AULDEY YOYOS

With the popularity of Super Yo-yos, storeowners of night markets and bazaars also sold yoyos. Most of these take-apart ball-bearing and auto-return yoyos were of the Auldey brand and from China. They were usually referred to as "knock-offs". Although the Super Yo-yos weren't that costly (less than PhP500.00, or roughly USD10.00), who could resist buying similar yoyos priced reasonably at 1/2 to 1/10th the cost. These Auldey yoyos cost between PhP50.00 to PhP200.00 (about USD1.00 to USD4.00).

The Auldeys, though cheaper, weren't necessarily all that bad. I actually like some of my Auldey yoyos more than some of my Super Yo-yos. Response was comparable to the Super Yo-yos. Or maybe I just threw and tugged harder since they were cheaper and easier to replace. And yeah, the ball bearing yoyos seemed to be too very similar with only the color, type of plastic and sidecap design differing between models.

With these yoyos I also learned a valuable lesson in bearing lubrication. Just because it feels oily / greasy, it doesn't mean that it's good for your yoyo bearings nor would they NOT harm your yoyo. I wanted to clean my Fire Terminator yoyo and lubricate the bearings. So I took it apart and dabbed some liniment oil (which I used for muscle aches after gym) on the bearing while it was still on the axle. I dabbed too much and some drops found their way to the yoyo body. "No problem," I thought. My mind suddenly changed and my eyes were wide open with surprise when I smelled MELTING PLASTIC! Seems my liniment contained Methyl Salicylate, good for aching muscles... bad for plastics... Good thing I was able to wipe off the excess liniment in time. The melting plastic smell didn't go away for a couple of days.

The Auldeys are on the way out of the bazaars and night markets so I plan to buy those I come across. And one other thing... Speaking of worst knock-offs.. On one of my forays into the tiangges (bazaars and night markets), I came across a fake ball-bearing Bandai yoyo! How'd I know it was fake? They spelled Bandai as Bamdai... (Unless someone tells me that there really is a company called "Bamdai"out there which makes yoyos.)

Fire Terminator
Shape: Butterfly
Axle: Ball Bearing

Future Fighter
Shape: Butterfly
Axle: Ball Bearing

Apollo
Shape: Modified
Axle: Auto-Return

(This was a gift from my friend Aldin)