RELEASE INFORMATION

9 SEPTEMBER 2023

329.99 USD

BLASTED ELECTROPLATED TITANIUM

41 ROSE GOLD (1 WITH FIFTH ANNIVERSARY ENGRAVING) AND 10 Clear

Diameter 56mm, Width 45mm, Gap 4.4mm

62.7g

M4 x 8mm axlE

CONCAVE C bearing

19MM TYPE 30 SATURN RINGS RESPONSE

Five years after the release of the original Bowl, RSO has returned to the yo-yo that started it all.

Since 2018, RSO has had the privilege of working with many influential figures from across the yo-yo community, including Sonny Patrick, Frank and Dom of ILoveYoYo, Dr Tom Kuhn, Brad Countryman, Paul Yath of Crucial and Doctor Popular. Some of those collaborations contributed to releases such as YWETi, Doombot, Gravity and Droid - projects that explored Side Effects, removable caps and increasingly elaborate combinations of titanium, brass and stainless steel.

For the fifth anniversary, however, it felt appropriate to return to something much simpler.

The Bowl was the first RSO yo-yo, released on 30 August 2018. Its construction was uncomplicated, its profile was formed almost entirely from arcs, and its development marked the beginning of everything that followed.

WHERE IT BEGAN

The Bowl was my first venture into yo-yo design.

At the time, my CAD experience was limited to Fusion 360. The elaborate tools now used to develop RSO releases were not yet part of the kitchen. A simple, machinable shape was therefore not merely an aesthetic decision; it was a practical one. Titanium was also considerably less common in yo-yo production than it is today. Its cost and machining requirements meant that manufacturers were understandably cautious about accepting unnecessarily complex designs.

The Bowl was deliberately reduced to its essentials: a series of uninterrupted curves that could be machined cleanly from titanium.

Approximately 15 members of the Yo-Yo BST & Talk Facebook group were brought together for the project. Although the initial CAD was not conceived by me, the design was progressively refined at the hub and rims until it developed into the Bowl recognized today.

The earliest version featured a conspicuous orb-shaped protrusion at the hub. It was eventually removed and replaced with a series of cleaner cuts. Several alternative names were proposed during development, including “The Dong” and “Toilet Bowl”. Some ideas deserve to remain in the prototype stage.

FINDING THE CURVE

As development continued, greater control was taken over the CAD. A smaller, more deliberate bump was introduced at the hub, echoing a detail found on several earlier ILoveYoYo designs. Establishing its ideal size and curvature became one of the most challenging aspects of the process.

The rims were also progressively softened. Every straight line was removed until the final profile consisted almost entirely of arcs. The result was a shape that appeared simple because all the difficult decisions had been concealed within its curves. In a decision that appears significantly braver in hindsight, the prototype stage was skipped entirely. The design proceeded directly into production.

Thirty titanium Bowls were machined by Fenghuida Precision Machining and arrived individually wrapped in generous quantities of bubble wrap. Fortunately, the gamble paid off. The finished yo-yo balanced a reassuring sense of weight with a surprisingly floaty movement on the string. After the project contributors received their Bowls, the remaining units were offered for sale.

They disappeared almost immediately.

IN FULL BLOOM

Over the following five years, the Bowl evolved through different sizes, editions and materials. The full-sized titanium version nevertheless remains the centrepiece of the series and one of the most sought-after RSO designs.

Excluding B-grades, only 123 full-sized titanium Bowls were previously produced across the original, Japan and Udon Editions. The Fifth Anniversary Sakura Edition comprises 51 pieces: 41 in rose gold and 10 in clear.

The rose-gold electroplating previously appeared on the non-Side Effects YWETi. Its warm pink tone gives the anniversary release its sakura identity, while the clear version closely resembles the appearance and tactile finish of the clear Bowl 7068. Both finishes are applied over a blasted titanium surface. This gives the yo-yo a softer, more tactile character, although it may also make fingerprints slightly more noticeable than on polished titanium. At 62.7g, the Sakura Edition is approximately 1g lighter than its full-sized titanium predecessors. Every unit is individually serialised despite the additional work required.

One rose-gold Bowl serves as the principal anniversary piece. It carries a 5 YEARS engraving on one half and a sakura emblem on the other. Five years, captured between two halves.

A BOWL OF HISTORY

The visual identity of the Bowl began with Jason Week.

During the development of the original artwork, two concepts emerged. The first featured Owen - the RSO sloth with a bowl cut-enjoying a bowl of ramen. The second showed a startled customer discovering that his barber had interpreted "bowl cut" rather too literally. The ramen concept was selected for the original titanium Bowl. The barbershop idea later found a home on the Bowl 7068.

The ramen theme continued to evolve through the Japan and Udon Editions. During a trip to Tokyo in 2019, the colour-test prototype of the Japan Edition Bowl was carried to numerous ramen meals, because a themed yo-yo should always be photographed in its natural habitat.

For the Sakura Edition, ATILA revisits the original artwork and accessories. The familiar characters and ramen imagery are retained, while the presentation is rebuilt for the anniversary release.

The original Bowl was created when RSO had considerably fewer resources. Its packaging consisted of stickers applied to plain paper boxes.

The Sakura Edition comes in a fully printed, die-cut box consistent with more recent RSO releases. The artwork, accessories and presentation are reworked by ATILA to bring five years of Bowl history into a single package.

The design itself is not radically reinvented for the anniversary. It does not need to be.

Five years after the original Bowl begins RSO’s journey, the same uninterrupted curves return in titanium - lighter, serialised and in full bloom.