Spin Dynamics Flow Review

Yo-Yo Reviews
1

Hey all y’all. It’s the Zort Commander! Today, I shall be reviewing the small batch, locally manufactured, yoyo called the Spin Dynamics Flow. It is a wonder to play and I don’t understand why this yoyo does not get more notice. Now, as you have seen in my last 600+ Posts that I am a Diehard fan for Spin Dynamics. The reason for this is their yoyos are made beautifully and the company is always willing to help in anyway at contests. Just at NH States, they gave away Flows to 1A competitors. F. L. O. W. S. $120 yoyo, so in total (Grabbing my calculator, because I don’t do math) $240 free and sponsored the event!

So, I bet you are about like  :frowning: <(Man, this guy DRONES OOOON!) so, ima get on with it

BTW, this is going to be a YOYONews Type review where it lists the characteristics from 0/5 Stars then do a full on review so I wi- “GET ON WITH IT!!!”… OK, Jeeez

Float 4/5
Heft 2/5
Response 3/5
Finish 5/5
Packaging 4/5
Bearing (I will talk about this later)
Desirability 2.5/5
That good Fun Factor 5/5
Competition Level Play 5/5

Playability

With a name like the Flow, there’s an instant visualization of the yoyo. It’s also probably everything you are thinking of. It’s a well rounded yoyo and very fun to play. If you are used to playing a really hefty yoyo, it will take a lot of getting used to. It took about a week for me after playing a Summit with Code 1s for half a year, it’s a bit weird, but it’s good once you get used to it. The yoyo itself is a top notch Player for competition. Using Brandon Vu’s Competition yoyo Check List, or BVCYYCL I use for short, it has

Low Wall, Yep
Wide Profile, You Bet
V or H shape, Uh Huh
KK Bearing, I’d throw one I have lying around in there

(FIG One)

It’s almost built Stock for competition, and it, you guessed it, FLOWS through tricks like you would not believe.

Finish

The Finish is a very nice satin on all of the Flows, except the Nickel Plated Version, which is just soda blasted. It is amazing for grinds, which I will touch on later, and if you touch it on accident during a combo, it won’t stall

Response and Bearing

The bearing that comes Stock with the Flow is a basic YYE flat bearing, which is one of my favorite Flat a bearing that I buy. However, I don’t feel it suits it well, and causes severe string wear, so I put my Terrapin Ceramic in it and it solved all the problems. The response I am not aware of what brand it is, but it is a Thin 19 Pad that is really nice, but snot Green  :-\

Woo

However, it’s not an amazing response. It can be very slippy at times and straight up unpredictable. I don’t like it 10% of the time.But the 90% of the time it does work I love the stuff.

Packaging

The packaging is very classy, yet rather bland. It’s a black and grey striped box with FLOW laminated on with the Spin Dynamics logo on it. The yoyo is put in between to snug pieces of a Yellow Foam. Once you open the box, it greets you with this nice little letter-

“Flow is defined in Psychology as the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized Focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.
This Full sized design allows you to channel your inner Flow and bring out the best in your tricks, combos, and your creative mind”

I find that rather inspiring and a wonderful idea. There’s more, but it’s a basic idea of what my review is.

Weight

The weight is put mostly in the inside and a lot of weight on the outside, giving it perfect stability and spot on Float. It is right in the sweet spot of my favorite weights, from 65-68 at 66.5 Grams. It is 67.5 grams Nickel plated which is adding 1 gram to the entire yoyo.

String Choice

I have found that some colors and Some Strings don’t work well with the yoyo. I used to use purple normal kitty, but it is very slippy on the binds, but as soon as I got yellow Kitty, it played fine. I find it rather odd, but, it’s still very possible.

Grinding ability

This is better than their 1st model, the Smooth Move for grinds, and the SM was built for grinds. The IGR is insanely deep so you can hook your thumb in their with no problem. As for finger and arm grinds, it is wonderful and I can do a 5 second grind with ease. It almost feels like cheating. It’s only weakness, and everything needs a weakness, is horizontal finger grinds. Because of the massive IGR, and the hub, your finger will get caught in the IGR and hurt really bad and cause it to stall

DO NOT ATTEMPT. SERIOUS PAIN

Price

The crucial factor for most yoyoers. Is it worth it. The yoyo ranges from $110 to $130. The one that I got was $126.89 and it is a thing of beauty and I would definitely say it is worth every penny, even to the 9 cents I payed in tax, it is worth it

I will have better pictures Tomorrow, it was just poring rain outside and my camera was dead, so. Yeah

Here’s me using the Flow at NH States

And here is Doug Kapinos using the Flow at NH states, showing it’s full potential.

Thank you,

Zort Commander

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Bormp, could I please have some constructive criticism

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I found reading your review and comments quite interesting and I enjoyed the videos. And it is pretty. Unfortunately I have not heard of Spin Dynamics Flow before this so I am unable to form an opinion.
Also, from time to time I learn about “boutique” yoyo companies on the internet or here in the Forums but because of their lack of promotion and because of their price (my upper limit is $50) I do not keep track of them.

4

Nice review! I enjoyed the fun tone, and you made great observations.

I picked up a Flow (finally) at NER. It’s the revised edition, which has a narrower gap. I should just write a separate review, but I’m going to g’head and just respond to some of your points instead. :wink:

Playability: you’re absolutely right… it’s very well rounded. There’s not a whole lot it can’t do with aplomb. It’s perhaps not the first choice for horizontal play, but it can get the job done without too many issues for the player who has a horizontal combo or two to throw in.

Bearing: I’m playing mine with a flat right now, but I generally prefer a KK. With the stock bearing, mine was as smooth as glass. Incredible!

Finish: I think the newer edition’s finish starts off a bit different than the first run. Like the 2014 Genesis, it starts off slightly chalky feeling. Not sure how else to describe it. At first I thought, “Uh-oh, this might interfere with grinds”, but a few days of play later, and whatever magic needed to happen had happened (this happened with the Genesis as well), leaving one of the best grinding blasts I’ve ever played.

Response: I loved it right out of the gate! It doesn’t grab into trick binds “instantly” which actually suits the kinds of binds I like. I don’t like doing a Guy Wright bind and having it snag up as soon as it goes over your hand… I like it to extend a bit before a satisfying bind catches.

Weight: I don’t personally describe it as “Floaty”. It’s what I think of as “solid for its weight”. Maybe my familiarity with the company’s own Smooth Move yoyo makes me realize that the Flow isn’t really about Float so much as a beautiful compromise between light weight and powerful spin.

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Not sure what happened to you for that fingerspin thing. :wink: I can fingerspin this thing at an angle (I don’t think the aesthetic touches at the center of the hub will lend to fully-horizontal) without anything painful happening. :slight_smile:

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I more or less agree with your synopsis of the yoyo, with only mild variations on themes (instead of “floaty”, I find it balanced but not heavy).

Attached is a shot of my Flow. Ain’t she a beaut? :wink:

5

Wider gap than 4.8?

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I don’t know why I got it backwards, but the gap is actually narrowed to 4.4-ish. Modifying review!

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I’d like to check one of the new ones out in that case. I didn’t even know they made another batch. The gap was my only complaint about the first one I had. That’s the main reason I let it go

8

I tried my sons and it plays awesome the tweaks Owner Nick Gumlaw, has made to the flow are just right. He knows more about throwing and tricks than you can imagine. Thumbs up to the new Flow!