RELEASE INFORMATION

24 NOVEMBER 2022

229.99 USD

303 STAINLESS STEEL

80 MADE

Diameter 56mm, Width 45mm, Gap 4.4mM

63.7g

M4 x 8mm axle

CONCAVE C bearinG

19MM TYPE 50 LANDING PADS RESPONSE

ENGINEERING MARVEL

Bowl 303 realizes an idea first considered in 2019: a full-sized Bowl machined entirely from stainless steel.

The stainless-steel Bowl Mini was produced first. At the time, its smaller 50mm diameter presented a more manageable engineering challenge for a machinist who had not previously attempted a stainless-steel yo-yo. Full-sized stainless-steel designs were then exceptionally uncommon. Most steel yo-yos were undersized or miniature models, including the ILoveYoYo Saint Eel, Luo Yicheng Kun and YoYoFactory Mighty Flea.

The reason is density.

Stainless steel is substantially denser than titanium or 7068 aluminium. Design features that add only a modest amount of weight in another material can become prohibitive in steel. A decorative hub, grind ring or slightly thicker wall may be enough to turn a playable yo-yo into an expensive paperweight. Removing the weight elsewhere is equally difficult. There is a limit to how far each surface can be thinned while remaining safely machinable.

Bowl 303 pushes closely against that limit.

By the time Bowl 303 entered development, a small number of other full-sized stainless-steel yo-yos had appeared. The YoYoEmpire Thorest weighs 67.9g, the TopYo Top Steel weighs 65.8g and the Hydrangea Lisianthus weighs 68.2g. Their V- and W-shaped profiles reduce body volume and make their weight more manageable. The Lisianthus is particularly impressive, combining a W-shaped profile and prominent central hub within a practical finished weight. Bowl 303 takes a different route.

Its full organic profile occupies considerably more volume than a comparable V-shaped design. Achieving the same finished weight therefore requires substantially thinner walls. At 63.7g, Bowl 303 is lighter than those contemporary full-sized stainless-steel models while preserving the familiar curves of the Bowl Series.

It has the thinnest walls of any RSO yo-yo.

SAME LOVABLE BOWL

The overall silhouette remains unmistakably Bowl, but its weight distribution differs considerably from the titanium and 7068 aluminium versions.

The stainless-steel Bowl Mini could be created by proportionately thinning the walls of its titanium and aluminium counterparts. The smaller dimensions left enough material for that approach to remain practical. The full-sized Bowl offers far less room for adjustment. Its walls cannot be reduced proportionately without becoming too thin to machine reliably.

Bowl 303 therefore carries more of its mass towards the centre than the titanium, magnesium and 7068 aluminium Bowls. This gives it the most deliberate and predictable movement signature in the series. It plays more slowly, changes direction with greater composure and feels particularly easy to control.

The rims are also rounder and marginally thicker than those of the stainless-steel Bowl Mini, giving the full-sized Bowl a more comfortable presence in the hand.

Bowl 303 is not simply the familiar design reproduced in another metal. Stainless steel gives the same curves an entirely different rhythm.

POLISHED BEAUTY

Bowl 303 is polished to an almost mirror-like finish. The reflective surface gives the stainless steel a depth and visual richness that would be lost with a conventional brushed finish. It also emphasizes the continuous curves of the Bowl profile, allowing light to travel uninterrupted across the body. The polishing process adds to the production cost, but it is essential to the finished character of the release. You can see your reflection clearly in Bowl 303. Whether that improves your tricks remains outside the scope of the design.

ART BY JASON WEEK AND ATILA

Owen, the familiar sloth with a bowl cut seen throughout the full-sized Bowl Series, returns for another interpretation of the name. This time, the Bowl goes bowling. The accompanying enamel pin captures Owen at the lanes, completing the progression from bowl cut to ramen bowl to bowling ball.