If you had told me two years ago that I would be reviewing a Yomega design I would have had you institutionalized. Not because of anything they did in their past, but because they have pretty much been associated with low end budget yo-yos or being one of the most popular suppliers of looping yo-yos; neither of which put them on my radar. This all changed last October when reports started circulating that Yomega was coming out with a metal, competition level design. After reading about that my curiosity was piqued. I began to dig around for more and more information about The Glide, this new high performance yo-yo, and what I found looked promising. What sealed the deal for me was right around January or February of this year. Dan Dietz left One Drop to go work for Yomega as a spokesperson and intern. It made sense for him to do so since they are based in his home state of Massachusetts. He and I began talking and he had nothing but positive things to say about the Glide… on his recommendation I had to give it a shot. Now the big question, can Yomega pull off the same thing Duncan has done and start to reinvent their image, can they go from being known for fun little plastics to higher end metals that can compete with the rest of the pack?
I’ve been waiting for this review. Nobody has written one as far as I know.
Same. I’m not even sure how I stumbled across the Glide when I saw it on YYE but it intrigued me more than I thought any Yomega product ever would. Thanks for your insight on this yoyo
how could you elimanate the string cutting thing or mask it
…binds are better with kk’s…flats are unstable and slippy…
Wouldn’t the KK help with the “string-eating” thing? I love KK’s, so I was kind of shocked to read that…
My Super G had that issue, but I rubbed the area outside the bearing seat with a sock and that seemed to fix the issue. @redneckyoyoer- certain yoyos will play great the any bearing, but some yoyos like the Glide may play better with a flat bearing or vice versa.
Flats cant handle horizontal well at all
The KK does help with the string eating a little bit but the string will still eventually rub against the wall. I played the Glide with the KK and the thicker stock string that it shipped with. The string did exhibit string wear and was a throw or two away from snapping. The problem is, as stated in the review, the KK impacted binds and throws. Binds slipped way too much and were loose. On the initial throw with a KK the yo-yo felt like it was falling off the bearing instead of unrolling from it. The spin ended up being weak and the yo-yo was unstable due to the poor unwrap from the bearing. Switching to the flat bearing fixed these problems and made for some absolutely brilliant play.
I have talked to Daniel over at Yomega after the review and he let me know that Yomega was aware of the string situation and have corrected it with their anodizer for all future runs.
That is certainly your opinion but I have met quite a few players that could easily prove you wrong. If a player is blaming the bearing on their rubbish horizontal skills they need to reexamine their level of play. I know I have poor horizontal skills but I also know the blame lays at the slip knot end of the string and not at the bearing end.
Delete
Well horizontal combo with kk i can go slow and smooth as well as fast. With flat i have to go fast as to not let it slip on the bearing. I find more control can be reached with a kk. I just have trouble believing the bad binds on another note jensen kimmit loves kks and he had a really great regenerating performance. Then again the glide does leave much to be wanted especially in comparison to duncans barracuda in the big biz department. I always look at your reviews. Im just conversing btw
I love your reviews, man. I just want to point out that a lot of people absolutely love string centering bearings. This just makes me wonder if you should at least attempt to see the benefits (and negatives, of course) of these bearings. It is fairly clear that you do not like them, but I think that just flat out saying that they are not good in any yoyo is kind of harsh, and then only reviewing the yoyo with a different bearing may even skew the accuracy of your review for an inexperienced player. Of course as the reviewer your opinion is important, but at the same time, your review could be geared more towards how the yoyo plays stock. This is really just my opinion and I am fully prepared to take flak as I realize that this post may seem a bit cutting or even downright hostile. This is not my intention, and I really maintain that you write some of the best reviews available. These are just thoughts.
Thanks again!
I have used string centering bearings before and do see the benefits to them especially for a beginning player who needs the extra help keeping the string off the walls. I do my darnedest to play all yo-yos stock except when it comes to the stock string… most companies send a cheap string that I find way too short.
As far as the Glide is concerned, I did give it a go in the stock configuration and found it to be horrible. If I had left it at that the review would have had a much harsher tone and have come off as extremely negative. I tinkered with the user replaceable items, namely the string and the bearing to see if it truly was a bad design causing the horrible play. In the end I did what was best for the Glide and played it with a flat bearing which improved the play and gave me an extremely positive experience.
The bearing in this instance was a hinderance to this good freshman effort for Yomega. I look forward to seeing what they come up with for Dan’s signature yo-yo.
On a side note, I don’t see changing the bearing as skewing the accuracy of the review. In today’s modern yo-yo world it is not uncommon to have extra bearings, string, and pads laying around. Also it isn’t uncommon for even the beginner crowd to purchase an extra bearing and a pack of string to go with their new purchase. The way I look at it, this review does them a favor by letting them know, if you want this yo-yo you may want to add a bearing to your order before you check out. As for taking flak, I won’t be sending any your way. You have a valid opinion and said it in an intelligent way, none of which came off and hostile. Thanks for speaking your mind. 
and thank you for such an friendly, clear response! What I meant by skew the accuracy of the review, by they way, is that some yoyos play a bit differently with different bearings. I don’t know, it just feels like my summit plays faster and more streamlined with a trifecta and more flowy and relaxed with a ten ball. I love both, but they are a little different.
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Ohhhh and you will LOVE it… LOVE it… Yea it’s that good!!!
Great review, I agree 100%.
I have the new SW edition it still came with concave bearing, and not sure if they changed the blast finish as I have not noticed the string eating issue yet. they may have lightened the finish a bit since the first batch.
maybe someone with both editions can give a comparison.