Nope, can’t say that I have. What’s so weird about it?
Well it’s super super soft and it kinda feels like some kind of product was used on it. It’s not that it feels wet but it feels like there’s a weird kinda slippery coating on it. I don’t really know how to describe it. Also it’s real thick.
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Sounds like it might be fabric softener
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Right… but… at the price of 19¢ per string… assuming you go through let’s say the fairly aggressive number of 3 strings per day… that’s the princely sum of 57¢… assuming you do that every single day for a whole month that’s $17.10 per month.
This also assumes
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the time you spend making the string has zero value!
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you play one yo-yo constantly, and never switch among yo-yos all of which would have their own strings
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a constant every day play and wear rate on strings
Furthermore, if you got bulk string at 15 cents a string, that’s only $13.50 per month at 3 strings a day.
And plus, I really enjoy the whole process of making my own.
Totally fine, but let’s not kid ourselves on the huge financial savings here 
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That was just a statement of defense for the durability of strings. That’s important to me. Being able to put 10 plus hours, which translates to about a full week on one string is a pretty huge deal.
If I were just spinning up regular poly strings, which I did last night actually just out of nostalgia, the whole process wouldn’t really be worth it in my opinion. I’ve already burned through two of those strings just today alone.
Your math was based on the Kitty hundred pack, if I’m not mistaken. I hate the way those strings perform. I feel like I have to force them to comply with my personal throw style. So even if I did go that route, the value would not be worth the cost to me.
Which kind of pushes me into the realm of more boutique style strings. There currently does not exist a string manufacturer that sells a hundred pack of the type of blended strings that I prefer for $20. And if there were, I would definitely buy them. By my calculations, that box of a hundred strings would last me close to 2 years! I would never pay premium prices for something that I can make myself for pennies on the dollar, though.
Again, the takeaway is different strokes for different folks. I’m only trying to convince you that durability is a feature that adds a pretty substantial amount of value to strings, in my opinion.
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Reading through all these comments has me wanting to learn how to spin my own string up too
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It’s something I would encourage every serious thrower to try at least once 
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I like most YYSL strings, so that would have to be my favorite manufacturer. I also like the YYR string. I’ve never been a big fan of the few kitty varieties I’ve tried. Don’t care for the feel (most important for me) and they don’t seem to last long (less important). There are a lot of strings I’ve wanted to try but haven’t for one reason or another. Out of stock etc
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So basically it is Nylon or death as far as you’re concerned?
I’ll note that One Drop ships all their yo-yos with this string… it’s 12¢ per…
… so let me be clear, are you saying that One Drop is shipping low quality strings on all their yo-yos that are not fit for anyone to use, and will wear out in one hour of play? 
Of course OD does also make a nylon string (Choice Long Cuts, 80¢ each), but I’ve heard a bunch of complaints about it as being “too rough” as well.
Nylon kinda bums me out, I tried the Kitty 1.5 blend and suuuper did not care for it. But I want to try a few more blends.
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I love kittystring Fat. It’s pretty cheap and you can get it almost anywhere. I prefer thicker strings and definitely want to try Yoyostringlab. Any recommendations @MattB
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There’s different types of nylon. The nylon kitty and one drop uses is not wooly nylon, which is the type of nylon most people rave about. Airetic is currently the only one that makes this type right now that I know of. Heartstrings might too but I’m not positive. Epic Threads Magic Threads were the only ones of this type ever sold on YYE I’m pretty sure.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried it, because like I said, most people that have sold them were smaller companies. Big yoyo string, crocostring, epic threads, spool, Airetic, these are the only ones to my knowledge that have ever sold them within the past 5 years.
Frankly I don’t really like the type of nylon kitty and OD use either, I’d rather use YYE poly. But I would use the thread that Airetic uses over everything else and it’s not even close.
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So basically it is Nylon or death as far as your concerned?
No, my point is different strokes for different folks. In your initial comment, you mentioned that you didn’t feel like “durability” was an actual “feature” of string. I do. That doesn’t mean that everybody should seek to play durable strings, but for me personally, it’s a deal breaker as far as what I’ll actually pay money for in any kind of bulk amount. No matter how “cheap” they are.
so let me be clear, are you saying that One Drop is shipping low quality strings on all their yo-yos that are not fit for anyone to use, and will wear out in only one hour of play?
Of course I’m not saying that. Some, if not most people prefer that type of string. I don’t however. Yes they wear out pretty quickly, but again, some if not most people do not really mind the durability of poly strings. I do, it kind of drives me nuts. I like to get more than 30 minutes to an hour of play out of my strings, personally.
Of course OD does also sell a nylon string (Choice Long Cuts, 8cents each), but I’ve heard a bunch of complaints about it being “too rough” as well.
I’ve actually tried them myself, and for clarification, they are not pure nylon, they are a blend (nylon/poly). They piqued my interest because that is what I personally prefer, a blend of nylon/poly, so I traded someone for some of my own. I liked them from a performance standpoint, and they definitely played strong for a good 5-6 hours, but I’d never buy them for personal use. I can buy a spool of each type of thread for 8-12 dollars total, and get waaaay more than ten strings. I don’t mind the roughness at all, I’ve got calloused carpenter hands.
Nylon kind of bums me out too, it’s too bouncy and light, on its own… I much prefer it in a blend with trilobal poly (not the same as spun poly). Trilobal is super rough and plasticky, but it gives the nylon a solid backbone; tames it a little. And in turn, the nylon offers a little softness and springiness. Just a little though. There are also a few different kinds of nylon, all quite different from one another too.
Another feature I love about my own blend, is that when they do finally start to poop out, they don’t get super grippy and snaggy like poly does. They just feel… dead.
On a side note, I actually don’t mind using strings similar to Kitty fat from time to time. Especially when I’m not in the mood for slacky/whippy type tricks. They don’t have nearly as much “punch” as my blend. They can preform those kinds of elements, but I’ve really got to baby them for it to happen. I’m kind of spoiled lol.
Takeaway is this: This isn’t me saying “use my blend cause’ everything else is inferior” or “durability should be the key deciding factor in everyones decision to buy strings”.
Durability is a feature of a string. Not, the only or best feature, but a feature nonetheless. You don’t appear to understand why someone would be inclined to prefer to use a string that lasts a very long time (10+hours of play): I’m saying that as a whole, when you get into the realm of strings that are playable for that long, the durability is usually just a pleasant byproduct of the overall performance.
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YoYoStringLab: Venom
Ever since the first time i ever tried it i have literally not used any other string afterwards.
One of the main reasons i Loved YYSL was bc of how soft the strings were and easy going on your fingers! I was not one to use yo-yo gloves bc i liked to feel the string reguardless of the burn. But YYSL strings allowed me to enjoy yo-yoing to its fullest without having to worry about string burns!
Venom: is polyester but slightly tightened which makes it great for whips and slacks!
Tons of color options. My go to forever.
<3
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@yoyo_girl_700 The thickest I make is Ammo. Johnnie DelValle “JD” liked my Type X (which is a regular thickness, but soft string) but he wanted something thicker for his slack style. The result is Ammo which he calls “slackalicious”.
Next thickest is Plutonium which is much closer to regular thickness, but a nice middle ground if you also do layers in the gap.
Venom is the closest to Type X in terms of thickness, but its secret weapon is that it whips like the thicker Ammo without the bulk in the gap.
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I’m curious why so many colors of, say, Plutonium go out of stock (like the neon colors). Aren’t these strings constantly being made? Or are they being phased out?
It’s just interesting to me that every single poly string is categorically ruled out forever based on your preference.
Particularly because I personally can’t warm up to nylon at all. I’ve had Spool and Airetec samples that I tried here (in fact i just strung up an Airetec string someone sent me based on this discussion), those are supposedly “the best” but I find them plasticky and soapy and bouncy. I actually gave away the Spool I had (only ~5 strings) because I disliked it so much @andy569.
To me, Nylon even as a blend is one of those things that people have to actively sample to determine if they’ll like it. It’s so risky to recommend it as “every string should be made with this, period”.
Whereas poly string, even the 12¢ bulk poly string included with every One Drop, is far less risky. And if it was really that awful, why would One Drop ship every yo-yo they make with it?
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How are you extrapolating all of this from what I’ve said? Have you even read anything that I’ve written thus far? Nobody said you have to use nylon. And nobody judges you for using poly strings. I never said that one drop strings were awful, I would just never buy them in bulk, and I certainly don’t prefer them over my own strings.
Hate is a strong word, isn’t it
I guess I was extrapolating from there – it’s unusual to hate poly so unconditionally, given how prevalent it is.
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It is a strong word. I do not enjoy using poly strings. Just because I hate using poly doesn’t make it terrible. I have used a lot of different poly strings, and I’ve spun a lot of Polly myself. I’m just not a fan of it. That doesn’t make it terrible though.
And on the flip side, just because you don’t like nylon strings doesn’t make them terrible. You just don’t like them, that’s fine.
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It would actually be easier if nylon was the next logical evolution in string, just like nobody really uses cotton strings any more, (outside of extreme starburst friction temperature 2a play) because poly came along and was clearly so much better.
I don’t think “clearly so much better” is the case for nylon at this time, though.
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