Yoyorecreation (YYR) is a company with a reputation for pure performance yoyos. However, their first go at a plastic, the original Diffusion, left many throwers disappointed because it wasn’t the performer you might expect from YYR. The original Diffusion is vibey and on the heavy side but, for what it’s worth, I liked its “character”. In any case, lucky for everyone that YYR kinda screwed up a bit on the original, because they totally redesigned the Diffusion and the new version is incredible.
Specs from YYE:
Diameter: 58 mm / 2.28 inches
Width: 43.25 mm / 1.70 inches
Gap Width: 4.55 mm / 1.78 inches
Weight: 65.2 grams
Bearing Size: Size C (.250 x .500 x .187)
YYR DS (Double Straight) Bearing
Response: YoYoRecreation Silicone Response
The Diffusion comes with YYR’s concave bearing, minimal packaging, and a thin string (you’ll want to change that string). I got a clear one, and it looks killer. I’ll definitely be picking up another in a different color eventually. I put on a kitty string normal and it was love at 1st, 2nd, 3rd…etc…throw… With plastics I generally have two complaints: spin time and response. The new Diffusion does not suffer from deficiencies in either of those areas.
Spin time
Sure any yoyo can spin and spin, but what counts is how the spin time is affected during play. I am very surprised out how well the Diffusion holds its strong spin throughout a long trick sequence. Many yoyos start out with powerful spin that dissipates quickly with string contact on the inner walls, hand contact, etc… but the Diffusion has a such a low inner wall (as pretty much all YYR have), well-distributed weight, and the benefit of a concave bearing. This means long spin that lasts through long combos, lots of string wraps, and hand contact during tight chopsticks maneuvers.
Response
I haven’t changed out the pads yet, but I have no problems. When I eventually put in flowable silicone instead of the pads it’ll be even better, but that’s just my preference. The binds are tight with normal kitty string even at low RPMs (again…good that it comes with a concave bearing). On a throw, the Diffusion unrolls smoothly and tightly to the end of the string without the major, finger-jarring, “thunk” that you would get from wide-gapped yoyos. This is something I really like about YYR, they tend to have narrower gaps than other manufacturers and this makes for comfortable throwing. At this point in their designs, it seems that they have this response configuration + concave + gap size thing pretty wired. For my preference, YYR is pretty tops about this aspect.
It’s really quiet
Yup, for a plastic it is surprisingly quiet. Play this at night. Disturb no one.
How does it feel
Great…really great. With my first throw I went for the combo I’ve been working on and it was a cakewalk. A very comfortable yoyo that I did not need to adjust to, it was golden from the beginning. Floaty (yes, it is very much!) and nimble. The new Diffusion is larger than the old, and it is even slightly larger than the Protostar (and its progeny). Very comfortable in hand, and fantastic off/on the string the Diffusion has a medium-fast feel and reacts quickly to direction changes and feels oh so lovely during hops. I love it, the best plastic I’ve played, but not just a performance beast, it is just a really fun yoyo to play. The Diffusion goes the speed I want, reacts fast, has spin that lasts, and is totally comfortable in hand and during a throw. I could throw it all day, learn new combos with confidence, have fun, and not feel like my finger is going to fall off. So yeah… I like it… I like it a lot (that’s why I went to the trouble to write this up :P).
comparison pics
New Diffusion / Old Diffusion
New Diffusion / Old Diffusion
YYF Northstar, new Diffusion, Duncan FHZ, old Diffusion
Video!
(ugh, why is flash video always such a mystery to embed in forums? 
)
The new Diffusion in action on my instagram: http://instagram.com/p/oV-hJqgqdP/
UPDATE EDIT:
Still really loving the new Diffusion, so much that I just ordered a second one… now I will have the clear and the red.
Also, I used the Diffusion in the “old guy” yoyo contest recently. I filmed my contest entry while I was out of town, and whenever I travel I prefer to bring a good plastic and not worry about dinging a metal. Here’s the vid: beezy throws a yoyo II
And…I’ve repeatedly nailed this yoyo on the floor recently, without problems. Still as smooth as ever, durable plastic doesn’t mark too easily.
In general, I like working on difficult and new tricks on a plastic for a couple reasons… one is that I can just go for it and not worry about smacking the floor and dinging a nice metal. And of course, with a new trick idea I’m more likely to hit myself while smoothing out a maneuver…again, plastic is ideal because they don’t hurt as bad when you hit yourself on accident. Plastics are also good because they tend to lose spin more quickly with sloppy play…so you are forced to tighten up.
That all said, playing with the Diffusion is a joy and it is actually very forgiving of sloppy play due to the shape and long spin time.
So…the new Diffusion is not only my go-to every day carry, it is simply one of my favorite yoyos of all time. Just so fun to throw, and I can just go for it and not worry about it being too expensive to damage and/or that it will damage me. And I finally just nailed a solid Seasick on it…we’re officially bonded 4 life, this yoyo and I. I <3 Diffusion
But you’re right, YYR started the company doing some blasts for their throws but they haven’t done it in a long time I believe.