As most of you know, I’m VERY new to this. To date, I’ve only been using the strings that came with the Yomega pack that I bought.
I decided to buy some new strings so I picked up a few different colors of the Plutonium strings. I put one on my Top Deck last night and was excited to throw it.
I’m not really sure how to describe it; but, it felt ‘messy.’ It looks like it’s a little thicker than the (I assume) cotton string that came with the Yomega stuff. It feels like it’s not quite as fast, either. I wish I knew how to better describe this.
Regardless, I’m hoping someone can give me a little advice on string selection, or at least point me in the right direction. I’ve tried searching and watching videos; but, I can’t really find anything that compares the different types of strings and lists attributes of each, etc.
I honestly didn’t think this would be the case; but, I really don’t think I like throwing that Top Deck with a Plutonium string on it, when compared to the super basic/simple string that came in my Yomega pack…
I love plutonium string I’m actually going to pick up some more soon. But if it’s not for you I would recommend kitty string. If you don’t like the extra width on the plutonium string go with normal. I can’t speak for zipline strings since I’ve never tried them although I hear there great.
Kitty string is a great place to start. Perhaps you could buy a variety of 10 packs to try which would give a variety of thicknesses and a couple materials.
Cotton is more for beginners and also for responsive yoyos. Polyester is for unresponsive yoyos. I recommend MonkeyfingeR Vines for your next string of choice. They’re soft and great for whip and slack tricks.
I’m partial to YYSL’s Type X string. I also have some Plutonium strings (and even a pack of Ammo), but I tend to reserve those for yoyos with really wide gaps, where the thicker string helps me get strong binds more easily.
@RidinSpinners - Thanks for the input and newbie observations. It helps us give advice for new players as to what strings to try first. My Type X is a more standard-sized string, and that would be my recommendation for your setup. If you are using a string centering bearing, you should be fine with a thicker string. A thicker string can also helpful for binding. I find that when I get up into the Ammo range of thickness, more precision is required to take advantage of it’s slackalicious properties.
Send me a PM and I will hook you up with a sampling of Type X to see if you like it.
Maybe it’s my throw but I go through a Kitty String reg every day and a half. When first on…ooo, heaven but I wear them down pretty quickly. They play fine after heavy use but does someone know if Kitty String fats would give me that oooo feeling longer or maybe it’s normal that after 3-4 hrs play ANY string is gonna be worn down / thinny.
I would say that’s pretty common, yeah. But oh boy does @smileypants707 ever have a lecture cued up for you about the durability of nylon strings!
In addition to that, if I were you I’d still try some thicker poly as well because thicker is generally nicer in my opinion… it’d be awesome if you could get that Kitty String sampler which has all the variations.
But you are 100% factually right, no opinion necessary, about one thing! Nylon is WAY more durable. I mean, there’s no question. It’s a night and day difference.
Nylon is much more durable than your typical polyester that is used to make the industry standard string. Nylon can be kind of unpleasant by itself because it’s very slick and bouncy and doesn’t have a lot of weight to it. But, Some people prefer nylon over poly.
BUT, trilobal polyester is a standalone in the realm of polyester. Trilobal has a lifespan similar to nylon. Alone, trilobal is very coarse and unpleasant in a string but it is very dense and lends itself well to whips and slacks.
I have found that a blend of trilobal and textured nylon (like wooly or MaxiLock STRETCH) is a performance gold nugget waiting to be tapped by the industry. A lot of home spinners have discovered this blend already, but it can be kind of labor-intensive to get it just right.
And on a performance note, this particular blend holds a tremendous amount of energy when performing whips slacks and rejections. After using my blend, and going back to an industry standard poly, it feels like I have to force poly to comply with my style. But, people can do all kinds of crazy technical things with regular poly, so there’s that. They also have the slickness of nylon, so they don’t feel as grippy when you have a bunch of layers stacked up in the gap.
The industry standard poly has a duration of maybe 3 to 5 hours of solid play before they start to feel soggy (about a day or two of play). My blend has a duration of about 15 to 20 hours of solid play before it starts to feel soggy (a little more than a full week). And most pure nylons have a similar duration.
So, that’s basically my rant in a nutshell. Fact is, nylon and trilobal polyester outlast the industry standard poly by a landslide. But, duration isn’t everything. It all boils down to personal preference.
Interesting. We use an air-textured nylon in a lot of what we do; but, we lose durability when we do it because of the texturing.
Do you make your own strings? I see that you mention “my blend” in your post. How does one go about making his/her own strings? I know a LOT of people in the textiles industry and might eventually want to give it a whirl, for kicks, of course.
Yep, I’ve been spinning my own for as long as I’ve been throwing (about 2 years). I haven’t ever purchased anyone else’s strings, other than ones that came with yo-yos. I’ve been honing my recipe by trading with other players and string makers for feedback, and have my recipe just about where I like it.
There’s a lot of tutorials floating around YouTube, and if you like to read I typed up a huge post here. I can share the link if you want.
Please do. I’d be interested in reading more about it and potentially starting to do it. I do think I want to try a bunch of the commercially available stuff, first, so I have an idea of what I like and then try to emulate/improve for my own preferences.
I fly to Asia quite a bit so I’m always looking for reading material on those flights!
Just another example of why I’m really enjoying this. Matt had absolutely no reason or obligation to do this; but, as a new player, I’m finding the generosity and willingness to share information in this community to be second to none. It’s certainly appreciated, Matt. You don’t know it, yet; but, whether I start making strings, or not, you’ve just gained a customer for life.
