I just read one of Studio’s posts and he mentioned a Phenomizm bootleg. I bought a Phenomizm from the bst a while ago and I don’t know if its just not for me or if its actually a bootleg and just plain bad. Its very concerning since the Phenomizm seems to get quite a bit of praise. I trust the person I got it from, but I don’t know if he got it from the bst as well and perhaps never knew.
Is there an easy way to tell between a real izm and a bootleg?
I prefer to be addressed as Studio42. No big deal.
Tell you what:
I’m planning on ordering a Phenomizm once I get a check in. I’ll let you know after that. The one thing I will not do is remove the caps or do anything else to intentionally harm the yoyos, cheap or not. I like the bootleg so much it drove me to want the real thing 10 times more. I am also intending to buy it in the same color as the bootleg because, well, honestly, the blue one is the color I want.
Mine is solid, feels good and plays great. It appears to have a Dif-E-Yo bearing based on appearance, but for the price, there’s no way it can be the real thing. It’s smooth as can be as well, considering you can get them in the sub-$9 range now(shipped), max sub-$12. For the money, I can’t see how they are making anything on these, especially considering the shipping.
I have the Phenom and it’s just plain amazing. I can’t expect I’ll have any surprises from the Phenomizm. Well, actually I expect less surprises from the Phenomizm since I may have spoiled the experience with the bootleg.
Some folks sell some pretty beat up stuff on BST. Sometimse, “there’s a reason it’s on BST”.
First off, check the caps. I take it the caps are gone? Second, check where the weight ring meets the body. Look for mold marks(although this may not really be an issue to worry about. I haven’t really taken mine apart.I took apart my Speeder 2 since it was handy and my bootleg and while they copied the bearing seat, the axle’s use different threading, so if you have a YYJ that uses the Solid Spin Axle, see if the axle fits. If not, it’s the bootleg. Check the response pads, although this isn’t a clear determining factor, especially if they have been replaced. The YYJ pads feel a bit “grippy”, while the bootleg pads just feel more plastic/rubbery.
When I order the Phenomizm, if I remember, I’ll do a side by site comparison. As I said, the only thing won’t do is remove the caps. I like the caps just fine how they are on all my yoyos.
I have a bootleg Phenomizm, too, and it sounds like mine has a few more issues than Studio42’s. A couple things I’ve noticed are that there’s a slight vibe to it basically all the time, and that it doesn’t accept a konkave, for some reason. When I put one in, everything seems all fine and dandy at first, but then there are serious string slippage issues.
Also mine has caps that say “Champion” on them so that’s kind of a dead giveaway.
Mine appears to have no issues. It can’t be that I’m so great that I throw perfectly, because I’ve only been doing this for 7 months now, so there’s no way my throw can be flawless. Yes, a little vibe, but nothing I’d complain about, I expect a little vibe period on any yoyo and I find no more vibe on this than on my DM2, CLYW’s, OD’s or anything else, which for the most part are “vibe free”.
I was purposely leaving OFF what was on the caps so as to not get this thread locked and deleted. I sound hypocritical saying “buy legit” when I have this bootleg. I will be buying a Phenomizm as soon as I possibly can. However, sometimes an inexpensive yoyo can be too much temptation.
I look forward to doing the side by side shoot-out.
Sorry Studio42, I meant no offense. Mine has the caps and they have the Phenomizm logo and everything, but i assumed they could have been swapped. I’ve never taken the caps out because I’ve noticed caps can’t come out of some plastics. Mine has a concave bearing in it, but no matter what bearing I put in it, it its very vibey and extremely loud. I have noticed it is slippy when binding and it can spin maybe half the time my other plastic (Northstar) can. Its basically in flawless condition, so I don’t think its been damaged. Unfortunately, I don’t have any other YYJ to compare the axle.
With yyj silicone pads in, right? My bootleg has slippy binds, too, but iirc the non-bootlegs I tried at MA states binded pretty tight. I don’t know if there’s any way to tell for sure without comparing it to something, though.
Chances are it’s just a beat up Phenomizm.
1: Slippy binds could be the response needs to be replaced. It could have been replaced with flowable silicone. Responses wear out and need replacing.
2: Clean the bearing and then lightly lube it. That should help on spin times, especially after you break in the lube.
3: Loud? Some designs are just loud. Physics and mechanics. That’s all I can say about that. Plastics are more prone to transmitting that vibration easier than metals since the plastic is less rigid and more “plastic”. Duh. My Northstar, protostar, DieNasty and a few others are loud. My Phenom could be a bit quieter in my opinion but once the bearing broke it, it got real quiet.
I’m fairly sure it’s a Phenomizm that needs a bit of TLC.
This pads are basically brand new. There’s no visible wear what so ever. The binds are really the least of this things problems. I have cleaned the bearing on several occasions and switched it out with others and it hasn’t solved its problem and when I say its loud…I mean its ridiculously loud.
Its possible it was just messed with by a previous owner or got damaged without showing any signs of it.
The solid spin can crack, so that might of happened without you knowing and that is what is causing the vibe.
Easiest way to tell? Check if it has a M4 .07 axle or if the bearing seat post is taller than it’s supposed to be.
It’s possible. Have you tried a new axle? The existing one should come out fairly easily.
Just give us pictures
This.
And what color is yours?
I think the bootleg only come in two color, trans blue and trans purple.
I’ve got the blue one, and it’s perfect. They are also on sale right now.
Another thing that was noted was that the “Champion-izm” has a taller bearing seat. While I don’t feel that copying one’s design is quite the way to go, I will admit this plays like a beast. I now need to play a real Phenomizm to compare.
Also someone noted in their review for the real Phenomizm that one of their halves wasn’t quite ‘seamless’ producing an unwanted vibe for a $60 throw. I wonder if this vibe is the same as the Champion which has a vibe but actually, mine feels like it’s smoothed out since I’ve had it.
Pics of the imposter’s innards:
My Bootleg-ism is smooth where the plastic meets the weight ring, smooth in play(very little vibe) and I agree, one heck of a beast of a player.
I gotta get me the real thing!!
Question.Why the buck are we talking about bootleg products on a legit website? Seems kinda sacrilegious to me, especially from a mod. Please support the people that are supporting you! Flame on.
Because if we couldn’t identify the bootleg we would never know if our products are legit. Without threads that describe and distinguish bootlegs from the real things scammers could sell fake throws for more than they are worth and otherwise rip off the patrons of yye. The best way to identify a fake is to compare it to a confirmed counterfeit yoyo.
Yeah, no one said to buy one.
Point taken. But, should we all buy counterfeit goods so that we’re “aware” of what a fraud looks like? Bad logic, would you like to buy some counterfeit $50’s just so you could tell people that your aware of what fake %50’s look like and btw people please and don’t get sucked in like I did. Not likely. It’s not like hundreds of people are buying these throws because they’re getting fooled, they’re buying them because they think they are getting something for nothing. You could cloak yourself around excuses all you want but, every time someone buys these knock offs they help to promote the industry. Heck, why not post a link to all these fraudulent sites as well just so that we’re all “aware”? I’ll never buy a K.O. and for all that do, see if the YYE forums wil ladd a “knock off” discussion section for y’all. I some how doubt it.
