My birthday is actually coming up in like a month and im willing to spend up to 100 US dollars on a good setup that will last me a very long time (min. 9 Months) any suggestions? Only ones i have are: Hickory Homegrown w/ F3 Splatter Split Seabird (Tama Only) and then i have Birch GT-1 with Arctic Fade F3 Cushion Tama. If you have any setups that are good please help me out.
Get a slaydawg. I'm getting mine soon but from everything I have heard that is going to be one of the best kens for under $100 you can get. Homegrown are obviously a crowd favorite as well but slaydawg is getting high marks. If you have a hundred to spend though you might want to get like a KUSA promod and maybe a Homegrown birch or something like that. Those will definitely last you 9 months
I would get a Kendama USA pro model, Sweets Kendama pro model, any natty Kaizen, any Kaizen craft, or any of the natty homegrowns offered by Sweets(except for the spectras because they have a slightly higher chance of breaking). It really depends on whether you want to put in the work to break in a natty or not. Just pick whichever kendama you think fits your playstyle!
I recommend any kaizen craft or sweets cusion. The new krom slaydawg promods look fire too. There are also new affordable kaizen 2.0s that came out with silk paint in half, trip, and 70/30 splits.
Even though you already have a GT, I would recommend getting another one but with a raw ash tama. It plays super well when broken in, especially on spectrum kendamas. Other good options are KUSA Craft, KROM Slaydawg, or maybe even a PNW Kotodama (made by some of the old KenCo slayers). Those are just some of the more premium options, but you could always get 2 for a lower price
My personal favorites are the KUSA 2014 Pro Models paired with an Ozora ken. I have the CCS and Alex Smith Pro Mod tamas on oz kens and they both lasted me about a year.
I would recommend a Sweets Homegrown, those are really great dramas. I also really love the Booger Homegrown.
Purpleheart Stripe Homegrown. Hands down the best Kendama I've ever played.. I've owned about 5 of the things in my Kendama life, and I plan on owning MANY more!
I have a Wine Ash Pineapple RAW with a purple silk Tama so money. But can't go wrong with a RAW natty Paduak Stripe.
Any of the 5 new 2017 Sweets Kendamas Pro Models. Awesome paint, beautiful designs, micro bearing string bead, maple ken. Super honed. Sweets Homegrowns are definitely a bang for your buck. Great quality for a reasonable price. I see that you have mostly Sweets stuff, if you want to branch out from Sweets, RWB also sells some great products! The new KenUSA Crafts and Kaizens seem nice too!
Rwb classics are really good. They have a good variety of wood types to choose from, you can get just the ken or just the tama, and if you choose a full setup you can mix and match woods to make a dream setup (i.e. Maple ken and ash tama)
really have been likeing my birch rwb classic I'd highly recommend and for only 40 bucks you can't beat it
Birch was my first classic and i love it. Put a birch GT tama on it. Just got a hickory classic ken and ash tama mix today too