Not to be confused with Super Yo-Yo, or the yo-yos in that line called Super Russell (one of which has a wooden axle, the other has auto-return).
The Super is a yo-yo produced by Russell as part of their classic line-up of advertising yo-yos. It was introduced in the mid 1970's as a heavier, transparent plastic version of the Russell Championship (Professional).
Like the Russell Professional, it came in either a slimline shape similar to a Duncan Professional, or the familiar bulge-faced shape. The yo-yo also featured a fixed wooden axle complemented with very faint starburst lines. It performs quite well for looping, although the rough wooden axle meant that strings need to be checked frequently for fraying.
The Super saw wide spread use since the 70's all the way to the 90’s during the yo-yo craze that swept across the globe. During this time, professional Russell yo-yo demonstrators took the craze to 95 countries, to help promote and advertise most of the soft drinks produced by the Coca-Cola Company.
It was even released by Bandai in 1998 as part of the Hyper Yo-Yo line as the Hyper Russell Super (Japanese: ハイパーラッセル スーパー). It was a tie-in with the manga/anime, Supersonic Spinner (a.k.a. Super Yo-Yo), where the yo-yos were used.
Difference between Super and Professional[]
The easiest way to tell the difference between the Super and the Professional is to check the type of plastic used on the body of the yo-yo itself (not the caps).
If the body of the yo-yo is opaque (white or solid color), it's the lightweight version; if the body of the yo-yo is transparent (clear), it's the heavy version.
Note that the model name of the yo-yo is not an indication of its specification, because at some point and in some countries, the names Super and Professional have swapped. You could get a Super yo-yo that is heavy, or you could get a Super yo-yo that is lightweight.
Models[]
Super Slimline (mid 1970's)[]
The Russell Super was launched as a slimline shaped yo-yo (like the Championship/Professional) but with the halves molded in clear plastic (except usually the yoyo caps), which made the yo-yo heavier than the Championship/Professional yo-yo. Because of this, it can spin a bit longer than the Super, making picture tricks easier to perform, and it is still very good for looping.
While the slimline version was discontinued following the shape redesign, the slimline shape would be reintroduced in 1999 as the Ellipse.
Super Bulge-face (since 1979)[]
During the 1980's, the Russell yo-yos were redesigned to have bulged faces. However, the shape was inconsistent throughout the years. Usually the Professional had an extra colored plastic ring around the bulge, to easily differentiate it from the Super which did not have that ring. But sometimes, the Professional yo-yo did not have that ring, and sometimes, both the Professional and Super have rings.
Swapping of Professional and Super terminology (1990's)[]
It seems that around the 1990's, in most parts of the world, the names of Russell "Professional" and "Super" yo-yos have swapped, meaning the Super refers to the lightweight model while the Professional refers to the heavy model. This is most evident in the Hyper Yo-Yo release in Japan, where the Hyper Russell Professional was explicitly described as having more weight than the Super.
Official Description[]
Hyper Russell Super (1998)[]
Type A - Standard Type
A wooden axle type Hyper Yo-Yo. By taking advantage of the characteristics of wood, doing loops with a soft touch is possible!! Diameter about 56mm. Weight about 44 grams.
Gallery[]
