Hello Yo Frrreeaks… Hope you’re all having a good week…
The Swiss are world reknowned for making precision “anything”, be it watches, army knives, skis, clothing, even footwear. Therefore it seems only fitting for them to be in the yoyo market as well.
I’d heard of the Pyro series before, but initially thought I’d Never spend that much for a yoyo. That is until I played one…
Enter the Pyro 3! This yoyo is just my style, BLACK. My understanding is that only 149 pieces have been produced so I feel lucky to have one before they are sold out. Mine is number 40. I’ve had it for a couple months now… so here’s my take.
Appearance: I’d like to talk about the pkg first because it’s so different from the usual. The presentation is very original and so characteristic of a highly regarded technical product culture. It’s a rectangular grey foam package encased in plastic, where you have the yoyo presented to you in unassembled parts. Two halves on opposite ends with the bearing and axle in a center recess. It looks like a precision instrument case, and IT IS.
On the reverse you have this introduction: “Congratulations! You are holding in your hands one of the finest competition yoyos ever made.” I got goosebumps right away hehe. Plus there are details on how to properly assemble and even clean the bearing. Overall, this package made me feel special, and more importantly that I had a superior, precise instrument in my hands. This isn’t just a yoyo, but an instrument. No other yoyo brand has given me this feeling as far as packaging is concerned. I’m lovin’ it. Plus you can register your throw with them on their site.
As for said instrument, well…this yoyo is a real KILLER! (in more ways than one.) I can’t think of how else to put it. You look at it and it looks mean, aggressive, dark, dangerous and with a slight touch of evil! Yes, to me, this thing cometh from the Dark Side…hehe. Being a metal head, listening to the stuff I listen to and playing this… it’s a perfect fit! This model has Red/orange flames in the catch zone. The flames are perfectly spaced and designed to form a flaming pentagon all around. It’s darkly beautiful and dead cool. Very hot rod looking. When it’s spinning, it kind of gives you the illusion that the metal is hot and glowing red in the center due to its extreme spin. It is a very cool effect. I LOVE IT!!
Play/Feel: With the Pyro 3, I feel it to be rigid, almost like steel. It has a matty finish and does not feel glossy say like the Acid Wash Superstar, and it does not feel glassy like the Sharp. It feels super solid, stiff and precise. A very unique feel. But yet it is very comfortable to hold. And it’s slightly undersized dimensions give it that “just right” grip in your hand.
The performance of this yoyo, to me, is the best I have in the undersized category (even some fullsized too), The weight is 65.5 grams and for this particular size and weight class the yoyo gives me the most play spin time out of all my undersized throws (I have 7 others). I am still completely blown away because the other undersized, light and heavy throws don’t offer the spin time this one does and the ones that come close to it, well it’s because they are heavier.
The yoyo comes stock with a flat, 8 ball unshielded bearing which was a novelty for me as every yoyo I’ve had thus far comes with a shielded bearing. I have to say that this is the best flat bearing I’ve tried so far. I noticed that this bearing is a bit different from the standard C sized bearing. The Spec given from Hspin is simply 13 mm. Comparing it to a standard C bearing such as a YYF SPEC or YYJ Speed bearing, you can see that the 13 mm has a larger diameter than the C which is around 12.5mm. Not a tremendous amount, but the difference is there. Just eyeballing it you can see that there is at least 1/2 mm more there, making the 13 mm bearing a bit taller than the C when you stand them side by side. And the result is in the performance! Which is really really great in my opinion.
Regarding spikes, I typically don’t buy throws with center spikes because I feel the extra weight there takes away from it’s spin time, especially after my SPYY Stryker disapointment. But with this one there is no issue. I noticed that there is a thinner axle than what Spyy uses or YYF, YYJ or ST etc. This thinner axle helps keep center weight at a minimum so that the rim weight is undisturbed. Perhaps if the Stryker had a thinner axle, it would perform better than it does. In the Pyro3, everything is in the right place.
On the string, the Pyro 3 is a really smooth player, and solid too. You can feel it’s presence throughout play. It has Perfect balance, no vibe and no tilt throughout. This yoyo is a fast player, and can crawl on the string when u want it to. At first I thought I’d have trouble with a 4 mm gap being too narrow, but NO. Wrap style tricks are easily handled with it. It is a nimble beast with a ton of float. Irgs are a snap, and it does good finger grinds as well. It does everything you’d expect it to; hops, slacks, whips, matador. super tight binds etc… this thing is a beast, a destroyer. Yes, in fact I’ve dubbed it my (undersized) destroyer.
I don’t think I’ve ever had that much confidence in a throw before, but with this in your pocket, forget it. You’ll torch, burn and lay waste to rivals and challengers hehe. And If you see me coming down the street with smoke billowing out of my pocket… be afraid! (kidding) hahaha.
Conclusion: Overall, I am very pleased with this buy. It’s more than an awesome performer, it’s a superior performer and I don’t have any complaints about it at all, (which is rare for me). If I had to get rid of my whole collection only to leave behind 1 or 2 yoyos max, this is my first choice to keep forever. I’ll be looking at other Hspin models now for sure.
Lastly, this is my second most expensive yoyo and I find that the higher you go, the narrower the field gets. So if you’re looking for a throw that is very very top tier in overall performance, then consider this one.
Hspin ROCKS!!
