The following is archived from 44EMPORIUM’s website:
It’s already been a full year since the release of the Feather, time flies so fast…
The TITANIUM¹ Feather releases this Friday. You might’ve already thrown it at Worlds or Canadian Nationals, where I’ve gotten a lot of questions, mostly variations of “why titanium and polycarbonate?” It’s a fair question, this material combination is rarely seen in yoyoing. But to really explain why, I need to take you back to where this idea started.
From Monogram to Something More
The story of the TITANIUM¹ Feather started when I made the Monogram Feather, our mono-titanium version of the Feather. The titanium weight distribution enhanced the lightweight floatiness feel, but still maintained its stability. I knew it would be powerful by its design, but I didn’t expect it to feel that floaty. It was my favourite version by far, I just couldn’t stop throwing it. YoYoToronto club sparking the Monogram Feather like caveman discovering fire
Titanium sparks are so cool, I’ve always dreamed about it as a kid lol
But the Monogram Feather sparked the question: how can I bring out the floaty feel even more, while still maintaining the power and stability?
Of course, I could rework the mono-titanium design with a floatier weight distribution, but there’s no way I could realistically afford another batch, not to mention the nightmare of ending up with vibey B-grades. Instead, this led me to explore polycarbonate, the least dense material available for yoyos.
Why Titanium and Polycarbonate?
Most polycarbonate hybrids use stainless steel rims, and for good reasons: they’re capable of packing massive rim weight, resulting in powerful spins. But that combination tends to play dense and heavy, the opposite of what makes the Feather special.
On the other hand, titanium is less dense than steel, but still provides serious rim weight when designed correctly. Adding wide, beefy rims allow weight to be distributed evenly across a large area, which enhances that signature floaty feel while still providing the stability of an outer-rim design, resulting in excellent stability and spin time.
For the hub, I deliberately chose 7075 aluminum instead of the typical 6061. Most 1A hybrid yoyos use 6061, while 7075 is typically reserved for 4A to handle frequent drops. But with the competitive meta shifting to crazy spins and body tricks, I can’t be restrained by a fear of drops – I need this yoyo to be bulletproof.
And it has proven to work flawlessly. I’ve been using it exclusively for half a year now, and it looks terribly scratched and dinged, but it’s still spinning just fine. It’ll be able to handle the craziest experimental elements, and allow you to spark it on all sorts of concrete without worrying about destroying the yoyo :]
The Prototype Journey
Making this yoyo required two prototypes. For the first one, I pushed the design too hard. I made the polycarbonate walls as thin as possible while making the titanium rims huge, thinking this would give it incredible spin time and stability. It backfired completely. No matter how we tuned it, the yoyo had a consistent fingernail vibe that we couldn’t eliminate.
So I went back to the drawing board. Inspired by Jeffrey Pang’s legendary designs like the Hybrid Fulvia and TS3, I reworked the rims with a small indent. This removed just enough weight to strengthen the connections between the hub and between the rims. The second prototype came out dead smooth, and that’s what became the production run.
Closing Thoughts
After over half a year of testing and refinement, the TITANIUM¹ Feather is everything I hoped it would be. It might seem like an odd combination of materials, but every choice was deliberate. It’s a yoyo that maintains the “Feather” philosophy while pushing into new territory. Whether you’re into the unique feel, the titanium sparks, or just want to try something different, I think you’ll find it’s something special.
- Material: Ti+PC+7075
- Weight: 55.5g
- Diameter: 54.7mm
- Width: 50.0mm
- Gap Width (with pads): 4.64mm
- Gap Width (without pads): 6.94mm
- Axle: M4x8mm
- Bearing: Size C
- Pads: Original Throw Response Pads (White)
- String: Original Throw String (White Fat)
- Protective case: Layer Infinity Capso Nest (Clear)
Acknowledgments
Once again, I couldn’t have done this without the amazing support from the community and friends.
- Yejune (44EMPORIUM): Thanks for keeping 44EMPORIUM running and for telling me to do it.
- Wayne (Layer Infinity): Huge thanks for all your hard work on perfecting the packaging, and for putting up with our crazy design requests.
- Tony: Special thanks for teaching me a ton about yoyo vibe. We wouldn’t be able to release this smooth design without your insights!
- Jacky: Thanks for the awesome photos, making it look better than I ever could imagine.
- YoYoToronto: Thanks for continuing to be incredibly helpful with the testing and feedback, making this design process super fun and fulfilling.
And of course, thanks to everyone who helped shape the original Feather design: Jeffrey Pang, MK1 Mark, William Chow, Joo, ZachTheSloth, G2 Jake, and the whole community who supported this lightweight philosophy from the beginning.
And once again, thank you for reading this far! If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to message me on Instagram at @walk_the_chiken. Thank you again for being part of this journey.
Note
¹ TITanium polycArboNate alumInUM (inspired by the name MK1 x EOS44 Asterisk* hahaha)