The story of Replicant

Replicant(signature of Matthew Wallsten)

Release date ：stay tuned

Package Contents:

• 1 × Replicant yoyo

• 1 × Replicant Sticker

• 1 × yoyofriends Sticker

• 1 × String

• 1 × pair Pad
  

Price： 124-129 USD 

Introducing the Replicant, the first signature of Matthew Wallsten. Around the end of 2024, we decided to make a signature for Matthew Wallsten, after his stellar performance at the ANTE yoyo contest. Matthew was ecstatic about the news, he then took some time to think about how exactly his signature yoyo will be. Then finally in November, team leader Philip and Matthew proceed to have a discord call to discuss his signature yoyo in detail.

We want to make sure the yoyo is exactly what he wants so we broke down every single specification to meet his standards. First is the profile, Matthew wants a clean, simple profile and a mix between a V shape with some hint of O for a blend of performance and fun. We browsed some existing yoyofriends' yoyo and found that Graviton/Gravitony's profile is very close to what he likes. We decided that if we simplify their profile design and only use the rough outline, it will match Matthew's profile standards. (Special shoutout to Tony Sung for the design of those 2 yoyos).

Picture of the Replicant profile, Graviton profile and Gravitony profile. 

Then we went to the rest of the specs. At that time, Netrunner prototype 1 was his favorite yoyo by far. He then based multiple properties of his signature using Netrunner as the guideline. First the materials. He decided to use our forte, 7068+SS as construction. Then he decided to use the bread and butter of the netrunner, hollow SS ring construction technology on his own yoyo. He then set the diameter to around 56mm, width around 51mm, axle to 8mm, gap width to 4.55mm. Now the most important part, weight distribution and power. Matthew wants this yoyo to match the power and stability of Netrunner at a smaller size. So we tried to get the SS ring weight as close to 20g as possible. The overall weight is also upped to 66g+. Finally we went with a slight parabola as the center for center weight and a clean aesthetic. The design and manufacturer team worked very closely with Matthew afterwards, tweaking the designs multiple times Before he was satisfied. Then we proceeded to prototype one. 

Picture of Replicant prototype 1. 

The prototype 1 of Replicant has arrived and we were very excited. Instantly it feels like a competitive beast. It is powerful, stable and fun. Easily handles every tricks we throw at it. The yoyo played so well in fact, Matthew and the yoyofriends' team players struggled to find any imperfections before production. To make sure of this completely. Matthew took his prototype and went to the best proving ground for a performance competition yoyo. The competition itself.

His first contest using the Replicant was PNWR. He placed 5th overall and got a US National Semi finals seed. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E20YkOC3naw

With this amazing result, he is super happy with the yoyo, and with the rest of players and the people who tried giving very positive reviews of the yoyo, he decided to greenlit this yoyo for production without a single change. This is the result of great chemistry between the player, team leader and the manufacturer team. Giving the players exactly what they want in a yoyo. 

Matthew then proceeded to place 2nd at the United yoyo contest in June using the Replicant. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft83Yst6cx0

Matthew then proceeded to place 13th in the 1A finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXyQF42Ob7I

The name replicant was inspired by the movie Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049. 

(Picture of Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 posters)

Replicant is one of our highest performing competition bimetals yet in this new era of yoyo. It features the hollow ring construction and design languages hand picked by Matthew Wallsten. Achieving the ultimate performance with a splash of fun.