G-Squared Triton
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
June 2, 2013

Introduction

Jake is back again with his third release from G-Squared. The company has had an amazing run since their inception back in early 2012. They have released the much-loved Albatross and the underrated Nessie, both in a regular and AL7 variant, the latter being machined with 7075 aluminum. They ended the year on a high, receiving YoYoSkills’ New Manufacturer of the Year award… not bad for a company that was “born” in early 2012. Their latest release is the celestially named Triton, their first since receiving that coveted award at the end of 2012 and their first release in 2013. Now it is time to see if the Triton becomes another heavenly body in the yo-yo universe or if it will flame out quickly like a meteor hitting our atmosphere.

Specs

• Diameter: 56.5mm
• Width: 44mm
• Gap: 4.42mm
• Weight: 66.7 grams
• Bearing: One Drop 10-Ball
• Response: Flowable Silicone

Construction

It would be easy to look at the Triton and dismiss it as an incremental upgrade to the Albatross design. That would be a mistake. At first glance I can see how some would make that assumption but looking at the profile shows where some of the major changes have been made. It retains the rims and some of the catch zone from the Albatross but adds grooves similar to what you would find on a One Drop Project 2. The step out near the gap is not as pronounced on the Triton making the catch zone appear a little more compact when comparing it to its older sibling. Moving to the cup you can see a drastic change from the Albatross. The rim lip is much more industrial in design with fewer organic curves. The IGR is behind a sharper cut at the inner rim. The stabilizing ring found in the previous two releases is still present and feels closer to the rim almost framing the IGR. The floor of the cup is slightly curved and appears flat in nature until you get to the miniature spike in the center. The Triton comes with a newer style of laser etch that cuts deeper into the yo-yo giving a silvery look to the engraving, mine was sent before the engravings had been finalized. The finish uses the same Gruntbull blast that fans of CLYW have come to know and love with colorways cover pretty much the entire spectrum. Overall I like the design quite a bit. The contrasting industrial and organic touches have always been a favorite of mine that just makes any design pop aesthetically.

Weight

The Triton clocks in at 66.7 grams giving it a little more heft than the older G-Squared siblings. One thing that I have found that has been a hallmark of G-Squared has been their extreme stability. The Triton continues on with this tradition and I dare say the extra heft gives it a rock solid feel on the string, even more so than the Albatross or Nessie. Speed wise, the Triton is another one of those smooth players that works great for those players that just love to get their artistic flow on.

Response and Bearing

The response is clear flowable silicone… if I remember correctly it is the same brand that I pick up at Auto Zone and use when I reapply the response in my own yo-yos. It starts out ultra grippy but breaks in quickly and remains completely unresponsive throughout the life of the response.

The One Drop 10-Ball makes its return for the third G-Squared release giving smooth and quiet play. Best part about a 10-Ball is when they do start to get loud you can quiet them quickly with a pin drop of thin lube.

Playability

Even if you can’t get over the visual similarities to the Albatross, the play is a night and day difference. The Triton as stated is great for flowing, artistic tricks. The extra stability makes this yo-yo a perfect candidate for those that also want to goof around and experiment due to the more forgiving nature that the stability provides. My experimenting while play testing the Triton came when I decided to start learning Asian Pops, a trick that I have wanted to learn since meeting up with Alex Love at the 2011 Ohio State contest. The trick requires a little precision as well as a yo-yo that fights against tilting when you hit it wrong… and you will hit it wrong when you first start off learning the trick. While the catch zone appears a little more compact when comparing it to the Albatross it is actually a tad wider meaning those that worry about suicide loops and catching whips can rest easy, the Triton is just as easy to hit. Grinds are exactly what you would expect from a Gruntbull finish. I found finger grinds lasted a little longer thanks to the grooves on the outer wall. Palm and arm grinds are spot on as well. My one mark against the Triton comes with thumb grinds. While it has a completely usable IGR, I prefer the deeper Albatross IGR. I found that pop up thumb grinds were a little harder to catch on the Triton, not a big issue but just something I noticed. At the end of the day if I had to choose between the Triton and the Albatross, purely from a play standpoint, I would have to say the Triton wins 99% of the time… the 1% is when I am in thumb grind state of mind.

Final Thoughts

I honestly didn’t think that G-Squared would surpass the Albatross, it was just THAT good of a design. I am happy to say I was wrong, the Triton surpasses it in almost everyway possible and is the perfect way to start off 2013 for G-Squared. Now I would like to see Jake get out of his comfort zone and shake things up a bit… maybe a killer V-Shape, something with Side Effects, or an over sized design… basically some area that G-Squared has not ventured into quite yet. With his current stable of products it is clear that G-Squared knows how to design a killer product so some out of the box thinking for them shouldn’t scare us at all.