One Drop GZR Line Second Wave
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
May 5, 2013
Introduction
Last August I brought you a review of the first wave of One Drop’s GZR line of yo-yos. For those that missed the first review, the GZR line is One Drop’s 7075 line of yo-yos. What they did was take their yo-yo designs, in this case the Cascade and the Burnside, and machine them in the denser 7075 alloy instead of the more common 6061 alloy that they normally use. Other than the switch in alloys there is not a single change to the yo-yo. They do not shift weight or touch the shape in any way. The theory behind this was to see if just the alloy alone makes for a “better” yo-yo. This second wave of the GZR line has me more intrigued than the first wave. The reason being that all of the first wave yo-yos were Side Effect enabled. This, I think, wasn’t a true test of the designs because I can swap Side Effects to change the feel. I even said in my first review that the GZR line showed off the power of Side Effects more than 7075 alloy. In this wave we have the Cascade, an absolutely amazing Side Effect yo-yo and the Burnside, One Drop’s no compromise competition yo-yo. It is that second one that has me most intrigued… it has a tapped axle system instead of Side Effects so you have no wiggle room to customize the feel. I believe that it will be the Burnside that shows the true potential of 7075 alloy.
Specs
All the specs of the three GZR yo-yos are identical to their 6061 counterparts with the exception of weight. I am just going to list the weight differences here.
• GZR Cascade Weight: 68.9 grams (Up 2 grams from the stock Cascade)
• GZR Burnside Weight: 70.25 grams (Up 3 grams from the stock Burnside)
Construction
As with the first wave, the designs are identical so I won’t rehash the construction here. Here are the original reviews of the Cascade and the Burnside if you would like some more background on the designs.
• Cascade Review
• Burnside Review
One word on the GZR Burnside, One Drop considers it to be a b-grade due to some ano defects in the underside of the cup. I have not been able to find any defects in the ano on mine but that is not to say the defects are not there. The ano defects are completely cosmetic. Even though they do not affect play, since the GZR Burnsides are b-grade they are being sold for reduced price.
Weight
As with the original wave, the switch to the denser 7075 alloy added more weight to each yo-yo. In this case the increase was 2 grams on the Cascade and a whopping 3 grams on the Burnside… taking it north of 70 grams. The changes in this wave intimidated me more than the first round. These are two of my absolute favorite pure One Drop models. I was worried that the extra weight would have a detriment to the play and to be honest a 70+ gram Burnside made my hands throb just thinking about it.
Playability
I am going to break out each of the yo-yos individually and discuss the play of each.
Cascade GZR: The GZR Cascade was the first in the new series and I found the play to be spot on in the stock form. It shipped with pewter colored aluminum domes and after playing with different sets I found those and aluminum Ultra Lights played best. The added weight gives a tad more control to a yo-yo that I already thought was extremely stable to begin with. Where I noticed the stability the most was in revolution control during Gyroscopic Flops. I was able to start and stop the turns with ease. The play on the string is a hair slower than the stock Cascade with the hits being harder when it reaches the bottom of the string. Over all it has a beefed up feel in play that I enjoyed, I can see others loving it as well.
Burnside GZR: Here is the GZR that will put the 7075 aluminum to the test. The Burnside has a tapped axle system, meaning that the hub and post are what you would find on a standard, non-Side Effect yo-yo. You are stuck with how it ships at this point. The question is, how does adding 3 full grams to an already heavy yo-yo change the play… in this case, not that much to be honest. While I have not had the best of luck with 70+ gram yo-yos I found the GZR Burnside to be an excellent throw. The added weight is very noticeable on the string making for a more determined feel. It hits hard with the added rim weight giving the yo-yo incredible spin times. I can see the added weight being slightly polarizing. Fans of the original will want one while others may shy away at the sight of the weight. I am a fan but that is not shocking since I am an unabashed fan of the original Burnside. What I can say is that if you are on the fence about purchasing it, go for it. At $95 you will be hard pressed to find a lower priced 7075 alloy yo-yo with this level of performance.
Final Thoughts
Here I am again, wondering about the differences between 7075 and 6061 alloys when it comes to the manufacturing of yo-yos. And, here I am again wondering if the increased density is the over arching factor to why I like some GZR versions a little more or if it is just the added weight? Some may be saying that it is the same thing. To that I say no. We are seeing manufacturers that have made 7075 version designs and then tweak the design, shifting weight, to make it play identical in 6061. So is the shift to the more expensive alloy truly needed when you can make these changes at a design level? I will cop out and say yes and no. If your goal is to add a couple grams without touching your design at all and do not mind the increased price of the yo-yo then 7075 alloy is an excellent choice and will give you exactly what you want. If you don’t mind tinkering and want to keep the price down then 6061 alloy is perfectly suitable and will allow you more wiggle room in the budget to add things such as fancy blast finishes and exotic splashes, washes, or combinations of such. When it comes down to this wave of the GZR line I found it to be much more enjoyable than the last round. The added weight on both models added a little more to the play. Now for those looking at this review saying “great, I want one but they are limited and sold out”, I will just point you at YoYoExpert for the GZR Burnside which still has 2 in stock and I have you to keep an eye on the Spingear store out of Japan. I saw a picture on the One Drop Flickr page showing off a 7075 Cascade in killer matte finished acid wash splash that is labeled as heading to Spingear.
Spingear 7075 Cascade courtesy of the One Drop Flickr
