Ten YoYo Wet Whistle
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
December 10, 2011
Introduction
Ten YoYo appeared out of nowhere several months back with a unique design that caught my eye… they called it the Decapod. When I contacted the owners of Ten YoYo, forum members Roo and Wabbit, I was told that the Decapod would be coming later. What really intrigued me was when they said they would contact me with information on their upcoming, patent pending, new release. Fast forward a month or two and the Wet Whistle is dropped on the scene. While the yo-yo is aimed squarely at the all-ages crowd, its inspiration came from a tool for the 21 and over set. The Wet Whistles ultra wide design was modeled after the jigger, a bar tool used to measure out spirits for mixed drinks. It just proves that when you run out of yo-yo ideas all you need to do is look to your environment. I have played several ultra wide yo-yos over the past year; all of them were unique but did not bowl me over. Will the Wet Whistle be the yo-yo that finally gets me to join the ultra wide craze that a lot of throwers seem to be joining at the moment?
Specs
• Diameter: 57 mm
• Width: 54.75 mm
• Gap: 4.6 mm
• Weight: 68 Grams
• Bearing: C-Sized KonKave Bearing
• Response: Poured White Silicone
Construction
Normally it takes quite a bit more than the packaging to catch my attention. I usually open the box or bag, snag the yo-yo, and then throw the packaging on the shelf so that I can ship it back after the review. Ten YoYo’s packaging grabbed my attention right from the start. The Wet Whistle came in a large, layered cardboard box with a blue and white slide off cover. I was expecting that with such a large box I would open it up to find each half separate… packaged H-Spin style. Instead a completely assembled yo-yo, a company sticker, a Twisted Stringz Type-B string, and a plastic looping yo-yo greeted me. You read correctly, Ten YoYo ships two yo-yos in every Wet Whistle box. Not much to say about the looper, it is an inexpensive plastic but still one heck of a pack in. Enough about the packaging, it made me take notice. Now lets get to the Wet Whistle.
The design of the Wet Whistle is a straightforward V-Shape profile with a small radius cut into the rims to aid in comfort. The catch zone drops into a slightly walled off gap area. The gap is not completely high walled, instead it is angled just enough to keep it away from the string. The face of the yo-yo shows off a cavernous cup. At the center of the cup is a small plateau with a spiked hub. There really isn’t an IGR in the cup area, which is quite common on ultra wide yoyos. The finish is a smooth subtle bead blast that is a hair rougher than One Drop’s soda blast. The wide feel of the Wet Whistle in the hand is just right for my larger hands but might feel a little bulky for throwers with smaller mitts.
Weight
Large yo-yos always seem to sneak past my comfort zone. These larger yo-yos need the extra heft just to feel “normal”. The Wet Whistle is no exception to this; it is a large yo-yo that weighs in at 68 grams. While that may sound a little hefty, keep in mind that it is also an ultra wide and over sized yo-yo as well. Given all of those factors it is surprising quick and agile on the string. The weight is pushed away from the center of the yo-yo making for a very stable amount of play. I found the Wet Whistle to have a little float to it as well.
Response and Bearing
The response of this yo-yo is poured white silicone. It is quite durable; after a couple weeks of play it is showing nothing but the slightest bit of wear around the edges. This white silicone gives incredibly tight binds while still remaining dead unresponsive.
The bearing is a deshielded, C-Size KonKave bearing. While I have never been a fan of the KonKave bearing due to it bunching the string up in the center of the yo-yo I did not find any adverse effects while playing it in the Wet Whistle. I did find a standard flat bearing gave me a little more control over string wraps and play.
Playability
Impressive, we should just start with that. Other ultra wide yo-yos that I have played have felt a little off to me, this one feels like a fleshed out yo-yo. I have always been a fan of the V-Shape employed on the Wet Whistle, with it straight shot from the rim to the gap. There are no steps or breaks to hinder the string’s travel towards the bearing. The Wet Whistle’s play is quick on the string and stable during tricks. The angled gap walls allowed the string loops to stay wide open during tricks like twirly bird and suicides. It also responded swiftly when a direction change was thrown at it. I loved that its wide stance did not hinder it during tight quarters tricks like Black Hops where you have to bounce between the strings of a Triple or Nothing. During grind play I found the finish to grind like a champ, being very close to the General-Yo finish in feel when it comes in contact with the hand. Thumb grinds are pretty much non existent on the Wet Whistle, but I was expecting this, I have not played an ultra wide that had an IGR on it yet. Over all I find this yo-yo to be a spot on, stable player that is outstanding on the string.
Final Thoughts
This is the ultra wide that has changed my views on this new trend. The feel on the string and the level of play that it gives is top notch. This is an absolutely amazing debut product from this young company. About the only thing I would change with the Wet Whistle is to switch out the KonKave bearing for a standard one. This is a completely subjective stance; others love the KK bearing. Other than that I am hard pressed to find a fault with this yo-yo. It is one of those rare review units that I am actually going to miss when I send it on. This is an amazing debut from Ten YoYo and I cannot wait to try more from this company.