Caribou Lodge YoYo Works Pink/Purple Acid Wash Wooly Marmot
By Brett Grimes 08/03/09

Introduction

The newest yoyo to the Caribou Lodge YoYo Works line up is the Wooly Marmot, often referred to as the small diameter Peak. The Wooly Marmot, to me, was an exciting purchase. I am known to love smaller diameter yoyos. When I laid eyes on the Pink/Purple acid wash I couldn’t help but buy it. The Marmot, as most call it, features almost an identical shape to the beloved Peak series from CLYW. The main changes are the diameter and the width, with the width being a hair narrower. For me, this yoyo was going to be exciting to own. Will it live up to the pedestal I put the Full Size Peak on, or would it fall short. Only time would tell.

Specs
Diameter: 50.16mm
Width: 40.59mm
Gap: 4.23mm
Weight: 65.20 grams
Bearing: C-Size
Response: Flowable Silicone

Look and Feel
When I first received this yoyo I immediately noticed the colorway, it’s striking in its complexity of pinks and purples. The acid wash varies from one to the other but on this particular model I got a wonderful example. This yoyo looks incredible. The acid wash also has a very silky smooth feel to it, it screams “quit looking at me, and throw me already”. The feel of the yoyo is nothing new to CLYW. It feels well constructed, no visible flaws, beautiful anodized finish, and just gives off an aura of hand craftsman ship at its finest.

Weight
After the colorway, I began to notice the Marmot’s weight, this is a lighter yoyo compared to other CLYW offerings. Coming in at just over 65 grams it’s almost two grams lighter then any other CLYW. How does that affect play you ask? Well it doesn’t’ really. This yoyo spins with authority and moves quickly around the string. The lighter weight makes this yoyo play a hair faster then I would prefer, but that is personal taste. If this yoyo were 2 grams heavier I would be in heaven. It doesn’t detract from play, but at times I could feel the missing weight that I’m used to. I think for most players this yoyo will be a Godsend, and to most CLYW fans this yoyo is THE undersized throw that they have been waiting for.

Response and Bearing
The bearing is a normal C sized bearing, for the tech guys this is a .250 x .500 x .187 size. I love large bearing yoyos, and the Marmot comes equipped with a cleaned and dry stainless steal bearing. The beauty of this is that the break in period is drastically reduced. Most of the time they are totally unresponsive right out of the box. The response system is flowable silicone. The Marmot I received the silicone had little string indentations in it, this is unlike any other CLYW I own. It would appear as if the string was put in the yoyo before the silicone had fully cured. It does not affect play in any way, shape, or form it’s just a cosmetic issue. One I’m not concerned with since binds are incredible and snappy just like all my CLYW yoyos.

Playability
As stated earlier, this yoyo plays fast and moves around the string with the quickness of a well-trained jet pilot. Its familiar shape feels great and allowed me to run thru the standard tricks with no issues. The undersized diameter made it feel just like I was throwing a miniature Peak, which is what this yoyo was designed to be. It grinds quite well both in the hand, on the fingers, and the IRG allows for easy thumb grinds. I found with the lighter weight of this yoyo that whips were a lot easier to land, giving me just a millisecond more hang time. This is an incredible yoyo, but as I said above I just wish it were a couple grams heavier. It plays like a champ as is, and will suit all of today’s modern players but I am so used to heavier yoyo’s it feels just a tad light to me.

Final Recommendation
I think the Wooly Marmot is a yoyo everyone should have in his or her collection. It is an amazing little yoyo from one of today’s best manufactures. Chris and company at CLYW have listened to the fans and produced a smaller diameter throw while maintaining the Peak shape. The colorways this came in were all drop dead gorgeous and I think anyone and everyone would be pleased with this yoyo. If your a die hard CLYW fan this is a must have, it plays different then any CLYW you may have thrown. All in all even though its a little lighter then I am used to, I can’t seem to put it down it just screams to be played.