From Crucial founder Paul Yath comes a project decades in the making: a true modern wooden yo-yo built not just for nostalgia—but for performance. Introducing the Maple – a stunning blend of craftsmanship, innovation, and heartfelt tribute to the roots of yo-yo.
Paul has been yo-yoing since 1998—an “oldskool” era when plastic was king, metal was rare, and wood was nearly forgotten. But the warmth and organic texture of wood never left his heart. While classic wooden throws like the BC Roller Woody brought charm and character, they simply couldn’t keep up with the fast-evolving demands of modern yo-yoing—until now.
With the Maple, Crucial achieves what once seemed impossible: a wooden yo-yo with the power, stability, and control to match today’s trick-heavy landscape. The breakthrough came through construction—drawing inspiration from skateboard decks, each Maple is precision-crafted from 37 layers of cross-grain Canadian maple veneer. This interlocked structure delivers incredible strength, minimizes warping, and ensures a level of consistency rarely seen in wooden throws.
Each half is individually machined and hand-finished by Paul himself, bringing artistry and attention to detail that’s impossible to replicate at scale. While it may not reach the dead-smooth spin of a metal yo-yo, it offers something more—the soul of wood, balanced with the grit of modern play.
To push performance even further, Crucial adds CNC-machined aluminum weight rings and hubs, boosting rim weight for longer spin and better control. The Maple handles demanding tricks with ease, all while delivering that irreplaceable wooden feel in the hand.
Every Maple comes with interchangeable caps that add style and subtly shift weight distribution, giving players even more ways to customize and experiment.
The result? A wooden yo-yo that feels just as at home in your collection as it does on stage. The Maple is more than a passion project—it’s a milestone in yo-yo history, a redefinition of what wood can do.