What are your opines on the Duncan raptor? Is it a good beginners yoyo? A friend of mine is looking into getting one to start yoyoing with.
Great yoyo. He will eventually want to put a better bearing in it, otherwise it’s fantastic.
For a beginner, no, I wouldn’t recommend it. Don’t get me wrong, the Raptor is one of the best yoyos that Duncan has ever produced and one of the best yoyos in the sub $60 market, but it’s not right for beginners.
First off, it has a wide gap, meaning that it’s unresponsive. Your friend should start out on a responsive yoyo, he’ll have a much easier time.
Further, the raptor has pretty sharp outer edges. While in the hands of an experienced yoyoer this isn’t a problem, a more novice thrower who doesn’t have a lot of control over the yoyo could be bothered by this and hurt himself.
But as he gets better, it’s definitely a yoyo worth picking up.
Pick him up a Peter Fish Luminator. Cheapest bearing yoyo you can get.
Mine was responsive out of the box. Yours wasn’t?
The bearing is heavily lubed. It would recquire a bind once it breaks in.
I changed the bearing out as soon as I got mine, so I can’t really comment on that.
However, at least in my opinion, a heavily lubed bearing isn’t a good replacement for a tighter gap and a more grippy response system.
Ah. I hadn’t thought of that.
My Raptor was never responsive for me, even when it was brand new out of the package.
The Raptor was designed to be an unresponsive yoyo, but Duncan popped a greased up bearing in there, which requires replacement or cleaning. I have one and I really, REALLY like it. I went to Nationals 2012 with the hopes of getting one and I did. Once I swapped the bearing out for a clean one and then cleaned that bearing, it was great. However, it’s not what I would recommend for a beginner. In general, I really do like this yoyo though. I really like the fact that it come with National 2012 caps. then again, so does the Flipside I got as well.
Here’s the mindset I am using:
Low cost, good performance, minimize investment in the event of failure. Sadly, failure is an option you need to accept before you start. Most players don’t last very long, especially in this day and age of instant gratification.
What I do recommend varies. If you want me to stay with Duncan, for an absolute noob, I recommend the ProZ. Start in modified shape, then move to wing shape, then clean the bearing and move to unresponsive play.
If you want me to go with YYJ, I would say the Classic with a wider bearing is the way to go. The wider bearing for the upgrade path. The Speedmaker is also another opton to explore. I wouldn’t spend more than that at this stage of the game, which leaves out the Legacy II. A semi-responsive Lyn Fury might be a good one as well.
If you want me to go with YYF, the ONE with 2 bearings is the way to go. YYF’s Speed Dial(B-Grade), Velocity and Fast 201 are also viable options with adjustable gap or response options. These are viable options. I personally own a B-grade Speed Dial, and honestly I wouldn’t pay more than the $20 I paid for it. Th Fast201, I’m not all that impressed with. I haven’t played any Velocity so I won’t say anything.
I can’t go with other brands, due to the simple fact that I don’t know what “beginner oriented yoyos” they might have.
The Raptor is my favorite yoyo. Mine was unresponsive out of the package, but that seems rare. I don’t think that it’s a good yoyo to start with. I would go with a YYF ONE or a YYJ Dark Magic II, but after that, definitely get the Raptor.
Not a beginners yoyo. It is a high grade competition yoyo. My brother has one, I take it use it every once in awhile.