Square Wheels YoYo Co. Rockefeller
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
July 25, 2013

Introduction

Square Wheels is back with their sophomore release, the Rockefeller. It has been a little over a year since their original release, the Royale, came to market. In that time they have prototyped two new designs, the Rockefeller that you see here and the Rex that is still in the works. While the Royale had a small following it, along with the company, seemed to fly under the radar. Lets see if this newer design, which is also Square Wheels team member Derek Britson’s signature yoyo, can generate some attention for Square Wheels.

Specs

• Diameter: 54.86 mm
• Width: 45.2 mm
• Gap: 4.35 mm
• Weight: 66.4 grams
• Bearing: C-Size Steel Bearing
• Response: Slim Silicone Pads

Construction

The Rockefeller has a four-step V-shape profile that starts off with some rounded off rims that gives it an extremely comfortable feel during play. The next two steps make up the majority of the wide open catch zone with the final step right before the gap that is just there to keep the string away from the walls; a feature seen in many different yoyos from companies such as One Drop, CLYW, and Turning Point. The face of the Rockefeller shows off a rather crazy looking cup. Just under the lip is an IGR, following the wall down you come across a stabilizing ring half way between the IGR and floor followed by a ring that surrounds the perimeter of the floor. It almost feels like that last wall is there to protect the dainty, yet sharp, spiked hub. I will talk more about the floor ring later on. One thing that I must talk about is the finish. The crazy finishes are the reason I had to contact the company back when the Royale was making the rounds in the forums. The Rockefeller takes the crazy finish from their freshman effort and amps it up. This specific colorway is called Depeche-YOd. Gotta love a company that can work an 80’s emo band pun in with their products. The spinning effect is this stunning fireworks display of pinks and oranges that pop thanks to the patches of black, my action shots just do not do it justice.

Weight

This yo-yo clocks in at 66.4 grams, making for a solid middleweight throw. One thing that needs to be discussed is the speed. The yo-yo has a good deal of center weight thanks to that extra wall on the floor. This slows the performance down on the Rockefeller. This is by no means a deal breaker but it is something to be aware of, especially when some stores have “fast and competitive” in the product description. The Rockefeller has a more chilled out feel, suited towards players that want a smooth flow from trick to trick. The Rockefeller is not all center weight; it has a decent amount of rim weight as well allowing for a good deal of stability and spin time.

Response and Bearing

The Rockefeller uses a white silicone pad that gives a good amount of grip and was dead unresponsive out of the box. It didn’t feel like it needed any sort of break in time.

The bearing is listed as just a steel C-Size bearing. Opening it up reveals what appears to be a One Drop 10-Ball bearing complete similar build quality and play.

Playability

As I said above, this is not a speed demon. It is smooth and stable on the string with a solid hit when it returns to the hand, but most definitely not fast. It is another one of those chilled out players. For me that is not a problem, I like a relaxed throw session. The V-shape combined with the speed makes this a great yo-yo for learning tricks. The wide open catch zone is super simple to hit and quickly moves the string to the gap, keeping it from tilting off plane during those sloppy executions while learning a new trick. The blasted finish feels smooth to the touch but grinds quite well. IT suffers the same problem that other yo-yos with similar finishes have; it gets sticky on a humid day. One disappointing area of play for me was the spiked hub. It is sharp enough and decently sized for ripcord starts and matador play but those walls around it prevents using them. Every time I tried to rip start the yo-yo or catch it by the spikes I found my thumbs coming in contact with the top of that wall causing the yo-yo to stop almost instantly. Spike fans will not be fond of this design flourish.

Final Thoughts

The Rockefeller has quite a bit going for it, killer looks, solid play, and easy to learn on. If you are looking for a solid V-shape for your collection the Rockefeller is going to check pretty much all the right boxes for you. If Square Wheels decides to do a revision to the design I would love to see how it would play without the walls around the hub. I suspect that it would speed it up quite a bit and open up that spike for additional styles of play.