Yoyo Collector is a new tool built by Evan Baron to help yo-yo players catalog and share their collections. The site allows users to track basic information on their throws, along with pictures and private notes. The basic functionality gets the job done, and Evan plans to add more functionality in the future.
Key features Evan has highleted are as follows:
“Privacy (found in the profile settings page) – There are three settings here: Public, Anonymous, and Private
Public: Everyone can see your profile and collections, your information like your description, handle, etc. This setting will be right for most collectors.
Anonymous: Your name and personal details are removed, yet people can still see your collections and yoyos. This setting will be right for those who want to share their collections with the world anonymously, without the desire for attention. Private: No one can see your profile, your collections, or your yoyos. This setting will be right for those who strictly want to keep track of their collection and keep things to themselves.
Messaging – There is none! It was not my intention to build a site where people can dm and message each other about their collections and yoyos. This site exists solely for collecting purposes and nothing else. The only interaction available is likes and favorites. You can like other peoples’ collections, photos, and yoyos.
Favorites – You can add other peoples’ collections and yoyos to your favorites so that you don’t have to search for them again. To view your favorites, just navigate to your profile (you will have favorite collections and favorite yoyos). Alternatively you can view favorite collections on the All Collections page.“
Edition’s first-ever monometal yo-yo, the Forma, needed to be something special coming from a performance-focused brand. Known for extremely powerful and performant bi-metals, Edition had their own very large shoes to fill with this one. Did they succeed? Let’s take a look.
The Forma is a 6061 aluminum throw that plays slightly lighter than its 65.9g weight. It’s H-shaped and is quite comfortable in the hand thanks to a slightly rounded outer rim. The overall design of the yo-yo makes for a very forgiving throw, allowing me to recover from some sloppy throws I tend to have, thanks to my bad hands and wrists. It tends to spin for quite a long time, and my Forma is incredibly quiet.
While the Forma’s power can handle strong, frantic tricks, it seems to excel when you slow down a bit. Imagine playing the Forma like you would a solid organic throw, and you’ll start to understand where it shines. Granted, it plays nothing like an organic, but it’s that flow where it excels. While I couldn’t get it to reject as well as some other throws, it handled everything else I threw at it with ease, and I found my hands instinctively reaching for the Forma in the pile of throws I’ve had in rotation for the last few weeks.
This is the first Edition yo-yo I’ve ever thrown, so I can’t compare it to any of their other releases, but if the Forma is an indication of the quality of Edition’s lineup, then I need to get my hands on some other ones soon!
The「Bandalo:re」by Bandlore is an odd little yo-yo. Its width is larger than its diameter, it’s capped, and overall, it’s kinda shaped like a doorknob. Being a fan of odd little yo-yos, I couldn’t wait to give it throw.
Bandalore is a fairly new company, and the「Bandalo:re」is their flagship yo-yo. The build quality of the yo-yo is damn fine, and it feels great in the hand. The weight is average for a modern yo-yo, coming in at 65g, but damn if it doesn’t feel much heaver when you throw it.
It’s like a rock tied to a string.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. Even though the「Bandalo:re」feels extremely heavy, it remains fairly maneuverable. It’s not going to win any competitions, but it certainly may win some hearts with its satisfying binds and solid “thunk” when it returns to a player’s hand. This yo-yo feels like it’s made specifically for the fun factor, and for people who appreciate something a bit different in their collection. It’s outside the norm, and that’s a great thing.
I mean, it can still handle most of what you can throw at it.
If you can still find a「Bandalo:re」somewhere, snag it. It’s a ton of fun, and will quite possibly be one of the most unique throws you own. Slap a counterweight on it for some freehand play, and it’s sure to put a smile on your face.
The Tengu is the latest Sengoku throw, and the first monometal M-shaped yo-yo they have released. It also features a ”hyper-matte” finish that they claim delivers a “one-of-a-kind tactile experience.”
Well, it’s certainly one-of-a kind.
I tried hard to like the Tengu. I did. I loved the shape, the wide catch zone, and the weight. Overall, it seems like a great yo-yo. The problem for me is the ”hyper-matte” finish. It feels like a chalkboard in my hand, and my string kept snagging on the finish, causing the yo-yo to respond in the middle of tricks.
Some people may dig the finish. Some people may have more skill and can keep the yo-yo from snagging on the string as much as I did. Unfortunately, it was a real issue for me to the point where I can’t even stand to play it at all.
While the Tengu may not be for me, it’s gotten me interested in Sengoku’s other M-shaped yo-yos, the Samurai and the Shinobi. They’re a bit pricier, but they don’t have the skin-crawling “hyper-matte” finish.
