Tom Kuhn SB2 vs Came-Yo Mondial

Hi there all, new to the forum and just started getting back into throwing after 20+ years. Anyway- I recently picked up a Came-Yo Mondial, something I always wanted as a kid and never could afford, and I gotta say- I love it. It is so smooth and I love the ratchet mechanism for the string gap.

My question is- for anyone who has played with both a Mondial, and an SB-2, how comparable would you say these two yo-yos are? The SB-2 is another yo-yo that I wanted badly as a youngster so I’m tempted to pick it up but it is a bit costly. Am I going to get anything out of the SB-2 that I won’t get out of playing the Mondial?

I basically would just love any input and general discussion on both of these two models. Just need a little help deciding if the SB-2 is a vintage throw worth spending money on if I allready have something that might play similarly. But maybe they play totally differently. I have no clue.

Thanks in advance for your input!

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It’s been so long, I don’t remember.
I do however have a spare sb2 that I would part with so you can find out.

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I cannot really speak for the Mondial as I own its predecessor the Moonstar, but the SB-2 is superior.

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Oh yes, definitely interested in that! I’d love to give that spare SB-2 a new home.

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Nice Moonstar! What’s the responsiveness like on this thing?

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Mondial had such a cool gap adjustment system. SB-2’s was neat as well, but the click adjust of the Mondial was wild. The response was strange on that yoyo though (like a negative space starburst if I remember right). SB-2 definitely feels more classic and familiar to me and a more relevant precursor to where modern yoyo design ended up going IMO. Both cool though.

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Depends on the setup.
There is no starburst, holes or anything else. Just bare aluminum.

The gap is adjustable. I use it pretty wide open with a worn out Dif pad and a single loop around the bearing.

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The only one I ever had I got from @SethP it had hitman rims. I gave it to @MR.Higby .

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Mondial was a little fussy as the adjustment system could het jammed and the lube injection port was probably unecessary (but cool at the time). Duncan sold the Mondial under their own branding for a while. I always felt like it was a heaver and more unpredictable version of the moonstar. SB2 with a single linen pad is a classic and you can’t go wrong - the slim line shape forces you to be smooth; Not too heavy. I wouldn’t expect to hit the multiple wrapped string tricks of today, but it feels good in the hand.

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