YoYo Discussion forum - Warning Line by K2J - In Depth Review.

Introduction

Here we have another original yo-yo from China, the K2J Warning Line. First I'd like to mention that I got this yo-yo for free from Kobe (one of the makers of Warning Line) to give some feedbacks. So thanks Kobe! However please note that the above will be the only part of this review affected by the fact that I got this yo-yo for free. In other words I'll try my best to give a review that is objective and free of bias.

The Warning Line caught many people's attention with it's unique “stepped” profile. When I first saw the picture I thought it was a cool idea, because it seems to have the benefits of the H-shape (pushing much of it's weight to the outer rim) while keeping the overall shape of the yo-yo more traditional and comfortable. The best of two worlds, as some would say.

Specs:

Weight: 65g
Width: 38 mm
Diameter: 51mm
Gap Width: 4.4 mm
Bearing: Size C flat bearing.

Nothing too special here. Warning Line is a slightly undersized yo-yo with a comfortable weight of 65 grams.

Pictures:

Simple hub design with the purpose of minimizing weight in the center.

Profile view.

Inside: Glue'd-in axle, with flush yellow pads that work much like silicone. Standard and practical.

Similar diameter to the 888.

Slightly wider than FHZ, and narrower than 888.

Looks/Surface Finish:

My Warning Line is yellow and green, which I think is a nice colour combo because it reminds me of this:

. With it's glossy anno, the yo-yo reflects light very well.This particular colour combo is absolutely beautiful when played under sunlight. My pictures made the yo-yo look pretty dull, due to bad lighting. It's brighter in real life. The laser engravings are nothing special: name of the yo-yo with the nuclear sign as background. The logo looks fine and fits the overall theme of the yo-yo, but the designers obviously didn't spend too much time on it. There isn't enough space for fancy stuff anyways, because the hub area of the Warning Line is tiny. I'm not sure what the surface treatment on this yo-yo is, but it feels like some sort of blasting, and it's very similar to the L3. The surface is very smooth, and the anodization is flawless.

Play:

The Warning Line comes with a cleaned flat bearing. I switched it out with a a konkave right after I got it because I use them in all my yo-yos. My first impression of the Warning Line is that it feels quite heavy for a 65 gram yo-yo. Many of my main players have approximately the same weight (07 888, project, etc.). However, the Warning Line feels like it actually weights around 66 to 67 grams. In this aspect, it's similar to the ILYY Mary that I've previously owned, which also felt quite heavy for a 65 gram yo-yo. It also reminds me of the Yoyojam Speeder. When playing with the speeder, sometimes I get the feeling that I'm only playing with the two metal rims, because they take up so much of the yo-yo's weight. With the Warning Line, I got a similar feeling. And this shows it definitely has a very nice rim weight.

The next thing I noticed is that this thing has such a powerful sleeper. When I go through my tricks, I usually have fixed spots where I bind after a group of tricks/combos because usually thats when the yo-yo runs out of spin and needs a refuel. However, when I did that to my Warning Line, it fired back and hit me hard in the palm to protest to me for bringing it back too early. So I gave it another throw and kept doing tricks until it stopped spinning. And to my amazement, I managed to go through 3 sets of my long spin killing combos and did ladder escape in the end with the remaining spin. That's more than 1 minute of rapid string hits. The only yo-yo is my whole collection capable of doing that is my Bear vs Man. This shows that the ladder design on the Warning Line is not just for the looks. Another thing worth mentioning is it's stability during tricks. In other words Warning Line does not tilt during tricks even when spinning at a very low speed. I've previously found this characteristic on yo-yos with extreme H-shapes (Envy, Envy64, Virus etc.), and I'm quite surprised (and amazed) that the Warning Line had it too.

When determining the playability a yo-yo, I usually look for two aspects. The first one is of sleep time/stability. The otheris how agile the yo-yo is on string. Many yo-yos sacrifice one to pursue the other. One example is the Envy, which has a powerful and long-lasting spin, but feels like a brick when doing tricks. Another one would be the Skyline, which is very fast on string but is a little short on the spin time/stability side. Warning Line beats every single yo-yo in my collection in the first criteria. The only exception is the BvM, which is closely matched with the Warning Line in terms of spin but more than 3 grams heavier. The amazing thing is, Warning Line didn't sacrifice control and agility at all. Thanks to it's sharp profile, the WL is as agile (if not more) on strings as any other 65 gram yo-yo I've tried once you get used to the heavy feeling. Again, the best of two worlds.

I've also heard that Warning Line is very good for side style tricks. I can not confirm that because I've yet to get into side style, but it makes sense because the Warning Line has minimized wall area and therefore won't rub against the string as much during side style tricks.

Grinds:

The Warning Line grinds very well. Especially finger grinds, because where it comes to contact with your finger is actually very close to the center of the yo-yo thanks to the ladder design, so it does have a very similar effect to the H-shape found on the Envy series. Palm grinds are also long and consistent, like you would expect from the blasted surface. There is no Thumb Grind groove on the Warning Line, because the designers decided to fill it up and sacrifice TG for more rim weight. If you want to do TG, just tilt the yo-yo a bit and it will have no problem completing a 360 degree. Nothing to complain here. If you love grind tricks, this yo-yo will definitely satisfy your needs. The yo-yo also has minimum to none vibration. Comparable to YYF A grades as the makers promised.

In Conclusion

-High rim weight, which can be felt during play.
-Superior spin time and stability
-Very smooth and agile during tricks.
-Good overall appearance. Very eye-catching.
-No vibe. Outstanding for finger grinds, and great for other grinds too.
-Affordable price.

The Warning Line is probably the closest to the perfect yo-yo for me. Because it's on the sweet spot between spin time and agility. I can safely say that the Warning Line will be my main player until I find something better (and that won't be easy). This is a very unique and high-performance yo-yo would be a great choice for both players and collectors. At the price of $70, i's much lower than most yo-yos one the market today. I would definitely recommend this to anybody.

So. This is about it all I need to say. Feel free to leave comments if there are things you want to know that I didn't cover. Constructive criticisms are welcome too. And finally, thanks for reading.