Just ordered the Aitch from One-Drop

[yoyodoc]

I would consider myself to be a pretty good yoyo ‘doctor’.

I’ve certainly cut up a whole lotta yo-yos, lol. I’ve done a good amount of experimenting for myself and jumping in to help others with various crazy ideas over the last few decades.

That being noted, I most definitely do not consider myself well versed in ‘classifying yo-yo shapes’ with any verifiable degree of accuracy.

Not sure how some people can look at certain yo-yos and put them in specific groups, even when some of the yo-yos in any given group, could be moved to another group?

I am still fascinated with how broad the term ‘Organic’ is used. Like…. If it is ‘organic enough’, even if it also kinda isn’t, well, it is Organic.

….What inspired me to say something, is the pic of those 2 yo-yos you have next to each other. They are both ‘H’ shaped?

I don’t see that, lol. They appear to be 2 very different shapes to me.

If you put a bunch of yo-yos on a table and asked me to ‘group them’. There is no way I would even consider putting those two yo-yos in the same group. They seem to have more differences than similarities.

Regardless, I have something factual to tell you…. Remove assumptions in general and lean in the direction of logic and yo-yo history.

One Drop does not release ‘poor performing’ yo-yos. Their designs are all thoroughly tested and QC’d before they are available. They not be your Maker of choice. Some of their designs may just not appeal to a percentage of players or potential buyers.

But……. Their products are excellent players, regardless of price point.

This New release is going to alter many buyers pre-conceived assumptions of what a yo-yo shouldn’t do well, based on the history of ‘H shape’ yo-yos.

I don’t give full reviews because I am not at a skill level to give a wide spectrum performance analysis.

But in the last 24 years I have developed a pretty good sense of when yo-yos are part of the problem or part of the solution.

The Aitch is a Keeper. This will become common knowledge very soon.

[hobby_master (Atom)]

I will make an assumption based on the length of your reply.

I guess you showed me who’s boss.

[hobby_master (Atom)]

Yea I don’t know, I’m only comparing to the shutter since I’ve heard people refer to it as an H. But there’s no step but feels similar in the hand. Anyway… yea OD is legit and your last sentence pushed me over the edge of consideration.

[Hanker]

Sounds awesome! I have always wanted an extreme H shape that has unrivalled power and stability but yet plays nimble, light and agile on the string and moves like the wind. I can’t wait to receive mine to see how mindblown I get when I play with it. Too bad it’s going to take like a month or so. Based on what you said it already sounds like the Aitch is going to be my favourite monometal yoyo, maybe even my favourite yoyo.

[yoyodoc]

Well, it should also be understood that I have an advantage over a number of you guys that are guessing/assuming/predicting/wondering…… about the Aitch.

I don’t need to guess, because I already have one.

……or, maybe I would be guessing too🤓

Ya don’t need a crystal ball…… if you already have the ball

[Blaidd_Drwg (Brian)]

Think I might have paid for shipping but my Aitch came yesterday.

Out of the box the picture below shows my current 3 favorites from left to right.

1. original specs Shutter
2. Code 1
3. Aitch - I don’t know many tricks but I think I am going to have to tinker with the Aitch. My “go to” combo it was very grippy on. Returned twice with a couple layers of string in it and it goobbered up 3 times now when doing the gyroscopic flop part of my combo.

Unlike 1 and 2 my Aitch currently does not have a center trac bearing, not sure if that is my problem and it’s telling me “yo fool, tighten up your string play”, “I don’t have my center trac training wheels on”

My jury is still out on the new lower spiked side effect. Out of the box, I thought it was sharp looking but then next to the spikes on my Code 1, I am feeling a little “was my yo-yo bedazzled?”

[hobby_master (Atom)]

The aitch is 4.32 gap width which is slim. Especially compared to the shutter. Try thinner string

[bheinz63 (Brandon Heinz)]

Id imagine you’ll get it today. I ordered a few minutes after release, I’m also in socal and mine arrives today.

[d34dj3d]

Mine came yesterday. I’m still getting the feel of it, I’ve only thrown it for about a half hour, and it’s been a real head scratcher for me. It reminds me most of some mid school YYF and hspin, but much lighter and it moves a lot more easily. My initial impressions are that it plays more towards tall and narrow, it feels very different from the surveillance, iceberg and other popular H shapes. While writing this post I was looking for yoyos to compare it to and I went to my older OneDrop’s like the Dang, Code1 and Dietz, none of those really play the same either. I picked up my silhouette just because I hadn’t thrown it in a long time and thought this must be a lot wider than the Aitch. I sat them side by side and was extremely surprised to see how close they are in size, they don’t play alike. I get more of a black cannon or a deeper state set up unresponsive feel from it, but more forgiving, almost like the black cannon and deeper state had a baby. This is something I was really wanting in a yoyo, so I’m very happy with the Aitch.

A couple other observations. It definitely wants thinner string, I’ll go with draken, night moves or cirrus foam on mine. It loses more stability than I thought it would when its almost out of spin, but it has plenty of spin time and stability otherwise. It definitely encourages you to be mindful of your plane management and clean play, without being terribly punishing, a good yoyo for somebody looking to sharpen up their play without getting overly frustrated. Aitch is a pretty unique yoyo, and worth picking up if you’re into that.

[yoyodoc]

@Blaidd_Drwg

Unlike 1 and 2 my Aitch currently does not have a center trac bearing, not sure if that is my problem and it’s telling me “yo fool, tighten up your string play”, “I don’t have my center trac training wheels on”

Not exactly a fair comparison, then.

You are comparing the performance of 3 specific yoyos. But your logic is flawed.

2of the yo-yos play very well for you and have centering bearings.< You have no problem with that. But the Aitch comes in 3rd in this initial comparison because you have not bothered to ‘level the playing field’ by installing ‘training(center trac) wheels on it, lol?

Don’t conveniently turn a positive into a negative by making an unfair observation.

(Example)> I have 3 1955 Chevy hot rods. I just bought this 3rd one. Not sure the newest one is quick enough for me? But the the 2 I already owned have Nitrous Oxide and this newest 55 doesn’t.

There must be ‘some degree of improved performance in using a centering bearing, right?

Because the Code One doesn’t come stock with one. But with a centering bearing, the Cide is one of your top players?

And the Shutter comes stock with a center-trac. And if you thought the centering bearing was really ‘training wheel status’ why don’t you play it with a flat bearing?

Try this> Take the center-trac out of your Shutter or Code One and put it in your Aitch.

Not to, is to judge the Aitch unfairly in my opinion.

…….To me, personally, a New ‘stock form’ yo-yo is just the starting point. I Never make early judgements without ‘fiddling around’ with it until it clicks for me.

Put a center-trac in that Aitch and let er rip!

If your contention is that centering bearings are ‘training wheels’ then get that flat bearing out of the Aitch and put it in your Shutter.

When Frank Difeo came out with the Original KonKave bearing, it was one of the most amazing advances in yoyo performance potential.

All these years later, his centering design has spawned dozens of other centering designs that come stock in large percentage of yo-yos sold today.

Maybe your Aitch ‘does need’ training wheels, lol?

….So, put a bottle of ‘training wheels’ on it and flip the switch…

[eternalmetal]

Not to start the bearing argument again, but this to me seems like the kind of yoyo that you throw a centering bearing into.

[Shapapy (Scott)]

There’s no shame in it. Like @yoyodoc said, I also tend to swap bearings around until I find what clicks with me. I think One Drops should at least be given a chance with the stock bearing because they seem to be designed with them in mind. However, if you’re not getting the performance you want out of it, you might be better off with a centering bearing. I like my Top Deck with the 10 Ball because it feels perfect that way, but the Legendary Terrarian feels just right with a Pixel in it.

On the OP topic, how comfortable is the Aitch in the hand? It looks like it could do some damage if you’re not careful.

[yoyodoc]

I don’t like uncomfortable shapes.

I won’t tolerate funky or sharp edge shapes.

There are so many yo-yos out there that are pretty darn sweet to hold/throw down and catch.

Yoyoing is supposed to be fun at whatever level you play…. Or if you just want to walk around holding them in your hands.

I have been known to ‘alter’ the shape of a yo-yo until I’m happy enough to use it…

I Love the shape of the Aitch. I would not change a thing about the shape.

I wear medium size leather work gloves, so I don’t have paws like a bear. So some of you bigger handed guys may possibly find the Aitch has a different feel than my experience, dunno?

But, this yo-yo feels great in the hand/ great on the roll off and has a good ‘footprint’ on the catch.

How you ‘accept’ a yo-yo has to based on a number of factors. Few people like every aspect of every yo-yo. Yet, they may love a certain yo-yo or yo-yos, because the features balance out on the positive side of the number line.

An example to me would be the Luftverk 000. The yo-yo in stock form has edges on it sharp enough to scrape the barnacles off the bottom of a wooden boat hull.

Fortunately, being pretty handy with machine tools with the added advantage of having my own personal machine shop, I got over that shortcoming by simply machining off the sharp corners.
I now own 5…. 000’s. But my initial impression was very negative towards the 000. I feel Jeffrey went a little too far in his determination to produce a ‘No Frills’ yo-yo. Once I decided the workaround, I just love the thing.

One Drop saved me any negative thoughts by making the yo-yo correct in the first place(a habit of theirs).

I Love the Aitch…. And yes, I put a centering bearing in it. Training wheels are the real deal, haha

[d34dj3d]

My initial testing was with the flat bearing, but it didn’t take me too long to decide it would benefit from a centering bearing so I installed a concave bearing. It definitely made it quite a bit more forgiving, and helps keep the string away from the pads, those one drop pads can be grabby until they break in.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that I also find the aitch to be very comfortable to play, I was concerned it might be a little uncomfortable when I saw the first photos, but it feels great. The silhouette on the other hand might be the most uncomfortable One Drop I’ve played, that slightly pointy bit of the rim has the ability to really nail you right inside a joint… nowhere close to as bad as a paradigm shift, but it still surprises me.

[bheinz63 (Brandon Heinz)]

Got mine in today! I love the way the profile perfectly hugs my finger on the catch. I half expected the catch to be much sharper than it is, but its just right. Light, maneuverable and still fairly forgiving in play.

[Ed-C]

How would you compare the Aitch and Silhouette. You mentioned those two, but I’m not clear exactly how you would compare these two. Thanks!

[SammyCaboose (Samuel)]

Got mine today and it’s fun. Doesn’t hurt my fingys like other more aggressively shaped H shapes I tried in the past. Also, Saturday market eye candy.

[SR1 (SPENCE)]

The Aitch is in! Took it to the park to throw it around today and took these pics of it while I was there. I couldn’t agree more with @d34dj3d’s assessment of it playing like a bigger Black Canon - that’s SUPER accurate and the best possible way I could describe it. I can see what he means about there being some Deeper State thrown into the mix there as well, but I’d say it leans more towards a bigger Black Canon. Also would agree with everyone else saying this would benefit from a centering bearing, it totally would - and I’m usually a dude that prefers a flat bearing (specifically OD’s 10 ball). While I wish it was even lighter than it is (this is likely just my preferences talking) and just the tiniest bit wider, it’s still a totally unique throw worth trying. Probably not my favorite OD or anything, but I see it being very fun and refreshing to pick up every once and awhile when I need a change of pace.

[Blaidd_Drwg (Brian)]

I like that color way.

I do like how it feels in my hand.

[Chriscatastrophe (Chris)]

I’m sad I’m still in preshipping . I want mine. This is totally my thing . LOL