Pomodoro

We’re adding more organic sauce in our lineup. We’re proud to introduce the Pomodoro.

SPECS
Diameter 55mm
Width 45.2mm
Weight 66g (base) 68.7g (heavy)
Material 6061 AL

The Pomodoro joins the Cloudberry, Goji, Thunderberry and others in our Fruitbowl design line. It’s one our first organics that doesn’t fall within the ultrawide category, and it also sports a Side Effects hub design that is a first in the field.

This one took some time to get perfect. Some designs are straightforward, and you can tell you really nailed it the first time around. Some others, like the Pomodoro, have a longer, winding route. We’ve been working on this since April 2021 – two years and three prototypes later, we think we’ve finally landed on something special.

The first prototype of the Pomodoro was machined in 2021. This was during a season of wide experimentation – the same period that produced the Goji and Pomelo, so you can imagine the sort of parameters we were happy to toy with. The idea was to produce a model that played like a slimmer, more center-weighted Cloudberry. What resulted was this prototype – it played fairly well and had surprising power for its size, but it ultimately lacked character. It was on par with the Cloudberry in performance, but it didn’t feel special enough in terms of playfeel. A deeper overhaul was clearly necessary, so we shelved it in favor of other projects.

We returned to the prototype in 2022, this time adding significant elements to the design concept. Minor design changes included a different diameter-to-width ratio, and a bit more heft, but the major departure from Prototype I was in pursuing a proof of concept of an embedded Side Effects slot, which would be flushed with a rounded hub. If executed properly, Ultra Light Side Effects would sit entirely flushed with the surface.

All Side Effect designs that currently exist utilize a protruded nipple – not dissimilar to the Khuno, Ari and Noah. While there have been adaptations of this nipple, such as in titanium designs like the Gravity (which we produced alongside our friends at RSO), we believe this is the first design that allows the Side Effect to sit cleanly and fully within the hub.

10 units of Prototype II were made, and we gave a few of them away during our first November Market event. Together with some given to Coleman and Evgeniy as testers, there are about 8 of these in the wild.

It was a big leap from Prototype I, but Prototype II still had some significant faults – it felt anemic, and still did not have enough presence on the string. The rims were also too sharp, and it didn’t have the fullness of in-hand comfort that has come to be a signature of our designs.

We went back to the drawing board and worked on it until early 2023, when we felt ready for a third shot at the design concept. We sent in new blueprints for machining, and what resulted was a rounder, fatter, and more whole version of the Pomodoro.

Prototype III didn’t just sport a fuller and rounder frame throughout, it also played a whole lot better.

We increased the center-mass with a much rounder hub, but balanced that increase with a fuller and thicker rim design for increased spin power.

The protruding nipple contributes nicely to an angular, industrial look – we love how it looks with the Ari – but can be disruptive to an organic, rounded shape. In the Pomodoro we wanted to push design coherence and a purer look in a Side Effects enabled organic.

It also has the narrowest width in our lineup – for reference, the Cloudberry is 48mm wide, while the Pomodoro sits at a relatively normal 45.2mm in width.

In play, the Pomodoro feels close to the Cloudberry if it were condensed into a smaller, more compact frame, and if it were more center-weighted. It’s a touch heavier at 66g (Base Weight), but less reluctant, and has a nice momentum to it.

The Pomodoro is the heaviest entry of our organics, but its weight distribution makes it amenable to directional shifts and quick, nimble rhythmic movements. It has some of that float that many of our designs have, it flows and shifts nimbly, and is incredibly easy to control.

The Base weight is with Aluminum Ultra Lights installed; this weight option is what feels the most natural and “native” to us. For those that enjoy plenty of center-weight, we’ll also have Heavy options that clock a nice, massy 68.7g. They’ll be available in select colorways and come with Brass Ultra Lights installed.

The Pomodoro is not made for the modern meta. It will not DNA or horizontal well if that is your focus. We design some yoyos for tech under the Weatherman line, but this isn’t it. It’s subtle and sensitive; it lets you know when more finesse is required. This is meant for those who enjoy the subtlety of organic goodness.

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The Pomodoro comes equipped with premier kit in black Stratos Pads, Atmos Type II Concave bearings, and Kitty Fat String.

Note – we hand-tune each Pomodoro for smooth play before we send them out, but as it is with any Side Effects design, players should expect that, should faint vibe occur, some degree of tuning is part of the game.

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september 2023

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