The translucent lime green is killer under a black light, and the translucent greyish purple is really interesting. It looks black, but whenever light makes it through, it looks purple.
The pad recess is what I was hoping for since this yoyo came out. I started yoyoing the week that freehand 2s were recieved by my local juggling shop in Eugene. I had to wait two weeks for a yoyo on backorder.
I was glad to play with the yoyo that I was throwing when I got started so many years ago.
The yoyo throws smoother than the old generation with the bad mold flash [the first release without the rubber weight ring]. The new freehand feels great in the hand. It exhibits a lot of the great mold work of the FHZ. The rubber plugs under the side caps have been abandoned, but the axle is longer to fill the space so there isn't too much axle movement from side to side. I wish they had considered the axle falling out if the caps aren't on the yoyo [I will be playing the translucent purple one capless].
The recesses aren't super deep, they are just deep enough. I always like to feel the pads a little bit during spins, it gives the yoyo personality. They yoyo plays well with one pad in, or with both pads in. Duncan's new silicone pads are another option for lower response [I'm testing this theory out because I think they might actually be more aggressive than the standard friction stickers].
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth me shutting up.
