The influence of the One Drop Cascade (a deep dive)

[washyjoshe (Josh)]

13. 1 to 1: July 2019
    
    

• No Official Quote
• Organic- Yes/No/Maybe stretched O crossed with a flattened V?
• false rim/middle weight bump- Yes
• Wide /Diameter Ratio =100%
  • Width: 53 mm
  • Diameter: 53 mmf

14. Rev: November 2019

• “The design itself is based on a Top Deck so you’ll notice it has a similar profile shape, but don’t be fooled, the weight distribution and cup are changed radically and it plays like a totally different beast.” -One Drop
• Organic- Yes
• false rim/middle weight bump- No
• Wide /Diameter Ratio =79.07%
  • Width: 44.6 mm
  • Diameter: 56.4 mm

15. Silhouette: March 2020

• Quote? No
• Organic? No, W shaped
• false rim/middle weight bump? Barely
• Wide /Diameter Ratio = 72.31%
  • Width: 41.5 mm
  • Diameter: 56.7 mm

16. Halifax: July 2020
    
    

• Quote nope
• Organic? No, H Shaped
• false rim/middle weight bump? yep
• Wide /Diameter Ratio =76.58%
  • Width: 39.9 mm
  • Diameter: 52.1 mm

17. Free Solo: December 2020
    [
    

• No Quote (actually this is in yoyoexpert, but I won’t add it due to unknown origin)
• Organic? Nah, W shaped
• false rim/middle weight bump? Yes
• Wide /Diameter Ratio =82.73%
  • Width: 46.0 mm
  • Diameter: 55.6 mm

18. Thorn: August 2022

• Quote? Nope
• Organic? Nope V shaped
• false rim/middle weight bump? Seems like it
• Wide /Diameter Ratio = 74.95%
  • Width: 42.55 mm
  • Diameter: 56.77 mm

19. Wyvern: December 2022
    
    

• “The Wyvern as a whole is an amalgamation of yo-yos, games, and art that I hold near and dear to me. This yoyo takes inspiration from some of my all time favorite onedrops: the OG Project, the Summit, and the Sugar Glider.” -One Drop/Andrew Daugherty
• Organic? No v/w shaped
• false rim/middle weight bump? Slight/ not really, it’s practically in the rim
• Wide /Diameter Ratio = 82.31%
  • Width: 46.00 mm
  • Diameter: 55.88 mm

20. Booster Wyvern: October 2024

• No Quote
• Organic? No. V/W shaped
• false rim/middle weight bump? Slight/ not really, it’s practically in the rim.
  • Wide /Diameter Ratio = 82.31%
    • Width: 46.00 mm
    • Diameter: 55.88 mm

21. Perspective: July 2024

• No Quote
• Organic? Yes/No, both? O/W shaped.
• false rim/middle weight bump? Slight? Not sure. Maybe not.
• Wide /Diameter Ratio = 78.00%
  • Width: 42.9 mm
  • Diameter: 55 mm

22. Rainier: December 2024
    

• This yo-yo started as a simple idea: What if we took a Cascade, scaled it up and shifted all the weight to the rims? …. we scaled up the diameter to 56.4mm and the width scaled up to 48.4mm in keeping the same proportions as the Cascade…” - One Drop
• Organic? Yes
• false rim/middle weight bump? No
• Wide /Diameter Ratio = 85.81%
  • Width: 48.4 mm
  • Diameter: 56.4 mm

23. Boosted Rainier: May 2025
    

• “The Rainier started with the idea of scaling up a Cascade…” -One Drop
• Organic? Yes
• false rim/middle weight bump? No
• Wide /Diameter Ratio = 85.81%
  • Width: 48.4 mm
  • Diameter: 56.4 mm

24. Markmont Blunderbuss: June 2025

• “..We originally incorporated the Cascade yoyo “bump” in the halves cup area, to add mid-weight for improved spin time and stability… like the true to form artisan he is, Shawn whipped up another 3 prototypes with the most saucy and original cup “wave” I’ve seen ” - Mark Mont
• Organic? Yes, O/V
• false rim/middle weight bump? Slight, only known of due to MM’s post
• Wide /Diameter Ratio = 84.46%
  • Width: 47.3 mm
  • Diameter: 56 mm

Observations from the Cascade Super Comparison:

• Objective (Observable truth, best evidence):

  • Quotes that mention the Cascade
    • 8/24 Explicitly say Cascade was influence
    • 3/24 Say they were influenced by one (or more) yoyo that was influenced by the Cascade (weakish evidence)
    • 1/24 says the feel is familiar (weak evidence)

• Subjective (Opinions, weakest evidence):

  • Semi Organic but curved to a curved/flattish palm catch
    • O 9/22
    • W 4/22
    • V 9/22
      • Didn’t know how to classify 1 to 1 and perspective, so I left them out.

• false rim/middle weight bump inside (obvious mid rim weight?)

  • Obvious/visually confirmed/quote noted it
    • 16/24
  • Subtle/barely
    • 5/24
  • None Observed
    • 3/24

• Wideish

  • “On average these days, the width tends to be 70% - 80% of the diameter. A very average example is the SK at 75%. On the wide side, the Sugar Glider comes in at 84%. And on the narrow end, the Deep State is 50%.” -One Drop on the 1 to 1, 2019
    • 83% or greater= 9/24
    • 80-82.99%= 5/24
    • 79 and below = 10/24

Spreadsheet of Above Data:

Condensed Data

Conclusion:

• 8 are explicitly influenced by the Cascade due to the quotes in the yoyo description
• The best subjective influence, in my opinion, is the false rim/middle weight bump, which 21/24 have this feature. The 3 that don’t are the Rainier, the Boosted Rainier, and the Rev. However, both Rainiers explicitly say they are from the Cascade.
• Of the ones that don’t explicitly say they were influenced, 4 (to me) look Cascade-ish be being organic, wide, and having the midweight step
• The last 12 outside of the 1 and 3rd bullet point above have very little evidence (only 1-2 subjective points) that keep me from concluding they are heavily influenced by the Cascade.

Yoyos that might be similar still, but slipped my mind: Overture, 2016 Benchmarks(V, H, W), T1 20/20, and the Rev2. All 5 the yoyos have connections to other yoyos in here, so they might have some small similarities also with the Cascade.

Finally, I think I need to say that in no way am I saying that these yoyos play the same. The more I read about designing yoyos and weight distribution, the more I know that it’s pretty hard to determine how yoyos feel in comparison to each other. I know so little about this, these are just speculations of a layperson who knows a handful of yoyo tricks and looks at pictures of yoyos. I’m a big one drop fan, oh, and BTW, HMU if you have a cascade you want to get rid of.