From Jake Bullock:
Slap Jr is an undersized, bi metal iteration of the Slappa, an ultra lightweight slimline yo-yo that I produce in collaboration with genius yo-yo designer Jameson Larkins.
In 2022 we released the original mono metal Slappa in an effort to see if we could create a pocketable, super light weight slimline yo-yo that still had a lot of power and spin time. We realized that goal by utilizing a large diameter, which in combination with a narrow width creates more centrifugal force. It was a hit, a pocketable slimline that didn’t pull your pants down and played like a real yo-yo instead of a novelty. We followed it up with the Slappa SS, a 1:1 bimetal version that drew inspiration from my childhood favorite the H-Spin Good & Evil.
A year ago almost to this day, my oldest friend and yo-yo life partner Randy Shreeves visited and tried out the Slappa SS. He loved it and offhandedly commented how it would be cool if it had a smaller diameter, the same size as his (our) longtime favorite, the Anti-Yo Bapezilla.
That was all it took and within a few months we had prototypes of an undersized Slappa SS, dubbed Slap Jr.
Slap Jr retains the same light weight and slim diameter of its predecessors but shrinks the diameter from ~58 mm to 52 mm. In order to keep the weight up while shrinking the size, Jameson fattened the SS rims and at the same time inadvertently created a rather unique scenario in yo-yo design: Slap Jr’s rims weigh more than the yo-yo’s entire aluminum body and guts combined. It’s literally majority rim weight, and it shows when you throw it.