YoYoRecreation Appreciation Thread

Thanks for the recommendations. :slight_smile:

After some thought I went with the Valkyrie because I like more feedback on the string (vs the light Draupnir) and wanted the full advantage of rim-weighted bi-metal design (vs. the double-rimmed Riot). The size and weight seem good for my preferences. Can’t wait to get it! I’ll let y’all know how it goes…

Thanks, enjoy it!

I can only speak for myself. I am waiting for better colors. I am super-tired of Raw/Silver Japanese yo-yo’s. Yeah I know that the Japanese like those Silver throws; but there is too much. As someone who tries to get these as soon as I can, I am finding my bag is becoming full of primarily Silver/Raw first-releases followed by a plethora of bland, unappealing colors.

One thing that Japanese manufacturers do that is annoying is to release Silver first; quickly followed by the most nauseating colors they can think of. Only when sales slow do they think to bring out vibrant, desirable colors that are the ones I want in my bag. The problem is that with their limited production - they never seem to be getting to those cool colors.

Pink? Purple? Orange?.. anything but Silver or Black please.

I had also thought about this and I share your point of view.

Just received my Sputnik yesterday.

What a great yo-yo! I do not understand why there is not more chatter about it. I had thought is was a smaller Laser. It is more like a bi-metal E=MC^2. Nice weight, very speedy and agile. It can also be laid back when you want. It has that E=MC^2 heavy, but zippy feel to it. It is wider, like the E=MC^2; unlike the proportionally thin Laser. This makes it super-stable for a yo-yo of this diameter and width. Think of this as a lighter, turbo-charged E=MC^2.

One thing that really jumped out was the incredible quality of the machining and manufacture on this yo-yo. When the box was opened, the visual quality was readily apparent. On the string it became obvious that it is a superior-piece of machining. Even the weight rings have a cool bevel on the side that just looks sweet. The engraving is eye-catching for a change. Heck, even the color (which I was not enthusiastic about) looks awesome with the SS weight rings and the engraving. Overall, a s super-quality product. Smooth? “Precision” is a better word. If it were not for the occasional whisper from its NSK bearing, I would never know it was spinning.

I highly recommend the Sputnik. It plays unlike anything else in the Yoyorecreation family.


I wish they made a bimetal clashcube. I already prefer it to the six and the genre of under-diameter full-width throws are just underexplored in general.

getting my clash2011 reanodized as well

Anybody know where/how to track down a Seventh Heaven?

… not even sure how many are out there.

Send me a PM if you have any tips or leads.

(ps. also looking for acrophobia and overdrive!)

I have one. PMd you.

A bit of a Valkyrie review…

Background: I’ve been playing a 3rd run Peak pretty exclusively for the past 1-2 years because I just really like the feel of a Peak and wanted to focus on improving my technique by using a yoyo that was less “easy” than the modern competition-style yoyos. Before that I owned a lot of YYR, including Stargazer, Sleipnir, Overdrive, Messiah, DreadnoughtG, Clash. So the Valkyrie is the first yoyo I’ve bought in a long time (I only have 3 yoyos right now), and my first bi-metal.

So… I’m just gonna focus on the play of the Valkyrie…

But it looks beautiful too. I got the blue. My non-yoyo friends commented on how good it looks. And the engraving is really well done and sharp.

On the first throws I didn’t like it. Felt like the yoyo had to be pushed more for direction changes and whatnot - it seemed sluggish. But then I realized that it felt “wrong” because I got some new Kitty String and the default string length was longer than I was used to. Shortened the string a bit and it was much better. Also, this goes to show how much a cm of string length can make a difference, and how one just gets used to playing with a certain length.

Anyways…

The Valkyrie feels solid on a throw and swinging at the end of the string but in hops and maneuvers it is fast and nimble. The size is great for my preference. Super stable and gives a confident feeling, a nice presence at the end of the string. It chews through tricks with spin to spare. It’s quiet too, even after blowing out the bearing with air - is this typical of bi-metals, that they run quiet? The only thing I notice on the negative side is that the Valkyrie seems to not return to the hand at low spins as easily as I remember for my other YYR (i.e. Sleipnir) - maybe this is due to the weight and that it is a double straight bearing instead of a KK (?). Anyways, that’s easily adjusted for by doing flyaway binds or whatever, and more importantly, the Valkyrie stays stable even at low rpms.

I’m really happy with the Valkyrie, and it’s turned out to be a great yoyo for me who has been exclusively playing with a Peak for a year or so. From YYR’s description, it seems that they were trying to make a “floaty” yoyo (I mean come on - it even has a feather engraved on it!) - that it has a solid weight but “By precisely choosing the sweetest spots to distribute the weight, we’ve managed to produce a yo-yo with a special characteristic which can be described as being close to weightlessness, giving it exquisite maneuverability.” (in the words of YYR) With the Valkyrie YYR were trying to make a more “accessible” Draupnir and chose specs that fit in the middle of what is popular right now and they ended up with something close to the Peak (Valkyrie is 1mm larger in diameter, and 1g lighter that my Peak).

tldr; Valkyrie is great for my preferences for yoyo size and weight, it has great stability, is solid at the end of the string, but fast and nimble on hops and small maneuvers (so…ahem…“floaty”)

Bimetals can tend to be quieter because there are more parts that don’t resonate on the same frequency so they stop each other from producing noise. That effect is only minor and what you’re noticing with the Valkyrie is the NSK DS bearing which is one of the best bearings money can buy.

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Cool, I was guessing that the bi-metal design dampened the resonance of the yoyo. And yeah, the bearing seems great so far, very quiet and smooth even when basically “dry”.

Yet another boring color release for the Draupnir. How many releases of black/grey/silver blasted/not blasted do we have to endure before YYR gives us some vibrant-colored Draupnir’s?
Purple, Orange, …splash? …Please?

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So I’m fortunate to get an original Stargazer but the pad situation with this puppy is unfortunate. Basically, it takes super slim pads and cannot accept flowable silicone.

Anyone know where I can still buy pads to fit the original 44re:creation Stargazer?

Or…what do others do (does anyone still throw old 44re:creation ?) ?? Make your own pads or something?

I was thinking of taking Duncan friction stickers and trimming off the edges because they are nearly the correct thickness…

Help !

UPDATE: a trimmed Duncan friction sticker does not work - too thin!

Have you tried reaching out to YYR direct? Shoot em en email and see what they say.

I checked the YYR site for a contact email but didn’t find it (so far…I’ll check again). But i did email a Japanese store that used to carry all the flavors of Irpads and they don’t have any pads that fit the old YYR. Other than that, someone gave me the tip of using .555 pads and trimming them down…I’ll look into that as well…

I posted your questions over on r/Throwers to see if they know.

First answer - from liifeiscool

Ill keep updating this post as new info become available.

MrMatio just sent me links to what your looking for. Apperently the Ir Broad 2011 pads work? PM’d info. Hope that helps! Awesome it came from him. Im a big fan of his videos. :smiley:

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Yeah! Big thanks!

And also MrMatio always gets my respect for posting so many Takahiro Iizuka tutorials…so good

hey all - im on the hunt for some yoyos and I was hoping I can come to you guys for some leads :

Overdrive
Blink but in color
that fixed axle that looks like a cat, but with three eyes and its drunk

I got you with trades and such

Hey there, stranger.

I thought I saw an Overdrive on the BST recently but you know how useful YYE’s search function is…

Anyways, here’s a +2 that looks like it’s still for sale https://yoyoexpert.com/forums/index.php/topic,96362.msg1059352.html#msg1059352