I really like the gladiator, imperial, and the side wonder, are they good for a beginner? Also fixed or bearing tip?
Chris Neff wrote the ‘Getting Started with Spin Tops’ sticky at the top of this
Spin Top discussion section. If you would take a few minutes to read it, you will be
happy to find it answers all your questions and more.
You can’t get help from anyone who is more skilled at teaching and throwing tops, and it’s already
posted at the top of the spin top forum, so you can always find it and refer to it later. A lot of time and thought went into writing that for beginner spin top players, you would do well to take advantage of it.
Of those three, I would say Sidewinder for a beginner. A Sidewinder with a bearing tip is called a Blizzard, but get a Trompo Bearing instead if you get a Spintastics bearing top.