Introduction
2010 was Jensen’s season, he won BAC, Cal States and Worlds just to state a few.
All of the contests I mentionned above were also won with a PLASTIC yoyo.
Yes folks, not with an all-metal yoyo, a plastic yoyo.
For BAC and Cal States he used the Protostar, but for Worlds, he used a different yoyo…
Yoyofactory have let him tweak the Protostar to his preferences, and that’s how the Northstar is born.
First Impression
I have owned a few throws, most of them are undersized.
For me the Northstar was big, bigger than anything 1A yoyo I’ve thrown.
The colors on the Northstar are bright, I have the Orange/Black and White/Red and the color combinations are just perfect for me.
Specs
Manufacturer : Yoyofactory
Weight : 69 grams
Width : 43.7 mm
Diameter : 56 mm
Gap width : 4.55 mm
Bearing : Large Center Trac Bearing
Gap type : Fixed
Comfort
When I held it, it fit perfectly in my hand even though I always played with undersized yoyos and it felt a bit weird at first but after a few throws it felt very comfortable.
And the angular shape feels pretty good in the hand.
Tech
I like it how Yoyofactory doesn’t forget details, because they include a small manual containing a few tricks and how to “Bind Return”, and the box is pretty simple with a nice color combo of blue and black, and doesn’t put too much logo on it.
On a throw
On my first throw it felt pretty floaty, maybe it’s because of the weight of my Atmosphere, but after a few throws it doesn’t feel too floaty nor like a brick on the string.
On a bad throw it starts to vibe, but on a nice and clean throw, it soars on the string.
With the size of this thing, it’s easy to land hops and transitions, whips and lacerations.
For those of you who like doing horizontal tricks, the Northstar handles them pretty nicely, I’ve tried some of my horizontal tricks on it and it still had enough spin time to come back up my hand.
As usual the CBC pads provide pretty tigt binds.
In my opinion the bearing is pretty smooth, but the down side is it’s too noisy. But I can live with it, it’s not like it sounds like a tractor or anything like that.
Final thoughts
The Northstar is definitely one of the best plastics out on the market. You can play with it at any speed, and it is super stable.
It’s one of those affordable high performance yoyos.
You should definitely get one.
PS : this is my first review, constructive criticism is appreciated ;D