Capsule by C3

Reviewed by Chris Rhoads

November 27, 2009

Introduction

I am a big fan of trying new things. In fact, if I can choose between the unknown and an established yo-yo brand, I’ll most likely pick the unknown. I am the same way with prototypes; I just love the thrill and excitement of finding that diamond in the rough. It should come as no surprise that when start up company C3 announced the Capsule I sat up and took notice. This is the first yo-yo designed by Walter Wong, Simpson Wong, and Ron Chan, it is also the first high end yo-yo designed and manufactured totally in Hong Kong. The Capsule has way too many firsts for me not to try it. Let’s see if it can compete in this competitive market or if this was a diamond better left buried.

Specs

• Weight: 68.2 grams
• Width: 42mm
• Diameter: 56.46mm
• Bearing: C-Sized
• Response: Low Pad (Silicon Pad)

Construction

This is not a tiny yo-yo by any means. It is probably the largest yo-yo I have thrown to date. Even though it fits squarely in the Full Sized category, it is not a bulky feeling yo-yo. Now keep in mind, I have large hands, but it felt comfortable in my throw hand. The inner walls have a steep curve to them that travels all the way up to the rim causing a little bit of discomfort on a tight bind return to the hand if you catch it wrong.

The anodized finish on this yo-yo is a mixed bag. I love the deep color of the finish. This is a great looking, rich shade of blue. After some further inspection, I could not find a single blemish on the yo-yo even in the bearing seat. While it looks great there is one major flaw with the finish. After performing my first thumb grind with the Capsule I noticed that my thumb had turned a rich shade of blue. Looking at the inner cup of the yo-yo I noticed that the finish was scratched up where my nail met the metal. Now I am not Wolverine here, I keep my nails trimmed pretty short. I would recommend that if you are the type that does not like scratching your yo-yo then you avoid thumb grinds unless you are wearing a glove.

Over all, the Capsule is a well-made yo-yo with a few curious design decisions and omissions. First the omission, The Capsule can pull off a decent thumb grind, if it had an actual IGR it would excel at them. As for the curious design decisions, there is the axle and the ability to use FHZ caps. First lets talk about the axle. It is 8mm in length, extremely small. It has always been my understanding that a longer axle adds stability to the yo-yo. We will see in a bit if the tiny axle messes up the smoothness of the yo-yo. Second is the use of caps. This yo-yo can use FHZ caps and it does add a little weight to the yo-yo, but it also adds wobble to it. If you are going to design a yo-yo to use FHZ caps and market that as a feature, make sure the caps don’t adversely affect the play.

(A big thank you to The Modfather, Perry Prine, for supplying me with a custom pair of white Freehand Zero caps. Without his help I would not have been able to test this feature of the Capsule)

Weight

Being such a large yo-yo, I am not surprised that it is on the heavier end of the scale. Most of the 68 grams have been pushed to the rims, giving the Capsule a good amount of spin. Now the weight distribution of the Capsule is pushed to its absolute edge. The small axle does not affect the stability; it is a smooth yo-yo with a hair bit of vibe. That does change when you add the previously mentioned FHZ caps. Adding the little extra weight adds a noticeable amount of wobble to the yo-yo and mucks up the delicate balance. This is a shame because the Capsule looked amazing with the custom polished FHZ caps that Perry sent me.

Response and Bearing

The bearing in the Capsule needs to be cleaned thoroughly before you use it. Usually I don’t tell people to clean a bearing but there is no way around it with this one. The bearing I received in the Capsule was so responsive on the first throw that it shot back up without warning and cracked me in the hand, bruising three knuckles. After I took the bearing out I removed the C-clips and noticed the problem. This bearing looked like it had been lubed with Vaseline. After a cleaning, the bearing was a decent spinner and could hold its own with most of the other generic bearings on the market.

The response system in the Capsule is a thin set of silicone pads. They give some nice, snappy binds while still playing unresponsive; nothing spectacular. The recess does not look like it is deep enough to accept flowable silicone. This isn’t a huge problem because there are numerous options on the market that will fit once the stock pads wear out.

Playability

Here is where the Capsule shines. It is a smooth playing yo-yo with a small amount of vibe; think Peak vibe and you just about have it. The gap is large enough to accept numerous wraps without an issue. The flared sides make it a solid hopper that will allow even the sloppiest of players the chance to catch it on the string. The Capsule is not a speed freak on the string. It works with the player’s reaction time instead of forcing the player to speed up. Perfect for an intermediate player that is still getting the hang of things.

The Capsule is not the best grinder in the world; it has no bead blast finish. The anodized finish does feel sticky after a while, causing it to just shoot off your arm or finger.

Final Thoughts

If I had to summarize the Capsule in three words it would be “a good start”. It is a good yo-yo but it does have some flaws that need to be addressed. I can see the Capsule being a great player in the future, but at the present time it has some growing pains that it needs to conquer. If it had a lower price, I could forgive some of the issues. The problem is that the Capsule is competing at the same price point as the Addiction, Hatrick, Project 2, and Remnant; I just cannot recommend it over them. It is a good first effort from C3. I can see good things coming from them in the future now that C3 has their first release under their belt.