Octavia Up Close Part 2/3: HS Response Pad

by Jeffrey Pang November 23, 2015

Octavia Up Close Part 2/3: HS Response Pad

 

The past few days I have been spending some time to work on the packaging of the up coming Octavia. Also, my anodizer in USA has sent me pictures of the beautiful yoyo halves and are on route to Prague as you read this. There are a few more pieces of the puzzle to assemble though, and one of them comes in the form of an adhesive-less Hungarian made response system dubbed the Honey String Pad. Lets rewind back a few months.

During September I was in Spain for the Spanish National Yoyo Contest. That is where I was chatting with Janos Karancz. He then introduced me to his also Hungarian friend David Bolgarfalvy, the man behind Honey String. We talked over a few drinks at the after party, where he showed me his creation from a few years back - the HS Pad. Janos claimed it was the same pads he used to win worlds with in 2013. I threw them in my Octavia, and was instantly hooked. 

Fast forward to a few days ago. I decided to visit him in his comfy home in Budapest, Hungary. I wanted the production Octavia to sport these pads for the release. I had used the HS pads for a fair amount of time since Spain, and knew their behavior. For the first day or two of playing, the pads are pretty grippy. There is a texture - a sheen to them that wears off. On top of that, the "HS" that is etched into each pad acts as a great wear indicator. After the initial wear in, they become a matte texture that feels really nice. And because they are generally tougher than most pads - they last much, much longer.


Each pad is laser cut by David and his friend Roland Kovács in Hungary. It was really cool to see all the different sizes they had made, ranging from Duncan, to Yoyofactory, to even the almost obsolete Dif pad size. The ones he recommended for the Octavia actually has no adhesive - almost like a modern O-ring. A huge positive in my books.


They stay stuck in place by friction alone and can be replaced without the nasty gooy mess that normal pads leave behind. Its a small difference - but its the small things that make the user experience just that much more enjoyable. I definitely appreciated it more when it came time to swap out for fresh pads.

We had some beers after we sorted out the Pad business. He played some Jubeat (which he is unbelievably good at) while I ate some delicious Hungarian Pancakes his mother had prepared (seen below). Overall a great experience visiting Budapest and David. Another piece of the Octavia puzzle solved.


Its the home stretch now - the dash to the finish line. One that I have been anticipated for months where either everything comes together - or all falls apart. So stay tuned...



Jeffrey Pang
Jeffrey Pang

Author


Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in Blog

World Yoyo Contest & Rest of 2023 Projects
World Yoyo Contest & Rest of 2023 Projects

by Jeffrey Pang September 10, 2023

It has been nearly 4 months since Ive been in Japan, and 5 months since I left Toronto. Writing that out makes it feel short but in reality it feels like forever ago. The last launch of the Plastic Peak was an overwhelming experience. I felt so grateful to work with CLYW, a company I grew up with. When the World Yoyo Contest hit I didn't know what to expect, but I had started noticing a feeling of burn out after grinding out so many yoyo related projects and in a weird introverted way I was a bit reluctant to go.
Luftverk x CLYW - The Plastic Peak
Luftverk x CLYW - The Plastic Peak

by Jeffrey Pang July 25, 2023

CLYW is a Canadian brand that started in 2006. I was 14 at the time when I watched this new brand unfold on the Yoyonation forums. They released their first yoyo named the "Peak" with 50 pieces retailing for $85. Today, that yoyo has used asking prices north of $2500 making it one of the most insanely rare and expensive yoyos to date. This "OG Painted Peak" featured a custom painted surface by a Canadian airbrush artist named Levi. Overtime as the Peak was impacted or dinged, the paint would chip off meaning there are only a handful of units in the world that survived in mint unused condition. Later versions would be released in more durable anodized finishes, but these first 50 "OG Painted Peaks"cemented CLYW into yoyoing history.
Augie Fash x Luftverk - The Exos
Augie Fash x Luftverk - The Exos

by Jeffrey Pang June 27, 2023

This one will interesting - since mine and Augie's relationship go a far distance back. Its also kind of a weird story of how like minded free sprits will seemingly eventually cross roads no matter how unlikely that is.

Growing up in what I like to call the golden area of competitive yoyoing I was blessed to be inspired by yoyoers with so much unique style. These players helped me stay hooked in yoyoing and I often wonder if I would have even stuck with it without them. Players like Yuuki Spenser, John Ando, Eric Koloski, Paul Han, Shinji Saito and of course Augie Fash were some of my favourites. Before there was a yoyo "meta" all these yoyoers had their own 1A style which is why I think fondly of this era.