Hi everyone, I really want to buy a natty Kaizen 2.0. They are on sale for a great deal for the Kendama USA Spring Cleaning Sales. I'm not sure if I want to buy one, or which to buy. A lot of people on facebook say they think the ken shape is inferior and bad for slingers and lunars. I bought a kaizen 1.0 but returned it because it was tiny. Does anyone here like the Kaizen 2.0? Also, which natty should I get? I'm divided between ash, maple, and birch. Apparently ash is a favorite, but birch is tackier right out of the box.
I'd so go for a kaizen select. My maple select is my current daily driver, unlike what you say people are saying, mine absolutely slays for lunars and is decent for slingers. The kaizen 2.0 shape is underrated IMO. Feels really nice in your hand, and the cups are a good sizes. Mine has chipped at the base cup, but only because I dropped it on hardwood. Go for it for sure, and I'd so go birch.
Thanks for the replies everyone. The only natty I have played is the HG splice v3. It has the layers of species. I haven't played any full species natty.
I'd say the tama would be easiest to break in out of the three. it's a really soft species, and it won't chip for a while. If it's your first natty (kind of) than those are good factors, because you will most likely slay it pretty hard. I've had my maple for 4 1/2 months, and it's just starting to get decent grip for lunars. So if you have the time to break it in, maple is also a great choice, as it's very durable and feels nice IMO. Ash is pretty chipping prone, but ash tamas are really honed. They are really all great options. Ash has really good grain and good grip on the tama, but it chips easily. Maple is pretty durable (especially the spike), but it's going to require the longest break in time of the three. Birch won't chip and is going to break in well for stalls and balance tricks probably pretty quickly. It's really up to you, they all have different advantages. Also another quality option would be bamboo. It looks awesome and is honed for stalls (watch the promo vid for the 2.0 bamboos, Chris june laces around bird flip over the valley underbird handle bird or something, it's insane).
Thanks again for the dope response lol. I watched the video. Amazing moves. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of the look of the bamboo. After reading your break down of the pros and cons, it sounds like the birch is a good move. Maybe I'll cop an ash or maple trip split with it. I have big hands. Will that be a problem? My fiancé can always jam it if I can't fade. Also, 4 1/2 months?!? How has your spike lasted that long even with super glue?
Ok, getting a a birch natty + silk maple/ash is an awesome option. I would recommend getting a maple half-split (I have one coming tomorrow actually) and birch natty (or ash) because a lot of people really like a maple ken with an ash or birch tama. I'd say ash tama on maple ken is more popular, though. If you are searching for the perfect natty setup, I think ash select and maple half-split is the way to go (so you can match ash tama with maple ken), but if you're trying to setup the same wood for your natty, go birch select and a 2.0 silk ash or maple. About your hands, if you have comfortably played regular sized kens before, these shouldn't be a problem, but I can't really relate, I'm five feet tall... About the spike, idk man. I guess my glue is really good
I already have a couple maple kens though from my Sweets Pro Mods. Maybe I should just take the first advice and go birch natty and maple or ash silk (I'm thinking triple split instead of half split. I dig the teal, pink, black trip split).
I really like the Kaizen 2.0 above sweets to be honest. Yes it's a little difficult for slingers, but it takes practice. It's not impossible. I can do double slingers on mine. I just copied the Ash Kaizen 2.0 cuz I don't have enough Ash. The thing about my personal preference is that I think nattys are the best Kendamas out there. I like how I need to play it more for it to get better.