REZ, the Write Up

So I have been wanting a REZ kendama for a while now and I thought since it has been such a long time coming that it would be appropriate to write a review. Hope it helps anyone looking to pick up their first REZ KEN.

First off, I would like to give a shout of to @Kristoffer Cabal for his A+ customer service skills. I had been missing each REZ drop for the past 6 months or so and after sending him an e-mail detailing my predicament he made sure I got one and I had it within the palm of my hand in about 6 days. He was extremely professional in his interactions with me and I felt like he was someone who genuinely cared about the product he was selling. Please note that customers typically have to wait for the drops that come at the end of the month but he made an exception because I work up to 14 hours a day and happened to miss my chance to get a REZ for a long time. I feel this was an appropriate exception to his release schedule and I urge people not to blow up his inbox. Either way, Kris was understanding of my situation and went out of his way to fulfill a long awaited order. With that said, on to the review.

When I got my REZ kendama I was so excited I damn near broke my hands opening the package. It came in a soft parcel envelope, but there was no damage to the ken at all. It came with a drawstring bag, an extra string, and of course a pen and a couple strickers.The first thing I noticed when I took the REZ out of the bag was the extremely tight tolerance. The sarado and the ken fit together perfectly and they looked almost too good to be true. I'm sure they will eventually settle in and be a little looser but that happens with every kendama over time. I was surprised by how much flexibilty the kendama had, like there was a little more give than some wooden kendamas but in a good way. With this said I will likely not be playing over any hard surfaces because it feels like it would chip easily. I got the blue pastel and the outer coat has a nice grip to it, really interested to see how this holds up over time because the pastel paint feels almost pourous. All in all the ken is gorgeous and I have yet to own a kendama more visually appealing.

I strung my REZ up with a DWI Sticky AF, which the site recommends and so far it is a match made in Heaven. I landed a birdturn over the valley first try and this is a trick that I have been chasing for consistency for a while now. It is also super honed for lunars, stilts and lighthouses; lighthouses just stick like crazy with this combo. All in all this kendama is one of best I have ever played in terms of stall tricks. I am yet to really throw down some mean flow lines because I am still breaking it in and I wait to do freestyle on a kendama until I get it a little broken in. I will report back once I do.

All in all I give REZ a 5 star review. It is different than any kendama I have ever had, but in all the right ways. I will definitely consider buying another one in the future, and would recommend this ken to any kendama enthusiast. I wouldn't recommend it to a novice, because of the price tag and the vulnerability to chipping but for anyone who is looking to add an interesting piece to their collection, this is the way to go. Thanks again Kris for the awesome kendama, can't wait to shake your hand one day.

 

that is a good question, it is a little shorter than normal but i feel it will break in and be at that perfect spot. i will measure it for you later and get an exact dimension.

 

1" 9/16th. The dwi maple ken I got is is 1" 11/16th for comparison.

 

Did you glue the tip?

 

Take a bit of two sided tape and put it around a pencil. Then put a piece of sand paper over the two sided tape, or just glue sand paper to a pencil and take off a little bit at a time until it is where you want it to be.

 

Yeah I would have to see it to make the call, you are probably right though

 

Hello you all good people,

i am just very confused about stringing my REZ Kendama (one from @Kristoffer Cabal).

A friend of mine told me that before stringing a REZ Ken (basically before putting the sarado(cups) on the Ken/Stick) you should put the sarado in warm water for a short time because otherwise you can break the sarado by pressing it on the stick when you string it first.

Is that true?

I never heard of that before.. Can't find anything about it.. The REZ Website was already down as i got my REZ X GT-BH from the last drop..

It sounds very logical for me if you press it down to strong that it could break.. would be nice if someone could give me advice.

Thanks a lot,
cheers stordama

 

Kris had a video explaining the water thing and a couple other “maintenance” tricks on IG awhile back but now I can’t find it. From what I remember the hot water thing was to allow your sarado to go down farther (longer spike) since the heat expands the resin. That said, rez can definitely break if you try to jam them down like a wood ken and I’ve always either used the string kris provided or thin string of my own.

 

Thanks for answering that fast and looking for the Video on IG. Sad that you could not find it. Hope someone could send a link.

So did he do the whole Sarado in hot water or did he only let the middle thing (where the hole is) get wet a little bit?

The strings that where sent with the Ken are to short for me, but i have a 75m roll of 1mm string. I think thats ok.

 

So I have a rez dama and I remember seeing somewhere on how to get the shape back to normal if it is bent a little bit, but I cant seem to remember what to do again. HELP ME OUT PLEASE!!