I’ve found the YoyoNews reviews to be well balanced so far. Looking forward to more!
(PS, can we call YoyoNews “YYN” yet, or is that still too confusing? 
)
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I think we can call it YYN…funny though, been having that same conversation with other people lately. 
As for YYN reviews, the Rockefeller was sent to us, the Walter was purchased by the reviewer. We do not solicit freebies from manufacturers in exchange for reviews…the Rockefeller was offered, and we basically told Blake to wait until we decided a) if we were going to do reviews at all and b) if so, how we were going to do them.
Moving forward, we aren’t going to turn down offers of product from companies, but we will never solicit freebies.
Our feeling is that yoyo reviews are a service to players, not to manufacturers.
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Disagree. I’ve played 64g yoyos that felt pretty solid, and 70g yoyos that felt pretty light, which is quite different than how their specs would have had me believe.
I thought that the 70g Light Up FHZ would be HEAVY, but it felt like it was about 68 grams…
Ever play Frisbee?
If I take a moving Frisbee that is not rotating and drop it simultaneously with one that is spinning, the spinning Frisbee will “float”; while the non-spinning Frisbee will just flutter to the ground. Rotational momentum can appear to oppose the downward pull of gravity (float); if the spinning object is in motion.
What is important is that the rim weight and diameter be sufficiently large so that the rotational momentum vector is larger than the gravity vector. This will allow the object to continue in the motion of least resistance until the rotational momentum begins to slow down and the gravity vector becomes the primary force acting on the object. If the object is in motion, like a Frisbee, the vector with least resistance will be the force imparted by the thrower of the disc (linear). As the rotation and linear motion slows, gravity becomes the primary force and the disc begins to lose its “float” since the motion of the disc begins to be defined primarily by the gravity vector (it falls as we expect it to).
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Well said Yoyogeezer. I was actually following this thread to see just how many responses would pile up before somebody smacked the nail right on the head. Thanks
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How did this thread turn into a Physics rant? 
In a nutshell:
Person A: you can tell how a yoyo will play just by looking at the specs
Person B: nuh uh!
Yuki
Y’all know that a frisbee is not a yoyo, right? They operate on very different principles; the frisbee is able to do what it does due to principles of aerodynamics. A yoyo does not depend on aerodynamics.
It’s a bad analogy.
The analogy only works on this level: a spinning yoyo does not tilt easily. When it is in a trapeze or other string mount, or even just sleeping, it is able to stay stable. When its spin dies, it has a hard time even sitting on a trapeze. Anything less than careful and it will fall right off.
You’re comparing different forces acting on objects in different ways for different reasons. The only commonality is that they spin.
The way spin could help a yoyo “float” as a consequence of interaction with the surrounding air is if there were any sort of “fins” that can create more or less wind resistance. Only, these fins would also cause spin times to be shorter and nobody would ever go for that… which is possibly why nobody does it…
I would not call the ‘frisbee’ example, a bad analogy. I think Yoyogeezer was using it more as an abstract parallel. He was not trying to say frizbees were yoyos. He was just using the example to draw a picture with words… So some folks could get possibly a better grasp of dynamic parameters of force and rotational momentum.
I didn’t see a problem with his information.
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It’s not correct information. It’s comparing two incomparable things. I’m not trying to bash on yoyogeezer or anything like that! It’s just not the right analogy.
It also makes an incorrect connection between rotation and gravity. It’s not rotating against gravity to stay aloft longer. And even if that were the case, the weight distribution would be irrelevant.
Sometimes examples “sound” right. They have plausibility. It’s a rhetorical technique that is used all the time (not saying yoyogeezer is intentionally abusing rhetoric or anything like that, mind you). But plausibility doesn’t make for correct information.
As I stated, the analogy can still work when you’re talking about stability/tilt. But we’re talking about float. And “floaty” is a perception created by the factors I already mentioned. There are very real measurable things that can create the feeling of “float”. But increased hang-time in the air is not one of them.
To put it differently: the frisbee is gliding. The yoyo is not. I don’t think there’s any purpose in explaining much beyond that!
Really? I’ve read many negative or just “so-so” reviews. However, I will say I’ve read more positive ones. I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that with our current knowledge of yoyo design, it’s easier to make a well designed yoyo. Also, you have to take into account what the reviewers skill level might be. What may be stable for one person and their level of tricks/combos may be different for someone else.
It is an analogy to illustrate how “float” can be a real, observable phenomenon with a spinning object in motion.
In physics terms, a yoyo is a tethered gyroscope. In that regard, the analogy works because the motion imparted by the string, as the yoyo spins around your hand or finger; is like the throw of the frisbee. As the yoyo spins around your finger on the string, it can appear to float as the rotational momentum momentarily overcomes the expected effect of gravity. That is the stability that I think you are citing.
As for the aerodynamic part… that is open to much greater debate. Does a Frisbee generate “lift”? Perhaps we need a new thread and the insight of Dirty Birdy on that. Regardless, it is not important to yo-yo’s. Their aerodynamic properties are perfectly opposed so they cancel.
Back on topic:
I think that negative reviews are something that are incredibly difficult to do. If you outright bash a product or manufacturer; the forum will probably remove the review at the request of the manufacturer. They can do this on any number of grounds based on the rules of the forum or the relationship with the manufacturer.
The real art of reviewing is to give the real information about the yoyo in very innocuous terms. Nothing outright negative; nothing that the manufacturer can use against you to have your opinions quashed. You damn them with faint praise. You cite things about the yoyo that are trivial… YYE used to be masters at this. You could read the description of a new yoyo from Andre in the old days; and you KNEW how good that yoyo was.
“The thing that really shines about this yoyo is the anodization…”
“This yoyo is absolutely great in the hand…”
'Nuff said. You just have to read between the lines.
Hey Geezer!
I like your analogy, but some of your initial comments on the frisbee are incorrect, and therefore misleading, and sure, I’d love to dive right into a complete discussion of frisbee physics but that’s for another thread.
I will, however, correct the reasoning as to why the rotating frisbee (without linear translation, i.e., not moving perpendicular to the local gravity vector) falls slower than a non-rotating one. Even though the disc’s angular momentum vector is parallel to the gravity vector, it does not actually create any lift to counter gravity. What the spin of the disc does, as you correctly stated, is to create a gyroscopic stability that works to prevent the disc from tipping away from its horizontal orientation, similar to the spin of a yoyo that tends to keep the yoyo in its orientation. A non-spinning disc does not have this dynamic stability, so the disc tilts and falls to the ground. The spinning disc, on the other hand, resists tilting, allowing the recessed, cup-like, underside of the frisbee to act like a parachute and create quite a bit of aerodynamic drag to slow the fall caused by gravity. The non-spinning disc tilts and flops and is unable to create as much drag as the spinning disk, and therefore falls faster.
As to the complete story of the frisbee’s aerodynamics, that’s a long winded story for another day…
In the meantime, let’s all get back to our regularly scheduled useful and useless yoyo reviews!!!
db
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Now I really want to drop a spinning yoyo and a non-spinning yoyo off the Leaning Tower of Pisa just to prove that yoyos do not “Float” while spinning.
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We have buildings in the US too
Also “floaty” is a precautionary term it lets you know that you can tune out what ever is coming next and not miss much. Basically many of us have been trying to kill the word for years but it just wont die and trust me many have tried and many more will fail
Product reviews are and can be valuable when pulled from a larger number of reviews. When you can get a average consensus on a given product i find them to be very informational. for instance if im looking to buy a new TV and i read 50 reviews from people on that TV and 45 of them say the sound quality sucks then im going to really take that under consideration before i purchase.
Yoyo reviews on the other hand (in my opinon) are pretty much worthless. Why? because MOST yoyo reviews are done by one guy and Its that one guys opinon of how HE likes or dislikes the yoyo. and we all know that opinons are different everywhere you look. It would be great if we can have a review system where the community can submit reviews on yoyos that way we can get a LARGE number of reviews to really get a better understanding of how a majority of reviewers feel and not just one or two people.
I look at a yoyos specs and say i kinda like how that looks on paper im going to try it. sometimes it hits right on and sometimes it doesnt. When it doesnt ::)…well… everyone here knows these next three letters B/S/T.
Thats the beauty of this community if you dont like a paticular throw theres always someone that does.
Huh? Come again? lol
“Floaty” is pretty much here to stay. We might as well establish a consensus so the term is used in a more helpful manner.
Ok, so When I hear “Floaty” I think “Lightweight”.
I pretty much feel that floaty throws feel lighter than their weight suggests.
That’s how I think of it. Physics won’t change my mind.
For most of us, there are two main reasons to create a review:
- You love it, so it’s a celebration.
- You hate it, so it’s…yeah you get it.
These are exactly the reasons reviews are as they are. The most objective, write nothing for the most part, because they aren’t emotionally charged.
Very few people review yoyo after yoyo, although there are a few, just because they enjoy writing. It’s one thing to write a review and completely another to write a great review.
Therefore I will abstain from writing reviews but I still do enjoy reading them, although I believe very little until I try it myself. I mean after all, that’s part of the yoyoing experience, the adventure!
Just my opinion on reviews. Oh, one more thing before I end this. It’s a bit counter productive to rant about how much you dislike a yo and then try to get rid of it in the bst. (So that may be a third reason for super positive reviews.)
If you mix what you read in all the reviews with what others are saying, in different sections of the forum, it can be helpful. Nothing is as true as getting to play the yo yourself though.
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