Duncan Hugo Z Hor
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
May 31, 2010
Introduction
The Hugo Z Hor (sometimes referred to as the HZH or Hugo) has been around for quite some time, though some may not recognize the name. BUT, if you ask them about the yo-yo that came packed away in a plush, stuffed rat they will almost immediately know what you are talking about. The original HZH was created by Duncan Crew Czech members Jan Kordovsky and Ondrej Sedivy, the story goes that after Duncan announced the Screaming Eagle line of high-end metals the Hugo team submitted it to Duncan. The rest is history; Duncan liked the design, tweaked it, and made it the newest member of the Screaming Eagle lineup. Lets see what happens when a boutique yo-yo is brought into the large company fold.
Specs
- Width: 40.00mm
- Diameter: 49.00mm
- Gap: 4.00mm
- Weight: 66.52 grams
- Bearing: D-Sized Bearing
- Response: Duncan Silicone Sticker
Construction
Ok, I should get this out of the way; the Duncan version of the Hugo Z Hor does not come packaged in a rat. I know it is gimmicky but I was kind of disappointed about this. I wanted the rat. Instead, it comes in the standard Screaming Eagle packaging that Duncan ships the rest of the line in. The updated Duncan version is bigger in almost every way when compared to the original HZH. It is a gram heavier, a millimeter larger in width and diameter, and a tenth of a millimeter larger in the gap. One area where it shed some size is in the bearing, the original was a C-Sized bearing while the Duncan version curiously dropped to the smaller D-Sized bearing. I was slightly surprised with this one change, to my knowledge this and the Momentum are the only D-Bearing Duncans on the market. I am not complaining, I like the play that a D-Bearing provides, I am just puzzled why they chose a less popular size when almost all of their yo-yos use the more common A and C Bearings.
The shape of the HZH is your standard bell/butterfly shape with one exception, the rims flatten out exactly one quarter of an inch from the edge of the up. The effect gives it an elegant organic yet industrial look to the profile. The gap is high walled with a sticker response instead of the original’s flowable silicone response. Looking at the cup of the yo-yo, it is deep enough to accommodate a thumb but there is no IRG. One thing that you will notice in the cup is the major hold over from the original HZH, those intimidating spikes that would fit in well in a 15th century dungeon. Honestly, I was afraid that Duncan would tame the spikes but, happily, they didn’t. The spikes are incredibly pointy, very painful if grabbed too hard, and a blast to matador. The final aspect of the HZH aesthetic that I will touch on is the finish. I bought the red version and the anodized finish is expertly applied. The color is deep and uniform throughout. There is no bead blast to speak of which leads to one small problem. In normal weather the HZH will grind on skin but in humid weather it becomes rather sticky and just shoots off. Not a big deal if you don’t grind, but if you are say a Floridian player with a grinding addiction, this may be an issue.
Weight
The 66-gram weight of the Hugo z Hor is spot-on for my tastes. It is within the 64-67 gram comfort zone that I prefer and plays at a decent, but not super fast, speed. The high wall in the gap pushes all the weight to the beefy rims giving enough spin for even the most complex combo.
Response and Bearing
The first misstep of the HZH is the stock pads that come installed. The Duncan silicone sticker is not my favorite pad. While they are ever so slightly recessed in the Hugo Z Hor I have always found Duncan’s brand of silicone sticker to be way to grabby, causing snags in the gap. After about 10 minutes of playing it stock, I ripped out the Duncan pads and replaced them with thin One Drop silicone pads. After that, the snags were gone and we can move on to misstep number two.
Misstep number two is the bearing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the bearing itself other than the fact that it came heavily lubed. There was so much thick lube packed into the bearing that the shields stuck to my thumb when I deshielded it. Once cleaned, the HZH played dead unresponsive, the way it is meant to play.
I am confused as to why Duncan thought it was necessary to use so much lube in a yo-yo that is designed for unresponsive play. The bearing issue, coupled with the snaggy pads, just seems to be rookie mistakes. Duncan is by no means a rookie company; in fact they are celebrating their 80th anniversary this year. I would urge them to study the market a little more. Most high-end metal yo-yo companies are shipping their yo-yos with flowable silicone and either thinly lubed or dry bearings.
Playability
The Hugo Z Hor plays incredibly well. It is solid on the string with a very slight amount of float. It is stable and smooth on the string and in the palm. As I said above, it gives a good amount of spin so you don’t have to worry about spinning out during along combo. The catch zone is easy to hit during slacks, whips, and hops. Where this yo-yo really shines is during matador play. The spikes are easy to catch with my thumb and index finger and balances easily on either, giving some great spin times. I have gotten almost the same amount of spin balancing the HZH on my thumb as I do with my hubstacked Skyline. The spikes do come with a warning; they are sharp. Sharp enough that I could see them breaking skin if you grab the yo-yo too hard during a catch. Grinds with the HZH are a mixed bag. As stated earlier, humid weather can cause issues with grinds. During cool, dry weather the HZH grinds decently on the palm, finger, and arm. Thumb grinds are there but without an IRG I found the HZH wanting to slip off quite a bit. They are a little more consistent if you catch the yo-yo with your thumb at an angle.
Final Thoughts
Do not let the missteps of this yo-yo fool you, this is a high quality fun yo-yo to play and at $80 it is a good contender if you are looking for a new addition to your case. Most of the issues can be corrected by Duncan without having to retool the yo-yo itself, just change the sticker and clean the bearing at the factory. In future runs I would like to see the bead blast from the Momentum implemented on the HZH but that is my own personal preference. Even with the issues, I would consider the Hugo the best of the Screaming Eagle line and I hope to see Duncan continue on this path. If subsequent entries into the Screaming Eagle line have the same quality as the HZH, I can see Duncan becoming a major force to be reckoned with in the high-end metal market.
