-CLICK the pictures for a BIGGER size-
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Note: The bearing in the pictures is one of my extra bearings that I had in there at the time of the picture, a Concave will come with the Lunar Wind but it will not be gold plated.
This is my first review, please tell me if there is something I should have done or if I did well, any feedback is greatly appreciated.
—Specs—
Diameter: 56mm
Width:42.5mm
Weight:66.37g
Bearing: Concave stock
Response: 19mm pads
Retail Price: 85-100 depending on blasting and anodizing costs
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JekyllHydespins
Official thread of Jekyll & Hyde Spins: http://yoyoexpert.com/forums/index.php/topic,60160.msg631329.html#msg6313
I have had this yoyo for two weeks (or a bit more) so I think I have had enough time to try it and put it to the test and take it though the paces well enough…and I think they may want it back now, haha.
I also had the chance to try some Big Yoyo Strings with the Lunar Wind and a review of the string can be found at the end of this post after my account on the Lunar Wind.
Now with that out of the way we can move on to the yoyo part of this review.
Appearance
When I saw the CAD drawing of this yoyo I was not particularly enthralled with it, for lack of a better word, but after receiving it and taking a good look at it I definitely like the look of this yoyo. The CAD does no justice to the shape whatsoever. The multi-step design looks great and flows well. The spikes add a touch of SPYY-esqe to it in a way even though these spikes are a lot smaller. The shape looks very cold and hard but it is extremely comfortable in the hand for 1A and even 5A as well. I do not know the design of the packaging for the Lunar Wind but I’m sure it will be very interesting.
Bearing, Response, Etc…
The Lunar wind will come stock with a Concave bearing and 19mm slim pad response (YYF size).
I like the response size and the bearing is my favorite kind as well so there isn’t much to say here. Mostly just in case you missed the specs above. Not sure if Big Yoyo String will come with the yoyo but hey it is a possibility. Also the bearing seat is pretty loose, even my tightest KK bearing came out with ease and I didn’t have to use my pliers or my removal tool. After anodizing the bearing may sit tighter, I played the yoyo raw but since it’s so loose I think that an extremely tight bearing seat will not be a problem. A definite plus for you guys and gals that like to swap bearings all the time. Nice and tight binds seem to be commonplace for this yoyo as well, I am very much pleased about that.
Playability
In short I was, and still am, surprised. One thing that stood out to me was the spin time. Most of the yoyos I have tried that have been released by a new company as their first release just do not have enough spin time. A lot of the newer brands that have come on the scene in the past year or so just didn’t put up enough power but the Lunar Wind does. The spin time is not the best I have ever tried but it is far beyond what I would have expected.
Light, this yoyo is definitely light and floaty. The 66.37 grams are placed in such a way that you think you are throwing a much lighter yoyo. Now it isn’t too light but for it being a full sized throw with an ample width you would think it would feel heavier just based on the size of it in your hand. There is a slight thunk at the bottom of the string when you throw it to let you know that it is there but it is extremely responsive to what you do at all times. Hop style tricks are accomplished very easily with this yoyo because of it being so quick to adjust to your small movements and because of the nice width size of 42.5mm.
If this yoyo was blasted, witch it will be for the production run, it would grind exceedingly well. One thing I want to point out is that the outer ring around the rim (in the second and third pic) will make palm grinds and Harold Owens binds very doable. The catch zone will have plenty of room for your finger to grind nicely. The slim most outer rim will take a bit getting used to once the yoyo is blasted but it should do good for arm grinds as well. Less surface area should mean less metal contacting the skin so longer grinding times should follow.
If you have ever played a Galactic Goose you know that the shape of the yoyo could catch the string on the outer rim making it snag for a fraction of a second resulting in hesitation to move on or throwing the balance of the yoyo off. This is not the case with the Lunar Wind. The shape was a bit off-putting to me for that reason mostly but once I played it, it never snagged or got hung up on the shape of the profile. I was very pleased with that because that would have made it a bore to play. They obviously put a good amount of time into the shape of this yoyo, you can see that for sure.
For those of you who do some 5A, this part is for you. It handles 5A very well. Plain and simple. Wide catch zone is easy to hit and hard to miss. The only thing is that since it is a light feeling yoyo you man need to take a while to adjust to it. Most of the time we like heavy yoyos for 5A but this can handle it nicely. If you push it too fast then it can get a bit tipsy. For most people this yoyo will not be their go to 5A yoyo but it can be a nice change of pace for your 5A game. It is stable but being that it is a bit light it definitely will not be for everybody.
For 3A I think that the Lunar Wind may be just a tad too wide for intricate 3A styles. If you are into quick mounts and hard catches then this yoyo can certainly do that for you. I only had one to try so i tried it on each hand separately. When I was using it for my non-dominant hand it definitely improved my success rate of getting into quick mounts.
The spikes did very well for pull starts and matador style tricks. No complaints there, takes those tricks in stride.
In Conclusion
This is a yoyo that I think will be a great great first release for Jekyll & Hyde Spins. The only thing that may put people off about it is that it has a light feel and a very floaty feel. You get used to it after a while but it still has that way about it. If you like light or floaty yoyos then you need to pick this one up. Longer spin times that most for a debut yoyo, stable and quick to react, you don’t want to miss it. Thanks for reading. Big Yoyo String review below.
Big Yoyo String Review
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bigyoyostring?fref=ts
I tried the following types: Panther, Type 1, Jake’s Steezy String, Slix and Candy. They were sent with the Lunar Wind for me to mention and review as well.
The Panther was somewhat soft to the touch and had a good amount of whip to the string. I could move relatively fast with it but not extremely fast. Tension held very nicely. The panther was very nice don’t get me wrong but the feel wasn’t coarse enough for me. With gloves on it played very nicely though.
The Candy is very much the same as BG1’s but not as bright yellow and it doesn’t fray as much. Whips were ok but nothing special.
The rest reminded me of Hamstring witch I really really dislike. They were to stiff and didn’t have enough whip in them for me personally. They also (like Hamstring) caught way too much in the gap of the yoyo regardless of the bearing I was using. Felt like scratchy string if that makes sense.
I tried each string for three days to give it ample break in time and I played only one sting at a time and only for 1A style. My string preference for 5A and 3A is nowhere as picky as it is for 1A.
In short I am very underwhelmed with this string. I was told that maybe cyber silk would be more like I would prefer but I did not get a chance to try it so as far as I know I have tried all but one type.