Sturm Panzer Stealth Ogre
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
August 4, 2013

Introduction

Sturm Panzer is a new company out of Japan that has developed a creative way to market their product. Instead of JUST making a yo-yo, they have created an entire narrative to weave around the release complete with an accompanying story book shipped with each yo-yo. The results are some truly creative descriptions for a yo-yo, for example the Stealth Ogre that I am reviewing today is described as:

“In 2013, the 21st century’s new champion yo-yo league “Yo-Yo Fist” entered its 6th season, and team Sturm Panzer was ready with the Stealth Ogre, a new yo-yo designed by Kasumi Hino, of defense contractor Marshall Industry.

At its core of the design, Kasumi integrated the control system dubbed “bio spinner,” which is meant to create a direct connection between your brain and the yo-yo, giving you superhuman control during play! Once the Stealth Ogre hit the scene, Kasumi’s team turned its luck around, and the Stealth Ogre was the engine that fueled its comeback.”

After reading that I had to give the Stealth Ogre a shot. The people at Sturm Panzer have said that this yo-yo is the beginning of the story with other models to follow. Lets see if this first chapter will grab the community’s attention or if it will have them returning the book to the shelf.

Special Thanks

I have to give a shout out to YoYoExpert forum member Slowyojoe. He bought two Stealth Ogres and was gracious enough to allow me to borrow the unopened unit he had set aside for his collection. This review would not have happened without his help as well as his trust that I would not hurt his never been thrown yo-yo.

Specs

• Diameter: 57.37 mm
• Width: 42.32 mm
• Weight: 68.7 grams
• Bearing: Curved 10-Ball Bearing
• Response: IrPads

Construction

The most striking thing about the Stealth Ogre is the polished brass rims. This is a bimetal yo-yo made from purple anodized 7075 aluminum and the brass rim overlays mentioned earlier. The profile gives a pronounced H-Shape with a slight undercut where the brass and aluminum meet. The rest of the catch zone is a straight V-Cut to the response gap. The cup is a two-step design with no IGR and an almost flat floor. The only resemblance of a hub is the tapped through axle showing off a peek at the titanium axle holding the halves together. I am going to be a little critical of the hub for a second. Usually I do not have a problem with a tapped through axle but there is one huge design flaw with it on the Stealth Ogre, when you take apart and put the yo-yo back together you will have to keep a finger over the hole on one side or the axle will protrude into the cup without catching the threads on the other half. This makes putting the yo-yo back together difficult at times. A slight dab of Loctite would have gone a lone way to solving this issue. On the comfort side you can tell that it took a slight back seat to pushing performance. The rims are sharp and hit the hand hard on returns. The edge of the brass rim leading into the catch zone can rub uncomfortably against the sides of the middle finger; similar to the issue I had with the CLYW Cliff. Overall I love the looks of the Stealth Ogre, the shiny brass is perfectly complemented by that brilliant shade of purple. That being said, there are some areas where the design could use a little bit of revising in order to make it more user-friendly.

Weight

On paper this is not a light yo-yo but during play you don’t feel that heft as much as you would think. There is a definite presence on the string but at the same time it changes directions quickly. One area where this yo-yo excels is with the spin times. This yo-yo spins for what feels like forever. It is probably why I took issue with the harsh impacts back to the hand. When I was done with a combo and gave it a bind, it was still spinning like it had just been thrown. It is impressive but almost too much for my meager skill level. I would love to see what a more skilled player could do with this on one throw.

Response and Bearing

I have used IrPads in the past and find them to be exceptional. They have a solid grip on the string when you bind and break in quickly.

The bearing is a concave 10-Ball that is decently quiet and smooth. I am still not a fan of string centering bearing. It wasn’t horrible during my play testing of the Stealth Ogre but I did like the play with a flat bearing a bit more.

Playability

The first throw of the Stealth Ogre was a little shocking; I was greeted with a well-pronounced vibe. I didn’t think much of it at first, obviously I must have given it a bad throw so I did a bind and gave it another throw. It still had that well-pronounced vibe, so I tried to correct it with my finger… there was no correcting it. I usually don’t care about a slight vibe but this could be felt on the string and even more so on grinds. It didn’t hinder the play but was annoying when you have gotten use to almost vibe free play from many less expensive models. When it comes to tricks you, will have no problem with pretty much any string trick you throw at it and the seemingly limitless spin times means that you will have plenty of time to correct any mistakes, making this a good yo-yo to learn on. Grinds range from good to nonexistent. Finger grinds are fall in the good range and would have been great without the vibe. Palm and arm grinds are fair because of the raw, slightly sticky rims. Thumb grinds are almost impossible due to the lack of not only an IGR but also any sort of flat wall catch with your thumb.

Final Thoughts

When I first heard about the Stealth Ogre on YoYoExpert I remember wondering if the quality control was in place to make sure every unit had perfectly aligned rims. Unfortunately I don’t think they do. I have talked with others who have had flawless Stealth Ogres, including Slowyojoe who has a second unit. It is this lack of consistency that causes the problem. If you are going to make a complex bimetal design such as this you MUST insure that if someone buys multiples, each one will play the same, especially when it is $160 plus shipping. If this yo-yo had played flawlessly I could easily see myself loving the stealth Ogre, even with the comfort issues. At this time I would say be cautious if you are going to pick one up, and definitely play it if possible before purchasing.