It’s been quite some time since Spyderco introduced the BaliYo, a pen that can be used in the manner of a Balisong (a.k.a. Butterfly knife) to do tricks. The original BaliYo is made in the United States and has a MSRP of $34.95. When I first saw it, I liked the idea but the choice of colours available did not appeal to me until the solid gray model came out. Still I regarded it as too expensive for a toy but recently a all-black BaliYo hit the market. The black one is made in China and has a MSRP of $ 9.99, so I just had to get one to try it.

The good

The last time I had a Balisong was about 15 years ago when I was a teenager. I never was an expert but after getting cut and and stabbed by that thing numerous times I somehow developed a little bit of skill. Surprisingly this is a little bit like riding a bike: you never forget how to do it. After taking the BaliYo out of its box I tried some basic opening/closing methods and although the BaliYo is a little bit on the light side it worked quite OK. The Stainless steel rings at the end of the handles provide just enough weight to give the handles the right momentum to flip it. The pivots also function the way they should, the ink cartridge writes fine and if Balisongs are illegal to possess at your location you can get one of these and flip it for fun without getting in trouble so at the first glance the BaliYo is a winner.

The bad

What I don’t like about it is the fact that it’s so light. A little bit more weight would be nice. An additional 1/2 inch of length would also be nice so that people with bigger hands can manipulate it easier. I understand that this item is marketed towards the youth but aren’t there kids with big hands too?

The ugly

Well, maybe I got a lemon. Maybe its because its made in China (actually I doubt that). Maybe its the construction in general. I’ll never know the reason but my brand new black BalYo provided fun and games for almost exactly 24 hours then it broke. To start things off, one of the pocket clips arrived loose in the box the BaliYo came in. I could not attach it to the handle because it always came off when I tried. I switched it to the other handle – same result. I then took the second clip off too, as I figured it might be easier to manipulate if both handles were the same.

Ten minutes of light flipping later, a small piece of plastic flew across the room and after inspecting the BaliYo I found out where it came from (left picture). Annoying but no tragedy I thought, and smoothened the rough spot where the piece broke off with some sanding paper so I didn’t hurt myself.

The next day I started flipping it again and after some time I lost my grip and the pen fell down on my hardwood floor. The result is the picture on the right. I’d never thought that the material the BaliYo is made of is that brittle. Especially because it is meant to be flipped and the handles bang together quite often. Reading the warranty is even more puzzling:

“The warranty does not apply to: a) damage caused by accident, abuse, mishandling, throwing or dropping or other form of abuse; b) units subject to unauthorized repair, disassembly or alteration; or c) units not used in accordance with instructions provided with the product.”

The question is: why is dropping the thing considered to be abuse? I mean, yes it is not meant to be slammed on the ground but many people can tell you that they hurt their feet while practicing with a Balisong because they lost their grip and dropped it. Because the BaliYo is so light and small chances are even higher (IMO) that it sooner or later will hit the ground. Anyway, sending a $ 10 item to the US (I live in Europe) would be out of the question for me anyway as the postage would be quite close to a brand new BaliYo, so thinking about what the warranty covers is only theory for me personally.

Conclusion

Personally I am disappointed. I’ve been collecting Spyderco knives for about seven years now and always got products that were “bulletproof”, well engineered and a pleasure to use. Since the BaliYo is a Spyderco product, I expected to get something of the same quality – even if its made in China. It actually was the most short-lived novelty item I’ve ever possessed. I only hope that mine really was a lemon and the overall quality of this product is better. At least I now have a compact pen, as I took the handles off and kept the pen-part. Worth 10 Dollars? No, but this way it’s not a total loss of money for me. I never thought that I might say this about a Spyderco product ever, but I can’t recommend the BaliYo (at least the black one).

What else?

For more pictures of the BaliYo, please watch the video below. For more info about different BaliYo models, instructions, etc. please visit the official BaliYo website.

Cheers, Rob

November 2009