Hey all. I’m trying to learn some basic 5a tricks, currently using a zipline nylon blend of string, but I’m noticing the slipperyness makes it difficult to do certain tricks. Does anyone know if polyester string is more ideal for 5a due to the increased friction? Or do I just need to get good? Thanks!
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Shorter string wants to slip more on binds. You can:
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Adjust your binding technique to accommodate for having a setup that wants to slip more.
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Use a longer string.
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Change to using a thicker string.
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Change to softer/grippier response (RSOxAtmos saturn Pads, Hollywood soft pads, flowable, etc.)
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Use yoyos with more narrow gaps.
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Change to a fresh string (assuming your string has been broken in and played for a while, a fresh string will bind better)
What you do is entirely up to you. String matters for 5A in the same way it matters for 1A. Some players do lots of slacks and care deeply about how their string plays. Other people barely do any slacks and don’t care about the specifics of a string beyond how it feels to the touch. Some people just adjust their techniques according to how the string moves in that moment, and don’t obsess over string at all. There’s not a right or a wrong choice here. Is nylon a bit more slippy on binds? Yeah, but if it’s what you want to use, you don’t have to swap.
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Sorry I meant to say it’s slippery on my fingers. In particular I’m trying to learn the reverse bee sting and the tutorial says to keep the yoyo close to my left hand, but it’s difficult because the yoyo slips away from me very easily. Trying to figure out if this is a skill issue or not.
That’s a skill issue in regard to yoyo/counterweight control. Swapping to a rougher poly string isn’t really going to help in this specific instance.
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It’s very important! If you don’t have a string, you can’t do 5A tricks. Hope this helps!
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I personally love nylon blend over full poly string for 5a. That slipperiness actually helps me land tricks. Just gotta get used to it i suppose.
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You MUST use string when you throw 5A.
It works pretty good.
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Generally I would use a softer and thicker string (maybe OT fat?) to compensate for the string burn on your fingers as well as the reduced response from the shorter string. If you use a glove it won’t super apply to you but I would still recommend a softer string.
Your skin will thank me later!
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I do generally avoid nylon though, it stretches a lot which can be disorienting and weird when doing a lot of flourish counterweight stuff…
Hey guys I’m back. I recently got an actual counter weight, and up until now I’ve been using a resin d20 that I drilled a hole through for 5a. I learned that the actual counterweight is about 50% heavier than my counterweight, which I find makes a significant difference in play. Do you think it’s worth switching over or should I stick with my undersized counterweight because it’s what I’m used to? Using the normal counterweight is so different it feels like I’m starting over, and it hurts my hands more when it hits them.
You should learn the heavy way first, before you change the way…… also def use string, it’s mildly important sorta, maybe.
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What is the weight of each and what is the actual CW? Like which one? I think you should use the actual one bc it might not matter with the tricks you know now but eventually it might be more of a hinderance and you don’t want to get even more used to a super light CW and have the switch be even harder.
Can you beesting? I feel like that trick is a good indicator of how well balanced the Yoyo weight to cw weight is bc you need to feel the cw pull in the opposite direction
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Heavier and bigger counterweights are slower and easier to catch. Same as longer string is slower. Is what you prefer. Faster looks always more impressive if you perform but if you play for yourself take what you enjoy. I personally like longer counterweights (barrel shapes) more then round or square since they simple hold better plane.
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I can bee sting and bee sting aerial very well. The one part I struggle with for the bee sting is the fingers on the my left hand because I’m not used to performing an undermount that way, but to me it works very well. I don’t think my issue is caused by the weight of my counterweight. I don’t know exactly how much it weighs but I can tell it’s significantly lighter, if I had to guess it’d be maybe 7-8 grams? I got a deadhead and I believe it’s around 11 grams
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Pretty important. It’s kinda hard to get it spinning without it.
Jokes aside, I like slippy string so I can easily slide my hand to the counterweight.
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