Oxy 3vo by Oxygène
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads

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Introduction

Smooth. We hear it all the time in this community. I have used the word on many an occasion when describing a yo-yo. Even though we throw this word around when describing this company’s or that company’s offerings only one company has consistently been the gold standard for measuring smooth. That company is Oxygène. In 2005 Oxygène released the Oxy 4 and history was made. This was THE yo-yo to beat when it came to measuring smoothness, so much so that players coined the phrase “Oxy Smooth”. The Oxy 4 must be one hard yo-yo to follow up but after 4 years of sitting on the side lines Oxygène is finally bringing a new aluminum yo-yo to market. Their latest offering is the Oxy 3vo (read Evo) and is a redesign of their 2003 offering, the Oxy 3. When I asked Carlo Menon why he decided to update the 6-year-old Oxy 3 he had this to say.

“Many players complained they couldn’t own an Oxy 3, and some even said it was a better yo-yo than the 4. Personally I loved the 3, because its shape was more original than the 4’s. But since 2003 times have changed and my tastes, too. So, even if physics teach that big diameters give longer spin times, I reviewed the 3’s drawing reducing its diameter and adding some weight to the rims, so that the yoyo is still quite heavy, and doesn’t loose too much in spinning. It was mostly for fun, but the first time I threw the proto I was stunned! I thought that maybe it was the best yo-yo I had ever made! Here’s why I thought of sharing it.”

Let see if revamping a 6-year-old design was wise on his part. Quite a bit has changed since the release of the Oxy 3 and Oxy 4. Does this still have the legendary Oxy smooth feel or is it just another entry in an ever-growing field.

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Specs

  • Weight: 67.7 grams
  • Diameter: 54mm
  • Width: 39.3mm
  • Adjustable gap: min. 3.8mm – max. 4.8mm
  • Bearing: 6 x 13 x 5
  • Response system: Recessed silicone
  • Axle Material: Titanium

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Construction

The first thing I noticed is the attention to comfort that went into the design of this yo-yo. There is hardly a sharp edge to be found anywhere one the Oxy 3vo. This shows when the yo-yo is resting in the hand, it just feels right. There really is no other way to describe it, it just feels right. The butterfly shaped Oxy 3vo sits nicely in the hand while at rest and those rounded edges have a hard time hitting wrong when the yo-yo returns to the hand from a bind. Finally the satin finish gives the 3vo a great tactile feel; it is not as harsh as a bead blast and not sticky like raw aluminum. Again, it just feels right.

While the feel of the yo-yo is great, I found the look to be a mixed bag. The satin finish gives the yo-yo a great look but, due to the raw nature, can scratch very easily. Also, the inner cups show machine lines formed in the creation of the unit. If I were to change one thing about the look, I would polish the inner cup just past the IGR. That would add a touch of class to an already classy yo-yo and hide those machine lines.

Now, before we go any further, lets discuss what has changed between the Oxy 3 and the Oxy 3vo. When I asked Carlo what was different between the two he responded with this:

“Diameter first of all. 57.5 mm has been reduced to 54. Then the response system. It was O-rings in the 3, it’s silicone in the 3vo (the same that’s in Oxy 4). And I’m considering of adopting metric concave bearings in the 3vo.”

I also asked him why an Oxy 3 owner would want to upgrade to an Oxy 3vo, to which he said:

“Hmm… I don’t think an Oxy 3 owner should upgrade to an 3vo, unless he desires a smaller yo-yo with the same feeling and a more modern response system. They are both great. I just prefer the 3vo now because the smaller diameter is pretty!”

While I was shocked by this answer, I applaud his honesty. It is a good thing that the Oxy 3 is a 6 years old and extremely hard to find.

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Weight

The Oxy 3vo is another one of those heavy on paper yo-yos. At almost 68 grams, it is on the fatty end of the scale. On the string it is a completely different story. This yo-yo is a nice mix of slightly floaty and very solid feeling. The added rim weight does give the 3vo amazing spin times while the dense, titanium axle gives the 3vo a good amount of stability. The titanium axle is the secret to the Oxy smoothness. Giving the yo-yo a heavy metal core aids in the overall stability. We will talk more about the properties of the Oxy axle in a bit.

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Response and Bearing

The bearing in the Oxy 3vo is a long spinning metric bearing that gets the job done quite well. It did need a good cleaning before its true potential came to the surface. If this is the shipping bearing, I highly recommend you give it a thorough cleaning before you use the yo-yo. I will not go into much more detail on this bearing because it is not certain if this will be the shipping bearing. Carlo has been in talks with Frank Difeo and it is possible that the 3vo will ship with a Konkave metric bearing instead of the flat bearing in the yo-yo I reviewed.

The response pads in the 3vo are not my favorite. They do their job but the textured surface can cause some grip issues when you don’t want them to. I will probably end up ripping the pads out and giving the 3vo a flowable silicone response just like I did the H2O, another yo-yo that used the Oxygène silicone pads. While I understand that pads save time when it comes to producing and packaging multiple yo-yos I would honestly say that more companies should just bite the bullet and take the extra time to add a good flowable response.

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Playability

This is one smooth yo-yo, but it needs to be tuned. That is where the Oxy axle comes into play. The Oxy axle is not your standard axle where you screw it down until it stops. Instead the yo-yo half rests on a small o-ring that allows you to fine tune the gap and tune out the vibe of the yo-yo. While I find this to be a great design there are some who do not like the Oxy axle system. The detractors feel that the axle system is inconsistent and overly complicated. The points they make are valid and I agree to a point but I find that the pluses out weight the minuses. If a yo-yo with a traditional axle system has a vibe it is extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to tune out the issues. Plus, if you do not like the gap size you are basically out of luck unless you add extra hardware, shims, that can induce a vibe. With the Oxy axle system it is as simple as a twist to find that perfectly smooth spot and perfect gap size.

As for the rest of the play of the 3vo, all I can say is solid. I was impressed on the first throw with how smooth it felt. There was no tilt to it and when I purposely threw badly it recovered quickly. The 3vo has a decent amount of float to it even though it is a fatty. The weight does show in the speed of the yo-yo itself. It isn’t a sluggish yo-yo but at the same time it is not going to win any races either. This is a good yo-yo for relaxing and taking your time to perfect the trick you are performing.

The satin finish is a decent grinding surface but by no means is it a replacement for a good bead blast. It does give a decent spin time on thumb grinds but it tends to get a little grabby on finger, palm, and arm grinds. On the plus side, the satin finish is very kind to the string; very little pilling or fuzzing of the string where it touches the sides of the inner wall. A decent trade off but not one that I am enthusiastic about at the expense of grind times.

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Final Thoughts

Oxygène is back. After a three-year hiatus, they have come out strong with a solid playing and extremely smooth yo-yo. While it is not without its flaws, those flaws take a back seat to the superb performance of this yo-yo. If you are an Oxygène fan then you must pick up the Oxy 3vo. If you are new to Oxygène products and have always wanted to try one, this is a great jumping on point. Even if you think Oxygène is all hype you should at least give the Oxy 3vo a throw if you have the chance, it might just surprise you. If you do purchase this yo-yo, be prepared to clean the bearing, replace the response, and tune it to perfection. You will not regret it if you do.

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