Yomagic’s 7075 Gambit Review
A ten year old Ardbeg Scotch or a DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau were my choice for regular ‘session’ drinks. The reason for this drink analogy is thus:
- Both of these in my humble opinion punch above their respective weights, and can be purchased at a price that doesn’t make your head spin
- They’re good enough that you want to keep one around, and you can drink frequently because they don’t make you feel nasty the morning after, and the second glass tastes as palatable as the first.
- But, because they’re not as ‘elegant’ as some, or not considered as refined or from a more unique/well though of company they’re not considered as worthy.
This immediately popped to mind when I was throwing the Gambit. Because the punchline of this story is that my Gambit is raw. It came in a little (faux?) velvet bag, that didn’t really fit. It doesn’t have Yoyorecreation laser engraved on the side. But I’m going to keep it around and throw it all the time because it makes me feel happy. And it’s a downright pleasure to throw.
Specs:
Diameter - 56mm
Width - 42.46mm
Weight - 67.8g
Gap - 4.35mm
Response - 19mm groove pads
Bearing - 10 ball concave
Packaging and first impressions:
As I eluded to above the packaging left a little to be desired. Frankly who cares. It was packaged well enough to be protected. Job done. Taking it out of the bag, it looks really pretty easy on the eye. The clean lines, and flat hub, give it a really nice look. And actually the machining lines in the catch zone are really neat and tight, giving it a slightly polished look although I don’t believe it has been polished up. I quite like raw throws, and this is a decent example of how good they can look.
Construction and play:
I love heavier throws. The J&HSpins throw I tried recently, I really had to work hard at to find the conditions the yoyo fit. It is a neat yoyo, but it plays a little outside of my comfort zone. This Gambit on the other hand is perfect for me. It’s weighty, crazy stable, incredibly smooth, with hints of float and will spin until next week. The shape means the weight is placed seemingly towards the outer middle/rim region, and because I went with 7075 version, you can feel that extra oomph on the string. This yoyo definitely hits the bottom of the string, but once you’ve got it on in some combo it’s more than happy to float enough for you to pop it about. The extra weight I think prevents it from being as floaty as I suspect the 6061 version is, but that’s fine by me; I’d gladly sacrifice that for the spin time and stability this thing has. With the weight in mind, this is a relaxed throw, I don’t think it would fly like the LunarWind would but again, I’m OK with that. The catch zone is nicely shaped, easy to hit, and provides a good grinding area. Just like the LunarWind, I can still happily finger grind this yoyo despite the raw finish. Finger grinds may be more challenging because despite the lips in the cups, they’re generally quite shallow, and so unless you have some good nail control, it might be a challenge. In the very centre of the catch zone there is a barely perceivable change in gradient, which is a nice touch, dropping the string on to the near silent, beautifully playing, stock 10 ball concave (I tried binding the yoyo once without noticing it had stopped spinning, much to my surprise!). Again a lovely touch for a yoyo to be shipped like that. The shape and weight distribution seems to prevent the yoyo tilting much - despite my sloppy technique I’m always pretty much sure the catch zone is at the angle I want.
Response:
This was the only thing I was really unsure about to begin with. I found the response initially snaggy, and a bit fickle, sometimes the yoyo would come back and bit me. Hard. But as time has gone on I realized that the response just needed serious wearing in. I don’t know if that is a one off, or something expected with this response, but it took several hours of play to reach a state where I get a good tight bind without occasionally being bitten mid trick. Having said that, right now I enjoying the response because all my binds are forceful and tight, so perhaps the wait was worth it!
For picture comparisons I should direct you to Navythrow’s neat thoughts, laid out excellently here:
http://yoyoexpert.com/forums/index.php/topic,62838.0.html
Ending theme:
I have been so fortunate to pick up some of these throws from smaller companies or individuals. The Gambit is just fantastic, and will get continued throw time from me. It doesn’t have some trendy label on it, but it plays every bit as well as the YYR I own. I suspect the 6061 version may be more suited to competition play because it may be slightly speedier, but for the relaxed yoyoer this is an absolute joy. It can sit with pride next to my Sturm Panzer in the knowledge that it is not out of place. I congratulate Yomagic on producing such a fantastic yoyo first up. I have to end this review with the biggest flaw with this yoyo production though, and it is a big flaw. There are only ten of them. Please make more. 
