Will it STEM? Freshly Dirty Stem Review

Yo-Yo Reviews
1

Will It STEM? Eggo Edition YoYo Review

This idea popped up in my fever dreams during ONE-July while I was waiting for my throw to come in the mail, as I was determined to be yoyo-less in the meantime. I wanted to play around with the Freshly Dirty Stem System. But how could I make it extra interesting? After a month of yoyo-induced hallucinations, I proudly introduce the Will It STEM - Eggo Edition.

The Setup

First attempt at the Waffle-Yo was interesting. I used a frozen waffle, thinking it would give a good structure to the yoyo and some semi-stability without being too fragile. After a week of chilling in my freezer waiting for ONE-July to be over, the Waffle-Yo was ready for its debut.

The Spin Test

The spin-time wasn’t nearly long enough to get a good bind in, so I was hoping that the waffle’s peaks and valleys would allow for a natural clutch and bring it back to hand.

Sadly, it didn’t quite make it there, and my attempts were in vain. Tasty tasty vain. The newly introduced waffle response system left much to be desired. Instead of a smooth return to hand, it gave me a soggy flop to the end of the string, and a quick spin burn-out. Spoiler alert: frozen waffles aren’t the best for spin-time. Who knew?

The Toasted Attempt

Next attempt was a lightly toasted waffle. This allowed for more stability and structure and actually had a slightly better spin time. The unique oversized slimline H-shaped profile made it like a squished tie-fighter without the aerodynamics. I even ALMOST got a bind on this. However, the Waffle-Yo itself was way more fragile as a result, and it crumbled under pressure shortly in the test, with the STEM system ripping itself out of the waffle after a couple of attempts. This seems to have given the best opportunity if there were a way to naturally strengthen the material (instead of the flour, water, vegetable oil, and sugar, which surprisingly didn’t hold up to high-speed torque rotations). But this would ruin the whole concept of the Waffle-Yo, and I didn’t immediately have a good solution, so it is what it is.

Final Verdict

In the end, waffles, will it STEM? Kind of. If anything, with patience, a full box, and an empty stomach, I think you might get one good throw in there. Worth a shot if you’re bored and want a challenge as well as a messy floor.

Specs:

  • Diameter: 111mm
  • Width: 32mm
  • Weight: 75g
  • Bearing: D
  • Material: Waffle
  • Colorway: Pale Golden

Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoyed the review!

Part 2 Below: Will It STEM? Apple Edition YoYo Review

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This is brilliant. I formally request an Apple next.

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I mean, the awesome part as well is that it also really shows the versatility the FD Stem can go through. It’s pretty cool!

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I have some spare stems but it’s your format . You started it I’ll concede to the master lol

But absolutely I’m excited for how versatile the stem system is and I’m hoping I can put the idea of mr85 bearing stem and b bearing stem into @arthurfoley and @Saltman360 heads

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I love everything about this.

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I’m definitely interested in giving it a try, but totally don’t mind if other people hop in with their own stuff.

( Edit: @Captrogers, you totally piqued my interest with this, lol. Working on it now actually, have some additional test conditions I’m working on, but will hopefully have a bonus video for you tomorrow :wink: )

I imagine this could be a cool spot for people to chime in with their own experiences, videos, etc. Legit set-ups or not, haha.

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This is the level of ingenuity and dedication to craft I like to see!

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So gloriously good.
…aaaaaand now I must play will it yo-yo…

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If you have a dog, no worries about a messy floor!

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I may have sent this directly to Alex and Arthur and tagged fd on insta cause it just that much fun

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This is the kind of innovation we need in yoyo technology. Thank you for your contribution to the future of advanced yoyo design.

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More than happy to be a contributor! :slight_smile:

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Still got the classic outtake :ok_hand:

I’m genuinely surprised it worked at all

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Will It STEM - Apple Edition YoYo Review

@Captrogers posed a wonderful idea that I couldn’t pass up (and I hope I did your request justice good sir!) What about an apple? I didn’t have immediate plans to do another Will it STEM so quickly, but the idea wouldn’t leave me alone. So here we go! It’s a two for one kind of day!

The Setup

I broke out the Freshly Dirty Stem Kit, grabbed the mandoline and a bag of apples, and started slicing. I wasn’t sure if the apple core starburst would do much for the response, but I let it fly and hoped for the best. The slices gave it a nice H/modified profile, still very slimline, a little smaller than the Eggo experiment, and less weight, which gave me a little hope.

The Initial Test

Upon first throw, the apple immediately broke into a million pieces. The fleshy interior was just too soft to hold up well. So I next placed the slices in the freezer. With the water content of the apple itself, it froze really well, and felt relatively strengthened. But would the cold lend it to shattering more? Time to find out.

The Frozen Experiment

First attempt failed; second attempt, half the apple flew off, but I was left with a long spinning slice that gave me some hope, a light at the end of the tunnel. Because of the issues I had been having with the response of food-related items and general wonky spin times (the apple core response system also wasn’t large enough to allow for good string binding without some help), I added some thick lube to the D-bearing, and eureka! It spun, and it came back! There still wasn’t enough time to really do much with it, but it did come back!

The Verdict

Take that, Isaac Newton. Apples…will they STEM? YES! Do they still also leave a messy floor? YES! But my dog has at least really been enjoying these experiments so far.

Specs:

  • Diameter: 67.5mm
  • Width: 16mm
  • Weight: 45g
  • Bearing: D (Responsive)
  • Material: Apple (Fuji)
  • Colorway: Pale Yellow with Red Rims

Post-credits scene: If you want to see some additional dog derpiness, stay tuned at the end!

Feel free to post your own thoughts and fun experiments (whether legit or general goofiness), and we’ll see you on the next journey. Hope you enjoyed the review!

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Awesome thank you

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Alright this! NOW THIS IS A FUN THREAD! Let’s continue “Will it STEM?” Can I link my previous STEM vlogs here for record? I did two videos utilizing the STEM guts making an aluminum “Really Heavy Thin Disc” and other material as well!

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WILL IT STEM? RAW ALUMINUM?

Here is my vlog making a RTD (Really Thin Disc) out of 1/4 aluminum plate. It’s really heavy… 1/1 prototype thus far. hahaha.

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That’s awesome, I bet that thing spins for ages.

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Absurdly heavy rtd sound fun for some reason. Also please post your videos. Let’s have some fun with this. I have a silly idea with some ewaste I have but need time to do it

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Of course! The more the merrier for certain! We are honored!

That’s awesome! Looks super fun! Also, the quick thumbnail showed it with the rough edges and at first I was like “oh no, that’s going to be a circular saw” hahaha!

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