Hello yoyoers! I recently purchased a YoYoFactory Shutter and have a few observations to make; so let’s dive right in!
The Visuals
The visuals were something that wasn’t really of concern with this yoyo. It is a very sleek paint job (mine’s red) and is super shiny. In addition, one side features the “Shutter” yoyo while the other side contains Gentry Stein’s autograph. On the other side, the paint job is also pretty simplistic and isn’t anything too outstanding. Overall I give the paint job a 7/10.
The Specs
This yoyo is super comfortable to hold, which allows for super straight throws. In addition, it contains the majestic SPEC bearing which lets the shutter spin for an absurd amount of time. Clocking in at about 68 grams (just lighter than the Dark Magic II) this yoyo is not super heavy, nor is it too light. The yoyo can be thrown around and flipped a lot very quickly due to its weight, but it isn’t so light that it loses control. The shape is also unique. It is organic, and looks super sophisticated. it also allows for maximum ability to catch the string consistently. There are also two thumb rails where you can do finger grinds. It’s a bit hard to pull off on this yoyo, but if you are into that stuff, this yoyo CAN handle it. Lastly, its a full sized yoyo with the specs of the higher end yoyos. Because of this, the performance gets a 9.5/10!
The yoyo is affordable, and a great throw. Despite its simplistic paintjob, this throw can pack in a punch. There is no excuse not to have this majestic yoyo in a collection! Good luck, and happy hunting!
I find that the smaller of the Two IGRs works much better for thumb grinds. I’ve also heard that the new shutters have a much better anodize job than the older ones, which is good because mine is an older one and the finish isn’t spectacular for grinding, but it works well enough.
I was going to post my own comment, then I saw what you said and I wanted to add my two cents. Yeah, the new finish on the shutter is really awesome. Makes for some awesome, I mean awesome grinds, and I wasn’t that big into grinds before this yoyo and now I am.
I wanted to say to the ordinal post, is that if you like the shutter a lot, try for the magic yoyo n12 (On amazon) In my opinion, they’re close to the same performance and feel, though the shutter is a bit better in most, if not all aspects. But, n12 is 24 bucks. I mean, come on. That’s awesome.
Mine is. I’ve tried adding lube and that didn’t help much. Cleaning helped it too, but now I think the bearing is wearing down because it’s becoming responsive. at least for me. I’m getting a new bearing and i’m hoping it’s the one with the open sides because those tend to do better.
Noise level varies from bearing to bearing and is not too dependent on the yo-yo itself. If the bearing is playing fine then I would not worry about it. If the noise bothers you then you can try adding a drop of thin lube to quiet it down a bit.
If your bearing does not have “open sides” that just means the shields are on. Some bearings come with shields to keep dust/dirt out and some come open (no shields). The shields are easily removable and if you are going to clean the bearing it is much easier to do so with them removed.
On each side there is a small c-clip holding the shield on the bearing, if you look closely you can see an opening (mouth of the c-clip). Just use a safety pin, thumb tack, or something similar to pry the c-clip off. Once they are off the shield will fall right out and the bearing will be ready to clean.
