The Phi 1.618 is the second version of the Phi by Kyo. 203 yo-yos were made, of which 200 were sold through online stores. The yo-yo started shipping to customers on December 7th, 2005. The Phi 1.618 was different from the original model in several ways.
First, its profile was slightly narrower than the original version. To allow the use of the popular recessed response pad modification, the 1.618 was also made with a thicker inner hub wall. The black teflon finish was gone, in favor of bare aluminum, which made the yo-yo a popular choice for powdercoating jobs.
The Phi 1.618 came with a most distinctive feature; a sort-of "super-bearing", which allegedly featured a non-stick coating in order to reduce friction to the lowest possible minimum, and to prevent the bearing itself from locking up. Kyle Weems himself has no intention of saying anything about the nature of the coating itself.
Of all the 1.618's, very few of them were ever modded, such as this example by Jeffrey Pang.
Trivia[]
- The non-stick coating used in the super-bearing has also seen use in military applications.