Hello! I’m Gingie. You may recognize me from my review videos and documentary series on my YouTube channel, as well as my comprehensive and extensive tier list here on the forums. I judge and review all yoyos equally, but many of the yoyos I review tend to just be… good, or great. That tends to be what happens when I just outright don’t really care to buy a yoyo I won’t care for.
But nothing has really ever been what I as a player and consumer wanted. Some yoyos have come close, but nothing that I could resoundingly say fits me. Nothing that beats one of the best designers in the industry designing something for me.
That’s where the Aggressor comes in. Designed by @chaosgow AKA Jordan, the man behind SmashingYoyos and OPYoyos. For me. Get ready for a monstrously long write-up.
Maybe you’ve heard about it, maybe you haven’t, but the Aggressor has been a project in the works now for years. Functionally, the Aggressor is the culmination of nearly a decade of trying as many yoyos as possible so I can accurately place my preferences for the way a yoyo plays in an attempt to make something I find to be the best yoyo.
The five specific yoyos that have left the most prominent impact on what I consider desirable or good, also stand as the yoyos that influenced the design of the Aggressor the most.
The Laurus from Hydrangea
The Digamma Crash from C3Yoyodesign
The Abduction from UNPRLD
The Wish from CLYW
The Absurdity from OPYoyos
If you’re familiar with any of these yoyos, you’ll be able to understand their influence on the Aggressor, especially after seeing the Aggressor’s full design, as it pulled elements from each of the above.
The final shape is the product of each of the above yoyos. The curve of the wall is inspired by the Abduction and Laurus. The width of the rims (including the aluminum and steel) is inspired by the Digamma Crash and Wish. Ski-jump is mandatory for my aesthetic preferences. Response bump is also mandatory just because I say so. The Absurdity is just… the most arguably visible influence.
Shifting to the hub, I really wanted it to have a simple, clean hub so I could fit in that crazy engraving from earlier. (Drawn up by my great friend Mag, @magnificentmicrowave on Instagram)
Now I can get to explaining the fine details.
This wasn’t a design where elements were picked willy-nilly.
Everything was selected to be a certain way for a reason.
Down to the length of the axle, everything is deliberate.
The rim thickness and width are derived from what I see as the "golden ratio’ for specifically steel rims on a bimetal. Too much steel and you get something that’s just way unpleasant to play. It’s how you can have a yoyo weigh under 65 grams that feels super sluggish. Too little steel and it’s just an outright redundant design choice.
The axle being 12mm was chosen as a method to keep the durability up. Don’t wanna make an incredible player that’s built like glass.
But how does it play?
Well, it’s my sig, so the short answer: Performant.
It’s fast, powerful, and it’s controllable.
I yoyo to punk rock a lot. I have an aggressive playstyle as a result of my yoyoing music choices. I need a yoyo that can handle the pacing punk has. And the energy.
I wanted a highly performant bimetal, but I also wanted to avoid that particularly nasty rim-weighted sluggishness that can really drag down a bimetal’s overall enjoyability. But there’s a way you can use this rim-weightedness to basically add an element of control.
If you manage to tune a bimetal’s weight distribution just right, you can functionally make it so that you hit a Goldilocks zone between speed and controllability, where the presence and sluggishness brought on by the steel rims can in a way counteract the light and uncontrollable pacing a yoyo may otherwise have.
I feel the Aggressor has managed to land handily within this Goldilocks zone.
Tested by myself and my friends. Designed by Jordan. The Aggressor is extremely good, and it’s coming soon to Yoyoexpert. Shipping with OT Normal String in a pouch.
Specs:
Diameter - 57mm
Width - 44.01mm
Weight - 63.45g
Gap Width - 4.61mm
Axle - 12mm M4 Axle
Production colors are:
Polished Hot Pink w/ Gold Rims (Prince of Light)
Deep Purple w/ Silver Rims (Princess of Darkness)
Special thanks to everyone who preordered one, Jordan, especially for teaching me so much about yoyo production, and Mag for designing the engraving.
Profits will be going towards my attendance of the 2024 WYYC.
tl;dr: making yoyo, is good, coming to yye 
There are unwritten inspirations as well. Feel free to guess lol. I’ll be updating this thread periodically with production updates, and maybe future projects?
