A little background:
As you know from the other thread I started about what I thought to be a new YYF One, YYF unveiled one of its first 2013 throws to the public and were available for purchase this past weekend (5.26.12) at the Bay Area Classic contest. I like to think of it as a ‘soft release’ as well as a ‘beta test’ or ‘test market.’ In that sense, I feel it is appropriate to give some feedback on how it plays. The One Star (OS) is a mashup of the YYF One and Protostar. It has the profile of a Protostar while the faces of it have the plastic pogs much like a One. It does not have the rings like a Protostar has.
Specs:*
Weight: ~65 grams
Width: 43mm
Diameter: 55mm
Material: Acetal
Colors: Only available in white for the time being.
Bearing: YYF Spec C-sized
Response: Standard YYF response
Looks and Feel:
I immediately took note as to how silky it was and realized it wasn’t polycarb like I initially assumed it was going to be. While feeling on the lighter side of things, it felt like there was some body to it.
Next day, when throwing I had several people tell me that that yoyo looks pretty sweet, liking the milky white plastic it has.
Holding it is pretty comfy and since this shape has been proven successful with the *Star yoyos, there’s no need to change it up for this mashup.
Love at First Throw:
Making way to the YYF booth I was greeted to a cardboard box full of these white yoyos. Naturally, I ask to try one out and was given the OK. I was amazed at how smooth a $15 plastic was spinning. After trying out a couple tricks and also picking up a B-grade, I quickly exchanged the cash for the goods.
Play:
Now, let’s take it out to an open walkway where it isn’t so crowded. This is definitely a fast yoyo! While stable, it is pretty light and easy on the string. I’ve never seen myself do a Roller Coaster so quick like I did. I do wish there was just a bit more meat to it since I usually tend to favor 67-70 gram yoyos but for what it is, it feels pretty good. Unfortunately, there isn’t really any space under the cap to add a bit more of weight without adding some center weight. Spin times are pretty decent.
Now let’s try grinding this since it feels so buttery! Yup, just glided right across my arm with no slowdown. It also remained perched on my finger like a bead-blasted metal without losing too much spin.
Response:
I’m not sure what it is about YYFs but for some reason, they don’t seem to have that grab and often tend to slip requiring me to bind a few times. Maybe the pads need to be broken in or something as I’ve also had this happen on my PGM. I notice it much less on my Popsar and Avant Garde for some reason. With some work I’m still able to get them to come back up but doesn’t seem to have the same grab that my YYJ’s have.
Overall:
For the price I paid for it, I was very well impressed! While it isn’t perfect, it is definitely worthy having in your collection and a good pocket/go-to yo. Actually, when at the contest, my brother wasn’t really interested in it when I offered to buy him one. About 20 minutes in, I told him to try it out when he fell in love with it. After we got back from lunch, we headed straight to the YYF booth and picked one up for him.
I’m curious as to what others think about this yoyo. I honestly love it. I wouldn’t mind seeing more reviews on this. Thanks for reading!
*Specs are based on what I heard others say on the forums and/or what I measured.