Hello, I’ve decided that after I’ve been longing for this thing so much it’s time to do it the justice it deserves. I had a NorthStar that I’ve eventually sold because i couldn’t stand the pulse that i thought was because of poor maintenance from previous owner , but the shape it had made me want one again. Bear this in mind as it’s going to be pretty important. Also, please note that I jumped through a lot of hoops to get this thing and this leaves an even more bitter (bitter-er?) taste in my mouth as I’m typing this. I know most people aren’t used to seeing negative reviews and that I may have got an exception, though my NorthStar experience tells me something else.
Specs:
Weight (g) 68.4
Diameter (mm) 56.10
Width (mm) 43.00
Trapeze Width (mm) 40
In the package:
Just a string and the booklet. Nothing fancy, like you’d expect from budget friendly yoyos.
And here it is in all its glory:
The shape itself seems a mix between a H and a V.
On a throw:
It’s not as heavy as you’d expect. You see 68 grams and expect something pretty heavy but it feels lighter than other throws. Probably because of that sexy full-sized diameter. And the thing is LOUD. It comes with a centertrack bearing but that pales when the plastic makes it resonate and then if it so happens that the bearing is unlubed, it releases an avalanche of buzzing. You throw it and it goes like https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1BIgnEiT8ow#t=17 .
As far as smoothness goes, i was impressed. It held its end like it was a metal.
BUT THEN…
Well, for some reason i decided that the solution to a loud unlubed bearing would be to lube it. How foolish of me. With the utmost care, I tried to unscrew it. I have a fair share of yoyos and I’ve never had issues with any of them when it came to unscrewing. But this one felt like it came overtightened from the factory (something tells me YYF just draws the arrows before screwing the yoyo together so that’s that). Well, eventually I managed to :
http://i.imgur.com/r2DyPc4.jpg
See that thing over there? On top of the bearing? Yeah, that’s one of the infamous *star spacers. I never thougt I’d witness it first hand, but there it is, ALL STUCK ON THE BEARING (btw, if anyone knows how to get everything out without the use of pliers I’d be absolutely grateful). And the axle isn’t fixed, it’s pretty loose. And on the other side it sounds like some nut is gone loose(is that how the axle system is for *stars? Nut and screw?.. REALLY?) So, crushed, you think “Ok, I’ll just play it loud.”. You carefully rescrew it. In the manner you do with all your metals, until it opposes a bit of resistance and it doesn’t unscrew when spinning, but still unscrews easily when you really do want that. I am emphasizing this as to make sure everybody understands i did NOT overtighten the thing or mishandle it.
Well… guess what. It pulses(remember how I asked you to bear this in mind at the beginning?). You go up to where the arrows line up. It pulses. You realize what happened. The simple act of unscrewing it, mixed with the crappy spacers just rendered your yoyo a pulsing glob of plastic. I hate it. I have absolutely nothing against vibe. I got against pulsing. there’s a distinct difference, at least for me. So there you have it. I read myths on the forum about not unscrewing YYRs, like EVER, but I’ve never thought a ShaqlerStar had the same fate.
Verdict:
For 35$ there are so many other options out there, that having to battle the spacers and pulse on this just doesn’t cut it, at least for me. You could get a Magic Yoyo N12 for that cash, and an ice cream. Still China, still fullsized, but smooth and safe to unscrew. I only own budget yoyos because living in Romania doesn’t really allow for clyws and onedrops when the price of one + shipping is like half the average salary, and among them, the ShaqlerStar seems of less quality even though it’s my second most expensive purchase, only trumped by my dv888. This will for sure be my last YYF, though, at least for a long long time.
