Man like one you just can’t put down for the life of yuh. If you look at it you have to throw it. Man I got one the other day in the mail. The Hspin Icon. Magleetos signature yoyo. Man this thing is great. I can’t leave it alone. It’s small, comfortable, and organic. Just fits in the palm of your hand but has the play of a slightly larger yoyo. Solid. Small bearing. Polished gap. Matte cups. This yoyo feels classy. The sound of the bearing as it spins. It purrrs man. I have always loved Hspin. They made some sure fine yoyo’s. I used to own the good and evil3 and a pyro. They had the same classy feel but bigger and heavier.
Do you guys have that one yoyo you can’t put down???
It’s easy to see why you feel that way. I think the Icon is probably the best player Hspin ever produced. I wouldn’t have expected that considering it was a budget model outsourced to India, instead of $100-$200 Swiss-made perfection. I know Hspin got to the point where they considered it a mistake to pursue budget models and wider audience yoyos, but not because they didn’t play amazingly. Classic shape, great finish, took silicone, played stable. I still play the Icon. It was a long time before I enjoyed another budget metal half as much.
To answer your broader question, I find that specific yoyos have come to define different eras of my thrower journey. Yoyos that vaulted to the prized spot in my case, became the go-to, by shining a little brighter than everything else in very subjective ways. Starting from when I already basically knew what I was doing as a yoyoer and not a novice anymore, a Pyro and modded Kickside dominated my case. There’s been quite a few others since then. ProtoStar, Chief, I use the sOMEThING Premiere an incredible amount since its release, and still others. I’ve always liked having favorites. I generally prefer getting to know certain yoyos really well over playing twenty different yoyos each and every day. And I think having those one or two go-to yoyos at any given time takes a lot of unpredictability and unfamiliarity out of the equation, making it more about the tricks.
I love my Chiefs. But can’t seem to put this Compass down. I really have many I love. Markmont Classic, Rally, Manatee (just ordered a second one too), and Puffin 2. I just love em all.
Straight wisdom right here! I like your view of yoyos as generational. Back when I started (about 2007 2009) I threw for a while and then put the hobby down for a few years then came back and every thing changed drastically. I used to hate plastic yoyos back in the day and now I can’t stop buying them. Back then My Pyro and GE3 were top spot in my case now it’s my icon and First base. I do have to say my number three would be my Markmont Classic. It has the same organic feel of old but with play of new. It’s great.
I gotta say I’m really enjoying my Marquis. I’m trying to resist playing with it so much because they only made 400 of them and doubt I’d get another one in the future. Like others have said, the manatee has been on my radar too.