Well folks … production is now in full swing with the One Drop Yo-Yos and CLYW collaboration. It was neat to see all of the guesses for what this project might be and some people even guessed correct. The name of our new collaboration return-top is indeed the Wooly Markmont.
The idea came about during the Wooly Marmot contest we had where Frank Bradley submitted his Wooly Markmont illustration. It definitely sparked some interest in doing a collab at the same time from both OD and us.
The idea OD presented us, was to combine the Wooly Marmot with the new Markmont Next brass insert axle system … and NICKEL PLATE it!
Since the Wooly Marmot has been a staple return-top for CLYW we needed to make some improvements to it. So Shawn, The OD Machinist, and I decided to kick it up a notch. The improvements we made were to taper the gap sidewalls to reduce string friction and to increase the rim weight. This was done brilliantly by Shawn in the prototype I tested. I couldn’t believe how much these changes improved the play.
The Wooly Markmont will have the One Drop signature guts in it, ie: 10 Ball bearing, Flow Groove response pads and stainless steel axle … plus it will be manufactured with the precision and quality that One Drop is so well known for. I’m hoping to make a trip out to the One Drop shop when it’s done to help them out with assembly. Hopefully we can make that happen.
In short I’m really excited to be working on the Wooly Markmont with One Drop and Mark Montgomery. Can’t wait!