I seem to stand alone in the thought that Kitty string is not that good. They burn out within a couple hours, feel awful, and lose color vibrancy by the minute. They fail to hold tension soon after install and fray very quickly.
Yes they are cheap - they feel cheap.
Yes they are available by the 100 (red flag that youll go through them so fast and make lots of trash)
They also claim to be “hand made” but I dont buy that for a second. Shady marketing?
Maybe i am just being picky but everyone seems to love them, yet I find very little to like about them. Ive tried them a few times (fat, thins, but not tried the nylons yet), and well, they just dont jive with me. I tend to prefer quality over quantity. Maybe ill try the nylon ones, but I just hear so much good about kitty from all sides, and I just dont see the allure of having to swap out strings every coupe hours of play. For me thats several strings in a day potentially. Seems wasteful in money, time, and trash buildup.
What do you think? Is kitty your savior string? Or do you prefer something a bit better built?
I feel the same way about kitty. They burn out fast like regular cotton string, imo. Just tried yoyo string lab type x. Its starting to feel like regular kitty. My favorite so far is venom.
I enjoy more premium strings. For standard poly my go-to is always YYSL Type X or Ammo but my favorite strings are the soft and slick nylon strings like Epic Strings Magic Threads, Cloud String(if they were thicker), and some home brew strings I’ve tried. They are whipper than any standard type poly strings like Kitty, blueprint, YYSL, etc. but not overwhelmingly so like some plasticky poly/nylon strings like Toxic Dragons and Epic Strings Lightning Bolts. They also last much longer than any standard poly, not as long as the dragon-type strings but they hold tension much better so it makes up for it.
Not a lot of people like the “gimmicky” strings outside of standard poly due to the feel(which you grow used to either way but not a lot of people give them a chance) and it’s really a shame because we need more successful string companies that offers something outside of the standard poly strings.
I went off on a little tangent there but to answer your question it’s because Kitty is the oldest and largest string company. A lot of people recommend them because of that and the fact that they’re cheap. A lot of people don’t find the need for boutique strings and just go with the standard. Kitty isn’t the best string by any means but not a lot of people want to spend the extra money for boutique strings. Another reason which I kind of hinted at earlier is people don’t like change. They want the tried and true brand that they’ve used for so long. People find the slight performance boost that stuff like YYSL have unnecessary and not worth the money and don’t like stuff like Toxic or Epic Strings because they feel different and they don’t like it.
The only thing I don’t like about kitty string is that they are rough. I practiced for a while a couple nights ago and it felt like wire saws cutting through my skin. I had to put a pause on throwing for a couple days so my hands could heal. Other than that I can do slacks with them well enough and they bind nice and tight. My favorite string I have ever used by far was G-String. That stuff was pure magic.
I go between hating and loving them. I always come back to kitty but I don’t feel they are the best thing out there. I just haven’t yet found what I consider to be the best string for me.
I have a few throws that will be going up for sale soon. I think I might be taking that money and go on a search for “the best string” for me.
I am in the same boat. I have Kitty Nylon, and I was not much a fan of it for stuff like Stoles when it was new. I have had the same string on for 2 weeks or so, and now it plays like magic for the stoles. Doesn’t keep tension extremely well now, but that is ok. I think I prefer heavily used versions of any string, the way I am finding them to fit my play. If only I could buy pre used strings…lol.
DY7
Grendel
(The Voice of All Grendel’s world wide.)
10
I’m still using great white. I love handmade string.
So what would you guys recommend then? I have tried cloud string and angle hairs and neither really are like “wow! I love this!” They are nice but not super standout.
I feel like Buddha string has a slight edge over kitty as far as bulk strings go. They’re a bit thicker than normal kitty but thinner than fat kitty, and they whip better for me as well.
Ill be sure to pick up a small pack of Epic Strings Magic Threads since my call to Quinton (maker of clouds) to make a slightly thicker string went unanswered.
Buddha’s definitely better than kitty and for about $5 less. They’re almost as good as Type X imo. Lasts longer, whips better, thicker, holds tension a tad better. I don’t think they’re as popular though because they’re relatively new and are only sold at one store.
I think it still has its place in the market. Sure, YYSL or other premium strings may feel better and last longer, but it’s also 2.5x the price or more per string. Pretty much any bulk string that costs $20 per 100 is going to get the job done, but it’ll likely wear out quickly, and you get what you pay for.
That being said, I personally think Kitty fat nylon is much better than their poly in every way except color choices. White and yellow are fine by me though. I’d seriously recommend nylon over poly every time when it comes to Kitty now that I’ve tried nylon. It’s not some crazy performance increase, but it definitely lasts longer, holds tension better, and is better for whips/slacks.
