5.3X Series Review

by Crazy Ivan


I remember a time when Myachi Maniacs had to settle for only one new series per year.  Back then even the one series was nothing compared with the series of today.  9,  7 or even a scant 6 new Myachis would pop up once or twice a year and but for a few promotional and special event sacks, there was very little new meat for the collector.

But long gone are those days.  Already this year we've seen 24 new series sacks and based on the speed they're selling through, it won't be long before we start seeing some new ones.  It's gotten to the point that I hardly have time to jam with  all the new sacks and break them in enough to review before the new series is popping up and ready to go.

So quick, before it's been antiquated, let me get in my reviews of the 12 sacks that make up the 5.3X series.

 #1) Aztec Orange and Special Ops 

This set is the go-to double pack for collectors.  It includes the most recent in the ever-popular Aztec line along with one of the most jammable camouflage Myachis ever produced.  As a double pack, it's a great introduction for beginning freestylers, as it contains both a horizontal and vertical corduroy.

The Aztec Orange isn't the most striking Aztec sack we've made so far and compared to the vibrant color of the Aztec Red, one could even say that it is muted.  It's a great understated jammer and while I haven't seen any of them wideboarding yet, they break in quickly and throgoughly.

The Special Ops, on the other hand, might be the best sack in the 5.3X series once it is fully broken in. It takes a bit more time than it's partner, but once you get it as jam-worthy as it gets, you'll find it well worth the effort.  Like most camouflage Myachis, it's a big seller.  As an individual sack, it might well lead the series in sales, but given the double pack nature of 5.3X, it's been relegated to a slower selling position.  This generally means it will have added value to collectors in the future because fewer Myachi Maniacs will already have one in their collection.

 #2) Bag Pipe Red and Lumber Jack Blue 

Drawing on the popularity of the 5.1X Lumber Jack Black, Lumber Jack Red combo pack, this duo was destined to be the best seller in the series.  We just can't seem to make enough plaid sacks to keep the collectors happy but we keep trying.

The Bag Pipe Red is a dark plaid with a great contrast and breaks in quickly.  The horizontal corduroy gives it about a 50/50 chance of slight wide-boarding as it breaks in and though the color tends to be a little too dark in shady jamming spots, it is a fantastic day-jammer and acts as a spectacular contrast sack in many 2 Myachi shreds.

The Lumber Jack Blue is certainly the more vibrant of the two.  It stands out enough to make it easy to jam, but it isn't an overstated eye-catcher like the Gang Green or the Agent Orange.  It'll be easy enough for you to see during a jam, but it won't be so overpowering that your audience will lose track of the other sacks in a multi-Myachi shred.  This is also a great gift sack for a new Myachi player as it is neutral in color and a sick jammer.  Anyone looking to buy a two pack but only intending to keep one of them should take a long look at this combo.

 #3) The Watermelon and Hot Lava Pink 

If there was a measurement for how cool a Myachi looks during a jam versus how cool it looks sitting still, these two sacks would combine for the highest such rating of any two Myachis ever paired together before.  Both sacks are cool enough on their own, but take on a whole new life once they start spinning and flipping.

The Watermelon has been called the "most appropriately named" Myachi of all time.  We debated with the name "Lady Bug" for it, but ultimately decided that as cool as lady bugs are, watermelons are delicious and therefore better things to name a Myachi after.  The pattern of spots gives the Myachi a unique look depending on what axis you spin it on so a Watermelon in a shove-it spin actually looks significantly different than a Watermelon in a kick-flip.  The visibility and break in speed make this an ideal Myachi for younger players and newbies.

The Hot Lava Pink lacks the pop of it's sister sack, the Hot Lava Yellow.  The pink is plenty bright, but doesn't exactly jump off the Myachi the way the popular 5.2 sack does.  But that being said, as long as you're not comparing it with the most visible sack we've produced in 5 series, the Hot Lava Pink scores pretty high marks.  I would rate their break in time as pretty middle-of-the-road.  Not fast and not slow.  They continue to break in for a pretty long while even once they're yummy so it's a sack that rewards persistence.

 #4) The White Stripes and Red Medallion 

If we wanted, we could speculate endlessly about which of these sacks would be the best seller if they were all offered individually.  But there's no need for speculation in the question of which pair sells the best.  This combination of sacks offers pretty much everything you can ask for.  Two very cool understated corduroys that look great whether they're in a jam or sitting in a collection.

The White Stripes is possibly the best jammer in the series.  It breaks in almost instantly and the soft corduroy gives it a nearly microsuede feel, but it still breaks in like a traditional corduroy.  The contrast of the stripes makes it a superb show-jammer.  While it isn't the best for solitary practice where one might prefer a brighter overall color, the stripes make it extraordinarily eye-catching to an audience.

The Red Medallion isn't quite as good a jammer as its partner but it is still a very solid jammer.  It doesn't break in as thoroughly as some of the other sacks in the 5.3X and from what I've seen so far it isn't quite as good a jammer as its sister sack, the Black Medallion, but what it lacks in jammability it makes up for in visibility.  I'd recommend it more to veterans than beginners, but all that being said, it still breaks in quicker than 90% of the Myachis we made before 2007.

 #5) The Gate Keeper and Gr8ful Shred Blue 

When we first saw these sacks paired together, many of the Myachi Masters were a bit worried.  They both seemed like really sick designs, but they were dark and understated and they got lost next to sacks like the Gr8ful Shred Purple, the Red Medallion and the Hot Lava Pink.  We were a bit concerned that these sacks would get overlooked and under-perform.

Luckily, Myachi buyers are a bit more savvy than we sometimes give them credit for and this has quickly become one of the top selling offerings in the 5.3X.

The Gate Keeper is a bit darker than we expected such that the design almost gets lost on it.  That makes it a pretty hip sack to have in virtually any well-lit environment, but as soon as the sun goes down, this one gets really tough to jam with.  It's a shame, really, because it is a spectacular jammer and it breaks in far better than most horizontal corduroys.

The Gr8ful Shred Blue seems to be grabbing a lot more of the attention in this combo pack.  It is a striking fractal design that appeals to a pretty wide-range of Myachi buyers and depending on the cut of the fabric it can be awesome or it can be ridiculously awesome.  Luckily, this is not one of those times that you have to trade off cool for jammable.  The Gr8ful Shred Blue breaks in quick and jams great right away.  It is a bit dark for low-light jamming but when you pair it with its sister sack from 5.2, it makes for some of the coolest 2 Myachi jams ever seen.

 #6) The Blackout and Gr8ful Shred Purple 

This combination pack offers not only the best contrast of this series, but possibly the best contrast of any series including any two randomly selected sacks from non-double pack series.  These two in a doubles shred is a thing of beauty.  We find it to be a popular brother/sister combo pack in retail, but most collectors, regardless of gender, are going out of their way to get both of these Myachis.

The Blackout is obviously the sister sack to the Power Grid from series 5.1, but in a lot of ways it is more reminiscent of the family of black&whites that include the Finish Line, the Static Cling and the Hounds Tooth.  It is a phenomenal jammer but it does take a bit of effort to really break it in.  So if you think you've got your Blackout broken in all the way, keep working.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

The Gr8ful Shred Purple is unlike any sack ever produced.  To be perfectly honest, there has been a dearth of cool purple sacks for quite some time.  The Power Grid was awesome, but to get a truly sick purple sack before that, you really had to go back to series 1.0 and the Purple Haze.  Luckily, we seem to be in the process of changing that.  This sack jams well, looks good and breaks in quickly, so it pretty much has everything.  While this probably means nothing in the real world, this one is my personal favorite of the series by a pretty wide margin.

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And of course, we're interested in your opinions on these suckers as well.  If you'd like to add something to the review, please leave a comment or head over to our forum and join the discussion there.