Opening: The world of 2a has many skilled players. Players such as 12 time World Champion Shinji Saito and Shu Takada need a yo-yo built for the crazy tricks they are able to pull of on stage. Yo-yo’s like the Loop 900 and the Loop 1080 are great but the price are not so low since they are meant for more experienced players, which is what I found out the hard way. So I decided to go for a different approach and got some cheaper ones to practice on and work my way up to the Loop 900, which is where the Loop 808 comes in.
Background: A few years ago, Yoyoexpert had massive sales on the website, the site even went down. I was able to buy two Loop 900’s and a Shaqlerstar for $35. I immediately noticed the Loop 900’s were a bit fragile in my opinion so I decided to not practice with them tricks that were a bit risky like tangler. I only know the basic loops and fountain/mountain climbers. I wanted to practice other tricks but needed much cheaper yo-yo’s. Then the Loop 808, Champions Collection of Alex Garcia, was released, bought myself a set of two and put them to the test.
Specs:
Diameter: 57.25 mm/ 2.25 inches
Width: 25.5 mm/ 1 inches
Weight: 50.5 grams
Bearing Size: Small Spec Bearing (Size A)
Response: Small CBC Pads
First Impressions: I got them, took them out of the box and then played with them immediately. One of the first things I noticed was the plastic on these yo-yo’s feels much more durable than the plastic on the Loop 900 in my opinion. Another big thing was the response, it uses silicone pads instead of the traditional starburst response. I prefer the silicone pads rather than the starburst since I uses mainly polyester string when looping, and the silicone does not tear the string. Yes I know many people will say I am crazy for using polyester string for looping but I do that to save some money. When I had them in my hands I started to practice my loops.
Play: The Loop 900 does beat this yo-yo because of the adjustable gap. The Loop 808’s however do not need that since they will sleep when you want them to and loop great when you want them to as well. The looping response is strong on this yo-yo so it still works like a charm. Looping and sleeper tricks work great in my opinion. There is nothing I dislike about this yo-yo, it plays great and the response system does not rip into my string at all.
Conclusion: I think this yo-yo is a great yo-yo for any player thinking of getting into 2a. Maybe even use them in competitions since Alex Garcia has already used them in Japan National Contest 2012. I think these yo-yo’s are well worth the money because they play great, are really affordable, and are also endorsed by a 2 time National Champion. What do you guys think?