If you wrap some tape at the plug end to act as a strain relief/bend radius protector, and never unwrap the last turn around the yo-yo the cable will last much longer.

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I saw something once before saying that the reason the yo-yos die is that people use them with the cable wrapped around it, which makes them get too hot or something and they burn out, thus they should be used with the cable not wound around it - I had assumed that this was true, but is it not?

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Good question. Usually, for reliable electronics lower temperature is preferred. I do not know what temperature is reached internally and whether this is a significant cause of premature failure. I did make some surface temperature measurements.

Yo-yo top surface center measured temperature rises over ambient, power supply driving one amp into a resistive load box, at a constant 27.0 C room temperature:

fully wound power cord: 16.0 C over ambient (43 C measured surface temp)

one turn remaining: 14.0 C over ambient

fully unwound power cord: 13.8 C over ambient

unwound, paper draped: 18.1 C over ambient (single sheet of laser printer paper on top, simulating my office clutter, 45.1 C measured surface temp)

The cord wrap does make a measurable temperature difference of unknown significance, so always unwrapping all but the last turn (not my original recommendation!) is perhaps a reasonable precautionary strategy given that cord fatigue at the ends is a observed failure mechanism...unless the cord starts breaking along its length faster than the yo-yo fails from temperature! [?] [] ]'>