This reminds me I need to buy more counterweights
You deserve a week off, hope all is well! 
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I had a better idea: clear out the older reviews I never posted. I only found one, and its from January-February, i cant believe i never posted this. also, @PlokopZakop3 here’s your HKMT review
HKMT Arata || B+ (87/100)
Honestly, this string never stopped feeling good. For polyester, it was a bit stretchier or bouncier than normal while also having a surprisingly loose wind that i noticed when i was stringing it up. The thickness felt GREAT, and slacks were very open and moderately fast. I never really noticed the weight of it, so maybe its in some sort of middle ground? Regardless, there was nothing extreme on that part, and nothing extreme for whips too. It was right in the sweet spot, where its reasonably whippy but not too whippy. Everything was perfectly balanced during and after the break-in. It kind of felt like going the speed limit exactly. Never speeding, but always staying on pace.
To continue with the car comparison, it started to slow down both metaphorically and slightly physically with whips and slacks near the 45 minute mark. This change was so minimal, though, that it barely matters, I think the only reason I found it was because I was actively looking for changes. My only issues with it are the roughish feel later on, as well as the tension holding which could 100% be better. It was awkward feeling out how much tension the string had, but if you can excuse that, this string is wonderful. Amazing poly string with a bit of a unique feel to it. I’m reminded of my Vines Phat review where i said that it was basic “good string”. This is probably basic “great string”. I hope I can use this as a reference for what a great polyester string can bring to the table. Stats below!
Durability 30 min (5)
Durability 1 hr (4)
Personal Thickness Feel (5)
Whip Feel Break-In (5)
Whip Feel 1 hr (4.5)
Slack Feel Break-In (4.5) different feel but amazing
Slack Feel 1 hr (4.5)
Tension Hold over 1 hour overall (3.5)
Softness during break-in (3.5)
Overall consistency over 1 hour (4.5)
Total: 43.5 x 2 = 87, 87 = B+ graded based on letter system (A: 100-90, B: 89-80, C: 79-70, D: 69-60, F: 60<
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Would love to see a review of Sochi Phoenix String.
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will do, i’ll tag you when it happens. in the meantime though,
Original Throw Slim || C (76/100)
The feel of this out of the box felt like good, well-made bulk poly string. Not too rough, not too soft. Amazing feel, and it doesn’t die for a good while. The string’s binds are 100% yoyo dependent, good for a normal to grippy response like snow tires or maybe modern responsive. It had a good feel (completely instinct-based) but it was definetly slippery on my monarch with shore 60 pads. At the beginning, slacks were not as fast as OT normal or fat and didn’t keep shape as well, but that’s just nitpicking an already great performing string and comparing it to better(?) counterparts of the same brand. Whips also had a solid, consistent, fastness to them that people kind of expect from OT, so it’s nice to know the slimness maintained that.
Tension build was pretty fast compared to other bulk poly, and only got worse. This is a good example of below average tension holding. It’s not bad enough for me to think I got a bad batch, but it’s definitely bad enough where I feel it was something the creators of it didn’t put enough thought into. The slacks got less open and solid, and whips got slightly less solid around the hour mark. Lastly, I think a good way to describe this string is “consistently mid”, which im sure ive used before. It’s just a slim string that’s good enough. Sad day, I really wanted this to be the OT Normal I never got. Stats below.
Durability 30 min (4.5)
Durability 1 hr (4)
Personal Thickness Feel (3.5) def thin, but feels good
Whip Feel Break-In (4.5)
Whip Feel 1 hr (4)
Slack Feel Break-In (4)
Slack Feel 1 hr (2.5)
Tension Hold over 1 hour overall (2)
Softness during break-in (4.5) just right
Overall consistency over 1 hour (4.5) boringly consistentTotal: 38 x 2 = 76, 76 = C graded based on letter system (A: 100-90, B: 89-80, C: 79-70, D: 69-60, F: 60<)
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@theendofcake when you used Kapow did you have an issue of it deteriorating quickly? I just got some and it’s having trouble keeping tension. Tia!
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i couldn’t tell you, that was pretty long ago. as far as i know the string is super long lasting, and tension holding was pretty good throughout
no review this week, here’s the livestream to US Nationals instead
good luck to all the competitors!
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Fwiw I use OT slim for 2A. It’s PERFECT on my 720s.
I don’t use it for 1a at all.
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I approve of this message.
I use pink.
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it’s definitely worth something, i also use OT slim for 2A and i’ve never had a problem with it. to be fair i’m still VERY new, but it feels great.
also, id like to remind people to view these as less of “here’s an objective fact about string follow this Now!” and more me sharing my feelings in a blog/archival format. with that being said…
Candy Wires Fat (Old) || B+ (88/100)
Man, this is good. An amazing thickness, not too fat but not too thin (but more on the thinner side of it had to choose). It’s plushy and a bit loosely wound , but it just feels soft. I think that’s the best way to describe it. It’s soft in texture, but also kind of in play too. Slacks are ever so slightly slow, but they open up amazing. They hold their shape pretty well (especially with suicides), and I don’t have any complaints. Whips are a bit wanting in terms of speed, but they’re plenty fast enough for you to get your laceration tricks landed with enough practice.
Over time, these qualities changed minimally, highlighting both to the durability of this string and the consistency of the slacks and whips. Even the tension holding was fine dealing with, but it did have a weird sort of tilt effect on my yoyo when i fixed tension. I don’t know what caused that, but I thought it’s worth mentioning for transparency. I’m thinking it has to do with the shape of the yoyo, but also the texture of it. The softness barely started to fade out after the hour, and even then it was still significantly softer than ot or alphaline / sochi at that point. It’s a fantastic string, only nitpicky complaints. Sad to see it’s not being made anymore to the best of my knowledge. Stats below.
Durability 30 min (4)
Durability 1 hr (4.5)
Personal Thickness Feel (4.5) so nice, modern normal/slim thickness tho
Whip Feel Break-In (4)
Whip Feel 1 hr (4)
Slack Feel Break-In (5)
Slack Feel 1 hr (5) waow
Tension Hold over 1 hour overall (4)
Softness during break-in (4) soft, not too soft
Overall consistency over 1 hour (5)
Total: 44 x 2 = 88, 88 = B+ graded based on letter system (A: 100-90, B: 89-80, C: 79-70, D: 69-60, F: 60<)
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MarkMont Dragon Foam || B- (81/100)
I feel like MarkMont is just one of those companies that makes fast durable trilobal strings. This is barely the second one I’ve used, but i can tell they got this down to a science. Although trilobal isn’t my favorite subgenre of string, i can still see the quality and work that went into perfecting this one. It’s not sandpaper rough, but this one will definitely rub you a few times with the tactile feel of the threads and being able to feel every groove of the string. Binds were a bit inconsistent and vary from crisp and beautiful to snaggy to slippery. I hypothesize it’s the tight wind, but i can be wrong since this doesn’t seem to be as tightly wound as either. (Side Note: I put the string on my Bathysphere w the same pads as my Monarch and binds were noticeably slipper. Goes to show the impact yo-yos have with thickness rating translated to binds. Reminder that if I see a string as thin that you see as thick, a thin string to me will probably just not bind for you lol)
Whips are super fast, but it’s not overwhelming (yet, it’s definitely pushing it). It helps a lot with tricks that require hard whips, and while it definetly messes with my muscle memory with alphaline and phoenix string, once you get the hang of it it feels amazing to do big whips with a more relaxed feel. Slacks are too unruly to control for me, but i know some people have a talent for it. It’s kind of faster than my mind, to be fair: they’re open and have a strong presence, but maneuvering it gets difficult because of how fast it moves in the air. Given the basic indestructibility of this, none of these qualities changed throughout the use. Yeah, it’s basically indestructible. No change at all throughout the hour besides a few super thin frays that just come from touching and rubbing against the string, but this is the least hindering fray i’ve ever seen.
TL;DR: very gud. fast n rough n durable but gud! Stats below.
Durability 30 min (6)
Durability 1 hr (5)
Personal Thickness Feel (4.5) tight
Whip Feel Break-In (4.5) FAST
Whip Feel 1 hr (4.5)
Slack Feel Break-In (3.5)
Slack Feel 1 hr (3.5)
Tension Hold over 1 hour overall (4) builds fast, is fine
Softness during break-in (1.5)
Overall consistency over 1 hour (3.5)
Total: 40.5 x 2 = 81, 81 = B- graded based on letter system (A: 100-90, B: 89-80, C: 79-70, D: 69-60, F: 60<)
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Hey cake ! Love your reviews , have you ever tried kitty XL ? Would love to hear your opinions:)
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no I have not, but ill keep you updated when I do!
general update: thread has been updated to present day w/ a brand new combined tier list with quick links and colors. hope y’all like it
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hi again, a lovely user sent me some of this string i’ve been dying to try, so i’m happy to present it!
Stricklin Strings || D- (63/100)
This is VERY plushy, I have never used something this true to the word plush. The plush has no slickness to it like most strings with nylon, but instead it has a deep softness to it that blends in with itself to create one smooth feel. The wind of it is very close together but not very tight since i was able to undo the base of it pretty easily. Also, it stretches so much that the tangible thickness of it changes, which i’m not a fan of.
It’s way thicker than I expected. It’s 100% thicker than most bulk string, so that would include OT Fat, Kitty XL, etc. The comfort of the string felt a bit outweighed by how uncomfortable the thickness was to me, but I was sure while playing that the performing qualities would more than make up for it given the praise of it so far on the forums. Glad to say, the performance is great. Whips have a faster speed than other fat strings, but it’s still manageable and easy to adjust to. This speed doesn’t carry over to slacks too much, making them feel open and relaxed without that breakneck speed of nylon and trilobal. One small complaint is that the thickness of the string tends to vary in binds. For example, the thickness of the loose string gives laceration binds a hefty thickness to them while simultaneously making traditional binds less thick because of the stretchiness of the string. This hurt the consistency score.
The whip and slack qualities never really changed through the hour, which is an amazing accomplishment given the plushness and how hard I tend to yoyo. The only slightly noticeable difference was the slack feeling a bit slower, but it’s barely making a difference and may have just been a mistake on my end. Throughout all of this, however, the tension holding was always an issue to me. I had to adjust it constantly and it never really held tension for as long as my main string, Alphaline.
This string is great feeling for a very specific taste that is not mine, and I hope I did a good job at conveying the qualities of the string outside of my own taste. It’s very assisting in performance while also feeling like a bed your fingers kind of sink into, even after the hour. I won’t be using this again, but I guarantee some of you will. Highly recommend spending the money for it if you’re looking for something VERY unique. Stats below.
Durability 30 min (4)
Durability 1 hr (4)
Personal Thickness Feel (1.5)
Whip Feel Break-In (4)
Whip Feel 1 hr (4)
Slack Feel Break-In (4.5)
Slack Feel 1 hr (4)
Tension Hold over 1 hour overall (2)
Softness during break-in (4) softest i’ve used, but TOO soft for me
Overall consistency over 1 hour (3.5)
Total: 31.5 x 2 = 63, 63 = D- graded based on letter system (A: 100-90, B: 89-80, C: 79-70, D: 69-60, F: 60<)
And here’s the link to the thread to get some. I won’t be buying the normal thickness given how much is on my plate, but I hope yall with a more traditional taste enjoy it in my stead:
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It is trilobal polyester. I don’t use nylon because it’s a pain to work with lol!
100% that first feeling is scaly that’s a nice way to say it. But once it breaks in or after a wash it’s nice and soft. And because it’s trilobal it doesn’t wear out as regular poly strings and lasts well iver a year 
Thanks for reviewing my strings it’s nice to see a non-biased view haha!
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thank you so much, i love hearing from the people that are behind this! 
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Hey guys!
Definitely enjoyed reading through this review here.
To be honest, I’m actually surprised that my strings ranked as highly as they did numerically. When I first put these out, a logical question that was asked immediately what when I was going to send them to Cake?
I never did, because I was familiar with the numerical ranking system here, and (cards on the table) knew they wouldn’t fare too well!
As I mentioned/described a few times in the thread on my reviews, my strings are designed for very specific taste (my own in fact! )
My vision was having a the feeling of a soft/thick spaghetti noodle flowing over your fingers.
From 10 years of yoyoing, this is what I found myself wishing other strings could be. ALWAYS.
This “thick noodle feel” meant a combination of the softest possible texture, with a very high coil count, so you couldn’t feel the bumps while the string moved over your hands.
As outlined in the thread, these two things are self-contradicting in most string making techniques, so I had to use some work arounds to get there.
What I ended up was with was these. The “noodle feel” was achieved.
When compared to other strings, is the tension keeping incredible? (No, its average, maybe a little above kitty).
Is the longevity that of Markmont? (No, once, again, its pretty average for boutique nylon/poly blends.)
(admittedly, there are some standard areas that its definitely above average in, like slack shape and open-ness)
But regardless, with these types of metics in mind, (63/100) is unsurprising. (Edit: maybe even generous!)
But let me tell you, if you’re like me, and that “noodle feel” is what you want…
…then buddy, these are (100/100) and an (A triple plus).
(And personally, a string that has that ultra soft/plush/smooth noodle feel, good slacks, and isn’t TERRIBLE for the other areas, is the combo I’ll be putting on my high end yoyos after a long day of work until my old, arthritic hands can’t pick up my yoyos anymore. .)
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I just want to say as a yoyoer of 25 years, I really appreciate string reviews like Cakes.
In a world of soooo many different strings out there, It can be really overwhelming to choose what strings to try out when all we have is usually word of mouth and product descriptions from the manufacture themself.
Having someone who truly knows and understands strings like Cake who can truly break down and focus on the individual attributes in an unbiased and detailed way is huge.
I plan to get into some new strings soon for myself and know that going through these reviews is exactly the kind of input I need to make an informed decision for myself.
Much love
§̶̨͙̺̙͓̰͈̈́͂ ̶̭͆͋̇͋̌̕†̶͈̰͔̙̀̅̑̂͆́͠ ̸̧̛̛̛̟͓̣̃̀́̈R̵̨̃̎̉̀̽ ̸̦̀̓̓¡̶̭̤́̌͋̑͜ ̶̻̫͍̮̍̑N̷͓̥̮̺̟̈́̄͊̆̈͆̊ ̵̛̖̖̙̇͆̊̄G̵̜͓̗̓̉
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I would also like to comment as a novice (7 months in) the more I play, the more curious I get on what different strings have to offer. I always come back to this thread as a guide. It’s kind of interesting, I used to prefer the normal (thin) strings like YoTricks Cage Free but since trying Kitty First Class Fat strings, there is no going back. Well, I mean, there is, I have about 800 normal strings that I will still use but going forward, it’s Fat Kitty FC & Sochi Strings for me as my preferred bulk option. So in short, once you go FAT, ya never go back! (At least in my experience). I used to hate fat strings but I really think it boils down to technique. I think it’s best to start with normal, thin strings and as you progress, experiment with thickness.
I really appreciate all the effort @theendofcake puts into these reviews. Thank you!
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