From the beginning, the Evora was a sort of strange yoyo. There were many that criticized the design, claiming it didn't utilize titanium's ability to allow for a higher rim weight concentration. And they weren't wrong. Many dismissed it as a yoyo lacking stability during more technical tricks due to the unique weight distribution.
And when I drew out the first Evora with my good friend Adam next to me, I knew all of this. But those drawings and those initial prototypes just felt so right. And there are certain things in the world that just sometimes can't be measured. The Evora either clicked for people - or it didn't at all.
You might remember an article I did a long while back of the full aluminum Evora proof the shop made before committing to using titanium materials. I ended taking one of those to Prague with me, and its sat on my desk for the longest time. Luckily they made two so the one I kept wasn't destroyed. It weighed a mere 30 grams. In the back of my mind I always wanted to see what would happen if I just popped a thick weight ring inside. But it remained a thought right until I finished the Fulvia project.
The Fulvia series was so technical. The goal was to cram as much rim weight in a Ti/steel yoyo as humanly possible while still maintaining the 56mm diameter. And after completing such a technical and number oriented yoyo I felt I needed to take a step back into that world where numbers didn't mean anything. The Bi-metal Evora was born.
Keeping with the "Titanium Supply Co" theme, I wanted to use Titanium rings instead of steel. And people will argue that steel is denser, and cheaper in price - with more rim weight it would be a better performing yoyo. Yet throwing the new Ti-7075 Evora makes me think that it would have been the wrong decision. These thick titanium rings feels much different than any bimetal I have thrown. With the Fulvia, and other steel ringed bi-metals, they feel heavy and in a way almost aggressive. If you have thrown something with a thick steel ring before, you will know what I am talking about. Yet with the less dense titanium rings, it has a certain float to it. Its relaxing and doesn't push you. And although it shares nearly identical outer and inner design of the original Evora - its a completely different feel. It doesn't feel like a bi-metal nor does it feel like a titanium yoyo either. Its somewhere in between that feels so correct. Of course that is an opinion - but that is the entire purpose of the Evora. Its the feel-good yoyo that no one can explain why - me included.
We had some B-grades lying around too. Originally we planned for 4 colors, a Purple and Grey as well but they were scrapped due to ano flaw. Not having much luck lately with production thats for sure. But that meant we had extras and I decided to cut one in half. You can see the lip where the ring sits in, and where I thickened the cup closer to the hub for strength. And you can see how much mid weight there is, unchanged from the original. As for the two other colors I think I will get the remade and have them ready for retail stores instead.
A beautiful deep Red was chosen for a really good reason. I always loved how red pops so much in pictures yet it was never possible to anodize a red titanium yoyo. Titanium Oxide skips red and goes right to Orange/Yellow spectrum. That is why you'll never see red titanium. So it was a no brainer to create the brightest red Evora I could - and as the pictures show it really does look classy. The Bead Blasted Black is a throw back to one of my most favorite yoyos of all time - the "BBB" SPYY Radian MKII. When that awesome yoyo came out in 2006, it was mind blowing. Grinding surface was so slick and ultra-matte I wanted to recreate it as a tribute to a beautiful yoyo that is likely forgotten in todays sea of throws. I still can't believe that was 10 years ago - it felt like yesterday.
Other details include a titanium axle - nearly half the weight of a steel one. Of course again this doesn't make much sense considering the 6mm steel axle of the fulvia series is even lighter, yet it was an experimental touch you can feel. Swap out the axle for a steel one and you can experience a change, albeit a very small one, in how the yoyo performs.
There are a lot of people who search for technical answers and trust me, I am one of those people. But designing the Evora all over again has been such a refreshing experience after the Fulvia series. There are no numbers to look at, no values to min/max. Of course rebooting an existing yoyo already has its inherit advantages. Its shape and lines are fun, inviting and, like the original, simply beautiful. I hope at least a few of you who have read this far will understand what I'm talking about.
Available September 15th 9:00pm EST for 220USD @ the Luftverk Store!
7075 Aluminum w/ Titanium Rings Width: 43.3 mm Diameter: 54.5 mm Weight: 65.5 grams Bearing: Centertrac Response: 19mm LuftPAD
It has been a year an a half living in Osaka, crazy how time flies. I remember releasing the Plastic Fulvia just before leaving Toronto, a product that I could argue changed the trajectory of everything. At that moment, Luftverk grew exponentially, with the support of retailers around the world. At that moment, I developed so many behind the scenes processes for management that it became much more of a corporate job then a creative one. Huge projects like Cheatcode, and the CLYW collaboration definitely had its creative sides dont get me wrong, but the addition of moving to a foreign city, learning a new language, pursuing motorsports and delegating tasks behind the scenes with razor sharp margins meant for a lot of it I was on the brink of burnout. I questioned if I even still liked doing yoyo stuff at all, or if it was just to keep food on the table.
Crazy to think it has been 2 years since the original release of the Plastic Fulvia and Plastic 000. Both models as of now are pretty much sold out everywhere, and I knew it was about time to update both with a small batch of new colors as well as fix a few small issues with the first designs. I appreciate everyone who has reached out anticipating a restock of these - as the manufacturing process is very timely for sure so restocks can't happen as quick as I'd like.
In January, I released the AKURA MG, a yoyo made from Magnesium. This material has a very low density and I talked about how it performs more like a plastic than anything else. But what made that yoyo really special is the aesthetic. I loved the lines on that yoyo. The proportions with the chunky rims were just perfect. One of the biggest aesthetic challenges though were that after the ceramic coating the lines were quite subtle which hid the design.
Jeffrey Pang
Author