http://i.imgur.com/QJ4i0WB.gif
I feel there should be a proper yoyomonster thread here.
The Agonist is their flagship model and looks like a beast:
http://i.imgur.com/9t20l5S.jpg
Post up what you have.
I used to have a Dragon Rouge 3G, but it was pretty mediocre… I wish I could try one of their latest throws
the crook is pretty amazing as is
Is that the looper?
I just have the Agonist (posted by MiammiBuddha), and it’s my favorite yoyo. It’s lighter even than the Draupnir, but similarly sized, with incredible speed. It’s great for 5A, probably great for 1A but I’m not good enough to tell which high end yoyo is better.
Here’s the specs:
Weight: 62.3 g (+ or - .1 g, can’t remember for sure)
Diameter: 54.92 mm
Width: 42.26 mm
Body Material:Aluminum (7075 I think)
Rim Material: Brass
Response System: YYM’s own Pads, basically 19mm large slim compatible
Bearing/Axel: C size (Standard Concave)
The weight specs posted at yoyomonster’s site are actually wrong, they said the weight is 68.3 grams. Nope, no way, weighed it myself around 62.3 grams. I think it’s just a typo.
The Agonist has a mixed straight shape, with three curves as you can see in the picture. It feels really comfortable in the hand in my opinion. The bearing it comes with is also quite good. The Agonist is very light and speedy, yet powerful. It will spin a long time and is great at horizontals (watch Hideo Ishida at JN2014 where he got 3rd in 5A to see it in action), and it binds really well but isn’t quite as grabby as a Draupnir. It’s also very stable. Priced the same as other recent high-end bimetals at 19800 yen. It’s a little hard to find, and the purple is impossible because it looks so much cooler. I got the last purple one on any of the major sites.
I want a 7075 checkmate but can’t find one anywhere. YYM is a truly underappreciated brand. I think they don’t put out enough different designs, but on the other hand it is a small company. I don’t think their spokesperson speaks English either, because they never replied to an inquiry I made.
Most of the expensive metal designs (if not all) are designed for Hideo Ishida, one of the top 5A players in the world, but the Checkmate and similar throws like Quickmate, Remate, and Agonist are just all-around good yoyos.
I think their problem is their team consists of a couple of good 5A players and relative unknowns so there’s not much diversity in the signature throws if they’re all being made for one person’s style.
Still, I’d recommend the Agonist to anyone, or the Checkmate for a cheaper but still competitive alternative.
Man, nobody likes yoyomonster 
The only Asian company that gets any love around here is YYR, seems.
Also anybody seen the design for Duncan Torque? They’re about to get in stock at an international site and it looks suspiciously like a Checkmate.
Here’s my Yoyo Monster collection. Starting with the red one on the right and going clockwise are as follows: Fenrir, Checkmate, Remate, and Crook. I believe the Fenrir was their first effort. The 3 step design as seen on the side view is Yoyo Monster’s signature trademark design for their metals. I don’t know exactly which Al Yoyo Monster uses. I just know it’s Al. I don’t think there will be a lot of these yoyos in North America since the only place I can get them from is Japan. I managed to see some images of the new Duncan Torque and Duncan is definitely taking a page out Yoyo Monster’s design book.
I need to get a Checkmate soon.
Creeper do you prefer the Checkmate or Remate?
…
The shape of the Torque is identical to YYM’s “mixed straight” shape they use on most of their throws. There’s a bit of difference in the rim design but that’s it. And the specs look like a yoyo sized between the Checkmate and Remate.
Which is Duncan, which is YYM? One’s the Torque, the other the Checkmate. The diameter:width ratios on these are identical, the profiles are identical, Duncan just made some adjustments to the overall size and the rim looks different. Shameful stuff, Duncan.
Why doesn’t YYE stock YYM anyway? They do stock a few Japanese companies sometimes: YYR, Turning Point, Yoyojoker. Yoyomonster is probably the next biggest company and they have recently come out with a lot of cheaper yoyos like the Astrology, the Material, and the loopers Crook and Signal.
Here’s a pic of my konig and checkmate
1 Like
First here are the specs:
Dia.(mm) Width(mm) Weight(g)
Remate 57.07 42.41 67.3
Checkmate 54.89 42.31 66.5
They’re both great throws and I find it hard to choose one. The best answer I can give is when I’m on a smaller throw binge, I like the checkmate better and when I’m on a larger throw binge, I like the remate better. Personally, if you can only get one, I’d look at my collection and go with the size (and weight) that brings out my the best play in me. That’s as good as an answer I can come up with since I have throws from undersize to really oversize. The only thing that doesn’t change is my weight preference since it always on the heavier side. Hope that helps.
I came so close to buying one of the splash checkmates because it plays so well
Went through the trouble of emailing the site that carries them and they said they’d ship to the USA but I wanted to move my first checkmate before buying this one because I didn’t need 2. With how hard it’s been to get rid of this guy I decided against purchasing one of the splash ones in case I get bored with it. The gradients looked amazing as well.