What’s up everybody! Thanks for stopping by here to read this review.
It’s been a long while since I paid any real attention to Yoyo Jam so through this review I am happy to present my experience with the SFX.
Back in 2007, the YoyoJam X Convict was my very first performance yoyo. I remember really really loving it as it looked so impressive. I’d hold it up and say “wooow” hehe. I’m sure you’ll agree that YYJ’s have such awesome looks! They’re flashy, modern and even look like race cars or something. Over time though as we know, nothing stays the same. Many moons later I switched over to full metal and never looked back. After tasting the full metal feel, the plastic body felt very hollow to me so I lost interest entirely in buying the plastic/ metal construction YYJ’s. But today, things are a bit different. When I heard about YYJ’s “Solid Spin” Axle system, my interest was peaked…
Specs:
Shape: Wing
Weight: 66.00 g/ 2.33 Oz.
Width: 41.00 mm/ 1.61 inches
Diameter: 57.00 mm/ 2.24 inches
Gap Type: Fixed
Gap Width:
Slim Bearing 3.0 mm/ .12 inches
Wide Bearing 4.5 mm/ .18 inches
Trapeze Width: 39mm/ 1.54 inches
Bearing Size: (Inside x Outside x Width) 125 x .500 x .187 in.
Stock Response System: YoYoJam Silicone Pad
Body: Plastic (Polycarbonate/ABS/PS)
Appearance: The Spinfaktor X has awesome looks! The translucent blue plastic coupled with the aluminum weight rings makes for a very sporty and fast look. I really love it. The blue polycarbonate looks a lot like the blue glass bottles that some people like to place on the window sill. Whether it be daylight, tungsten or fluorescent light, this throw really stands out vibrantly.
Play/ Feel: The yoyo feels rather large and heavy in the hand. Also it’s not all that comfortable to be honest, but the good thing is that the returns don’t hurt. When there is colder weather, if you’re outside for example, this yoyo feels really cold. My other full metal aluminum yoyos don’t feel as cold as the raw polished aluminum feels on the SFX. I consider it’s because the other yoyos are shielded with paint and different blasts and finishes.
The SFX weighs 66 grams, very comparable in weight to my god tricks destiny, the yyf chaotic, the Duncan Raptor with caps off and the OD 54 with brass domes. In comparison to those, I have to say that the overall performance of this yoyo is excellent and keeps up with them easily. I had also compared it to the DM2 the same day I got it, and I feel the SFX edges out the DM2 on three fronts, it’s faster and floatier than the DM2 and to me it feels more solid as the dm2 has that familiar hollow feel. The placement of the aluminum rings is really the key here for that solid feel. Plus the DM2 has that huge wall that often causes string drag which can erode your overall spin time every time the string hits the wall. The SFX yoyo has awesome balance plus, the solid spin axle system provides excellent stability, smoothness and just seems to keep on spinning. I have to say that Yoyojam definitely gave it the perfect name.
The Solid Spin Axle System is basically the axle rod being fixed to the metal bearing seat which you can see on the other side through the cap. It’s similar in design to the One Drop Side effects where the weighted end cap is also fixed to the axle, except that YYJ’s axle is not meant to be interchanged.
The SFX has the very nice option of being both a beginner responsive yoyo and an advanced unresponsive yoyo. Supplied with 2 bearings, a thin and a wide, you can choose what is right for you! I noticed right away that the YYJ unshielded thin bearing has 10 balls, so I took the shield off the wide bearing to see, and sure enough it has 10 balls in it too! I don’t know if they took a page out of One Drop’s book or if they had been doing this for awhile but the bearing is really smooth. It comes dry so it’s loud, but very smooth and long spinning.
The yoyo does all tricks on up to master level using the wide bearing. It is a real joy to play. It has a nice wide catch zone, wide gap (unresponsive play) and no string drag in the gap. It’s very floaty, and it’s V shape really cuts through narrow string segments with ease. The only thing this yoyo can’t do too well is grinds. There’s no irg or a good finger grind or arm or palm grind really because the rings don’t extend all the way to the outer rims. But what makes this yoyo so worth it, is it’s great Spin! And who does not want a long spinning yoyo???
Conclusion: I consider this yoyo to be a great success especially at this price level and I am more than satisfied with it. I know that I’ll be paying more attention to YYJ models again now for sure. If you’re on a budget and not sure what to get as far as YoyoJams go, look at this one or at least try one out. I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do.
