How to Quickly Choose the Perfect Yoyo Strings for You

Have you ever happened to use your yoyo strings received within your yoyo package and wear them out? You don’t really know what is the best option for your yoyoing style? You shouldn’t worry, as I’ll present you the options available for you. I’ll also guide you to choose the string that perfectly suits you.

Let’s see what are our options from which to choose!

Polyester string vs cotton strings

Most of the strings are made of these standard materials: cotton, polyester or both.

Polyester strings often come in fluorescent yellow and that gives you more visibility for performing technical tricks. If you really need to see clearly what you’re doing, polyester is the best for you.

This kind of strings feel really soft when you play, maybe too soft for your taste, but that isn’t such a big problem. The main advantage of the polyester string is the durability of it compared to a cotton string.

The cotton string feels a bit more rough and helps with fixed axle throws and other responsive tricks and stuff. It has much more grip onto the response pads(for those who aren’t familiar with this term a response pad is the rubber circle around the bearing: see more about it and other replacement parts here).

Unfortunately, the cotton string wears out really quickly and you will be expected to change it very often. If you play with a 50-100 bucks yoyo and your cotton string wears out, it will be nasty to see the string break and the yoyo fall onto the ground.

You can also buy 50/50 strings to benefit from both types of strings.

 

Type 6 and type 8 strings- what’s the difference?

It may have happened to you to wander in a yoyo shop and see type 6 and type 8 strings and wonder what this actually means. Type 6 has three threads on each strand of the yoyo string.

There are 2 strands when you untwist the string and if you multiply it to the number of threads your result will be 6 (basic arithmetic -Duh :)) ). For type 8 you have guessed what ? 4 threads on each strand (Captain Obvious, you know :)) ).

Type 6 allows you to fit in more strings inside the middle of the yoyo. Type 8 is perfect for looping tricks causing more friction and grip between the string and the response system. This will allow you to have more powerful throws and make winding easier.

Kitty string

 

Kitty Strings are one of the most popular types of string used by yoyo players around the world. We can see clearly why, by having a look at the pros of this string :

1. Firstly they are long, and this feature represents a great help when you do combos, and complicated technical tricks.
2. Kitty feels soft, nice and light in your hands while performing stunts with your yoyo.
3. They hold tension in slack tricks, an important part of a yoyo player skill set.

However, Kitty strings are not perfect and you need to take care of some negative aspects such as :

1. These strings wear out relatively quickly (within a week or two depending on how many hours you spend playing with the yoyo).
2. When they wear out, they get slippy on the response pads. Plus, they start to have a greyish look which seems dull to me.
3. Kitty strings are a bit more expensive than the average string.

This type of string is still a viable option, so I recommend you to buy it even if it has some disadvantages.

Blueprint string

Blueprint string has some slight differences from a regular kitty string.

Pros

1. It is more durable than Kitty String.
2. Blueprint is thick, which makes it perfect for having powerful throws and tight binds.
3. Doesn’t hold initially the string tension as well as a kitty string, but maintains it consistently for longer, thus being perfect for keeping doing slack tricks.

 

Cons

1. Feels more coarse on your hands and rough, but not that rough to make you hate this string.
2. Blueprint thickness may cause the yoyo to be more snaggy.
3. It may be shorter for your taste. However, if you want more control over your tricks, you should definitely use it.

What should I buy after all?

There isn’t an exact formula for choosing your string. If you are just starting yoyoing, you can begin by using a regular Kitty cord.

Once you get more advanced, you may try a shorter string, such as the Blueprint, to have more control over your tricks. Depends on you if you want a soft or rough string. If you want to have more powerful spin you can take a type 8 string.

If you aren’t satisfied with these options you can find out more about the best strings including more details about kitty string.

If you want to try out a new professional yoyo, you should definitely check this out.

After all, it is up to you to choose the string that fits your needs. If you feel comfortable with Kitty string, just use it!

If you have any opinions, suggestions or questions, don’t hesitate to move on to the comments section and type them!