One Drop MarkMont. Classic
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
October 19, 2014

Introduction

Mark Montgomery is at it again with his latest signature yo-yo from One Drop, the MarkMont. Classic. In the yo-yo industry we hear a lot about “hype”. How all these different companies, or yo-yos, have hype, don’t live up to the hype, are under hyped, over hyped… you get the idea. Mark decided to take the reigns on promoting this yo-yo and did the biggest, craziest, most absurd tongue in cheek hype campaign I have ever seen for a yo-yo. He started off innocent enough with animations of a yo-yo in action with the hash tag #markmontclassic. Next came posts about yo-yos that have had a big impact on the industry. These posts started out sounding like a general history lesson but switch to more poignant posts about yo-yos that influenced him in positive or negative ways during his yo-yo career and those that helped him find what he was looking for in his latest release. Then the comedy started to shine through with the Onedropyoyos Markmont. Classic User Reviews, this crazy who’s who video of professionals giving their review of this upcoming throw… I have no words to describe it, just click on the embedded link and watch the video. All of this led up to the big reveal of the MarkMont. Classic (MC for short) at the end of August. Since then there have been official product shots, box shots, and some contests appearances for a yo-yo that will not officially drop until October 30, 2014. After everything is said and done, I have enjoyed watching the promotion of this yo-yo unfold. It had some fun moments and kept everyone interested in the product, but at the end of the day the promotion means nothing unless the yo-yo is as good, if not better, than the promotion leading up to it.

Specs

• Diameter: 56.13mm
• Width: 45.06mm
• Gap: 4.32mm
• Base Weight: 60.65 grams
• Weight w/ Brass MC Side Effects: 66.75 grams
• Weight w/ Aluminum MC Side Effects: 63.50 grams
• Bearing: One Drop 10-Ball Bearing
• Response: One Drop Flow groove Pads

Construction

You can tell that quite a bit of influence has come from the old school yo-yos that Mark liked back in the day. The profile has an organic, continuous curve that leads down almost to the gap, where some of the new finally seeps into the design. At the gap there is a step out that feels influenced by the Cascade design; an element that keeps the string away from the walls, allowing for better loops and stronger horizontal play. The cup is large and unobstructed with curved inner walls that lead down towards a flat floor. The center hub looks like it was lifted straight from the MarkMont Next but there is a twist. Unlike the MarkMont Next, the MarkMont. Classic is Side Effect capable and ships with both aluminum and brass versions of the MarkMont. Classic Side Effects, which look like the brass nut assembly from the MarkMont Next and Wooly MarkMont. One design feature that I was happy to see finally make it onto a Mark Montgomery signature yo-yo is the IGR. The MC has a well-implemented IGR under the lip. A big first for the MarkMont line is that the MC’s initial run is shipping in something other than nickel plate. This time around One Drop is shipping a glass media blasted version in blue, clear, black or mustard variants along side the nickel plate. The blast on these are almost as fine as soda blast but grinds as well as General Yo blast. Over all, the MarkMont. Classic feels incredible in the hand thanks to curves brought on by those classic influences.

Weight

The MC ships with the brass Side Effects installed so unless you take it apart from the get go, you will be throwing it set up at 66.75 grams. In this configuration I found it to be rock solid stable on the string with a little heft to it, long spin times and a chilled out feel. After a full day of playing it like that I swapped out the brass for the aluminum side effects. In this configuration it gains quite a bit of speed. You can still chill out with it but the yo-yo just feels like it is begging to go faster… and I felt obliged to do so. Both configurations have an excellent feel to them and I am not sure if I have a favorite at this point.

Response and Bearing

The MC comes with the default One Drop 10-Ball and Flow Groove set up that has shipped with almost every One Drop yo-yo since the Flow Groove M1 was released. This tried and true setup will give you quiet, long lasting, smooth spins with grippy binds when needed.

Playability

The MarkMont. Classic is incredibly smooth right out of the box. I have spent the last week or so throwing everything I can at it and it handles just fine. The play is a great blend of old school mixed with new. It brings back the feelings of playing with a Duncan FH1 or FHZ and then you start doing newer styles such as horizontal and it works perfectly. Grinds on this thing are absolutely amazing. The new glass media finish One Drop is using needs to be their new standard finish. It gives butter smooth, long lasting grinds that are easy to control. One bit of advice I will give, the new finish is easier to bruise versus the tougher Pyramatte finish from before. I found this out the hard way when I smacked it excessively hard against my son’s computer desk on accident. It never broke the ano but there is some light smoothing of the blast… nothing out of the ordinary for blast finishes but if all you have thrown is One Drop with Pyramatte finishes, you might be new to this sort of thing. I just call them battle scars, and I know it is going to get more; this yo-yo is going to get played quite a bit.

Final Thoughts

Does the MC live up to the tremendous hype? WHO CARES!!! Is it a great yo-yo? Yes, and that is all that matters. The MarkMont brand is a subset within the One Drop brand of yo-yos and it has been fun watching it grow from a modified version of the original Project to its own monster. This is a comfortable yo-yo that easily bridges the gap between where yo-yoing was and where it is going. My only recommendation if you pick one up… skip the nickel unless you are obsessed with nickel finish. I know that sounds like heresy when it comes to the MarkMont line but the blast is just that good.

UPDATE

Well, I made a slight error. Looks like the nickel plated MarkMont. Classic is also blasted. That being said, pick which ever strikes your fancy.