SPYY Addiction
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
June 22, 2010

Introduction

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines addiction as a “compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.” Now when people hear the word, they always go to drugs and alcohol, but you can form an addiction to anything. Heck, before I became a teacher I use to be the sales manager at a big box computer store. Not a day went by that I didn’t have to remind a few of my sales staff that there was life outside of World of Warcraft. They would come in late day after day with bags under their eyes. I knew perfectly well that they had stayed up way past when they should so they could get that next epic item, or achieve that next level. A videogame had become an addiction; it was harming them socially and economically. Yo-yos are no different. People become addicted to collecting them, or to learning just one more trick. And yes, a yo-yo can hurt a person as well; mostly the inexperienced that think a high-end metal will react the same as a dime-store plastic and end up hitting him or herself in the shin. SPYY has recently released a second run of the Addiction. I have always wondered about the meaning behind that name. What was SPYY getting at? Will the player get physically and psychologically attached to it after they begin throwing the Addiction? One component of clinical addiction is the hurting or shunning of others around them; will the player begin to shun the rest of their collection just to get one more fix of the Addiction? I guess the only way to find out is to delve deep into the world of this skull emblazoned beast and find out.

Specs

  • Diameter: 54 mm
  • Width: 43.5 mm
  • Gap Width: 4.0 mm
  • Weight: 65 grams
  • Bearing: C-size Dry, Steel Bearing
  • Response: Deep recessed with silicone O-Stickers

Construction

For those who may not have been around in 2006, the Addiction is an update of SPYY’s three-year-old, full-sized, Addict design. They have taken feedback from players and watched the trends in the industry then took what they learned and reworked the design. Starting with what has stayed the same, there is just something to be said for the classic butterfly shape. The Addiction has elegantly curved walls that swoop into the ever so slightly high walled gap. There is not a harsh line, cut, or step that could potentially foul up or adversely interact with the string. The rims are well rounded and feel great while lying dormant in the hand or when returning on a bind. The cups contain a deep cut IGR and the tell tale SPYY spike. The coating on the Addiction is smooth bead blast, a feature that was introduced to rave reviews on the second release of the Addict. Now, when it comes to the color on the second run Addiction all I can say is that it is an anomaly for me. I was a big fan of cherry red and forest green from the original Addict line. The major thing that held me back from buying a first run Addiction was the all black color. I am just not a fan of black yo-yos. Just about the only thing worse for me would have been if the first run Addictions had been released in pink. I am just not a fan of either color. Imagine my surprise when I saw the Piercing Pink colorway on the second run Addiction. It is an acid wash of black and a vibrant shade of pink that just works together. When the Addiction is spinning it turns a little purplish in nature and looks absolutely brilliant in action. The visual cherry on top has got to be laser engraving. In each cup there is a tastefully done SPYY logo on one side and a menacing skull, sans lower jaw, on the other. Both are expertly implemented and give a swipe of white in the cup when spinning. When it comes to design, this yo-yo is a comfortable and visually stunning powerhouse.

Weight

The Addiction is another one of those yo-yos that looks heavier in pictures than it does in the hand. It clocks in at a modest 65 grams, well within my comfort range, but looks like it is going to be a heavier brute. While it does have high rim weight with excellent spin times, the beefy rims are not as thick as they look. There is a deep IGR cut into the underside. The weighting on the yo-yo is pretty evenly distributed so you have a yo-yo that isn’t blinding fast and ultra floaty. Instead you get a yo-yo that moves with you instead of rushing you to keep up.

Response and Bearing

At this point I am betting a lot of you are wondering where the differences lay between the Addict and the Addiction. The answer is in this section. The two major changes to the design are under the hood so to speak.

The first major change is in the response. The Addict came with a pad recess and Dif Pads installed. The Addiction ditches the pads for a deep recess, perfect for flowable silicone. It comes with a pair of flush silicone stickers installed. I found that they gave tight binds but they wear out quickly and are too grippy, almost tug responsive, at first. After they died on me I poured in some flowable silicone. I know that it is easier to ship with silicone stickers but I have found that the modern SPYY yo-yos truly shine when they have flowable silicone installed.

The second major change is in the bearing. The original Addict came with a smaller, D-Sized bearing. In the Addiction the bearing has been bumped up to a larger C-Sized bearing. This opens up the gap almost 0.75 mm allowing for more layers of string in the gap and more complex tricks. The surprising thing about the new bearing is how quiet it is out of the box. SPYY has been shipping their bearings dry, which usually leads to a noisier bearing. The bearing in the Addiction was pretty quiet while spinning. After breaking it in it did get a hair louder but a pin tip sized drop of thin lube fixed that issue.

Playability

On first throw I found the pads to be a little grippy but they settled down after about an hour of play. Once broken in, the yo-yo performed amazingly, even better after I installed the silicone. It was dead unresponsive flew around on the string. This is not a little speed demon like SPYY’s Skyy Chaser, it is more like a solid feeling Punchline. The Punchline feels floaty on the string while the Addiction has a little more heft while moving and a larger feel in the hand. I prefer the Addiction when I am learning new tricks; it just feels like it is working with me a little more. Currently I am working on the trick Triple Tower and the Addiction is making it a snap to flesh it out and smooth out my movements. When it comes to the tricks I already know, this yo-yo moves like a champ. Even though it doesn’t have a fancy V-Shape with a catch zone that you can drive a Mack Truck through, I found it easy to catch on the string. The large gap accommodates quite a bit of string. Usually I can get a yo-yo to freeze up when I drop all the stings while doing the trick Flux Capacitor, the Addiction had no problems with it. When performing grinds, the Addiction is no slouch. When popping the Addiction up on a finger it will just sit there spinning for quite a long time. Arm and palm grinds yield similar results. Thumb grinds are down right easy with the deep-set IGR. Finally if you are looking for matador play, this yo-yo is a good choice for you. The SPYY spikes are easy to catch and the weighting makes for darn near perfect balance on a thumb or finger.

Final Thoughts

Now this is what I like to see in a rework of an established design. SPYY did not tinker too much with the size or weighting. Instead they updated it where they thought it needed some modernization and reintroduced it to a new generation of players. The SPYY Addiction is a great player that will meet the needs of pretty much anyone intermediate on up. The only advice I would give is to rip out the pads and install some flowable silicone. You will thank me for it. There are still a couple available brand-new in stores and you might come across them every once in a while in the BST sections of most popular forums. If you are thinking of getting one I would urge you not to hesitate. All in all I would consider the Addiction one of SPYY’s most accessible and well-rounded yo-yos and that is saying a lot considering that SPYY is one of a select few companies I always recommend when asked for an all around great player. I can definitely see how some would become overly attached to this yo-yo; it does live up to its namesake.