C3YoYoDesign - Super Scintillator
| Specifications: |
|
| Diameter (mm) |
58.02 |
| Width (mm) |
58.2 |
| Weight (g) |
65.2 |
| Bearing Size |
C |
| Response System |
19mm pads |
Introduction
My feelings about C3 have always been somewhat complicated. In spirit, they’ve always been one of my favorite brands - their team contains some of my favorite players, and I really vibe with the way that they present themselves. However, this has not always carried over to my experience with the yoyos themselves, although I really wanted to like every C3 I’ve played. I owned several of their older models over the years before I stopped yoyoing - some of the ones I liked include the Trident, P.wave, Halo, Sceptre, H5xChief, Movitation, M.O.V.E and Token, and some of their throws that were not a satisfying experience at all include the original Master Galaxy (did not feel like it spun even close to long enough), H5 (heavy but for no reason), Electric Flash (see comments on the H5), Di Base (see comments on the Electric Flash) and original Krown (although I’d be willing to give that one another try - my main issue was that it was super slippy on a throw which may have been a pad issue).
Fast forward a few years and we have the Super Scintillator, which is what we’re here today to discuss. I’ve never liked super wide yoyos, but seeing enough Instagram reels on another store’s page of Rei Iwakura doing cool stuff with it influenced me into becoming set on at least trying this yoyo at Worlds.
Specs and Pre-Throw Characteristics
The Super Scintillator features a hollow stainless steel ring (which I’d be super curious to see the cross section of) and a polycarbonate outer rim. I had always thought trimaterial yoyos were kind of a dumb gimmick, and I think the “safety” selling point is, at best, exaggerated. However, I’ve come around on them - there’s potential for interesting developments in weight distribution, although now that I’ve played a few I mainly just enjoy the appearance and tactile feel of PC rims. The version I have, according to the description, is 65.2g due to the coloring of the stainless steel, while the raw SS versions are 64.9g. After playing the lighter version (albeit very briefly), I’ll say that they play exactly the same. If you’re able to notice a difference in play, I’d suggest getting into wine tasting.
from left to right - C3 Super Scintillator, W1LD Wildnerness 7075, C3 Galaxy Diver 7075 v2
At 58.2mm wide, which eclipses the diameter by 0.18mm, the width of the Super Scintillator combined with its pronounced H-shape profile makes it quite jarring to hold, especially for someone with smaller hands like myself. Flick restarts are my default, but the wide catch zone and (relatively) narrow rims make this super unwieldy so I’ve switched yo snap starting it. Discomfort aside, I don’t think changing the profile would make sense when considering what this yoyo is going for, which is to have as much catch zone and grind area as possible.
Play
Once it’s out of your hand, the experience throwing the Super Scintillator becomes much more familiar. It doesn’t feel heavy in the same way that super-rimweighted bimetals do, but there is a degree of kickback on a throw; I’d guess that this comes at least partially from the response. My one gripe would be that the stock teal pads are a little too grippy for my preference (although not enough for me to switch them out). The response pads do not protrude and cause string rub (which is my #1 yoyo setup pet peeve), but I’ve cracked my knuckles pretty good a few times while playing with the Super Scintillator - I’m sure this can at least partially be attributed to user error.
I’d describe the pace of play as agile - it definitely doesn’t have the top end speed that typical fast yoyos do (for reference, my benchmark for speed is the Anglam 1 Remaster), but the Super Scintillator moves well for its size and it never feels like you’re forcing it to do anything. I think this is due to its volume to weight ratio - while 65 grams doesn’t sound exceedingly light, when factoring in how large this A good analogy would be the weight classes in Mario Kart - I’d say the Super Scintillator would fall firmly into the Medium category. It doesn’t lack power or ever feel like it doesn’t spin long enough, feels pleasantly light on the string, but doesn’t fall into the “floaty/designed for fun” or “power-driven performance” archetypes.
The stability of this yoyo, despite the light weight for its dimensions, feels like a natural product of its width (which makes sense if I remember my rotational inertia principles from physics class correctly). While stability was not designed to be the primary selling point, the Super Scintillator is not unstable by any means, and can handle sloppy string hits without being knocked off axis. I feel like the intention of the design was to be a canvas of sorts for unconventional tricks. Grinds (on any body part that doesn’t touch the SS rims) and fingerspins definitely stand out, as the beadblast and flat fingerspin area make these tricks unbelievably easy and give you the spintime to experiment and get creative. The extreme catch zone provides a pretty wide margin of error when attempting slacks and body tricks that require awkward body contortions or string hits you can’t see (such as neck tricks and hops behind the back). The width can get in the way when working with tighter/more intricate mounts, but this shouldn’t really come as a surprise and while I don’t believe in “tech yoyos” this was clearly not the design focus of the Super Scintillator.
Closing Thoughts
All in all, the Super Scintillator is a fun yoyo that fills its role perfectly. As someone who definitely doesn’t have the technical chops to be bothered consistently by the width, I love it as a go-to throw that allows me to do standard tricks without a whole lot of focus, or gives me a “training wheels” amount of catch zone to practice more acrobatic moves. I definitely don’t think the shape will appeal to everybody, but if the Super Scintillator piques your interest I highly recommend it.
4/5
