There are so many kendama companies and brands out there. Large ones like KendamaUSA, Sweets Kendamas, and Krom and a number of smaller brands like Analog and Fujin. I'm curious why you buy from the companies that you all do. Love for that brand in general? The shape? Wood? Paint? Customer service? What brings you back to them over and over?
I love all different brands, including all I haven't tried (which is quite a few), because of what they are all able to contribute to kendama. That being said, Sweets has to be my #1. It was actually the Homegrown documentary that first sold me on not just them, but kendama in general. Seeing all that Sweets does in the community is sort of what helped me realized that it's not just a useless pastime, and people really have this killer passion and drive to push the game further and spread the joy behind it to as many people as possible. Plus, I'm all about that HG shape, and can't wait for the new shape
options to choose own wood types and shapes. and great coimmunication between the customer service. I can't put this hickory and ash down! lovely work from RWB!
I love cereal and its the only brand i have multiple kens bought frm currently. Their tamas have really big bevel and their paint is really tacky but has the perfect amount of slip too. Really friendly owners too
GT I buy from these guys because they're the homies, they're my favorite company, and the kendamas/brand is just dope in general. I'm lucky enough to get to jam with some of the team every week, so the fact that I can buy product from them or jam new product before its released is always awesome. Shape - The GT-1 shape almost always has a good balance between lunars and slingers, 2 tricks I like switching between a lot. The swoop feels good for juggles and ken-flip tricks. The Stodd shape slings just a bit better than the GT-1 for me, and handle-stalls are easier on it. Still breaking in the 1.5 shape, but its good for lunars so far considering that the spike is kind of short still. Wood - The selection is dope. I think I have every hardwood ken they dropped besides walnut and mahogany. I'm also a fan of their spectrum selection; they have some nice looking colorways. Its because of GT that birch is pretty much my favorite wood type. Paint - The raw ash tama is so dope that its eliminated any desire I used to have for sticky or super tacky paints. Over 90% of my collection is now natty or glossy tamas. KUSA I buy from these guys because they're the reason I got into kendama. A red tribute was my first kendama, so that was the one that started it all for me. Shape - I'm a fan of thinner kens, so I'm glad to see that they're offering the "Slim" shape now. The new kaizen 2.0 shape is dope too, I'm a fan of the bigger basecup. Wood - The fact that they're offering ash and maple for the Crafts is dope. Beech is always going to be a classic kendama wood, but it's cool to see that they're starting to offer a wider selection. Plus bamboo! Haven't seen a KUSA bamboo since the tribs! Paint - KUSA silk is super jammable. Not super durable but not too prone to chipping, and it breaks in well. Good all around jammer. The newest line of the 70/30s and trip/half splits on the new woods is sick. Krom I only bought a Slaydawg because people would not stop talking about it. I had to see if it lived up to all the hype. If you scroll down my statuses, I think you'll find what my opinion of it is now. Terra While I don't have any Terra kens, I do have tamas. Terra paint is like the perfect matte paint to me. I'm a fan of their battlescar series; both tamas I have from them are white battlescars. Sweets I don't own a lot from Sweets anymore; I sold my HG and my natty cush F3 a while ago cause I needed money for parking tickets lol. I haven't copped anything from them in a long time, just because I always had other kendamas to jam/wanted to purchase. I am a fan of their HGs, wood selections, and their brand in general. They're always one of the companies I recommend to new players. Been kind of wanting a fruit punch spectra and a Willy P mod as of lately. KenCo Well I USED to buy from the Co because they were like the "nice jammers at a good price" brand for me. They had a cool team and were starting to offer cool products before they shut down. Plus I liked Girr paint and they were pretty much the only place to get Girr paint from at the time. These are really the only brands I own, mainly because I've started to try and thin down my collection to more premium damas rather than a whole bunch of jammers.
That's a given for anyone following my IG. Sol has really great products and have a huge variety to choose from. Ken only options, ash, maple, walnut and other woods, the Vibes and Pioneers and Flow mods, plus i've always recieved the best customer service from them, timely responses and service loyalty.
I mainly buy from KendamaUSA because it was the first kendama company that I was introduced to. I also really like their shapes, paints, designs, and vibe in general. I also use their online shop to buy from the other brands that they feature (such as ozora, krom,etc). These other brands are also my main favorite brands, so it works out perfectly. Other companies that I am interested in include: DWI, Grain Theory, Sanga, Sulab, Terra, RWB, Mugen Musou, and a few others. These are all companies that I currently have not tried out, but I like their styles, and they seem like great kendamas that I would stick with.
SOL An amazing company with beautiful quality products like the most recent Sol Pioneers. Not only that I met Will Schiebe and Chad over the summer at LVKO and they are both amazing people with wonderful personalities. That is why I love Sol kendamas!