bunch up and bind when you wrap multiple layers around the yoyo like it would with a CT or fully concave bearing.
The new Terrapins are cut so shallow that it’s hard to tell a flat Terrapin from a Wing Cut Terrapin. The new ones still center the string some, but not nearly as effectively as the 8 balls with the deeper cut did.
I wrote all of that not to say you shouldn’t get a Terrapin, because you should. I think Terrapins Wing Cuts are by far the best bearing option available if you want to use anything other than a flat bearing, and I would much rather use a wing cut than a flat bearing. The CT and Concave bearings are made to center strings, but you get a few drawbacks to them. Wing Cuts center the string too, but don’t have any of the drawbacks of other specialty bearings.
Video or it didn’t happen. This myth needs debunking…
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I’m with GregP on this one. I use, and love, CT and CTX bearings and I have never had a problem with “bunching” or unintentional “binding”
This doesn’t have anything to do with the worth of a Terrapin, but neither does disfavoring a solid performer that’s less than half the price.
I tried all the bearing on this store and on other stores. Gold center trac is the best for me and ceramic kk is second, I would put Terrapin at 3rd.
^^^ I agree with the above.
Gold Center-Track.
The first one I got was bad. I replaced it and have bought four more. Superb bearing.
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both of the ones i got were bad.
at 22.50 each, not worth the gamble.
This is my position as well. I have come to LOVE the Gold Center Tracks, and have always loved the Ceramic KK’s. The Terrapins would be the runner up for the Top 3.
While I have had one or two of the Gold Center Tracks that were bad, I just exchanged them and all was well. I can’t get over how different they make a YoYo feel…Love them.
The Terrapin Wing Cuts are the best I’ve played, the steel mind you not the ceramic. Ive had no issues thus far.
Lol, you don’t need a video. Just play with a flat bearing and then play with a CT. I like to use CT bearings also. I keep them in a couple of my throws, but there is definitely a difference when you get your tricks off axis, or just when you’re binding. With a CT, the binds are overly snappy when your yoyo has a high rpm. It’s because of the way the bearing is made. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s noticeable to me. When the yoyo has a very low rpm, your going to have to bind before you would a wing cut or flat bearing if you want to get it back to your hand. I’m not dogging on CT’s or Concaves. I use them all. I’m just saying there are some differences in the way they play which has already been established for a long time. If there were no differences then why would any company make a bearing that isn’t flat?
I never once said there weren’t differences. I said that the string bunching thing is a myth. Of course they play differently… QUITE differently in fact! I beg to differ about which has snappier binds, though: The short version of a long anecdote-- I once got all snaggy and bindy and thought, “Damnit, maybe they’re right about profiled bearings” and went to swap out my bearing for a flat. The yoyo I was playing … already had a flat bearing in it.
Profiled bearings make binds LESS snappy. Even flat bearing fans will agree that this is one of the appeals of flat-- easier trick binds.
Suffice it to say: I HAVE played back-to-back. I’m a huge experimenter and bearings were (and still are) an ongoing experiment for me. I’ve looked at this phenomenon more carefully than most (most people just hear something and take it as granted instead of trying it themselves) and the string “bunching up” issue is hogwash. You are more likely to get accidental snags or response with flat because it is easier to engage the response pads. It’s that simple.
So yeah. Video of “string bunches up on me with profiled” or it didn’t happen. String-against-string friction is pretty low, unless you’re using particularly rough and textured strings. String-against-silicone friction is always high.