CLYW – Yeti
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
September 29, 2013

Introduction

2013 has been a banner year for the molded plastic market. One Drop and CLYW, after many years of research, design, and customer requests have both dropped a molded plastic on the market. In doing so they have both made me want to own a plastic yo-yo again, something I have not done since about 3 months after I started throwing modern yo-yos. A couple months back I reviewed the Rally, One Drop’s first molded plastic, now it is time to look at CLYW’s Yeti. While both companies have released a modern molded plastic, each company has taken a radically different approach to the process. One thing I would like to get out of the way right now, this review will not be crowning a winner in the plastic wars… there is no plastic war. Seeing all these “Plastic A is better than Plastic B” discussions on YYE is silly. Just like the metal market, there is room for both, especially at the low price points each company set for their respective plastic products. Now, with that out of the way, lets dig in and see what CLYW has brought to the table.

Specs

• Diameter: 58.75mm
• Width: 45.3mm
• Weight: 69 grams
• Bearing: Center Track CTX 10-Ball
• Response: White Snow Tires

Construction

The first thing you will notice about the Yeti is the plastic used in its construction. Chris wanted to make a completely injection molded plastic with no weight rings to increase spin times. In order to do this and get the weight he was looking for he sourced a glass infused polycarbonate for the Yeti. This plastic gives a different feel in the hand, one that is smooth but not sticky almost like a blasted surface but with no additional treatment to it. Honestly, the feel of the plastic is the hardest thing to describe in this review and I KNOW I am not doing it justice.

The profile is going to look extremely familiar to the multitude of CLYW enthusiasts out there, it is lifted straight from the much loved CLYW Chief’s organic butterfly shape complete with the step a third of the way down the catch zone leading towards the gap. The face is unlike any other CLYW on the market today. The rims are large and chunky looking with enough of a flat surface to show off the Yeti engravings. The cup is a crowded affair with little room between the rim and the oversized flat hub. This lack of space prompted CLYW to leave out an IGR. To break up the monochromatic look, CLYW has placed a blue metallic pickaxe sticker on each hub. The feel in the hand is spot on, if you like the feel of the Chief while holding it in your hand then you will love the Yeti. It is extremely comfortable, allowing your fingers to rest on silky smooth rounded edges. When it comes to the design I am a fan of every bit of it except one highly subjective aspect… the color. I am just not a fan of black yo-yos and this one is just screaming for color. No, I am not holding the color against the Yeti. I know it is subjective. Other than color choice, I find the design to be spot on and well thought out.

One side note I must talk about. There are two design issues that affect the first run Yetis but have been completely addressed with all future runs. Those issues are the finish and the spacers. The first run is using YYF’s death grip spacers that are next to impossible to remove without damaging either the spacers or the bearing. Chris is replacing them in future runs with a snap in spacer that will make for easier maintenance. In the mean time CLYW is putting a second set of spacers in the box with all first run Yetis. The finish on the first run was a little course due to the plastic used and as a result can cause string breaking. This is also being addressed in all future runs with Chris wet sanding all Yetis before leaving the shop. I used 800 grit Wet/Dry sand paper and did a quick wet sand on mine. It cleared up all the string wear issues and did not change the look one bit. Neither of these issues is going to impact this review since it will only have an impact on a tiny minority. Chris has compensated for the spacer issue until the newer snap in spacers arrive and has offered to fix the string issue for anyone affected if they are uncomfortable doing the sanding themselves.

Weight

The Yeti tips the scales at a hefty 69 grams. Since CLYW opted for a totally molded design the weight is spread pretty evenly throughout the body. It gives the Yeti a solid yet floaty feel on the string. It plays slower for more relaxed play sessions and is not meant for the high-octane competition style of play. This is the yo-yo you want to pick up when you are ready to relax and unwind, maybe try out some new tricks you have found on your site of choice.

 

Response and Bearing

CLYW has a surefire hit on their hands with the Snow Tire response. It is perfectly implemented with rock solid grip during binds, allowing for a tight roll up and a solid amount of spin when leaving the hand.

The bearing is a Center Track CTX 10-Ball. It is no surprise that I am not a big fan of string centering bearings but the CTX is not a bad bearing. It addresses the biggest problem I have with Center Track bearings, the gritty feel while spinning. It is still louder than I like but I find that is true with most string centering bearings. I do prefer the Yeti with a flat bearing but if I didn’t have one on hand the CTX would not be a deal breaker for me.

Playability

Lets get this out of the way right now; yes it has some vibe. It is about the level of vibe that you would find in the original Peaks, so not that bad at all. I have found that if the axle is too far to one side or the other it can increase the vibe, but that is a quick fix and honestly some vibe is to be expected in a wholly molded plastic. Now with that out of the way, how does it play? Well in a word, brilliantly. I said it in the weight section; this is not the yo-yo you are going to use on stage to pull off those mind numbingly fast tech tricks. This is a chill out and relax yo-yo. This is the yo-yo you grab when you want to just play around. It is silly to say that this yo-yo made me smile; all well made toys should make a person smile. The Yeti made me giggle, and few yo-yos make me do that. As far as the actual play is concerned, it has a super wide catch zone that is easy to hit. The spins are above average, especially for a yo-yo with such uniform weight distribution. Suicides are spot on and grinds are decent. The finish on the Yeti gives grinds that are on par with a Pyramatte finish so palm, finger, and arm grinds are fine. The limited space between the hub and wall made it darn near impossible for me to test thumb grinds thanks to the sausage link like thumbs that the yo-yo gods have blessed me with. At the end of the day I was impressed with the performance of the Yeti. This isn’t a plastic trying to mimic metal level performance, this is a plastic acting like a plastic that just so happens to do any of the tricks a metal can do.

Final Thoughts

Man it has been a wild ride getting the Yeti. I was part of the mad dash to get one from YoYoExpert, who seemed to get the biggest supply from the limited release of the first run. I do plan to be back again when Andre and Co. get the colored Yeti’s in stock and I hope some of the hype has worn off, YYE’s poor servers may just give up the ghost if that level of rush happens again. Yes, I like the Yeti enough that I would like to have a second in a different color. Everyone needs a yo-yo that will make you giggle and this one is added to the couple others that make me do just that. Now I know people are going to ask if it is better or worse than the One Drop Rally and I just won’t answer that. They are different animals with a different approach to how a plastic should be made. Neither company has done it better than the other and both did a great job of it. I am looking forward to the second run of Yetis and the wider spectrum of colors they will bring, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a good royal purple.