So I have been noticing around the forums as well as my local meetup, that many players keep their string at its longest length. And it makes sense as you have more string real estate for tricks.
Now I started out doing the belly-button-high method, but soon went to a few extra inches. But nowhere near stock length. This morning out of curiosity I tried stock length on my YYSL Type X and I have to say it can be a bit unwieldy.
I think with time and practice I can get the hang of it, but why do you stick with stock length if you don’t mind me asking?
Personally I cut it to about an inch below my sternum. I’ve seen more than one yoyoer who would look a lot cleaner with a little length cut off. To each his own, but Ive not seen any real need for a 4.5 foot string for my needs. I think some people do it because they think it’s the cool thing to do.
Yeah I get the height factor, which is a legitimate reason, but the long string for a 10 yr old just to be like Zach is really more what I’m talking about.
Here’s what I think:
Shorter = more control, less complexity
Longer = less control, more complexity
For example,
Hiroyuki Suzuki uses really short string which allows him to do super fast combos and hops, sacrificing complexity for speed and control.
Zach Gormley uses pretty long string (likely a few inches above his sternum), which allows for flowy slacks and mind-bendingly complex combos that short string would simply not allow for. As a result, his play style is slower.
It really depends on your play style. Choose whatever you think works for you and is the most comfortable.
I personally like long string (~2-4 inches above my sternum, I’m 5’10ish), because it feels much less crowded when doing complex combos and mounts. I’m not a fast player by any means.
Its what every you like. I have seen short people playing with super long string doing fast smooth combo’s and seen tall people with short strings do complex slack string combo’s. the gear has very little to do with your style, even though if you read reviews you might think otherwise. Once you get used to long strings you will be fine. Just go with what feels right, and don’t be scared to accept that what felt right yesterday feels wrong today. Yoyoing is more of an art then it is a technical practice. Very little that is true for one is going to be true for the next.
Man, that is long! I’m also 5’10 and I have mine cut about 2 inches below my naval, so that’s a large difference between the two of us.
I currently prefer the shorter string myself as it keeps everything tidier and faster. You obviously don’t get anywhere near the degree of slack control that you do with a longer string, but my style isn’t excessively slack heavy so it isn’t really a problem for me.
Uh, oops. I’m think I meant navel, not sternum. 2-4 inches above my sternum would be darn near uncontrollable, and I’m sure I would hit the floor a lot.
My longest string is about level with the bottom of my sternum, not above it. Anatomy is not my specialty.
I do know what you mean about short string though. I used to use navel-length string, but I switched to long string a few weeks ago after trying to learn more complex tricks like Ladder Escape and Grandma Kimmitt Sandwich. The latter is especially uncomfortable with short string.
Although length of string doesn’t affect how fast the yoyo can move(which is what I think you’re talking about), the point is that the elements can’t be done as rapidly(meaning that they happening one after another really quickly) as with a short string. Note that this is the potential rate of elements we are talking about. A short string may actually inhibit speed because it makes you cramped, or you just can’t react quick enough. I personally use stock length.
I really wish Blueprints were the same relative length for me… I’m 6’2", so they’re barely up to my belly button, which is just too short for me. If they weren’t pre-tied, and were the same length as Kitty, Blueprints would absolutely be my go to bulk string.
Does anybody know how long Toxic Primes are? I really want to try them, but the fact that they’re pre-tied is turning me away… I really don’t want to spend money on them if they’re going to be shorter than Kitty.
Sure they can, you just have too hold your hand farther apart. The yoyo will move at the same rate long or short string, because the rate has too do with how far the last segment of the string between your hands and the yoyo is. I can have a string full length and one half length, with the same segment length at the end during any element creating the same speed of moving from one trick too another. your comment suggest people can’t move their hands apart or otherwise mitigate the string length which they can, and do frequently.
I’m not really sure what your saying. Let me be clearer myself.
Hiroyuki has a speed combo that he is known for. If he did it with a longer string, it would take longer because the yoyo would have to travel a longer distance overall. Do you agree with that?
I have Toxic Primes coming in tomorrow (according to tracking), I’m 6’0" so I’ll post how that goes in here.
I used to do the belly button measurement all the way up through the intermediate trick list here on YYE, but once I hit advanced, I found the extra string gave me the room to clean up my tricks a bit. I usually go about 4" above my naval now, or a full set of fingers up from my naval (actually 8.5cm now that I check)
I wind up cutting a good inch and a half off of fat kitty, I may try leaving it whole to see what happens, but this feels like an optimal length for me (short enough to control the swing speed of the yoyo, and long enough to perform string tricks uncrowded)
Thanks, I appreciate it. A relative length to Kitty would be great.
I kinda wish lengths were posted for each string, it would make things much easier to know if they’ll be long enough. I know they can vary by an inch or two within a pack of 100, but an average length would be nice to know.
