When we started making yoyos 11 years ago, we came up with the idea to call our first yoyo E1NS. ‘Eins’ being the German word for ‘one’. After the outcome, its impact and success exceeded our wildest expectations, we naturally began thinking about a successor. It just had to be called 2WEI, the German word for ‘two’, even though it wasn’t our second yoyo at that time. It was just fitting into the scheme.
With the 2WEI we didn’t create an entirely new yoyo, but supersized the E1NS for those who are more into large wide throws. It was not as successful as its little brother was, but it is far more limited and thus highly sought after with collectors.
After these two yoyos saw the light of day and went through several iterations it became silent about our iconic numbered series. It was in June 2016, when we came up with the idea to make it a trilogy. But we knew, it must be something special, something totally bonkers. The DR3I would have to be on the “never been done” level. The topic is number three, so it was clear to us where we need to go: tri-metal
The first question that arose was how to implement three metals into a yoyo design. Just two weight rings? We found that this doesn’t make that much sense. So it had to be a base body, weight rings and something else. Then we remembered the fabulous Pure by SPYY. With the Pure, the cup was closed by fitting a thin disc inside. That gave the yoyo a unique look and feel. Then we remembered our entry into bi-metal/fingerspin yoyos with the Abyss and our struggle with the convex cup profile. The problem with a convex cup that is suitable for self-centering fingerspins in a mono body design is the overall wall thickness that is needed. So what if you circumvent this by using a thin body in combination with a fitted concave cup? We knew, this is the solution to the problem. By this, we also knew how the three metals should be distributed:
Titanium for the body: Titanium can be machined to very thin thickness and still remains its strength properties. Ideal for a yoyo body.
Steel weight rings: With its high density, steel allows for a nice rimweight when used as weight rings.
Aluminum cup: Aluminum is very light and can be anodized with great effects giving the final yoyo great looks.
This inserted cup design finally allowed us to use a dimple in the cup center to improve the spin stability and the self-centering properties, which we could not achieve with the Abyss design.
The next challenge was to find a partner willing to make this vision a reality with us. After many inquiries, we realized we had to look internationally. We finally found a brave machining shop near Hong Kong, that was ready for the challenge. We were impressed by their dedication and attention to detail. Nevertheless, it took us an entire year to finalize the design and production.
Now we can finally show you the finished product. So here it is, the ILYY DR3I!
Specs (Prototype):
Diameter: 54mm
Width: 39mm
Weight: 62.5g
Response: Hot Red SILYYcone
Bearing: ILYY KMKct C-Size
Coating (Cup): CeramicBlast (Siver, green, yellow acid wash, red splash)
Material: Tri-Metal construction (Titanium Body, Stainless Steel Rings, Aluminum Cup)
Limitation: 3
The aluminum cup is fitted into the steel ring from the backside and the assembly is then fitted into the titanium cup. This allows for a seamless transition between the metals.
On the backside of the aluminum cup, we lasered the meaning of two of our up until now undisclosed acronyms: KMK and PYBIT. So the solution will be out there but still kept safe, unless….
We are still exploring anodization on titanium to achieve better contrast to the weight rings. This will be addressed in the planned release.
We rely on our custom Hot Red sILYYcone response and a custom KMKct c-size bearing.
Let us know by email (info at ilyy dot de), if you are interested in getting one from the run. We have to test the waters here and check the demand beforehand. The run will nevertheless be very limited (10 max.).
We plan to sell these for 350€ a piece. So let us know, if you want to call a piece of ILYY history your own.
