This is the Raiser yoyo from Top Yo.
That is Raiser like this, not like this.
It is a budget priced bi-metal yoyo and it is the signature model of Korean player Seo
Jung Min.
We think it is really great, so let’s take a closer look.
The Raiser comes in this black and chrome packaging.
You are going to want to open the box from the top, yo.
So you can just pull the flaps open, pull out the center insert, and the yoyo is right
there.
Then you will see that there is also a string included in the box.
You can just set that aside, pull the yoyo from the insert, and there you go.
There is the Raiser.
Now, the first thing that stands out to me about this yoyo is that it looks really good.
This looks like the kind of yoyo that I would bring to a wedding, or the Oscars, or really
anywhere that I want to look fancy.
Looking at the Raiser in finer detail, looking at the inner cup you are going to see this
stainless steel weight ring.
This is not placed far on the edge like most other bi-metal yoyos, rather it is placed
between the rim and the center of the yoyo.
So you get this kind of middle-weight between the rim and the center.
That makes the Raiser feel distinctively agile when you are doing tricks with it.
That is something that we are going to touch on in just a little bit.
So, the surface of the Raiser is very very smooth with a strongly textured bead blasted
finish.
It makes this soft ringing noise when you run your fingers over the metal.
It is really excellent for finger grinds and palm grinds.
But, due to the shape of the cup, with this bump in the middle and the engravings, horizontal
fingerspins are a little sub-optimal.
You are not going to get super long fingerspins with this yoyo.
So the Raiser is a full size yoyo, and it fits very well in the hand.
I have pretty much like dead average medium sized hands, and with the shape of the yoyo,
my middle finger goes right to the gap and these two fingers are right on the rims, and
it just feels really, really nice to hold.
This is a nice yoyo to play with for extended periods of time, just having fun practicing
yoyo.
When we open up the Raiser, you will see that it comes with a size C CenterTrac bearing,
white 19mm response pads, and a standard size 10mm axle.
So all this is pretty standard fare.
These are all very easily replaceable replacement parts to find, if you should ever need to
replace anything.
Now let’s take a look at how the Raiser plays.
As we mentioned earlier, the Raiser has a lot of weight concentrated on the midpoint
between the rim of the yoyo and the center of the yoyo, right here in this stainless
steel weight ring.
That means that the Raiser is weighted pretty differently from today’s kind of standard,
very rim-weight heavy yoyo.
Of course that means that the Raiser plays different when you are doing tricks.
On the string, the Raiser feels very very agile, like you can change directions on a
dime and it does not take any effort at all the change the momentum of the yoyo.
Another really cool thing about the Raiser is that it feels like it hangs in the air
when you are doing tricks.
Some may even describe it as buoyant.
Now, I don’t think it actually hangs in the air for any longer than any other yoyo,
but it feels like it does, and it is a lot of fun to play around with.
Because the Raiser has a lot of this weight in the middle, it is not going to sleep quite
as long as a super heavy, rim weighted yoyo.
But, just like any other high quality modern yoyo, it is going to spin far longer than
you need it to.
So you are just trading a little bit of your spin time for a bunch of agility and control.
The Raiser is either $55 or $60 and it is a really unique play experience at a very
affordable price.
It is available now on the YoYoTricks.com store.