The cages help keep things together and give me unlimited places to pull my training down to. I can start by pulling something down a little on one day and if I want to pull it further in a few days I can take it down about 3/4" or can pull it side to side to help open more bud sites. If I want to open things up more I can take my mounting point up toward the top of the plant and pull it further down the pot and not put as much pressure on the main stems. I used to use safety pins but it was just a single point I would have to move if I wanted to do the same. Hope this makes sense of not I can further elaborate