YoYo Discussion forum - HSpin Icon - a review

I was originally compelled to pick up an HSpin Icon because it's the signature yoyo of Stefan Benjamin, a.k.a. Magl33To, who has a distinctively stylish way of play. That coupled with the fact that the Icon is part of HSpin's ultra affordable Core Series made it impossible to resist.

When I first received the Icon, I found the finish kind of odd and even off putting. It has this matte, chalky finish outside with a more polished surface inside to keep from eating strings. What put me off was that the surface looked uneven, with varying amounts of chalkiness in different Icons that I was seeing, along with some anodization irregularities. I know that HSpin has been using an outside vendor for the Core Series in order to keep costs down, and I believe the result is not very consistent. It is probably a fair tradeoff for the low, low retail price of this yoyo which, at $59 is even less than a lot of other brands' b-grades.

That said, the irregularity, as least as far as I've observed, is purely visual. That funky, chalky finish? FEELS WONDERFUL. The surfaces have this smooth silkiness that just glides over your fingers. It feels almost like a dry bar of soap, or a piece of porcelain or ceramic.

You won't mistake the Icon for one of HSpin's full priced, flawlessly Swiss offerings, but it does come with some surprising perks like the clever sock packaging, and much appreciated extra pads. HSpin could have totally skimped on this but they didn't leave us high and dry. Packaging yoyos in socks is a stroke of genius and makes me wonder why I've been storing my yoyos in dinky velvet bags when I could have just bought a pack of gym socks to keep them in.

The laser graphics on the Icon also give me mixed feelings. The side with the Icon logo (designed by Simmy) is super cool, reminiscent of Stussy logos from the 90's. The other side of text, unfortunately, looks as though it was typed in Word Perfect. Remember all the font criticism on the Hot-Yo Chili back in the day? This has the same problem. The lasering itself is not super clean either, as you can see some pixellation close up. Alas, at $59 we're lucky to get lasering at all.

Lest it seems like I've got nothing but nitpicks, I'm happy to say that when it comes to play there are nothing but good things to say. The Icon is a yoyo that needs to be felt in the flesh in order to appreciate. It is a shape that feels like it was sculpted by human hands rather than mathematically conjured up by a CAD program. There are no crazy design cues or geometric shapes. When I throw the Icon, it feels like an extension of my limbs rather than a foreign object that I'm trying to control. There are very few yoyos that make me feel this way (the Addiction comes to mind). A lot of HSpin's modern yoyos (which I love) have been very geometric in their design, such as the Gorylla or NVx. The Icon, by contrast, seems to harken back to the more organic shapes of the Good & Evil era.

Likewise, the way the Icon moves seems to be borne of the way MagL33To moves. It travels effortlessly though big, sweeping motions. It's full sized, but has this svelte, lanky quality to it. Am I anthropomorphizing a yoyo? Maybe. This is because the Icon is taller than it is wide, resulting in a more old fashioned, natural proportion. This in direct contrast to the current trend of yoyos being super wide with undersized diameters, resulting in squat little squares. The Icon is a good full sized yoyo even if you don't like full sized yoyos, because it doesn't have the bulk that a lot of the bigger yoyos do. And while the overall effect is simple and unadorned, there are details where it counts, like the single schmoove ring around the bearing that keeps the strings free and clear. It ships with a D sized bearing, which is not as popular but happens to be my favorite size. Not as bulky as a C bearing or as dinky as an A bearing. Proportionally, the D bearing matches up perfectly with this throw. I also find this bearing size to be a generally good candidate for upgrading to a KonKave, so I threw one in the Icon and the overall effect is smooth and elegant.

After a solid week of throwing the Icon, I've realized that the lack of gimmickry is what makes this yoyo so great. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. I cannot think of a single distinguishing feature to describe the Icon, except that the way it feels in my hand is unmistakable. Normally I try to play one yoyo for a week, and start getting tired of it after Day 3. Well, I'm on Day 8 with the Icon and keep coming back for more. This yoyo is well on its way to getting "daily carry" status.