I absolutely want to call out YYF here on the aesthetic excellence of the Steel Shutter - the mirror polish and minimalist graphics (YYF logo, Gentry sig) are very tasteful. The most distinctive feature, when held up against the other yoyos in this part of size/mass/material design space, is the choice of an A bearing, which some throwers will prefer most comparables run a D bearing, with 2019's One Drop Clique and 2020's 888 MMXX going all the way up to a C. It's a pretty conservative design, which makes sense because it's a Shutter but smaller, way shinier, and way more expensive.
Why not the "Small Shutter"? We demand answers. They called it the Steel Shutter (44x34.8mm, 65g, $100). Way to go! We'll see him again a little further down the list. It's a weird wonder, with about a million cuts in the gap and the cup to make it simultaneously a fun homage to the old YYR Clash Cube, and also something totally different. Jordan Bliessner kept busy this year, and although it didn't get released, I wanted to shout out his 44x44mm prototype (66g) as another example of the spirit of fun and innovation that have been so prominent lately. C/19 guts, as found in both of the Masaminis, are always welcome in a pocket yoyo, given its generally greater maintenance requirements. The constricted cup, lined by an enormous steel weight ring (2/3 of the yoyo's total mass), rules out most grind play, but the soft finish makes gap grinds fun and smooth. This trades away the minimalist charm of the original's clean V, but is very efficient with both mass and width, and likely to show up again. It's got a somewhat weird extreme-H gap, sort of like the G5's, except that the middle is a V instead of an O. And the Sengoku Masamini v2 (38.9x31.3mm, 63.4g, $100) was, indeed, a superb design, with Sengoku's signature good looks, unreal performance for its diameter, and superb pocket comfort. Over and over, Julio Robles has proven to be ahead of the curve with his designs, and so his announcement of a new Masamini V2 was the kind of thing that was guaranteed to get my attention. Sengoku played a huge role in kicking off the recent pocket yoyo boom by releasing the original Masamini back in 2016. While I think the playability of the A-bearing 66% 888 is not as compelling as that of the C-bearing 888 MMXX (see below), I suspect that players who originally encountered a small-bearing 888 variant might have the opposite take. As expected from a 66%, what you get is a cute, squished-down version of an iconic yoyo.
SLEIPNIR YOYO PLUS
The surface treatments available are exotic and fun - rhodium, pink gold, or yellow gold plating, plus raw steel or brass - and I wish we saw this more often. The A bearing is a fun throwback to 888 history, as well as a signature of the 66% lineup. It's a Pyro, but bimetal and little, with an A bearing. In consequence, I haven't played with it very much, instead electing to put it on display, since it is truly one of the nicest-looking yoyos in my collection. I could hear its finish gnawing on my string, which is, I guess, historically accurate. Also, believe it or not, this was the least expensive sub-50mm yoyo released this year, so double kudos! Kudos to Sturm Panzer for their bold assault on the edge of the envelope.
A yoyo like this isn't for everyone, but for some of us, nothing could be more appealing. Is it playable? It's about as playable as a Mighty Flea. All brass, all adorable custom parts, all O shape, all cutting-edge.
Of ever! I wrote an in-depth review of it, which I won't rehash here, but suffice it to say that this thing is crazy tiny. The Sturm Panzer Mini Panzer (17.8x16.3mm, 21.4g, $62) was, of course, the most extreme yoyo release of 2020. Smallest to largest: Sturm Panzer Mini Panzer, 66% Pyro, 66% 888, Sengoku Masamini v2, Bliessner 44x44, YYF Steel Shutter, YYF 888 MMXX, Zeekio Alpha Steel, A-RT Furn, Bliessner Fallen Angel. Let's get to it, starting with the smallest and working our way up in size. Boutique designers have worked magic, heavy hitters have shown us new tricks, the Riddle of Steel was much contemplated, few bargains were to be found, and the 888 had a whole litter of cute babies. After nearly a decade, a new smol champion has risen to take the Mighty Flea's crown. Anyway, we've got the longest list I've ever covered in one of these roundups. I tried, as hard as I could, to take comfort in the outstanding number of tiny yoyos released this year, and the general sense of adventure we saw from designers all around the hobby.
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