Eternal Throw Victory
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
November 4, 2012

Introduction

Another day, another new company… the yo-yo industry feels a lot like the early days of the automobile industry where everybody was starting up a new shop in hopes of building the best version possible. Honestly, I love it. With all these different upstarts it keeps the industry from stagnating. We get to see all these different interpretations on the same basic idea.

The new company being focused on here is Eternal Throw. A startup based out of Seattle, WA. Their first release is the Victory. With a product name like that people could consider the company is coming out swinging the bat of cockiness saying their yo-yo wins over all others… and those people would be off track. The name is actually inspired by company owner Free Hinton’s daughter Victoria. Knowing that little bit of back-story I can’t help but love the name. As father myself, immortalizing your kid in something that is obviously your passion is always a cool way to go. Lets see if this lives up to his progeny’s good name.

Specs

• Diameter: 55.6 mm
• Width: 41.75 mm
• Gap: 4.25 mm
• Weight: 67 grams
• Bearing: Size C One Drop 10-Ball
• Response: One Drop Flow Groove Pads

Construction

Ok, before I start talking about the design I need to address two elephants in the room. The first elephant is the Side Effects. There is only one company that manufactures Side Effect enabled yo-yos so yes, One Drop machined this yo-yo. Is this a bad thing… not in the least. One Drop is offering a service that allows new companies to defray the cost of machining while offering the wisdom of some of the best machinists in the industry. I guess we all need to remember that while many yo-yo companies use One Drop none of them play alike. The second elephant is the double lip design. I have been know for being “critical” of companies that just take design elements from others without giving credit. Honestly I think the yoyo industry is better than that and it shows a great amount of respect for fellow designers when permission is asked before the yoyo is produced. Eternal Throws did just that. They contacted Caribou Lodge about the double lip design that was pioneered by them and asked Chris if it was cool to use it on the Victory. Chris gave his blessing and the rest is history.

Now lets focus on the design. The Victory’s profile is what first caught my eye when I came across it on Facebook. It has a V-Shaped catch zone that is broken up by a shallow, wide, scalloped cut about a third of the way down the outer wall. Near the gap is a second step, this protruding outward. This step is there specifically to keep the string from coming into contact with the walls. Turing our attention to the cup we can see it features the crazy double lip design. The channel is not as deep between the lips as it is on Caribou Lodge’s designs. Under the second lip is a functional IGR. The center of the cup houses the Side Effect well complete with a brand new set of medium size disc Side Effects that are smaller diameter and lighter weight than the ones that One Drop offers. In the hand the Victory is a large throw that I found comfortable. Others with smaller hands may find it a little bulky to hold but that is the nature of any yo-yo that pushes an almost 56 mm diameter. The Pyramatte finish is smooth to the touch and even though it is a V-Shaped profile there are no sharp edges that cause pain during play. Over all the design is unique enough to stand out without being so over the edge that it impedes play. Needless to say, it is a comfortable V-Shape, which makes me an instant fan of the design.

Weight

The weight is pushed out way to the edge of the rims, like most V-Shaped yoyos but the addition lip adds increased stability. The 67 gram weight is a little on the high side for my comfort level but I found that the Victory didn’t feel any bit of its heft. It flew around on the string remaining stable unless I wanted it to go off plane, then it would gryo flop with ease.

Response and Bearing

This is a yo-yo manufactured by One Drop. Most companies that tag the boys in Eugene for their machining tend to stick with the One Drop 10-Bearing and One Drop Flow Groove pad. The Victory is no different. While I have espoused the virtues of both for quite some time I will hit on one other point about the Flow Groove Pads and 10-Ball bearing. They are the best bang for your buck around in my opinion. These pads are down right cheap, price wise, and last quite a long time. The same goes for the bearing, which I have never had to replace due to failure. Overall it is an excellent return on investment and an excellent choice for any fledgling company looking to provide performance at a good price.

Playability

The play of the Victory is fast, not too fast in stock form but fast nonetheless. If you want it a little slower all you need to do is dial in the weight with a different set of Side Effects. Adding some brass made the Victory feel floaty while throwing in a set of aluminum Ultra Lights turned this into a speedy, almost out of control little beast. Think the Tasmanian Devil behind the wheel of an F1 racecar driving on a sheet of ice and you will get the idea… and boy is it fun to play a yo-yo like this some times. As I said above, the Victory is stable during vertical and horizontal play. I found it performed quite well while I threw my limited repertoire of horizontal tricks at it. Gyroscopic Flops worked out great, I had quite a bit of control making the yo-yo turn clockwise and counter clockwise on its axis without losing crazy amounts of spin. My normal barrage of tricks to test hops, whips, and suicides showed that this yo-yo has what it takes to be a top notch competition yo-yo as well as an excellent all around player. One of the areas I was pleasantly surprised with was the grinds… specifically thumb grinds. Most of the double lip designs I have seen have next to no IRG. I wasn’t holding out much hope for the Victory in this regard. I thought for sure that the disc Side Effects would end up getting in the way. Much to my amazement thumb grinds were just fine with the stock Side Effects and even easier when I moved to spike Side Effects. In the end the play on the Victory is pure brilliance. I would have to put it up there with the Toxic Hazmat and General Yo KLR making it into my top three favorite V-Shape designs on the market.

Final Thoughts

It is not hard to see why I heard so many great things about Eternal Throw’s Victory from all of my friends that were able to make it out to the National YoYo Contest. This yo-yo is just pure fun on so many levels. The design caters to the Side Effect technology and completely changes the feel depending on the SE’s used; opening it up to a wide range of players and play styles. During the two weeks I have had this to play with I can honestly say it went from fun wanting one in my collection to a Will Smith level “I have got to get me one of these!” If you are looking for a new yo-yo and are willing to give an upstart a shot I cannot recommend this one enough, Free and company have done an amazing job with their freshman effort.