Greys Begleri
Greys Begleri
Description
Description
Greys Begleri
The Greys are a small, nimble, technical begleri design, developed by Ilya @slingthe0ry Indrulinas—begleri legend and founding member of the AO2 Crew. The bead is reversible and very comfortable during play. Oriented with the cone shape in, they disappear comfortably between the fingers during play, and carry momentum extremely well. Oriented with the cone out, they have a slightly more substantial feel, with more of a shelf for manipulation, and nimbler action due to the top heavy weighting.
Please note that, while this design is beloved by intermediate and expert players, it was not designed as a beginners’ model. Your mileage may vary, but new players may probably be happier with a slightly larger design with a more traditional barrel shape.
Titanium Mini Greys (2025): When the Greys were first introduced, we offered a somewhat larger titanium version, and a smaller "mini" version in heavier metals. As player preferences have evolved over time, there has been growing demand for lighter and smaller sets of beads. It seems only fitting that the Greys, such an innovative design from the beginning, come back to the vanguard of this movement. After months, possibly years of deliberation and community pressure, we are excited to introduce our lightest ever single bead begleri setup--coming in at around 11g all in with cord. They are available in a classic machine finish, or sandblasted. The titanium Mini Greys will challenge you with their light weight, while also providing you with something that feels familiar.
Details
The Greys are available in:
- Titanium polished (mini) - 5g per bead
- Titanium sandblasted (mini) - 5g per bead
- SS natty (mini) - 8.7g per bead
- Brass (mini) - 9.3g per bead
- Copper (mini) - 10.0g per bead
- Titanium polished ~ 8.7g per bead
- Titanium tumbled - 8.7g per bead
- Titanium sandblasted ~ 8.7g per bead
- Titanium shinobi finished (black) - 8.7g per bead
- All sets feature a 3.5mm bore, for use with 550 paracord (included) or thinner 2mm cord. All extras such as cord, stickers, pouch etc. will vary depending on availability.
For more information on our Ti Mini Greys check out our June 2025 drop preview video.
New to begleri? Check out Aroundsquare's AO2 Crew demonstrating what this toy's all about, via the talented guys at Kuma Films (below). You may also want to visit our general information page on begleri, or do a deep dive on the history, configurations, or manipulation of this remarkable little toy.
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Copper mini come in at a perfect 20-21g and feel incredibly bumble. They are forgiving yet quick. Immediately have jumped to the top of my go to Begleri and the copper patina is coming along nicely. Highly rate these.
This review is for the copper version of the Greys Mini. I have a set of regular and mini Hydras in Ti. I ordered this set for its shape and single bead design. The choice for copper was because Ti wasn't available at the time. I am genuinely happy to have the copper version now: not just because they look amazing, but the weight is a great middle ground between my other sets too!
I am a lot more careful with this set due to the relative softness of the material. They are great for slinging around on the sofa or over a carpet. The shape is really nice and has solid seating between the fingers with some decent weight. I have to relearn some moves, but others are instantly easier.
I am very happy with this set and would recommend to anyone on the fence. Good looking, nice feeling and aroundsquare quality.
They are so comfortable that they disappear in the hands… i recognise that they are good but I’m not expert enough to appreciate them.
After years and years....the Ti Mini Greys finally exist. Sold out within hours of the drop, which was awesome (but I was kinda sad I didn't land a set of blasted minis haha, at least got a set of polished). Like I expected, this is now the bead most in line with my preferences. As mentioned in my old review, the Mini Greys have been my favorite shape BY FAR for a long time. The weight (8.7g/bead) is great, but I always preferred lighter beads in the 3-6g/bead range. Despite the weight not being optimal, the SS Minis were my most used/carried set (over even my exotic sets) just because how much I love the way the shape feels in play, and also how it looks.
For the longest time, Matt was saying they would be too light, but from the start (based on comparing densities of Ti and SS) I KNEW that Ti Minis would be perfect for me, and even called they'd weigh in around 4-6g per bead. The Ti Minis weigh in around 5g per bead, which is PERFECTLY in the center of my preferred/predicted bead weight.
Having slung this bead for over a month now, it is LITERALLY the only set of begleri I've slinging (even though I carry a handful of sets on me). They are exactly as great as I expected. They may be considered light to some, but in my opinion, I do find the lighter weight makes the Minis a bit more user friendly. Since I always felt like the combination of sleek/small shape of the minis+8.7g per bead made them want to fly away more compared to how they feel at a lighter weight.
Everything I love about the OG Mini Greys still stands with the Ti, but the Ti just feels way better, and way more controllable to me since they sit in my preferred weight range. Really though, you can't go wrong with either, but I would give the Ti Minis a shot when they are in stock because they're truly unique. I've always said Greys/Mini Greys are the only beads that truly feel unique. As in, compared to literally all other beads I've tried, there's nothing that has felt similar. Basically any other bead can be emulated to a certain extent from other manufacturers, or even DIY setups. However, this has not been the case with the Greys. The Mini Ti's being lightweight makes them an even more unique set IMO.
Anyway, I could rave about Mini Greys all day, especially now that my beloved Ti Minis exist, but I'll cap it off by saying that any variation of the Greys are worth a shot if you want to try something that is going to be totally different than any bead you've tried. They may be a "love it or hate it" type bead, but you won't know until you try! HUGE Shoutout again to Matt too for taking community input to heart, and delivering on his word to make this a reality.
- JJ
Purchased the Mini SS Greys as my 2nd "official" bead in 2021, and after trying dozens of bead shapes, I keep coming back to this one, and the shape is by far my favorite. These beads caught my eye at first, but felt intimidated by the description, since I was a beginner at the time. Pulled the trigger a few months later with the intention of slinging them when I got better, but tried them out, and they quickly became my favorite. To this day, they're the only bead I've tried that feels completely unlike any other bead I've tried. Usually, beads of the same weight will feel somewhat similar. That's not the case with these.
The small size, combined with the angled top, allows for the bead to sit in the grip with a low profile unlike any other bead I've tried. Not only does this give a unique feel for tricks, but also mitigates the chance of the string getting wrapped on the bead by mistake, or the bead itself getting stuck between grips when doing certain moves (like whirls). The angled top also lends itself to tricks like gap transfers (esp the drop whirl variation - video below) since the angle allows for the fingers to more smoothly slide off the bead from a pinching position compared to flatter topped beads. The shape flaring out to a wider diameter combined with the angled top means that they hook into the grip very securely. An additional benefit of the beads sitting so deep in the grip is that the position you hold the beads end up in after doing a trick and prior to starting a new trick is consistent (once you get used to letting the beads "slide" deep into the slot), so practicing moves from a consistent position becomes a little easier.
I could go on about how they sling all day, but the "fun factor", uniqueness, and that darn sexy look are what truly make them my #1 favorite bead that never leaves the rotation. Some people may dislike that uniqueness, but I do believe many would love it like I do. Everyone has different preferences, but one thing that's almost certain is that these will provide an experience that most have not had before, and in my opinion, that alone is worth giving them a shot.
-JJ
Sidenote:
Now what would top these? Titanium Mini Greys. This is totally based on my personal preferences, and the fact that this bead shape is my favorite, but I tend to enjoy lighter sets (3-5g per side). Mini Greys (weighing in at 8.Xg) are heavier than my preference, but still my favorite due to the shape and uniqueness. Titanium Minis (based on my very non-scientific rough estimate*) would be somewhere in that 3-5g range (probably closer to 5g), which would be almost an end all be all bead for me. (Unless exotics dropped) If you are like me, and love light beads/love this shape, let Matt know (DM, Discord, Facebook, etc) that they'd be awesome! ;)
