From RSO: I had been in talks with Frank from ILYY for a while even before I made my first model, The Bowl. I’ve always had great admiration for ILYY, especially their minimalist yet effective designs. Over the years, I had amassed quite a few of their models in my collection. When taking on the risky endeavor of producing my first throw, The Bowl drew heavy inspiration from the ILYY 2WEI’s signature hub and curved rims. The 2WEI remains my favorite ILYY model to date and is definitely a shelf topper in my collection.

One of our conversations led to the topic of a RSO x ILYY collaboration. I had initially wanted to work on the Wasabi or Trvth, while the guys wanted to do the DR3I. I’m not sure exactly how compromising and meeting in the middle led us to where we ended up, but I’m glad it worked out! We agreed to collaborate and revamp the most iconic ILYY model of all time and the one which started it all - the E1NS.

One thing we were instantly in full agreement on was that a titanium version of the E1NS was the best way forward. After a few days of brainstorming, I came up with the name E1NSTiEN. This moniker aptly incorporates the original yo-yo name, its German roots as well as its dramatic backstory.

The OG E1NS CAD was used as a starting point. We decided to keep the original diameter (50.0mm) and gap width (4.0mm) but upgrade the innards to a more modern axle and response system of M4 x 12 mm and 19mm respectively. The prototype played amazingly, but we felt it was a tad too heavy at 62.2g. The hub on the prototype was also too prominent and looked dated. The final production model weighs 61.5g and features a lower peak at the hub. We kept the full aesthetics of the original and gave it a peppier engine and feel for those lucky enough to drive one!