Introduction:
Yup, I know this yoyo came out a while ago, but I thought I should make a review on it anyway. Constructive criticism would be appreciated! Sorry, there are no photos. By the way, this is my first yoyo review.
Description (taken from Yoyoexpert):
Welcome to the POPstar, the latest high performance aluminum YoYo from YoYoFactory.
Shaped like its big brothers Protostar, Northstar and ROCKstar the POPstar is ‘pocket sized’ chaos!
Being quite small this does make it technically more difficult to land string tricks but with practice you will find your skills advancing faster due to the precision the POPstar demands from your play. This yo-yo will force you to sharpen your skills and every true yo-yo player needs that!
Did we even mention how well it will fit in your pocket?! You won’t even know its there! Great to keep in your pocket and be prepared no matter where you go!
This is quite possibly the highest performing yo-yo for its price. There is no excuse not to have one in your collection!
Specs (taken from Yoyoexpert):
Diameter: 43.8 mm / 1.73 inches
Width: 32 mm / 1.26 inches
Gap Width: 4.90 mm / .19 inches
Weight: 66.5 grams
Bearing Size: Large SPEC Bearing
Size C (.250 x .500 x .187)
Response: Central Bearing Co - CBC ‘Slim’ Pad
First impressions:
To be completely honest, I thought it was going to be bigger. Consequently (since I have small hands), this yoyo was really comfortable to hold. When I first threw it, I wasn’t too impressed. I mean, sure, it could do some tricks but it would turn and spin out. Also, sleep times were very short.
Second impressions:
I knew I would have to wait for the bearing to break in and DARN this is quite a good yoyo. The SPEC bearing in it was good, but I switched it out for a KK 10-ball bearing, and it made a noticeably big difference. Since the Popstar isn’t very stable, I found the KK bearing to help keep the string centred even when the yoyo was about to stop spinning. Also, 10-ball bearing are really smooth. This yoyo was really fun to use.
String tricks:
It could do all the string tricks I tried on it, so it’s pretty good. What I really liked about this yoyo is that since it’s portable, I have been taking my yoyo around with me. As a result, I have been practicing my tricks a lot. When I do the same tricks on my Anglam CC, I find myself consecutively hitting the string; this yoyo has improved my accuracy. Also, since this yoyo is really unforgiving on a bad throw (it just spins out after a few seconds), my throw is now a lot straighter. In a nutshell, this yoyo is great for improving your accuracy of hitting tricks, since it is so small.
Grinding:
Thumb grinds:
The Popstar is great at thumb grinds. You don’t need to throw this yoyo at an angle to keep your thumb in the same place. I could do 6-7 second thumb grinds, with enough spin to bind the yoyo back up to my hand!
Arm, finger, and palm grinds:
The Popstar is okay at these grinds: you can do them for a couple of seconds. I accidentally taught myself how to wrist whip when I was trying to do a finger grind.
Bearing and response:
As I said earlier, I switched out the bearing. The stock bearing that comes with it works fine, same as the pads that come with it. Nothing special, but… they work. Also, the axle is quite short.
Pros and cons:
Pros
- Cheap
- Portable
- Improves accuracy of tricks
- Unresponsive out of the box
- Good for string tricks
- Good for grinding
- VERY fun to use
Cons
- Could have a longer sleep time
- Yoyo turns when it loses spin
Now for the BIG QUESTION!!! (sorry I had to do that)
Do you recommend this yoyo?
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS! (sorry I love over exaggerating things) In conclusion, this yoyo is really fun to use, good for string tricks and working on your accuracy, is a good pocket-sized yoyo. I used this yoyo with Nylon 1.5 Kitty String and lubed the bearing with Gorrilus Lubricus (just in case you want to know) which worked well with this yoyo. I think the description of "pocket-sized chaos is spot on. Some people like this yoyo, others don’t and I won’t put a rating out of 10 as a result. Thanks for reading this, and stay tuned for my review on the Anglam CC!