Hamr

We’re proud to introduce the second instalment of our Monogram Line, the Hamr — our signature model for Vladimir Glazkov.

Precision-crafted from titanium, the Hamr is fast, floaty, and technical.

SPECS

Diameter 52.0mm
Width 46.0mm
Weight 66.7g
Material Titanium

Vladimir Glazkov joined Atmos Projects in December 2023, and his addition to the team was something we were extremely excited for a myriad of reasons. It’s no hyperbole to say Vladimir falls into the rare category of players that qualify as “your favourite player’s favourite player”, and he remains a fixture in the global yoyo scene.

He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of yoyo design and culture, and his playstyle infuses technical complexity with a real artistic flow and elegance. Watching him throw is always a good time. Shortly after coming on board to the team, it naturally followed that we’d work together on a design that was an expression of his tastes and gifts, and also perfectly fit his playstyle.

If you’re new to this space, the Monogram Line serves as a home to signature designs for Team Atmos players — a canvas for the full expression of their style, tastes, and philosophy.

Fittingly, early discussions about Vladimir’s signature model surrounded the influences that have formed Vladimir as a player, as well as specific design traits that he favoured. Vladimir brought up Yuuki Spencer as an early and major influence, describing him as the “quintessence of style and technicality”. Yuuki’s 2009 US National Championship was raised as a performance that “changed my developmental vector… in learning how to freestyle and play in synergy with music”.

The yoyo used in that iconic freestyle was a Yoyofactory Genesis — signature model of Miguel Correa, a 5A legend — which Vladimir later himself used in his first stage performance in 2009, a prelude to a career that featured winning the Russian National Championship.

Vladimir placed two other models on the drawing board — the Polaris and the Aria, which Vladimir felt were designs that exhibited the force and stability that he prized in play. Concept-wise, Vladimir pitched a design that was “soft and suitable for high-speed play, as well as technical tricks” — and asked to combine the aggressive, H-shaped silhouette of the Genesis with the playfeel aspects of the Polaris and Aria.

The final piece of the concept was a design prompt from Vladimir that matches his personal philosophy — “for regular use, for any purpose” — a call to utilitarianism as the driving ethos for the design, and an everydayness that did away with the preciousness that sometimes surrounds titanium models.

We sketched up early drafts of the Hamr — a process Vladimir was incredibly involved in. The first prototype had the general specifications of 55cm diameter, 47cm width, and 66.4g weight. The profile of the Hamr was a reinterpretation of the Genesis’ iconic H-shape — which went on to inspire a generation of other designs — fused with the rim and hub design of the Polaris.

The goal was to machine a prototype that felt as a capable as the Aria in play, but with the soft, comfortable feel in motion that has come to characterise the Polaris.

After weeks of tinkering on the design, and going back on forth on the smallest of details, we got Prototype I machined. Our first thoughts were that it felt more stable and powerful but somehow more agile and fluid than the Polaris. It glided in motion and felt nimble and quick, while maintaining great stability. After weeks of testing, Vladimir wrote in with his feedback,

Despite checking multiple boxes, we ultimately decided to work on a second prototype that leaned harder into design traits that Vladimir felt strongly for — for one, he felt Prototype I was too large in hand, and desired a smaller physical footprint; also, while retaining the fluidity and softness, Vladimr wanted the Hamr to have even more power and stability. Some of the designs that were surfaced as references were the YoyoRecreation Chopsticks Gorilla, SYFO, and DIS Anima — all of which combined great performance with fun, and were designs that Vladimir found inspiring.

After weeks of design discussions, we settled on a Prototype II that would feature a 52mm diameter, 46mm width, and an increased mass of 66.7g.

The adjustments altered the proportions of the Hamr into something relatively wider — a frame that would be nimbler, but also more stable. Prototype II featured significantly beefier rims than the original to increase power and stability, as well as a reinforced midweight distribution for the consolidated, full feeling that characterises our titanium models.

Prototype II had the perfect size and footprint for Vladimir, and came incredibly close to perfect. We made a few final tweaks to weight distribution, and the third prototype (that eventually made it to production) achieved that elusive balance of float, power, performance and fun.

The Hamr was also put through the most intense and brutal stress test we’ve ever seen.

The Hamr is a unique departure from the usual Atmos design playbook — it’s our very first H-shape, and is entirely distinct from everything we’ve put out so far. It’s fast, floaty, and technical, and represents Vladimir’s style, preferences, and philosophies.

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The Hamr is equipped with

Stratos Pads by Atmos

Type II Concave Bearings by Atmos

First Class XL String by Kitty String

Atmos Carry Pouch

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february 2025

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