Except that it’s not. I use both regularly.
Hmm…I gave away all my YYSL strings so I can’t directly refute you on this. I remember them as thick and short, but I could be mistaken. Memory is tricky.
Now I use several types of Kitty, YYR, Candy Wires, and Toxic. Basically I ordered a ton of 10-packs at first and then decided which ones I liked, and I hated the YYSL offerings. Way too short. But to each his own…
I have to agree, yysl strings are way too short. I guess for those of you that are shorter ( like 5’10" and under), or like their string cut to length at their waist or bellybutton (short string play). that too me, and I’m sure many others, is too short. like said above, toxic does make the best length of string for the premium price you pay. I honestly think k that if a premium string maker is gonna charge $7-$10 for a 10 pack of strings, they should at the least be 52" in length…not the 45"-47" standard.
I have to chime in to the string debate and recommend Twisted Kevlar for their durability. A string that really doesn’t wear out quickly.
I’m 5’8" and still find them too short. Even if I tie the loop/knot as closely to the end of the string as humanly possible. I don’t know why any company would make strings this short. They’re missing out on a significant market share as people like you and I won’t buy them for the length reason alone. And I doubt the manufacturing costs of making the string 10% longer are significant enough to warrant the lost revenue decreased market share.
The length of string you prefer should have almost nothing to do with your height. The two things aren’t actually related, they just seem to be because of the old “cut off at your bellybutton” instructions that used to come with yoyos. 
The point is: the string doesn’t know how tall you are.
On a throw, your throw finger is a pivot point for the yoyo on a tether. The length will affect things like how much spin it generates, how much energy it takes to move it at X speed around the pivot point, etc.
In layman’s terms, the longer the string, the slower it will travel with the same amount of energy, OR the more energy it will take to get it up to speed.
In general… those of you with crazy long strings look sloppy. Even skilled players with long strings tend to look sloppy. There, I said it. HOWEVER… a select few of you with your crazy long strings are able to give it enough energy to make up for it and you reap the benefits-- especially during tech combos where you need longer string as formations get smaller and tighter. So I’m not saying there’s no point. I’m just saying you need to work for it and it’s really only useful for tech players.
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There’s one exception I cannot ignore: if you do “around the arm” manoevers, your arms are generally longer as you’re taller. A string that’s too short will be difficult to wrap around your body parts properly. I know that. But 90% of the videos we see with “too-long” strings are doing in front of the body combos.
I think everyone would benefit in terms of appearance (crispness and speed) if they discovered the shortest possible string that still accomodates their style. Shorten until it’s interfering in practical ways (not just “I"m not accustomed to this! It feels weird!” but true interference) and that’s probably the best string length for you.
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What? Of course they’re related. Maybe not from a tall person’s perspective, but the shorter you are, the harder it is to use long string because the throw becomes increasingly awkward as you must raise your arm to avoid hitting the ground. If I’m using a string like that, someone who’s 6’3" could comfortably throw it. He could also comfortably throw a short string. As in most areas of life, being tall is an advantage.
[quote=“GregP,post:26,topic:66330”]
No, it takes less energy to get the yo-yo up to speed with a long string because of gravity and centripetal acceleration. Try throwing with a 2" string and see how much spin you get.
I just tried this actually. With 2" I got no spin, it just wobbled out immediately. With 4" I could get a tiny bit of spin. I needed 10" of string to get enough spin to bind. I tried a couple more intermediate lengths I didn’t measure but the conclusion was certain: longer string = stronger spin.
[quote=“GregP,post:26,topic:66330”]
A lot of 5A tricks are easier with longer string. Some are also harder, but at the level I’m at now I do better with longer string.
Shai, you may be picking apart some language and making counter-arguments, but you’re not addressing what’s actually being said. You need to give reasonable benefit of the doubt in this kind of discussion…
I clearly wasn’t saying that a short person can play just fine with a super-long string. I’m pretty sure I even said a phrase along the lines of “within reason” when referring to length. And later on, I said that a person should go as SHORT as possible for comfort and TO FIT THEIR STYLE. You can’t pick and choose in order to craft a straw man to knock down.
It takes less of your personal energy to get a yoyo rotating. That’s not the “up to speed” I was referring to. I very… VERY clearly indicated that I was talking about the pivot point and the yoyo already at the end of a tether. That kind of speed. Not rotational speed. Another straw man. As for the 2" string, not only was I not talking about spin (RPM) of the yoyo … at all… but you didn’t give benefit of the doubt that an intelligent man isn’t talking about a 2" string. But since I wasn’t talking about spin… at all… if you take your 2" tether with a yoyo already spinning at the end of it (magically as fast as with a longer string!), you will do an “around the world” a LOT… LOT faster with it. Which is the kind of speed I was talking about. And it will require less energy because it will have less distance to cover in order to make a full rotation.
I can believe that tricks in all kinds of different styles work better with long string. But 5A in particular usually benefits from a shorter string. If you have a particular style that uses a lot of wraps, you’re more likely to be the exception rather than the rule. If you’re starting out and learning your first bee sting… it’s probably going to be easier to learn on the shorter string, isn’t it?
In any event I clearly stated that there are exceptions but that in general, people (especially young people) have a tendency to keep their string too long and look sloppy as a result. Don’t be disingenuous… you’ve seen it, I’ve seen it, we’ve all seen it. A video comes along and you think to yourself, “That’s not looking very clean… they either need to develop the skill necessary to keep those formations taut and those loops from getting floppy, or they need a shorter string.”
That’s all.
Eh… I take things pretty literally. So when you said “the more energy it will take to get it up to speed.” I thought it was vague but figured you meant rotational speed.
And regarding the length of the string vs. rotational speed, there is no “within reason.” Physics is physics. A 60" string will impart more rotational energy (and longer spin times) than a 55" string, which will impart more rotational energy than a 50" string, … , which will impart more rotational energy than a 2" string.
You also ignored the most important part of the post–that short people can’t use long strings. My main point was that height is relevant to string selection for short people. A girl (or a guy) who’s 5’0" is going to have trouble with a full length Kitty String. People my height can’t use YYF Super Long string (72"). Etc.
I did not ignore it. I addressed it head-on: “I clearly wasn’t saying that a short person can play just fine with a super-long string. I’m pretty sure I even said a phrase along the lines of “within reason” when referring to length.” That’s hardly ignoring it!
And I WAS talking literally, not figuratively… the fact that you “took it literally” in terms of spin speed isn’t my problem. I talked about moving around pivot points and the yoyo being at the end of a tether. You just latched onto your first false assumption. Doesn’t mean that you were literal and I was figurative.
It’s obvious that a 2" string will not facilitate the imparting of as much energy as a 60" string. To bring it up again is just revisiting the straw man you already knocked down. Since… again… and now you even acknowledge it… we’re not talking about rotational speed.
You’re not reading fully, which makes it tough to debate. Add your unwillingness to offer benefit of the doubt in terms of intention and it just becomes a game of “who can catch the other person saying something awkwardly” first. Which is an incredibly aggravating game to play.
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I’m going to ask JHB to look into letting people give TWO thank yous to a post. 
I was referring to the previous post. When you initially said string length has nothing to do with height. But you’ve clarified/conceded that point and I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said since, so there’s not really a debate to be had here.
I don’t know what you mean about me being unwilling to offer benefit of the doubt in terms of intention. I just misunderstand people sometimes, and they misunderstand me, because I’m autistic. I’m not playing any games. Give me a break.
I have and will continue to give you plenty of breaks.