So yeah here it is my first yoyo review ever. EVER. Im going to review the Aoda Dancing Pearl. It is my first metal yoyo 
It started Christmas 2009. I remembered past times and wished myself a yoyo for christmas but something more serious than the old wooden yoyos. So i got a henrys lizard with a trick book. It was really cool but hard to learn with those pictures and arrows. My first cool trick was the Braintwister lol. I soon discovered Andre Boulays yoyo trick videos on Youtube and Hiroyuki (Mickeys) world contest freestyle and i was amazed. I wanted to get more into yoyoing but the lizard was just too bad haha 
So in March 2010 (turned 17) on my bday it kinda started to get more serious because I got my henrys viper. I learned tricks like trapeze and stuff. But the key to starting yoyoing was about 2-3months ago when i got my Kickside. I was amazed :-o
A DarkMagic later, KK bearing and Silicone o-rings i was skilled enough (in my opinion) to get a metal yoyo. Since im always low on budget for some reason (;D) i got myself the Aoda Dancing Pearl for 40$!!! ÂŁ26.99 / ~ 31.31
I grabbed one as soon as I could…
Specifications:
Brand - Aoda
Colour - turquoise anodised finish with laser engraving
Weight - 62g
Diameter - 50mm
Width - 38mm
Gap: 4.5mm approx
Profile: Butterfly/Wing
Response - silicone O-Ring Response
Bearing - Large size C Aoda concave bearing. Same size as the Dif-e-yo KK bearing.
Other: supplied with a cloth drawstring yo-yo bag (with a cool pattern), 1 yoyo string and 2 spare silicone o rings (pads). Note the o rings (pads) are not sticky and are push-fit. This yo-yo could be siliconed (you could use flowable silicone).
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1903/aodareview9.jpg
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3879/aodareview5.jpg
kickside,dancing pearl,DarkMagic ying yang special edition
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/5438/aodareview1.jpg
First Impressions and Looks
When this first got into my hand I was like wow is this small. Nice anodize finish. Silky soft surface. Felt good in the hand. with 50mm undersized. Thought i would not like it because of the size but more to that later. the arrow laser engravings are really cool and have kind of a 3D effect. The chinese letter engravings look pretty awesome too but the “Aoda Yoyo” letter are just too simple which doesnt really fit that good in in my opinion. (noticed i havent got a picture of that site but like 10 of the other lol. uploaded later). The colour fits perfectly in my collection dont you think ;D ;)?
Since this is a really budget yoyo it has a few (about 2-3 actually) minor minor minor dinks which are hardly visible. There are some strange bubble marks on the anodize finish but those are hardly visible too i dont care that much. They look like finger prints :-o. You dont get a CLYW finish for 40$. I got lucky with my yoyo,i think.
The shape reminds me off a Auldey L3 but its about 3mm wider. Every colourfull highlite looks freaking good on it. 9/10
Response and Bearing
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1271/aodareview6.jpg
the white marks are just dust not dinks.
It has a stock asian KK bearing and uses a double silicone o-ring response. The bearing edges are littly sanded down so it isnt as sharp as Difeo KK edges. This doesnt really matter, just saying. Its actually a little less wider than the Difeo KK. It has the same spin time as my Difeo KK but its not as smooth as the original KK. It adds a tiny ammount of vibe to the yoyo; feels like there is something in the bearing kind of. But the bearing is still ok after you cleaned and lubed it ;p. The bearing and the yoyo are really stable on slow spin speeds. My DM actually starts to turn on slow speeds. This doesnt happen here. A big benefit! I just put in a YYJ speed bearing… its soooooooo much better than the asian KK! Put a speedbearing or any high quality flat bearing in it and the performance of the yoyo will increase by a good ammount!
The bearing seat and axle are the most annoying thing about this yoyo. The bearing cant be flicked in it when the yoyo is unscrewed. the bearing seat doesnt grab it (doesnt affect play). The axle is loose. It might come out of the yoyo after you unscrew it. Didnt try Locktite yet but this will probably help. If you turn it screw it in really hard with your hands it should work nicely for a couple of times you unscrew it! Then again you gonna wanna screw it back in tightly and so on…
The silicone o-rings are a bit slippery and you might wanna exchange those for flowable silicone (red gasket is what I chose) or k-pads. They are not that bad but I dont like them a lot and the Pearl benefits from a good red gasket or flowable silicone job! It plays much better with that than the stock silicone o-rings. So my tip is: get flowable silicone or better: red gasket!! 8/10
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4434/aodareview2.jpg
Play
Wow, just wow. I learn so fast tricks with this yoyo, incredible haha. The undersized shape and lightness increases your playing speed by a good ammount. These features make it easier to maneuver it through narrow string constructions. I struggled with my DM cause i thought the string might break thats why I didnt throw it hard; that doesnt happen with this yoyo. I love the weight. Width is perfect too. The stability of this yoyo is so much better than my dm and kickside ones. Even if it hits body parts it stays stable and loses alot less spin time compared to my DM and kickside while those begin to wobble. You might think it didnt hit you at all. String tricks are really easy to master. It floats on the string and plays smooth. Gyroscopic flop and all the whips i know are possible on this. Cant tell about slack tricks yet sorry but i think anything is possible with this. Unfortunatley grinds are not really possible with this. The silky surface doesnt shoot over your body. Grinds slow it down A LOT. Not recommended for grinds. I have my DM and kickside for those ;). Conclusion: its fast, its light and it can almost handle any of your tricks! The spin time is just a bit short. 9.5/10
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3569/aodareview8.jpg
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/296/lolololos001.jpg
aoda logo and the clothstring bag
Final thoughts
I freaking love my first metal yoyo. Its 40$ you cannot go wrong with this at all. Its not a bootleg and in my opinion Aoda has made a really nice playable and beautiful yoyo. It has a few flaws in appearance and axle/bearing system but those dont affect play at all so why would you or i care ;)! The price makes it a perfect alternative to high priced yoyos you CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS. Never saw such a design on a yoyo either, really original. Its not perfect and i will give it a final rating of 9/10!!
Tell me what you think about my review and if there is anything you would like me to add tell me oh yes and sorry for my grammar and my spelling mistakes im not english :P. Feel free to pm if you want to know where to get it!! im not bashing my dm or kickside those are still awesome yoyos! Love em!
