Reviews of the Playmaxx Turbo Bumble Bee yoyo. Add your own review or post a comment!

This is one of those “have to have one” yo-yos that just about every serious yoist owns. And for good reason! It has a superb modified body design that makes for a terrific all around yo-yo. This yoyo is great for just about everything. It’s a good looper, a great sleeper and good for string tricks. (Although if you want something even better for string tricks, go for the Bumblebee GT.) Playmaxx has a patented “brakepad” system that makes its transaxle yoyos very responsive. The only downside is that brakepads can wear out after a lot of use. Don’t fret though, because you can replace them relatively inexpensively. The TBB also comes with really cool black and yellow string that’s a little bit thinner than traditional yoyo string. I like using Bumblebee string with other yoyos besides the TBB.
Reviewed by Lars

The Turbo Bumble Bee is great! I can loop no problem, and I can do loop the loop, warp drive, around the world, crossover, planet hop, dog bite, one-handed star, braintwister, creeper, walk the dog, rock the baby, and robin hood with ease! It is extraordinary! I love this yoyo, and it is so good, I go on the internet, get a trick I want to learn, and I master it THAT DAY! It is a yoyo well worth what I paid. I would have no problem paying more for it. (I paid $13.95). The only thing is, I don’t know when the brake pads are worn out! I have used it with the brake pads it’s come with, and I haven’t changed them yet. Anyways, the yoyo is so responsive…but not like a brain. It just acts like one when you want it to, and when you want it to sleep long, it does. It is just impressive. Also, since Playmaxx/Proyo were bought out by Duncan, they stopped making their yoyos. So, the TBB is discontinued, but there are probably alot of them at stores. If it says they’re sold out, they’re not getting another shipment. I will write a review on the Cold Fusion yoyo when I get it. Out of a 1-5 scale, (1 being a generic P.O.S., 2 being a pretty good yoyo, 3 being a really good yoyo, 4 being an awesome yoyo, and 5 being the supreme yoyo class), I give this yoyo a 4.
Submitted by Ryan 3/20/02

TBB– It simply does everything, and does it all kicking butt and taking names. Get this yoyo, but be SURE to buy spare brake pads…that is the only annoying thing about it. They wear out after maybe 3 hours of solid play. Another thing is that size 6 string might be better because size 8 seems to catch ever so slightly when the string is new. This yoyo is sexy. If you play a lot, order brake pads by the gross!
Submitted by Dinty

The only thing I can say is why didn’t I buy this yo yo sooner. It loops and responds so well you would swear it is fixed axle. It is even better on string tricks, there is almost no speed reduction when you perform with it I’ve just started looping and can get 30 loops which is more than what I can do with a Pro Yo. This yo yo is a complete must.
Submitted by Garin

For anyone out there not looking to empty out a bank account on a yo-yo, or anyone just looking for the best all-around yo, go no further. The Turbo Bumble Bee is your answer. This is what I personally use for looping, and I’m amazed at how well it loops for any yo-yo, never mind a ball bearing transaxle yo. It has enough weight to be incredibly effective for long sleepers and complex string tricks. I have not found anything to be as good on both aspects of yoing. Go get one already!!!
Submitted by Jonathan V

I think that the Turbo Bumble Bee (TBB) is the best all around yo-yo money can buy. It loops very well, sleeps a long time (45-50 seconds), and is way too smooth on the string. The TBB returns on command like a fixed axle and is easy to land on a trapeze. It looks very cool because it is two-tone; one black half and one yellow half. You can take the side panels out, which also looks cool. I love the yellow/black bumblebee string. I slightly prefer the GT form because I like string tricks better than looping ones. However, the regular Bumble Bee is great for string tricks. This is one sweet yo-yo; buy one, well, buy 100 of ‘em!!! This is an absolute “must have” for everyone!!!!
Submitted by Spin Wizard

I love my turbo bumble bee. With the ball bearings it would do three leaf clover as if it were nothing. And it seemed like it slept forever. Until the brake pads wore out. Now I can’t fix my bumble bee because my dog thought is was something else besides a yo-yo. The good thing about it is that it’s at a low price for a pro yo-yo.
Submitted by Swerve

Awesome all-around yo-yo for the money, better than the Tornado if you like to loop all day. The brake pads are an excellent idea (both for skill-play and extra income for ProYo/Playmaxx!) and if you’re really cheap you can squeeze a lot of life out of them without replacing them for a long time, but putting a new set in will bring it back to that “new car” status. Every serious yo-yo player should have one, if only to know how a truly awesome yo-yo should perform. This is the Corvette Z06 of yo-yo’s — the best all-around bang-for-your-buck possible. If you want the three axles like the cold fusion has, look for the Vid-E-Yo. It’s colored gimpy and has silly hologram pictures of yo-yo pros, but it’s a ProYo, ProFire, and BumbleBee all in one!
Submitted by ellaych

Vid-E-Yo This yo-yo is awsome! Oh, wait I take that back- it’s better that awsome. It is DEAD SMOOTH on string tricks! If your any good, then you’ll be able to sleep it at LEAST 1:30! When I’m using my video I can pull off whatever I want. Playmaxx defientely did a great job on this one! It has a light, slim design, but It isn’t light enough to make the string catch on tricks. It has a VERY high quality bearing and pull-apart design. The side caps on the Vid-E-Yo are totally SWEEEEET!! On one side of it, it shows a pic of a bee doing a trick. On the other side it has a hologram video with a yo-yo pro doing a trick! How cool is that? It also uses Playmaxx’s break pad technology, which makes it come up easily after a trick. It comes in an awsome plastic case with extra strings, breakpads, and three cool, interchangable extra axles. It comes with a ball bearing axle, a regular trans-axle, a wood fixed-axle, and a metal fixed-axle. Just change the axle to suit your needs. It’s at a good price, too, at only $20 to $25 in most stores. If you’re looking for a great yo-yo then the Vid-E-Yo is the one for you!
Submitted by AJD 4/10/01

The turbo bumble bee (tbb) is definitely a great yo-yo for the price! First throw i managed to get 2:09 sleep time out of it. Yes it is a great yet fantastic looper, the brake pad technology (bpt) really does the trick and really helps this yo-yo to loop, spin smoothly and get an excellent response. I really hate the graphics and the colour of this yo-yo, the side pogs really do my head in. The stupid little bee…..zac blast! GOD I HATE HIM! (zac blast is his name). Also the yellow and black colours don’t do anything for me either. And of course every yo-yo has its downfall and i think the down fall of this yo-yo is the bpt. You have to replace them regulary and i’m one of those guys who has no patience and if you have read my review on the all star you’ll see why. It really does my head in the way you have to replace them all of the time but it’s not that bad. And also the yo-yo is super smooth on string tricks several strings in the gap didn’t seem to bother this yo-yo one tiny bit. All in all you should definitely get this yo-yo as it performs as i’d like it to and i’m sure you would be happy to if you got one, so get one. Happy spinning!
Submitted by Yoyo John 4/16/01

The TBB (now by Duncan) is truly an awsome yo-yo. Some of the best adjectives to describe this yo and it’s unique playing characteristics are; smooth, absolute, progressive, forgiving, revolutionary, reliable, inspiring, etc, etc, etc. There is nothing else quite like it. Period. Take this from a player who owns about 50 yos. It is responsive x 2 and yet perfectly predictable. It will automatically improve anyone’s play. Now, for the complaints. I can’t believe no one has complained about the strings. There have been numerous warnings about the temporariness of TBB brake pads, however, I find this to be a minor nuisance compared to string weakness. The black and yellow strings that come with the yo stink. Yea, they play great, but they break like Angus Young’s guitar strings. I have yet to get a full afternoon of play from one, and, to add insult to injury, they are expensive and nearly impossible to buy in bulk. I mean they don’t wear out at the yo-yo end or at the knot, they break right in the middle most of the time. It has been frustrating trying to keep strings in the house. I have gone through a dozen strings and the brake pads are still going strong. (unfortunately, brake pads are what I stocked up on when I bought the yo after doing some research) Out of necessity, I have discovered that a “well broken-in” Slick 6 string plays well enough and lasts, although I am not sure how the thicker diameter will affect brake pad life. Final analysis: Buy this yo-yo.It plays in a class of it’s own. You must experience it for your self. Heck, buy your buddy one too. Then he might return the favor and buy you some strings.
Submitted by Unkle Yoey 12/31/02