The "First Impressions" Thread

General Yo-Yo
41

Amplified Return Tops Shout

I opened the box to find a yoyo wrapped in paper, almost like a gift. The Gamma Radiation cokorway is fantastic, green with a purple splash. It turns almost teal while spinning. Put on the string (nice, I’m not sure what brand it is, but it feels good to the fingers).

First throw : it doesn’t feel like 67g. The Shout seems comfortable playing at my chill and relaxed (more commonly known as slow) pace. Finger grinds were spot on, excellent considering this doesn’t have a blasted surface. It changed directiobs quickly on tricks like kwijibo and skin the gerbil.

How did it handle fast play? Second throws by my son. It plays fast like he does. Happy going horizontal, gyroscopic flops are crisp and controlled. Both of us really like the Shout. It is familiar yet different from the other yoyos I own. My first H shape. Like most yoyos, this one puts a smile on my face. However, this yoyo made me want to giggle, no, laugh, no, Shout with excitement.

42

First Impression: CLYW FG Bonfire/experience

(U.S. Nats pickup)

$60? Let me have a look.

So many to choose from

Let’s string some up

This is a steal!!!

So Ernest, what would you recommend?

Bonfire? Sure I’ll try that too!

Man this is fantastic.

So why is it a FG?

I don’t know- Ernest Kahn

I don’t either- me

Maybe there’s some vibe- Ernest Kahn

Vibe? What’s vibe…

Like a counterweight?

Hubstacks?

Like popcorn?

Whatever vibe is, there’s none of it. :wink:

Not even a small bit.

Splash is top class too

Looks so fine tho…

Maybe Steve was staring at the sun while testing this one.

Feels multilingual

Bonfuego!

Whoa. Grinds. Yes!!!

A bit wide.

I dig it.

Here’s $60 you Kahn man.

Ernest is a cool chap.

He’ll be at the Las Vegas Open. Don’t be shy, he’s really genuine. Say hi!

43

CLYW YETI

The box looks dope.

Except for that unsightly, unnecessary disclaimer…

Enough about the box, how’s this bad boy play!

The plastic looks and feels like baked or hardened clay

That shape is uber comfortable

Let’s give this beast a throw!

There’s some vibe, a lot less than my Replay Pro, but still there. It is the type of vibe that you can’t really feel during play, but is apparent on a fingernail test.

The bearing is really quiet.

I expected more roar from my Yeti.

It’s almost silent.

Spins are not short, but not extra long either. Nonetheless, it spins long enough for me to get my combos in.

On the string it feels solid. I love that from a plastic!

It feels like its 68-69 grams.

The pacing is just right for me, relaxed, and goes perfect with my flow.

The plastic is better suited for palm grinds than finger grinds.

Time to try a Harold Owens’ bind!

Success!

Does my Yeti eat strings?

Are you a hungry Yeti?

Nope. An hour of play and not one fray!

Guess I’m lucky. :wink:

44

Zeekio Flare

The Flare is a new offering from Zeekio, a child of their fairly popular Zenith and Volt models. The Flare is a tri-material yoyo with a Delrin body, aluminum sight rings and stainless steel weight rings. It comes in a colored cardboard box with the name of the yoyo and the brand on it.

I got my Flare in black and it looks like something you’d take to prom… as your pocket carry, not your date. It feels/looks well-crafted and classy. No cheap plastic feel here.

I swapped out the stock flat bearing for a spare one on my shelf, a Center Trac I believe, after the first throw left a little to be desired. That’s when this yoyo really started to sing.

I wondered next if this yoyo really came from the same company that sold me that clunker of a Delrin yoyo called the Quasar.

Many of the reviews for plastic yoyos I see describe them as smooth and long-spinning, only to disappoint me when I actually get the yoyo and find it vibey and lacking in spin time. So I don’t call the Flare smooth and long-spinning lightly. My Flare is smooth on the string and on the fingernail test not just for a plastic, but smooth for any yoyo. It’s far and away the smoothest plastic I’ve ever tried.

It also has the spin time to match most metals, easily outclassing other plastics with metal weight rings like the Rally or the ProtoStar, in that department. I had problems with neither spin time nor stability putting it through the paces of some longer combos.

The Flare is probably the best-playing plastic yoyo I’ve ever tried. I’ll be recommending it in the future not just to people looking for a high end plastic, but also to newer players looking to upgrade to their first serious unresponsive throw. Even if you want to upgrade the bearing like I would suggest, the Flare is still priced for great value at $33. My interest in Zeekio is piqued going forward.

45

^Thing sounds space age. Could you snap a photo?

46

Bonfire:

ew gross;

actually solid;

ehhh too solid;

whoa like solid but floaty;

what do solid and floaty even mean?;

anyway, the bonfire is both solid and floaty;

i gotta lube this thing and stop using ambiguous terms.

47

The yeti is pretty darn good.

48

A couple pictures of the Zeekio Flare as requested:

It’s actually spinning really strong in this first photo, though it’s so smooth you can’t even tell.

http://s12.postimg.org/475mxyv7h/IMG_8470.jpg

http://s10.postimg.org/5v83fcb7d/IMG_8479.jpg

Being someone who usually ends up disappointed by the less than stellar play of a lot of plastics, the exceptional play of the Flare is impressing the hell out of me. I think Zeekio hit a home run with this yoyo and so I hope it makes it into a lot of players’ hands in the near future.

1 Like
49

Definitely interested in this one. Zeekio have a knack for POM yoyos.