Most people who are in this hobby have had many yoyos. Especially the demographic that buys my stuff - they are usually a lot like me in that I bought, sold and traded a lot. I'm pretty sure the reason why I have any talent at all in designing these throws is due to the sheer amount of yoyos I have owned in the past. But for most, there is usually one yoyo that you remember - that one that you first bought. The one I wanted most got away.
My real first was a white Yomega Fireball almost 14 years ago. It had a transaxle, starburst response. I didn't really know about "yo-yoing" as I do today, but it was enough for me to learn the basics. I was hooked, and couldn't put it down. I had that yoyo for a few months before I saw something incredible at my local hobby store: The Yomega RBII. I had never seen a yoyo with a ball bearing before but at 17$, no matter how much begging, my parents said it was "too expensive for a yoyo you'd play with for a few months and grow out of". I laugh at my mom now, both at the price and the growing out of part. I never ended up owning one even to this day.
Because of how limiting that Fireball was yo-yoing slowed down a bit until Youtube became a thing. I saw a Japan nationals contest video and the rest was history. My first "real" yoyos were a yellow Kickside and a green Spinfactor HG. But I always wondered what would have happened if my mom caved in and bought that RBII for me a year earlier. Heck I'd probably be Gentry Stein by now.
Regardless, that one yoyo, the RBII always stuck in my head. Black sheen, perfect proportions. For whatever reason it always just looked aesthetically "right" to me. The thickness of the ring, the way the profile curves into a sharp edge before the instant flat undercut. As mentioned, I have still never owned or thrown one. Maybe its better that way - never meet your heres kind of thing.
The Daytona Slimline is a clear variant of the RBII, but also takes elements from a lot of these more modified shaped yoyos that were popular along side butterfly yoyos during my first few years of throwing. I remember even on Dave's Skill Toys, or YoyoGuy where there would be a "modified" shape designation, essentially a yoyo that was somewhere between butterfly and a looper. I haven't even heard that term in the past 5 years. These were not gigantic super wide pop cans that we now call modern yoyos, but slim, easy to use and less intimidating for the general public. In a way, the designs didn't seem to try as hard to be cool as they do now - they still looked like toys.
(Trying to find HD images of these yoyos actually proved rather difficult so forgive me)
I took more inspiration from things like the Proyo Ace. In fact the Evora nub was inspired by the Ace, and with this yoyo its nearly a blown up version with its round modified shape curving into that flat undercut. Another yoyo that shared a similar design was the Cold Fusion GT with its larger High Wall. A lot of these legendary yoyos were stepping stones to what we have today - which I tried to pay respects to with this homage.
Everything about this new yoyo is focused on two things - having fun and being pocketable. This is why the Daytona includes a slim bearing for responsive play. It should be something you can give to your grand dad who hasn't played with a yoyo in 45 years. I genuinely hope that this run of yoyos is out getting played, getting smacked around and used every day instead of sitting on a shelf.
Staying on the fun theme it was important that a slim bearing could be installed. The large nub concentrates mass in the centre of the yoyo - helping it loop easier. At 62.5 grams, the lighter weight makes it much easier on the wrists as well. Of course they don't loop as well as a dedicated pair of looping yoyos but a production titanium yoyo with any looping capabilities? Perhaps a world first. With the responsive slim bearing installed expect snappy re-gen performance, busted knuckles and style honing snagginess. Its how my personal Daytona is set up for my EDC.
In short, this little project has been a dedication to how things were before - my take on the current slimline craze. It wasn't long ago that what we now consider a novelty was just what people called a regular yoyo - many easily forget, including myself.
DAYTONA "Slim-Line" Price: 280USD Material: Titanium (Grade 5) Width: 33.5 mm Diameter: 53.0 mm Weight: 62.5 grams Bearing: Size C flat/ Size C Half Spec (Includes both) Response: 19mm LuftPAD Non-Numbered
It has been a while since Ive written much - the second half of 2023 was insanely busy with project management. Since the release of the plastic lineup, I had very little time to focus on the roots of what made Luftverk so exciting. I realized this was a huge problem - I needed to guide Luftverk back to it's roots of exploring new materials and build product lineups that told a story stemmed from exploration. I had done this with plastics last year but in 2024 I would like to also focus back onto some more products that use exotic materials. While being incredibly late to the party this recent project is Luftverk's first Magnesium ever, which was at first canceled and almost never released.
It has been nearly 4 months since Ive been in Japan, and 5 months since I left Toronto. Writing that out makes it feel short but in reality it feels like forever ago. The last launch of the Plastic Peak was an overwhelming experience. I felt so grateful to work with CLYW, a company I grew up with. When the World Yoyo Contest hit I didn't know what to expect, but I had started noticing a feeling of burn out after grinding out so many yoyo related projects and in a weird introverted way I was a bit reluctant to go.
CLYW is a Canadian brand that started in 2006. I was 14 at the time when I watched this new brand unfold on the Yoyonation forums. They released their first yoyo named the "Peak" with 50 pieces retailing for $85. Today, that yoyo has used asking prices north of $2500 making it one of the most insanely rare and expensive yoyos to date. This "OG Painted Peak" featured a custom painted surface by a Canadian airbrush artist named Levi. Overtime as the Peak was impacted or dinged, the paint would chip off meaning there are only a handful of units in the world that survived in mint unused condition. Later versions would be released in more durable anodized finishes, but these first 50 "OG Painted Peaks"cemented CLYW into yoyoing history.
Jeffrey Pang
Author