General Yo Model 10
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
March 24, 2013

Introduction

General Yo has been on a roll lately. Ernie took the company in a new direction starting with the KLR, a more performance oriented yo-yo. It retained some of the rounded accents that have been a hallmark of the Gen-Yo design since the introduction of the original Torrent while it added wider catch zones, removed IGRs, focused higher rim weighting, and pushed towards competition play. Then in December of last year Ernie went back to the KLR design tinkered the ever-loving heck out of it and released the Majesty, which much like Nigel Tufnel, cranked it to eleven. Now it looks like General Yo is set to change again with their latest release, the Model 10. The Model 10 is the second time that General Yo has completely stepping away from curves. The first was the Entheos, a yo-yo that I like but I have found has gotten a little lost in the General Yo catalogue. The Model 10 looks great on paper, lets see if this full sized player is a great start for a new chapter General Yo history or ends up just being a foot note.

Specs

• Diameter: 56.13 mm
• Width: 43.74 mm
• Gap: 4.27 mm
• Weight: 66 grams
• Response: Thick, Smooth HatPads
• Bearing: C-Size AIGR Bearing

Construction

The most striking part of the Model 10 is the profile. It is quite different from the rest of Ernie’s designs. The bubbly, rounded rims are completely missing; in their place is a set of angled flat rims that transition to a small, completely flat outer edge. The catch zone is large, making for an easy target while allowing the string to flow effortlessly to the gap. Near the edge of the gap there is a masked area and a slight step out that reduces string wear and contact with the walls. Moving to the cup we can see that Ernie is using the step in rim design that started with the KLR and is being used by other companies in the industry. If I had to guess I would say that it allows weight to be focused at the rims while moving it slightly inwards allowing for greater stability during play. The center hub is a new spike design that is more rounded at the point than what Ernie has done in the past. Even with the angular nature of the design, this is still a General Yo design so every rough edge has been ever so slightly rounded. This attention to detail means that the Model 10 is an incredibly comfortable yo-yo to play with. There are no harsh edges to dig into your fingers while holding it and the rims make for mild impacts with the hand, even during a full force bind. Overall, this appears to look like a competition focused yo-yo in the same vain as a Burnside or even a Clash but retains the in hand feel that we have come to expect from a General Yo.

Weight

The 66 grams packed into the Model 10 are deceptive. The Model 10 has a genuinely unique feel that I was not expecting, more on that in play section. The slight push in from the rims that I talked about in the design section gives the Model 10 loads of stability during regular and horizontal play. Even with the push in, I found the spin times remained long lasting. An added bonus, thanks to the stability, I found the yo-yo was still quite playable even during some of my sloppy regens.

Response and Bearing

The Model 10 comes with smooth thick Hat Pads installed by default but will take thin and textured Hat Pads as well. I don’t know if I would use thin pads in this model since Ernie has sunk the response a little more than previous models; making for a truly unresponsive yo-yo. Not really an issue since the main use of thin pads is to give more unresponsive play and the Model 10 accomplishes this out of the box without having to tinker with the response.

The bearing is one of the few constants that never seem to change with General Yo products. It is still the smooth playing and long lasting Aircraft Instrument Grade Rated bearing. I have said it before, it is just cool that you can say, “not only is my yo-yo made from aircraft grade aluminum, but the bearing is the same used in some aircraft instruments as well.”

Playability

I was not expecting the feel on the string that I got from the Model 10. The adage about never judging a book by its cover is also true for yo-yos. Never judge a yo-yo by its looks or spec sheet, something I did with the Model 10. I was expecting a fast playing, hard hitting brute similar to the Burnside since both appear to be competition focused. I could not have been more wrong. The Model 10 has a graceful, light, and yes I will say it… floaty feel. Totally not what you would expect from a yo-yo that looks so competition focused. The Model 10 feels like it was just built to flow from trick to trick, leaning more towards those that love the beautiful artistic expression of the hobby over the disjointed point style of competition play. In essence it is my kind of yo-yo. That being said I can still see it being a solid performer on stage. The Model 10 reacts quickly when needed but the floaty nature also felt like it gave the player extra time to react when learning a new trick. During my play tests I was trying to learn a new Green Triangle trick posted by Jake Gross called “Frozen Tundra GT”. The Model 10 was perfect for actually hitting the trick, which requires a palm grind toss before catching the string with your non-throw hand. The finish also helped quite a bit with that trick. General Yo products have always been known for having a liquid smooth finish on them and the Model 10 is no different. The blasted finish combined with the long spin times and overall stability meant that the Model 10 stayed on plane while retaining most of its rotational momentum, allowing me to finish the trick. Over all the Model 10’s play is a welcome surprise giving the yo-yo a Torrent like feel with a much more modern shape.

Final Thoughts

Ernie just keeps getting better and better these days. The Model 10 is an unequivocal hit. One of the things that many are going to ask is “Is it better than the Majesty?” All I can say is no… they are equal. I said the Majesty is one of Ernie’s absolute best and the Model 10 is equally as good while playing quite different. If I had to choose only one for my collection I think I may have to pick the Model 10 just because it wowed me with being complete surprise in a most wonderful way. I look forward to May since Ernie is teasing an announcement. If it is a new yo-yo that plays half as good as this then we are all in for a treat. On a side note, since the next yo-yo will be his eleventh design it needs to be called the Nigel.