P213
"P213" means Project 213, which is the name Doc Pop gave the yo-yo / spin top combination he was working on near the start of this millennium. I've been building my own version ever since he showed me one, and I have built quite a few variations looking for the best setup. Here's a pic showing a few:
With all these prototypes I was trying to create a durable, relatively easy to build P213 that could perform equally well as a spin top as it could as a yo-yo. My vision for the object was to transition between yo-yo tricks and spin top tricks using an offstring bind return in the yo-yo gap so you "never" had to wind the top. When I figured out how to do an off-string boomerang with it and return it while spinning on hand, I figured I had developed the first true "return top." I know there have been many other yo-yo / spin top combinations created before mine, but most of these I would just categorize as return yo-yo's that can spin on a pointy side (or both pointy sides), not as a return spin top that can do advanced spin top tricks and rewind at the end. I haven't seen any other spin top / yo-yo designs that can do the range of tricks shown in these (rather crude) videos:
In the videos I am using a P213 with a bearing yo-yo axle and a fixed spin top tip. I have tried to make a bearing tip version many times, but there are more problems than benifits it seems to me. The main problem is parts. The Duncan and Spintastics bearing assemblies are pretty heavy and the weight needed to balance the opposite side gets a little silly. The YYJ parts are perfect... aside from the fact that YYJ tops are not available anymore, and the tips are really fragile. Below is my best bearing tip version; it is a YoYo Jam Matrix on top, YYJ NXG, and a YYJ Bulldog for the bottom with a bearing tip (I really like all parts being from the same manufacturer):
Why would you need a bearing tip P213 anyway? It's a return top. You don't need more spin, just rewind it and trow it again... easier said than done, I know, but that's the theory. The bearing tip lends itself more to yo-yo style play and there is already a great product out there for that: YYF's spin top tip hubstacks for yo-yo's. Ed Haponik has a great video illustrating this. My take on the P213 offers something different.
I once thought my version of the P213 would revolutionize spin top play with the true return-top experience. I was anxious to eliminate winding time or the need to have sixteen pre-wound spin tops on stage with you for a performance and I wouldn't have to learn those intimidating regeneration tricks like rollercoaster and drumbeat. Well, I finally did learn how to snap start and regenerate a regular spin top, so the motivating reasons behind the project kind of deflated for me. I still think the P213 offers a different style of play; combinations of top and offstring tricks not seen before, and new tricks all together. I want to see what today's yo-yo and top players can do with these things...
