Par Avion

onedrop - Par Avion

Although it's an oversized full metal yo-yo, the Par Avion is light and nimble as it takes flight!

At 62.5mm diameter, the Par Avion is the largest yo-yo onedrop can make. Although it's quite large, it only weighs in at 62 grams, giving it a floaty feeling that surprises and delights you. This was the goal by design, according to onedrop, who shaved down the walls of the yo-yo to minimize body weight.

Of course, "floaty" doesn't mean that it can float on its own, but that its playfeel is light and fast, giving a high sense of control over the yo-yo's movements. Some players seek out this kind of playfeel, and the Par Avion is sure to please that crowd.

Onedrop expertly plays on our expectations of oversized yo-yos, which are usually designed to be more powerful. The Par Avion offers us a very light feeling in a body so large it overwhelms adult hands. If you're looking for a floaty oversized throw, the Par Avion belongs in your hangar.

Official Description
The Par Avion is a very big yo-yo. The biggest we have ever made. But that’s not where it’s name came from.

It’s not easy trying to describe the subtle differences of how different yo-yos feel in play. There is some good evidence that some (not all) of how players perceive these differences is subjective. We have released over 50 different models in our history and it’s clear for each one that some people like it and some don’t. It’s clear that there are various choices for what people consider to be their favorite One Drop. There is this phenomenon where whatever yo-yo you have been playing will affect how you perceive another one. It’s probably because your muscles and your feel are all adjusted to a particular yo-yo and so you try a different one and it feels strange - you need time to adapt. This phenomenon shows how even the same person will perceive the same yo-yo in different ways depending on when they throw it. Finally, it’s difficult to get agreement on the use of terms that are used to describe yo-yo play and a solid definition of what those terms mean. We have a worked with a PhD Physicist (hi, Dirty Birdy) in trying to quantify these terms but it’s a difficult task because there is no universal agreement of when and where the terms apply.

For this reason, we tend to shy away from describing how a yoyo plays in our product descriptions. We do it sometimes and to some degree, but mostly we feel it’s better if players decide for themselves.

One of the common terms used is “Floaty”. Clearly, a yo-yo can’t float. So what does “floaty” mean? Generally it seems that the term refers to the yo-yo having a lightness of feeling but not necessarily that it simply is light on the scale. It’s likely that the weight distribution plays a big role in creating this feeling. Some have described it as being easy to change the direction of the yo-yo. And there are other possible meanings.

“Par Avion” means “By Airplane” or “By Air Mail”. We chose this name because this yo-yo feels floaty to us and we just liked the sound of it too. Will it feel floaty to you? It may or may not and it will be interesting to see. The Par Avion started it’s design life as us wanting to make the biggest diameter yo-yo we could (as limited by the size of material we can put through our machine) - 62.5mm. We had also been making a lot of organic yo-yos so we thought it would be cool if there was an angular-ness to it. We weren’t sure how well it would play being so big but so far everyone who tries is really surprised - it plays fantastic. It’s fast, agile, and dare we say it, floaty. There we go using terms. But man, this yo-yo is surprising.

We were so impressed with the play that we named it for that. We have only done this twice before: Format:C and Downbeat.

We are looking forward to hearing how you describe the Par Avion in action.