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.

5.2 Series Review

by Crazy Ivan


Finally, enough time has elapsed for me to offer an honest and meaningful review of the 5.2 series.  I always try to offer some quick commentary on the sacks (the stuff you read when you click on them on the website) based on my first impressions, but as any Myachi Maniac knows, your first impressions of a Myachi can be deceiving.  I wasn't too impressed with the Calvin the first time I jammed with it and now it's my favorite.

So I usually reserve judgment until I've met all the following criteria:

• I've jammed with every sack in the series extensively,
• I've jammed with them new and broken in,
• I've jammed with more than one of each sack and
• I've talked with others who have jammed with each one.

Having finally met all these prerequisites, I now offer my thoughts on all the sacks available in 5.2:

 #1) Page Six 

This one was an early favorite for me.  I loved the look of it and while we've done a ton of plaid patterns in the past, we've never done one that looked like this.  Like all the sacks in the series, it's a corduroy, but there are some serious variations within the cords.  This one doesn't seem to widen as easily as some of the others, so if you like a wide-boarder, this might not be the sack for you.

That being said, they do tend to yummy up pretty quickly.  They stay thin and tight, but the fabric offers great grip right away and they start to get that broken in bend pretty soon after you start jamming with them.  They look great in action and they're good contrast sacks for 2 Myachi work since they'll stand out from pretty much anything you pair them with.

 #2) Comic Camo 

This was the House of Skills consensus pick to be the best seller in the series, though early indications might be that we underestimated the Red Dragon and the Hot Lava Yellow.  That being said, camouflage Myachis have always proven to be huge sellers and this one is no exception.

The addition of the little comic lettering has been a boon for this one, though it has caused some distress for our online customers.  Because some cuts of the fabric don't have as cool a sampling of the lettering (or sometimes none at all), the one they get might not be as cool as they expected.  This isn't a problem for the majority of our customers, of course, since they see them as they're buying them at the store and know exactly what it will look like.

As for the technicals, the jammability on this sack is definitely up to par.  It's a solid jammer than breaks in quickly, though the darker hues on the cammo can make it tough to shred with in low light.

 #3) Smarty Pants 

Sistering up nicely with the Lottie Dottie and a few other polka-dotted favorites in the past, this one offers the multi colored dots over a solid black background and gives it a Lottie-Dottie meets Dippin' Dot kind of a feel.     This gives it great visuals as you get into spin tricks and grinds.

It doesn't break in as quickly as some of the other sacks in the series (in my limited experience), but once you get it there it is very worth the wait.  It has the feel of a sack that will go under-appreciated until after it is retired, but it's too early to say with any certainty.

 #4) Red Dragon 

The long awaited reprisal of the Dragon line comes in a way that nobody expected.  As much as we'd all love to see a red and black version of the original Blue Dragon fabric, no such fabric exists and even if it did, it would make for a pretty rough jammer... the kind of thing you wouldn't want to spring on an unsuspecting jammer.  So we finally found a solid jam-fabric with a design that would earn the name.

So obviously it looks really cool.  Not only do you have the whole dragon thing going on, but it's a really eye catching red color so it looks great in a jam, even from a distance.  Add to that the fact that it breaks in quickly and jams really well right away and you have what might be the hands down best sack of the series.

 #5) Aztec Blue 

This is the closest thing you have to a repeat in the 5.2 series and even it isn't an exact repeat.  The Aztec Blue was first offered in an exclusive POP release of the 5B series.  It was never offered in a blister pack at all and you could only get it in a chain of stores called "Five Below" that (a) is only in a couple of states and (b) doesn't sell online.  So it was a really hard sack to get.  Even those of us in the company had trouble getting a hold of those ones.

But we've flipped the pattern for the re-release so now instead of running horizontally across the sack, the stripe pattern now runs vertically.  It makes a significant difference on the look of the sack and it brings it more into line with it's sister sack, the Aztec Red.  This long time favorite among collectors was offered in multiple series in both a horizontal and vertical form.

This sack seems to vary quite a bit when it comes to break in time.  I've seen some that break in super fast and others that take their time, but it is a very jam worthy sack once you get it broken in.  Visually it just reminds us all why the Aztec line was so popular to begin with.

 #6) Tight Rope 

This is a pretty understated sack in a series that contains such outstanding patterns as the Gr8ful Shreds, the Comic Camo and the Red Dragon, but this is sack has a really classy look to it and a solid grip to match.  I've probably had the least experience jamming with this one, but from what I've seen (and felt) it looks like it will be one of the best pure jammers in the series.

The pattern isn't flashy, but it's a very effective way to get a dark sack that is still visible enough for every occasion jamming so it's definitely one that will appeal more to the players than the collectors, but it's upscale enough to hold it's own in a collectors box as well.

 #7) Bag Pipe Green 

I'll be the first to admit that this sack came back to us a bit darker than I expected.  The idea of a green and blue plaid really excited me and when I saw it, it was so dark and understated that I was a bit disappointed.  From a distance it almost looks black and that has led it to go almost unnoticed amid such a striking series.

It's definitely a descent enough jammer.  Some of the Bag Pipe's I've jammed with have been a bit tight and I've yet to see one wideboard at all, but they break in quick.  I wouldn't recommend it as much for a beginner just because of the dark color and overall break in time, but it'll compliment any other plaid sack nicely in a two Myachi shred.

 #8) Green Spectrum 

Alright, so it's not as flashy as it's sister sack, the Blue Spectrum, but how could we not be excited about this one?  The Blue Spectrum was the best jammer in its series so odds were good on this one.  We had pretty high expectations for the Green Spectrum, which makes it all the more impressive that it lived up to them.  

Very likely the best jammer in the series and if it's not, it's only because something else proves to be ridiculously awesome, not through any fault of the Green Spectrum.  It has a pretty dull look, but the contrast is great for such a dark colored sack making it ideal for a jammer who wants the focus on the skills, not the sack.

 #9) Hot Lava Yellow 

I'm ready to say that this is the most underestimated sack in the series.  We thought it would be a slower seller and it is selling in the top 3 everywhere we offer it.  We thought it would be a humdrum jammer and it's turning out to jam like a champ.  We thought it would be a boring pattern but the yellow just leaps off the sack and adds flair to every trick in the lexicon.

So yeah, I give this one a pretty ringing endorsement.  We don't make yellow Myachis very often because, honestly, they don't usually sell very well.  But this one is making us rethink things a bit.  The contrast of the yellow on purple makes this a perfect sack for fast-hands shredding and foot work and at the same time it's making your shreds look cooler, it's also making your tough tricks easier by being so eye-catching.

The one drawback, of course, is that bright colors like yellows and whites get dirty easily and dull up pretty quick if you shred outdoors or drop a lot (there's no shame in it!  You're not learning unless you're dropping!).  If you make this one your primary jammer, expect to wash it regularly.  And as a word of warning, if you get one of these, you will be very tempted to make it your primary jammer.

 #10) The Guatemalan Blue 

The Guatemalan Black was an extraordinarily cool Myachi, there's no question about that.  It was a good jammer that broke in quickly and looked cool.  If there was any mark on the Guatemalan Black's record, it was that it wasn't super-visible.  It had good contrasts, but no bright colors.

So enter the Guatemalan Blue.  Everything you loved about the Guatemalan Black except now it's tinted with fluorescent blue stripes and markings so it becomes way easier to see.  The fabric is even reoriented to make the new contrast all the more striking.  Already proving itself as a really popular sack just based on it's look, it won't disappoint you when it comes to jamming either.

 #11) Gr8ful Shred Black 

This crazy family of psychedelic fractal patterns is long overdue.  As soon as we saw the selections come in, we knew we had to have them.  Normally we're a bit hesitant about bringing in completely new patterns and we do so one at a time so that we can gauge their popularity.  But once in a while you see something that's so cool you just know people will embrace it.

The Gr8ful Shred Black is admittedly getting outshined a bit by it's sister sacks (keep in mind that the 5.3X series is selling along side it).  As cool as it is and as much as it would stand out in virtually any other series, it's kind of getting lost in the shuffle.  It's a solid, middle-of-the-road jammer but the pattern does kind of get lost once the sack is in motion.  This is definitely not a problem its sister sacks are prone to.

 #12) Gr8ful Shred Red 

An extraordinarily cool sack that manages to look every bit as cool in motion as it does standing still, the Red Shred (okay, so there's already a sack with that nickname, sue me) is proving to be an early favorite among the Myachi Masters.  It's one of the few that I've seen everyone jamming with at this point.

It's a solid jammer and I've already seen a few of them wideboard, but even the ones that don't seem to yummy up like they're in a hurry to be your favorite.  Add to that the groovy pattern and you've got a Myachi that is a must whether your a jammer, a collector or more of a paddle/sport player.

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We'd love to hear more opinions on the matter.  Feel free to continue the conversation below or head over to our forum and let your voice be heard over there.

The One You've Been Waiting For...

by Crazy Ivan
A delivery truck pulled up to HQ this morning and we got excited.

Delivery trucks show up here all the time, of course.  We have office equipment, computer equipment, promotional materials and stationary showing up all the time so normally it's no big deal.  But this wasn't a UPS truck and it wasn't a FedEx truck.  This was a DHL truck.  And the only people who ship to us via DHL come out of Pakistan.

We crowded around the box like kids at Christmas as Kid Myach broke it open.  And it was exactly what we were hoping to see.

The Forums Myachi:

Of course, as many of you recall, we all pretty much agreed right away about the design for the front of the sack.  There was a bit of contention, however, as to the back of the Myachi.  Somepeople were set on the word "jred" (the domain name of our forum) while others wanted "STWAKOJ" (our favorite acronym).

There was a debate that got heated at times, but I think ultimately it was for the best because after taking a look at the back side of the sack I figured we'd clearly made the right decision in the end:

Just seeing it was enough to wake me right up sans-caffeine today, but of course, I didn't want to just look at it, I wanted to jam with it.  So I pulled one out, popped the booklet off and got to jamming.  As you can see from the picture above, it wideboarded with a minimal amount of effort.  The fabric is almost exactly the same as the TJP13 so you know it's a good jammer.

What you might not expect was how quickly it was a great jammer.  I would have been really disappointed if this sack had been anything shy of a superb jammer and I suspect I would not be alone in my disappointment.  Luckily, that was not a concern.  This sack is as jammable as any Myachi I've ever seen fresh out of the diaper.

I freely admit that I have a tendency to get excited about new Myachis and have, in the past, been guilty of overselling a particular Myachi.  Perhaps once or twice before I've declared something to be the "best ever" only to find a few weeks later that my excitement had gotten the best of me.  So, as tempting as it is to say that this is the all-time most jammable sack ever, I'm not going to make that claim.

Instead, I'm just going to show you what happened when I took a brand new one out of the diaper, stretched it wide and crumbled it up like a bad poem:

...and I'll leave it to you to decide how jammable it is.

PS We still have not met the $ minimum to ship these sacks out.  I will get the details from Pinky and post a thread on the forum to bring everyone up to speed on when these will be shipped out.  All I'm going to say here is that if you wanted in and haven't gotten your money to Pinky yet, get on that.  Once people see how jammable they are, they'll go quick.

Two New Myachis Arrive!

by Crazy Ivan

Technically I have the day off today but as our regular readers know, the words "day off" don't mean the same thing in Myachi as they do in the rest of the world.  Off or no, I still have blogs to write, contests to judge, FB messages to answer, an order to place for FAO Shwarz and, of course, a Trick of the Day to record.

For a few of those things, I needed to get some stuff off my computer and there were a few things at the office that I needed to clear up before I head out for a school assembly in Jersey tomorrow.  So this afternoon I loaded up and headed out to HQ.

And man am I glad I did.

Turns out that two packages arrived from Pakistan this morning.  And I'm sure you've probably already guessed that they were filled with awesome new limited edition Myachis.

The first is one that was arriving late.  It was supposed to get here about 5 days ago for a fund-raiser that the Salk School of Science was doing to raise money for Tsunami relief in Japan.  They had a huge event on Friday about it and even though we didn't have the Myachis there for them to sell, Animal and Noodles brought regular Myachis and sold a bunch of those.  All the proceeds, of course, are going straight to Japan to aid in their relief efforts.

I should note that one of our Myachi Blog all-stars also made it for the event.  Jaleel, the dude who won the Photo contest and has placed in a number of our other contests (for example, the awesome lizard pic in the Australian Art contest) hung out at the booth and earned his STWAKOJ stripes all night.

And now the school gets to also sell all these Myachis to raise even more money:

Looks kind of orange in the picture, but in person it's closer to red.  From what I've seen, there will be a lot of wideboards in this run and if you've had the opportunity to jam with a Theatrix (and my guess is that you haven't) you already know how incredibly jammable the fabric is.

The back of the sack has a really cool image of the Japanese flag as well:

These sacks will go on sale at the school first, but if they have leftovers I will keep everyone posted on how they can pick one up.  It's one of those win/win things where you get an awesome Myachi and you also know that you're contributing to a good cause.

But that's not the only one that came in today.  There was also a shipment that came in on time and it's a sack that I've been looking forward to for a couple of reasons.  The first is that it's a fund-raiser for one of the most Myachified schools in New York City.  The second is that it's essentially the same fabric as the TJP13.

For those that don't know, the Town School is home to some of Myachis biggest rising stars and it was just a matter of time before we saw a Town School Myachi.  I'm not sure exactly when it's going on sale of where they'll be distributing it, but I can promise you that when I know, you'll know shortly thereafter.