The Catch 22 by YoYoFactory

Reviewed by Chris Rhoads

Introduction

The Catch 22, this is THE yo-yo people think of when you start talking about titanium yo-yos. It has that combination of high price tag, sensationalized packaging, and community hype going for it. I will admit this right up front; I did not want to like this yo-yo. I thought it was cheating to call it a titanium yo-yo; all they did was graft titanium weight rims on to an aluminum frame. That coupled with the fact that I had yet to find a metal YYF yo-yo that met my needs made me apprehensive when going into this review. I did not want to unduly paint a negative picture of this yo-yo. In the end, I decided to put aside my preconceived notions and just review the yo-yo on its merits and I am so glad I did. What I ended up finding was that while the Catch 22 has it’s flaws, it is a delight to play and I am glad that I have been given the experience.

Specs

• Diameter 50.56mm
• Width 38.18mm
• Weight 67.5g
• Gap 4.94mm
• Response: Silicone Stickers
• Bearing: C size bearing

Construction

Right away, you are going to be taken aback by the packaging of this yo-yo. The Catch 22 comes in a small Pelican brand case with an aluminum plaque on the front emblazoned with the company name, the name of the yo-yo and the serial number. Yep, the 70 piece run is individually serial numbered on the outer case, inner case, and laser etched on the inner titanium rim of each half of the yo-yo. Inside the case you find a metal overlay giving all of the specs of the yo-yo, a warning, and holes for the yo-yo and two small, plastic containers holding extra bearings, string, pads, and the hubstack kit. I was extremely impressed by this display; it looks like something you would see in a James Bond film being handed over to Ernst Stavro Blofeld right before he tries to blow up the world.

The yo-yo is very minimalist in design. Raw titanium rims attached to a black anodized, bead blasted, aluminum body. There is no fancy anodizing job and very sparse use of laser etching. There are no major gimmicks of any kind. YoYoFactory chose to let the yo-yo speak for itself.

Weight

The close to 68 grams of weight is all sent to the outer edges of this yo-yo due to those massive, titanium rims. This gives the yo-yo some extreme spin times and decreased stability. It is extremely unforgiving on a bad throw. That being said, on a good throw, this thing will give you enough time to put together even the most insane combos. I did not have a single instance of spin out while using this yo-yo, and I pushed it to the limits while trying. Putting the included hubstacks on the Catch 22 added a little too much weight to it and introduced a bit of wobble. It is a good thing that I find hubstacks to be more of a novelty. I tried them, didn’t like them, and took them back off.

Response and Bearing

The response is your standard silicone sticker. They get the job done, giving you nice tight binds and no slippage on the string. There is also little to no lag in performing a bind. That is my one yo-yo pet peeve, I hate it when I perform a bind and the yo-yo takes a second to respond. Just like a dog, I want my yo-yos to come when I call. The Catch 22 is a very obedient dog in this regard.  If the pads don’t cut it for you, the recess looks like it should be deep enough to hold flowable silicone. This yo-yo was loaned to me for review so I could not test this theory.

The bearing used in the Catch 22 is the Dorothy bearing that YoYoFactory use to include in their higher-grade lines. It spins forever and runs fantastic while dry. I would consider it third on my favorite bearings list, right behind the General Yo AIGR and 10-Ball bearings. The one major ding to the Dorothy is that the bearing is banshee level loud while spinning.

Playability

This yo-yo was built for the advance player. As I said above, this yo-yo is extremely unforgiving on the throw. It almost laughs at you if you do not throw it perfectly. When you do throw it well, it rewards you with a pleasing experience. It is floats through the air like a trapeze artist, twisting and turning through the tricks with ease. It responds to the slightest of movements without a moment’s hesitation.  I found myself trying to exhaust the spin of the yo-yo and failing miserably at it.

Grinding on the Catch 22 is a mixed bag. Palm and arm grinds are not what they should be due to those raw titanium rims. It is just a forgone conclusion that raw metal retards the grinding ability of a yo-yo. The bead blasted finish of the inner walls allows the yo-yo to just sit there spinning for eons while perched on your finger. Thumb grinds are easy to pull off as long as you do not have the hubstacks installed. The stacks will block all but the tiniest thumbs from pulling off a thumb grind.

Final Thoughts

Boy, am I glad I gave the Catch 22 a shot. Leave it to me to finally find the YoYoFactory metal that suites my needs and not only is it discontinued, but it is the most expensive metal yo-yo in their line.

The Catch 22 is not perfect. It does not palm grind and, for $460, I want a yo-yo that will perform well when it has the included hubstacks installed, even if I find them to be a novelty. That being said, what this yo-yo does well it does VERY well. I would be silly for me to warn beginner and intermediate players because if you can afford a Catch 22 you are probably have the advance skills. I’ll do it anyways, just to be safe. DO NOT BUY THIS YO-YO IF YOU ARE NOT AN ADVANCED OR EXPERT PLAYER! There, I hope people catch on to that. If you meet the requirements to play this yo-yo and can afford the price of admission, you can probably find one in the BST sections of most of your favorite forums. If you do find one at a price you can live with, I would say it is worth a shot to try it out but only if it comes in the original packaging, that is half the fun of this yo-yo. In the end I will say this. I like it, it plays well, yes I still consider it a cheater titanium, and if I could find one at an inexpensive price I would pick it up in a heartbeat.