I really don't know where to start with this post. Because theres so much to say. Im reaching that age where I've been playing with these funny spinning toys longer than I haven't. When Chris announced that the Peak was 10 years old - It made me realize how fast time really passes.
I remember that first post on Yoyonation. Cliche but it did really feel like yesterday. A new company was a pretty rare thing back then. This new thing was posted called the Peak. There were prototypes getting made - a new yoyo with design characteristics of a 401k and a Hitman. I remember a red prototype. And one with starburst teeth milled into the bearing seat wall. Im literally just typing this by memory so I could be wrong. But thats how vivid it is - I remember all those small details. No one knew at the time - but this was the start of one of the biggest yoyo companies today. Us forum members were just excited to be a part of the development of that now super iconic yoyo.
I mean, I was a kid back then. If you told me 10 years later I would be working with CLYW to bring you a Titanium version of that very yoyo - I would call you crazy. But a few months ago I approached Chris with that very idea. I had fond memories of that yoyo. I owned a few peaks before and they were one of those objects you wish you hung on to. So this was a more selfish project. I wanted a titanium version of that yoyo, yes as a product but just as much so to sit in my collection. The 14 year old kid inside me wanted it. When he agreed to start development I got to work. I knew it had to be so spectacular it would have to blow even my own expectations out of the water.
Chris sent me the Peak 2 design since I wanted a modern yoyo to start with. I purchased the 28 stories Peak 2 when i was at PNWR this year and was impressed by its performance. Its definitely brought the original Peak design to modern standards so I thought this would be a great starting point. I played around with weight distributions and took images of the original peak. I wanted something closer to the nostalgic feeling of the original peak - even though I knew it would compromise performance. Things like a high wall are looked at today as a hindrance to performance. Or the undercut ring grind lip which makes things worse for machining. Its much easier to design a yoyo that just performs well. But to design something that felt a certain way - that is difficult. But this was in the name of nostalgia.
And nothing would be more nostalgic than the "twin peak motif" found on the original painted Peaks. There had to be a way to incorporate this design into the body of a raw yoyo. I spent many hours trying to figure this out with the help of my friend Adam (Adam SE - he was another Peak connisour, owning a Levi Painted Peak) We played around for a few hours in Solidworks. Projecting a flat 2d image on a 3d surface proved to be much more difficult than we thought. Too big and it would distort. Too small and it wouldn't look right. Eventually the laser shop also chimed in and we were pretty proud of the design of it. The first time I saw the engraving on the yoyo I thought "Wow. Thats it. Make it." It just pushed all the right buttons. Maybe you know what Im talking about too.
I worked closely with Steve on the packaging. When I did the Tundra, it was packaged in the way a Luftverk yoyo would be packaged with a CLYW twist. But this time I wanted it the other way around. That classic brown box has stood the test of time to the point where I would consider that a CLYW staple. We measured it out, and I had custom foam made up for the particular size for a more high end feel.
I wanted to make the classic CLYW packaging and just turn it up to 11. The stamped logo was a must - we made some small modifications to the Peak 2 stamp design with a little script added "CLYW X LFVK". Subtle details. Unfortunately our favourite wood engraver Drew Tetz was out of town, so I had my sister cut some up at her work. These slightly thicker inserts have the new school Peak logo in the corner giving it a nice mashup feeling with elements from both the original Peak and the Peak 2. I brought them to the garage and stained them by hand to really make the grain pop. They look (and smell) incredible.
Steve ordered up some square patches and stickers both of which are welcome extras to make that unboxing experience that much better. I love the little things that set it apart - and being in a premium price bracket meant that we could go that extra mile.
And of course the last piece of the puzzle. The beautiful certificate printed by our yoyo friend Lardon in the Czech Republic. I requested that Chris personally signed these. Its a pain in the butt to be shipping these little paper cards from Chris to me to Steve, but i wanted something tangible. Something to say "this little card was touched by the people involved and heres a scribble for proof". Those are the same hands that created the peak 10 years back. And in 10 years from now - these will be part of that history too. I am honoured to have my signature next to his on this project, its still all very surreal to be sitting here typing all of this.
Thank you Chris for giving me so much creative freedom on this project. I love designing things and it gives me great pride to work on something as big as the Peak is. It feels so great to be a part of the history of this incredible yoyo. If you were one of the few around back then to witness the insanity that was the Peak - I know you are just as excited as I am to see this come together.
Width: 42.5mm Dia: 55.5mm Weight: 65.0g Price: $310 USD Limited: 140 Units in Raw Titanium World Yoyo Contest 2017 Release! In Iceland and at www.CLYW.ca
Very good words that smells of passion. I have ordered one and i’m so happy to add to my complete clyw yoyo collection. Thank you so much for the work.
John Cooke, Louisville Kentucky
August 01, 2017
Can I make payments to y’all. I have a Fools Gold. 2 Grizzly Bear Clown Towns. 2 Campfires. Woolley Marmot. Galactic Goose. And Peak 2. I’ve had to slow down on my yo-yo purchases. But the Peak is my all time favorite! Need, want, and more need!!
It has been a while since Ive written much - the second half of 2023 was insanely busy with project management. Since the release of the plastic lineup, I had very little time to focus on the roots of what made Luftverk so exciting. I realized this was a huge problem - I needed to guide Luftverk back to it's roots of exploring new materials and build product lineups that told a story stemmed from exploration. I had done this with plastics last year but in 2024 I would like to also focus back onto some more products that use exotic materials. While being incredibly late to the party this recent project is Luftverk's first Magnesium ever, which was at first canceled and almost never released.
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.
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.
Jeffrey Pang
Author