I noticed that on the production run of the Masaminis, Sengoku switched over to their own black pads, same as the ones used in the Kenshin. I was worried when I saw the IR Pads (didn’t care for them in my Hideyoshi as they too suffered from slippage and I had to over exaggerate the bind. I get some pretty tight binds with the stock bearing and the pads that the Masamini is using now.
My only thing is on my end, finding a technique that will get me a clean, straight throw (much more challenging on a smaller size throw). But when you do get a clean throw, this yoyo’s a beast!