As a thrower of the “olden days”, I’ve always leaned towards organic butterfly. For me, they are the most comfortable in hand, and performatively enjoyable for the widest range of tricks and styles. I wanted to see what would happen if I approached the concept of a “competition organic”. Most competiton yoyos use aggressive angle changes and/or a V-shape in the catch zone. These types of shapes can make for very long spin times and strong stability. A trade off however can be that in the “fun” department, there is lack. So I tried to see what I could finagle as the “happiest” of happy mediums.

I sat down with @onedropmachinist to start with what I thought was the ideal bones. The @onedropyoyos Gauntlet. This had always been one of my favorite throws in their lineup. With the catch zone profile as a base, we refined it to get the target weight dialed in. Next we massaged the flat rim feature in with subtlety. A thin flat rim was the goal, to ensure ease of element transitions in technical layers.

But then came the weight distribution…this was tough 😅 We originally encorporated the Cascade yoyo “bump” in the halves cup area, to add mid-weight for improved spin time and stability. Against these initial two intentions, it was successful within the first 3 prototypes. But alas the “fun” element just wasn’t quite there yet. It was a sleeping MONSTER, but the weight distribution didn’t allow for ease of speed/tempo transitioning. After another 3 prototypes of variance, we needed a bigger change (in steps the genius of @onedropmachinist).

Like the true to form artisan he is, Shawn whipped up another 3 prototypes with the most saucy and original cup “wave” I’ve seen 😮‍💨🤌🏿 Fun, stable, serious spin time, and a jazzy original shape. To my delight, and to your hands benefit, this came out “fully” jazzy as we were aiming for.

Weight: 66.3 g (Pyramatte) / 66.7 g (Cerakote)
Width: 47.3 mm
Diameter: 56 mm
Stock Response: One Drop Flow Groove
Gap Width: 4.45 mm
Bearing Size: Large (C) stainless steel (One Drop 10 Ball Bearing)
Alloy: 6061 Aluminum
Finish: Pyramatte and Cerakote
Axle System: Side Effects (tm)