Beysick by Hspin yoyo LLC

Reviewed by Chris Rhoads

February 1, 2010

Introduction

Inexpensive, Swiss-engineered; two words that never seem to go together. Whenever I think of Swiss-engineered products I always think of high-end, precision machines manufactured to the most stringent of standards. Those two words finally come together thanks to the introduction of the first yo-yo in Hspin’s new “Core Series”, the Beysick (pronounced “basic”). The secret to the low price is in the machining of the yo-yo. Hspin has teamed up with an outside source to handle the manufacturing of this yo-yo. Teaming up with third parties can be a tricky ordeal. While it does help to alleviate the costs, it also opens the product up to manufacturing flaws because someone other than the creator is monitoring the tolerances. The Beysick is no exception, lets see if it holds up to the high standards that are associated with the Hspin brand.

Specs

  • Weight: 65g
  • Diameter: 52mm
  • Width: 41.5mm
  • Response: Sticker
  • Bearing: D-Size 5x11x5mm

Construction

One look at the inner cup of the Beysick leave no doubt that it is an Hspin product. The rounded spike that has become a trademark of Hspin yo-yos is there for all to see. The yo-yo itself is an interesting blend of curves and hard edges. The hard edges are most noticeable at the transition from the rims to the inner walls and at the edge of the cup itself. Instead of an organic flow from rim to inner wall, Hspin decided to ad an angular step giving the Beysick a steep incline from the gap to the rims. The flat edge of the cup will take some getting use to, it can hit hard in the hand and you will know it is there. The curves return in the cup, where the Beysick’s thick, rounded lip adds a killer IGR and copious amounts of rim weight.

The Beysick I am reviewing is a raw preproduction unit that has the final specs but no anodized finish. That being said, the raw finish and the production run anodized finish will feel similar due to the fact that Hspin has chosen a glossy black ano with white laser etching for the final run. The plus side to this is that the Beysick looks gorgeous. The downside is that glossy finishes do not grind well.  I cannot fault Hspin for ditching the bead blast finish on this yo-yo. They were going for a balance between high quality and low price, so some concessions had to be made in order to keep the price down.

Production Run with Ano. Picture courtesy of the Hspin Blog. www.hspin.com

Weight

I have found that around the 65-67 gram mark is just about perfect for me. It gives me some float while still playing solid. Lucky for me the Beysick falls right in this range. It is a little floaty but still quite solid. The thick lipped IGR pushes the weight to the rims giving it incredible spin times while maintaining stability. Overall I could not ask for a better-weighted yo-yo.

Response and Bearing

As with all other Hspin yo-yos, the Beysick comes with a D-sized bearing. The D-sized bearing has become my favorite among the various bearing sizes on the market. It has a great middle ground feel between the large C-Size bearings and small A-Size bearings. I opted to swap out the steel bearing that came with the Beysick for a hybrid steel/plastic bearing that ships with Hspin’s higher end yo-yos. It gives a smooth feel, more speed, and is dead quiet.

The response is the new Axel and Response 2.0 that Hspin introduced in the NVx. It combines a thin silicone pad with a shallow schmoove ring. The thin pads give a surprising amount of grip given the low amount of surface area. The binds are tight while keeping the play dead unresponsive. The pad recess looks shallow but it is deep enough for flowable silicone. I have not siliconed the Beysick yet but I have tested silicone in the Hspin NVx and it lasted a month before one side lost its silicone.

Playability

Wow. That is really all that can be said. The Beysick plays better than yo-yos that cost twice as much. It is fast, smooth, and stable. It reacts quickly to direction changes while not making the player feel rushed to keep up. The spikes I mentioned earlier are sharp enough for matador play. I can easily pop the Beysick into the air and catch the spikes between my thumb and index finger. From there I can rotate the yo-yo and balance it on my thumb. The gap is large enough to accept quite a few string wraps giving me a chance to learn those Mark Montgomery style rolls. Grinds on the Beysick are decent given the fact that it has no grind finish to speak of. Finger grinds are weak, but that is to be expected considering the amount of contact that is being made between the skin and yo-yo. Palm grinds are fair, lasting a decent second or two before losing too much spin to bind. The real stand out is thumb grinds. Those bulbous IGRs allow the player to pull off some incredible grinds.

Final Thoughts

All in all this is one fantastic yo-yo. Yes, it is not the best yo-yo if you are a grinder but I can forgive this shortcoming when I look at the price. When I said this was an inexpensive, Swiss-engineered yo-yo I meant it. The Hspin Beysick dropped at the 2010 EYYC for $59. That is an incredible price for a yo-yo of this caliber. While the actual manufacturing of the Beysick is outsourced, you would never know it. It has the same quality feel found in all other Hspin products. At the price point that this yo-yo is being sold, there is no real excuse not to give it a shot. You would be hard pressed to find another currently produced yo-yo at this price point that plays as well as the Beysick.