Looking for a Beginner Package

[Douglas Brown]

You know, I realize this is a terrible first post to a forum, but I would love to get started with this Spin Top business as quickly and cheaply as possible. I have little to no knowledge on the subject. I have 20 dollars, including shipping, to spend on this endeavor. I would like a spin top, and a good amount of string. The color of either does not really concern me much (but someone's avatar had a white spin top, and that was classy). As for feedback, please check out my account on the YoYoNation.com forums on which I moderate. Any advice you'd love to pass along would be much appreciated. Any deals, even more so.

[Java]

Hey, Douglas! You wouldn't know me from the YYN forums, because I didn't post much over there, but I remember you. May I be the first to welcome you to the forum? Like yoyos, there isn't really a "best" top or string, but we all have opinions on what the best one is for us personally. I'll give you my opinion; I like the YYN top string. Get the 60" ones. It's easier to make a 50 out of a 60 than it is the other way around. Many like the Spintastics string (Spintastics.com) They both work fine for me. I like fixed tip tops, and there are two "standards" readily available here in the US. The Spintastics Sidewinder ($7.99 @ YYN) - easily under the $20 mark with shipping and strings. The other is the Duncan Ripcord. At Magic Touch Toys (.com) they're $10.99 with free shipping (to the lower 48) They also carry the Spintastics Blizzard, which is sort of the Standard bearing tip top, for $14.99 (again, with free shipping). Unfortunatly, they don't sell strings seperately, so they're not a "one stop" supplier. Honestly, to me, Sidewinders and Ripcords are like Kicksides and FHZs, one day one is my favorite, and the next day the other is. (Today it's the Ripcord)  There are many folks around here that have been doing this for a lot longer than I have that I'm sure will soon chime in here, and be able to tell you things I haven't discovered yet!

Have Fun,
Java

[pplgrande]

Hi Douglas and welcome to the forum, i agree with java, spintastics are defenetly some very good quality spintops, a little heavier than most but made with some good plastic and the point is very good for begginers, in my opinion, and they come with the string and button, very good strings
And you can defenetly keep your budget
I dont agree with java and the bearing blizzard, everybody been having alot of problems with the point coming off, i dont recommend a begginer trying to glue a bearing point back into place, is a very tidious thing to do and if you do it wrong theres a big possibility you just ruined the spintop
Bearing tops are very fun and if you are interested in one you can wait a few weeks when Dale (from spintastics.com ) changes the blizzard to the tornado witch should fix the point falling out problem
If u trying to get started with a spintop and dont have much knowledge about them i suggest you find a lighter spintop, like a cometa orion or a 5 estrellas ultra, the points are incledibly nice and they all come with ring, string, and button, i personally think thats a better beginner spintop, built with some very nice and pretty plastic, and affordable
Also you can look on ebay and find a duncan imperial for less than 6 bucks with shipping, is not the best begginer spintop in my opinion, but in would defenetly get you started, also comes with ring, string, and button

[the Earl of Whirl]

Welcome Douglas Brown.  Hope you are able to get a top soon and begin spinning soon.  It's terrific fun and the progress you can make is quite enjoyable.

I look forward to hearing more from you.

[ta0]

Welcome to the board / hobby / sport!

The Spintastics sidewinder is a great beginner top with a forgiving throw, although the souped up gladiator version (steel tip, weight rings) is much better than the regular version.

I could fix you up with 3 Mexican fixed tip tops or 2 Mexican and one regular sidewinder for $20, including shipping.

But you may want to look for a deal that also gets you a bearing  top as you learn many tricks faster on those.

[Douglas Brown]

Thank you all for the barrage of quality, informative posts. I'm surprised I received such great responses so quickly, even though the forum apparently has less than 100 members. To be clear, I'm not just looking for "what to buy" (though that is a major question). I posted in this forum to hopefully find a beginner package from one of the forum members as well. I appreciate the recommendation of the site magictouchtoys.com, that looks very helpful.

ta0, I'm interested in more quality than quantity - I really only have a use for one spin top right now. Do you also happen to have some string?

Where would I read up on the pros and cons of bearing vs. fixed tip? A friend of mine (schalicto) recommended a fixed tip, but ta0 said that one learns fasted on a bearing tip.

[the Earl of Whirl]

We may be small (with about a hundred members) but we are mighty!!!

[jim in paris]

salut douglas
(i knew a dog called douglas )

first and foremost : string is not an issue like for yoyos

i 'd recommend
get a blizzard  (14$)
and a BC (wood top fix tip , unbreakable and fun to play, round 8$)
work a few weeks on your throw ....
ask questions here
visit Ta0' s site for VDO's
be good , spin hard and the gyroscopic forces will do the rest

have fun

jim

[Neff]

Because you are looking for one top, and one top only, I say Gladiator, because of the metal tip, which will last you much longer than plastic.  I suppose you could get a sidewinder and order a metal tip, the internal weight ring is not worth it IMO (and possibly only my opinion).  Bearing tips are easier for beginners for some tricks I agree, but frustrating because they are fragile.  Take the full spin top challenge, and start off fixed!

[MatiasStuntMan]

I agree with Neff, the Gladiator is the best top that you can easily buy on the market. It is very well made, great durable material, very good balance and you can modify it and play with different weights very easy, there are plenty of mods for the Gladiator on this forum. For me it plays better than the mexicans, but it is not as beautiful as those though. Even though there are no Top categories I will put the Gladiator on the "Pro" Category and at the same time it is great for learning, so it will fit the "begginers" category as well. The next on the list of comercial available tops is the Trompo Grande fixed tip, great for learning regenerations, a little intimidating at first, that is why I will put it on the intermediate, advanced and pro.  You can also buy the Duncan Rip Cord pretty much everyware, for me it is a little bit thougher to handle than the Gladiator, so i will put those in the "Advanced" or "intermediate category.
There are many other tops that will fit on the Pro category, but are not available on the market today, like the legendary YoyoJams and others. Another Pro top is the Cuper aluminum, not comercially available but you can still buy one from Neff, same for the Premier Jumbo from master Ta0.

Bearing tops are fun at the beggining because the mary go round and the crazy eights tricks are incredible easy to do, but IMO those tops will stop your advancement on more elaborate tricks that is why my suggestion is to learn with fixed tip tops.

Maybe this Top category subject can be the theme of a new topic.

[pplgrande]

I completly agree, you should learn with a fixed tip first, cause you would actually learn about the throw, speed, etc. , if you can learn a trick with a fixed tip, i would be alot easier to do with a bearing top, as opposed if you learn a trick with a bearing top, its gonna be alot harder to do on a fixed tip, specially if you havent learn and understood your top
Learning to understand a top is very important in my opinion, the way it spins, the weight, the different force you use to throw it, the different ways you can hold it etc, etc, etc, the list goes on

[Douglas Brown]

Thank you so much, this has all been EXTREMELY helpful. It appears that fixed tip is most certainly the way to go. I'm now trying to decide between the Gladiator from the spintastics website for 14 shipped (includes string), or the Trompo Grande (also includes string) from magictouchtoys for 14 shipped. Are there any other options I should be considering? Should I buy an extra string at this point?

[Dick Stohr]

Strings last a loooong time and can be washed if they get very dirty.  Strings do not break like yo-yo strings do.  It should take you months to need a new string.  And when you do let me know.  I have plenty.

[pplgrande]

Strings do last a long time, they wont break but they will become thinner over time, long time......
And spintastics strings are actually very good quality strings as well as the spintops

[Pulpowsky]

I recomend you the trompo grande. Beauty, hard, stable, good string, and you would obtain the patches soon.