String Bounce vs broken in string, vs dead string?

General Yo-Yo
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Hey guy’s, Ive been trying to google this lots as ive come into some questions. Ive seen scatterred answers across threads about string length etc, but nothing to specific. As a new thrower, Id like to understand the fundamentals Im about to ask, and what everyone prefers.

For perspective, I use Alphaline bulk string, I think its 50% nylon, 50% poly? I have tried kitty in the past, so someone could chime in answering my questions for both strings, or just keep it to the alphaline blend.

1.) String bounce, who prefers string bounce from a fresh string, and why?

Does it make slack string tricks easier? Does it make whip tricks easier?

How much play until the bounce is gone, and how much longer does the strong get?

Id imagine you start playing short, then you end up playing long string?

2.) Broken in string, does it still have bounce? Will it still stretch a tad?

If it has minimal or no bounce, does that make it easier or harder for slack tricks and whip tricks?

What are the pros and cons of a bouncy vs dead string?

Ive come across thinking about this because of string length. In the past I never pre stretched my strings, I just cut and play.

If I were to pre stretch, Id have consistency with length, but I loose the bluncy phase (do I miss out on any performance advantage?)

3.) To stretch a string. How hard do you pull, and for how long? Lets say, 1 foot sections pulling big force (20 pounds?) And holding for 10 seconds before grabbing the next 1 foot of string. Can you damage or ruin a new string from pre stretching? Could it kill the string?

4.) If you Dont pre stretch alphaline (blend) how many inches will it stretch out. Thinking an easy method is belly button height with no string tension, then it should stretch out to desired length after (how many throws)

To summarize

Bounce vs dead, pros and cons.

Pre stretching, dos and donts?

When is a string actually dead requiring replacement.

And I use a blend, Alphaline bulk. I dont see myself using any other string. It looks sweet and works well.

5.) I find my throw hand finger loop slips on my finger and twists, its no longer centered and the string is coming off to rhe side during the middle of a trick and that messes me up. How do I avoid this? Wet my finger first? Maybe the strings to slippery?

I think this will be an awesome thread for alot of new players, as it sums up many queations in one.

Lastly, longer string gives me more power! The speed and spin times of a hard throw are at least 30% greater or more, from 3"? Maybe a little longer, has anyone else noticed this?

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First Alphaline is bulk poly, not a blend. It is one of the best bulk polys though.

  1. I dont like string bounce, I pre stretch all my strings. I find a string that has been stretched holds its shape and torsion better.

  2. I pre stretch my strings so stretch from play is always minimal.

  3. I pull fairy hard from the ends for 15-20 seconds. I dont want to feel “real” stretching, but I am applying a good amount of force. If you have extra string to ruin, pull really hard and you’ll notice the difference between a correct prestretch and the string seriously elongating due to damage.

  4. I find my prestretch routine adds 3-4 inches to the string, and that is consistent between my two favorite strings: Alphaline and Kitty First Class Fat (primary)

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I prefer bouncy strings because they make the yoyo feel lighter.

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For being serious, no bounce preferred bc my tricks are more consistent. For being casual, bounce is cool w me when I put on a fresh string bc it feels fun and I’m just lazy! hah! I used to prestretch but now I just play it for like an hour or so again mostly because I’m lazy and don’t mind it for a little while. When the string is broken in and stretched, I keep using it for a long time after that.

Also make sure the loop isnt too big or too small. you want the knot of the tied loop not near the slipknot and one way works better for staying on like try flipping the slipknot around 180 degrees if it’s slipping.

Also in regards to string length and power, yes you can increase power by increasing string length especially when going from belly button length to 3 inches longer. There are diminishing returns though like there wouldn’t be a power increase if you went from like sternum height to as tall as you. This is a very dramatic example. All the info you want to know and more is in these documents.

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I stretch my new strings as well. I’ve found that it actually does help with tension down the line, I could personally care less about bounce but it is kinda fun once in awhile with a fresh string.

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Im not sure I follow with the slip knott? Could you ppease elaborate?

And thanks to everyone who has chimed in! Tons of excellent info, exactly what I was looking for :slight_smile:

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No problem so notice how it looks like one string on the thumb side and two strings on the pinky side. That’s the way I orient the slipknot and I do a fairly small loop when I tie the set the string length and then it doesn’t slip. If the lump of knotted string is too close to that intersection, it can also cause the slipknot to slip.

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I like the bounce of a fresh string so I don’t prestretch and I haven’t noticed any difference in my yoyo performance or noticeable lengthening of my string while it’s getting stretched through play. I’m sure it is though but I don’t notice/it doesn’t bother me because I use longer strings anyways. The way GTdropknot shows is the right way for the slipknot to be oriented on your finger, I don’t understand why but if you wear it the other way it will slip more. If you still have problems with string slipping one thing you can do is pull an additional loop through your usual slipknot and put that around your finger this will make it so you can make the loop a lot tighter and it almost locks in place, downside of this is it can feel too tight and almost cut off circulation sometimes. Another option is to get some beeswax or something similar like rosin and rub it on the string loop and the area it contacts the string and that does a good job of preventing slip without making the loop uncomfortable.

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I always pre-stretch my strings now. I didn’t used to but when I finally got around to trying Kitty String, it said you should stretch them and it really does seem to help with torsion as they break in. Also, if I don’t stretch them, within a hour they’ll be a few inches longer, so I do it for consistency.

If I feel the need for a little bounce, I use some pure nylon string. Even when stretched, nylon seems to stay pretty bouncy.

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This is perfect, thank you! It also looks like the loop you pull the string through is quite small, vs my loop is finger - thumb size, and I pull the strong through that.

So small small loop for slipknott and orientate double string on ulnar side of the wrist.

Thanks man!

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I like the bounce of a new string. I replace them when they start to feel dead. On the slip not slipping, try turning it 180 deg as noted above. In my case though it works better for me the opposite of what GTDropKnot uses. I like the two strings on the thumb side. When the loop is on my finger I want it to pull tighter when I pull the free end toward my pinky finger. (YMMV)

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This might be super dumb, but what are people doing when they say pre-stretching? Just pulling on the string for a certain amount of time?

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Yes, that’s exactly what I outlined earlier in the thread.

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Did an experiment and it think this has to do with the size of the loop when you first tie it. I do it smaller but if I do It larger, the other way works better. I’ll edit that to omit correct.

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So sorry, thank you for that!

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no need to apologize, the thread is long lol.

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Not sure there is a “correct” way. When I started I did mainly looping tricks and determined that the way I am orienting the string worked for me to keep the string from slipping when doing loops. When I started doing more 1A type things I just kept it the same way out of habit.

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I haven’t changed my string in 4 years . I refuse to submit to the industrial string complex.

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I like the feeling and the colour of a new bouncing string but is not the best to play in my opinion, if it is a 100% poly there are no problems about stretching it stay basically at it’s own size (just a tiny bit longer after some throw but I usually cut them a bit shorter), I tried with a full nylon and lol after 3 throw it become taller as me did not expect that.
At the beginning when the string is bouncy is easier to get messed up and have the torsion all over the place during slacks and similar, there is a sweet spot that I reach after more or less 2 hours of play where the string colour is still perfect a some of bouncing feeling is gone and doesn’t get messed up easily during slacks.

I use so many dead strings, I change them once a month or even more and I play many hours a day, I just cannot be bothered, it depend of the string and while basically all of them loose their nice neon colour some string keep working perfectly, the ZIpline Alphaline are crazy and a winner on this, I have one from 2 months played daily and still slacks are perfect doesn’t get too messed up or give problems while playing, I will change it soon just because I am scared that it get broken at the base but otherwise is just great, the Aceyo I can feel when they dying, they become unpleasant to play and very thin and them start to get really messed up, the Monkey fingers Vines are similar to the Alphaline but the torsion start to be all over the place at some point.

I prefer a broken in string for playing or filming but I do love the feeling and bounciness of a new one

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Bouncy string slacks fast, but tends to become longer over time and looses tension. Sochi recently collaborated with Anderson (a player and an internet personality in China) to create a string that prevents this.

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