RELEASE INFORMATION

Release DATE 11 JULY 2022

Sold direcT AND VIA YOYOEXPERT, YOYOSAM, SPINGEAR AND YOYOREWIND

Retail 299.99 USD

RAW TITANIUM

83 MADE

Diameter 50mm, Width 43mm, Gap 4.4mM

Weight 62.5g

M4 x 8mm axle

CONCAVE C bearinG

19MM TYPE 50 LANDING PADS RESPONSE

A NEW TITANIUM SIBLING

Since the original Bowl in August 2018, RSO has produced many iterations of the Bowl series in different sizes and metal alloys. Apart from YoYoFactory, which has made aluminium, stainless steel and titanium versions of the legendary 888, no other yo-yo has been given the same treatment. Given the popularity and success of the stainless steel and aluminium Bowl minis, a titanium version was planned.

RSO has been searching for a new machinist for the past few months to avoid over-reliance on a single factory. The Bowl mini titanium was deemed as a low-risk project to test the quality of our new machinist.

The two previous stainless steel versions were tricky to machine due to their paper thin walls, but the yo-yos turned out to be largely vibe-free. Naturally, a titanium version with thicker walls was expected to be more reliable to machine. In addition, the small 50mm diameter of the Bowl mini further lowers the risk of B grades.

I decided not to attempt a stainless steel version of the larger regular Bowl at that time as it would be a far riskier project, especially with a new machinist on board, but that’s a story for another time.

The success of the Bowl mini titanium run allowed me to price it competitively and retain all the artwork and goodies RSO is known for.

IDENTICAL TRIPLETS

The stainless steel, aluminium and titanium Bowl minis are like identical triplets. They might look similar but have entirely different personalities.

Their catch zones are photocopies of each other, they all have a subtle bump at the hub (a genetic trait of the Bowl series), and they weigh almost the same. But their similarities end here.

Let me teach you a trick to tell them apart - focus your eyes on their rims, and you’ll immediately notice that the titanium one’s rims are about twice as chubby as its stainless steel brother but still much slimmer than its aluminium brother. The aluminium sibling also has a more extroverted, colorful persona.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS

The siblings have contrasting characters. The titanium one behaves more slow-going and measured compared to its nimble and speedy C bearing stainless steel one. Compared to its D bearing stainless steel and aluminium brothers, the titanium one is more cautious and lands more softly and carefully at the end of the string. The titanium sibling is the child you won’t have to worry too much about.

The siblings sound vastly different - they could form a perfect vocal group. The stainless steel one would be the tenor, the titanium one the baritone and the aluminium one the bass.

From left to right: Bowl XL, Bowl mini titanium, Bowl Japan Edition.

CONCEIVING THE YO-YO

I first prototyped Bowl mini titanium about 9 months ago (yes, it is a full term baby). Both C and D bearing versions were made.

Unlike TiRAMiSU where it was a close fight between both versions, the C bearing version for the Bowl mini titanium was a clear winner - it had a more floaty play-feel, felt lighter and seemed infinitely more special.

The D bearing version had a far too solid and heavy play-feel. It felt almost sluggish. The more rim weighted weight distribution compared to the D bearing stainless steel Bowl mini also resulted in intolerable kickback. I could not bring myself to like it even after throwing it for months.

I ultimately decided to put the C bearing version into production, not before shaving off about 1.5g of the weight from the rims of the prototype.

D bearing (left) and C bearing (right) Bowl mini titanium prototypes.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

Certificate of authenticitY

STUFFED TOY ROBOT ENAMEL PIN

A PAIR OF 19MM CYAN TYPE 50 LANDING PADS RESPONSE

RED STRING

The Bowl mini titanium is the last yo-yo of the Bowl mini line. The artwork by Pingolito again features my elder son, Isaac Lim, as the cover star. We decided go for the “plush toys” theme.