The Enigma (Prototype) by ILOVEYOYO

Reviewed by Chris Rhoads

Introduction

The team at ILOVEYOYO has been designing some of the most unique and visually appealing yo-yos in the industry. Their coatings, in my opinion, are some of the most vibrant I have ever seen on a yo-yo. Most of the yo-yos from ILOVEYOYO are designed together by co-owners Frank and Dom. Earlier this year, Frank designed his own yo-yo to fit his play style and the Liopleurodon was born. The Lio came to market with rave reviews, instantly selling out at most of the major stores.  On August 31, ILOVEYOYO teased the community with a Twitter post stating “Two brand new yoyos in the making. Something we never did before! Watch out.” And then followed up on September 17^th with another Twitter post showing a shadowy picture of two new yo-yos. The yo-yo on the right in that picture is the sophomore effort from Frank, the Enigma. Continue reading on and let us see if this is a worthy follow up to the Lio.

Fury and Enigma Teaser

Before we begin there are two things that must be mentioned.

1. This is review is of a yo-yo in the prototype phase. I have been told that the only difference is that the final run will be lighter than the unit I am reviewing.
2. At the request of Frank O. at ILOVEYOYO, we will not be publishing any close up photos of the Enigma at this time. When ILYY thinks it is the right time to lift the veil, I will update the review with detailed photos of the Enigma. UPDATE: Veil lifted, new pictures have been added.

Specs

• Width: 40.9mm
• Diam: 54.1mm
• Weight: 71 g (Production version will be 67g)
• Gap: 4.2mm
• Bearing: 6x13x5 Metric KMK Bearing
• Response: Red-hot sILLYcone

Construction

This is definitely not your average ILYY product. The Enigma is the first true H-Shaped yo-yo to come from the company. I am a fan of the H-Shape; it allows the yo-yo to pull off suicides better than a traditional butterfly shape due to the reduced contact between the string and the inner walls. H-Shapes also tend to concentrate most of the weight into the rims of the yo-yo giving extreme spin times. The one downside is that a dramatic H-Shape can cause stability issues due to the lack of center weighting. The Enigma has a subtle H to its design, giving it the benefits listed above while maintaining the precious center weighting needed to make it smooth and stable on the string. The Enigma is a nice blend of organic curves and hard angles. On a profile shot you will notice the rounded, concave, curves that make up the H on the inner walls flowing into the gap. Looking at the yo-yo dead on you see the angled, conical, inner hub and the flat rims, all in all, a very appealing dichotomy in aesthetics. As far as the coating is concerned, the Enigma uses the new Candodize coating that ILYY introduced with the limited run Lio and the production run Mary 09. The finish is nice and shiny while still giving a decent grinding surface. Currently the Enigma is using the same titanium color as the Lio, I would like to see a brighter color used in the final run, maybe a green or a blue.

Weight

As I stated above, this is a prototype yo-yo. That being said, the 71 gram weight on paper does not translate to the feel of the yo-yo itself. I am always amazed at the designers that can take a heavy yo-yo and make it feel light on the string. The yo-yo is pretty fast on the string and incredibly stable. The thick rims give it a very respectable spin time.  Not much to say on this one. The gradual H-Shape gives it about a 50/50 weight distribution. It spins for a long time while staying level at all times.

Seba with Enigma as German Nationals

Response and Bearing

If you have played an ILYY product before, you know what to expect from the response system. It is the standard ILYY red-hot sILLYcone. I am not quite sure what it is exactly, but I wish I could convince Frank and Dom to sell the stuff. This is basically the perfect silicone for a yo-yo. It seems to last forever and plays dead unresponsive.

The bearing is your standard 6x13x5 KMK bearing that ILYY uses in all of their yo-yos with exception of the Saint Eel. It is a nice spinning bearing that also seems to last for a long time. There are two down sides to this bearing. First, it is not common in the US so it is hard to replace. Second the shields are press fit into the bearing so they are hard to deshield. Luckily, I have figured out how to remove the shields quickly and the bearing is hard to kill.

Playability

On the first throw I was hooked. This thing is insanely smooth on the string. It is a heavy yo-yo but there is no thunk at the end of the string like most other heavy yo-yos. The 71 grams does not translate into sluggishness or having to work to make it perform. It feels like most of the high 60’s yo-yos in my collection. On a bad throw, the Enigma is very forgiving, something that you don’t see too much with an H-Shaped yo-yo. Now lets talk trick performance. The Enigma is a suicide machine. The loops stay open for even the most impressive of suicides. I have even been able to pull off a Gondola Suicide (perform Gondola and instead of dropping it, throw a suicide and catch back in Gondola). As for everything else, the Enigma performs quite well. It is a slower yo-yo, slow but not sluggish. It is a great yo-yo to learn tricks on. You can take your time with the Enigma where other yo-yos make you feel rushed due to the fast nature of the design. Now lets talk about grinds. Finger and palm grinds are average on it. The Candodize finish is a decent grinder. Where the Enigma excels is in the thumb Grinds. The IRG is well angled so that it barely touches the thumbnail and the inner cup is deep enough to accommodate even the most bulbous of thumbs. This yo-yo is everything you would expect from an ILYY product. I can’t seem to put into words how well this yo-yo performs, so here is a video from Frank showing him putting the Enigma through its paces.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, this yo-yo should not be in the design phase, it should be on the shelves. I know the 71 grams is a little off putting but it does not feel or play like a 71 gram yo-yo. The weight reduction will make it play faster, but I hope not too fast. This is an all around solid yo-yo. It is perfect for everyone from intermediate to expert players. Great job Frank, you have followed up the Lio with another quality release that should take the community by storm. This is going to be the H yo-yo to beat.