So, a kendama that seems to have some lowkey hype is Sol's new line of "Sol Shape" kendamas. My first impression is that they follow in the spirit of the Sweets Prime: solid color, sticky paint, and new shape at an affordable price. Chad Covington and the Sol crew even came out with a hilarious edit promoting them. How do they play? I Want to know because of the fact that the new shape is hyped up but I don't seem to hear any unique points about the ken (unlike Sweets hyping bigger cups, and other brands like Yumu and Fortress releasing full breakdowns of their newly released kens).
It's unique imo. Almost as thick as a slaydawg. Great stall points, and the paint breaks in and holds up great. Tama is slightly larger than standard to match the size upgrade. I love mine and contemplate gettin a second here's one side by side with an OG HG and an LBB
Nice comparison pic! Desoto had one with him at Van Jam 4, I only got to try it out very quickly, seemed rad though! That promo vid is lolz. Literally just trolling the whole industry
Old thread but I'm really digging the sol shape right now. On it's way up to becoming my favorite shape actually, It honestly goes against the slim shapes everyone is doing nowadays, but still feels slim somehow and seems to have the best of both worlds in all aspects. When I got my Mustard Pastel, I was half expecting your average ken with a sticky tama on top. I was TOTALLY wrong! I did a little jam with it and discovered this was not the case! The lunar balance is ON point but HOLD UP... the SLINGERS! It's honestly the best ken for gunslingers. How is that possible? Lunars AND Slingers! Rounded cup edge fits nice to the tama and really locks in stalls. Huge cups, as big as sweets prime cups (The bottom cup is a lot bigger though!) but are justified by the size boost. I assume the thick bottom cup yet slim handle/spike are responsible for the slingers, while the extra thick sarado gives you all the lunar balance you want! I thought it was just this ken that was special, but I copped another Sol shape - the rubber opposite day dama, this one exceeds the price tag by far - and AGAIN I'm blown away. Same situation, AMAZING slingers and AMAZING lunars, all in one ken! Stalls, cups, spikes, balance, so so crispy and smooth. Don't forget about the spinner bearing! I highly recommend the Sol shape.
You hit the nail on the head with the "big cups + slim handle = Lunars and Slingers for days". I've been jamming a Sol Shape Ken with a Thorkild May pro mod tama for a while now. The Sol Shape is by and large superior to the Slaydawg ken. Only think I don't like is the tama; bevel isn't too wide so stalls don't stick.
Feels weird the first time (especially the lunar balance ) but reveals to be very pleasant to play expecially withe the combination of Mapke Ken and Ash tama (only tried the KD mod) however, since they are a litlle bit bigger, both the tama and the ken it's heavier than a standard size, and to my knowledge the mass repartition is much more better than on slaydawgs, definetely recommend Edit : If you like the sticky paint like Lol clear too ahah
Bumping to ask if people's Kd mods have taken a while to break in for stalls. I think @KeeganS has a few so you might be able to answer this.
I've got my Slayers Club at home, which is on a Sol Shape... And while I love the design work (one of my favorite Damas I own), I'm not huge on the playability. Ive found it to be one of the most chunky kens in my collection, which I'm not a huge fan of. Gimme slim shapes all day.
I may not jam it often... But my Slayers Club is one of my absolute favorite Damas Every bit of that design work is so clean. That Pinocchio. That green on black tama. It's just to gorgeous to ever give up. Solid effort with the perfect meme though LMAO (Btw.. Why does Lundberg from Office Space remind me of Skaggs as an old man?!)
I have seen others do it, works out no problem. The sol shape tama is already ~2% larger than standard anyways, so a slaydawg tama around 3% larger will work no problem. Other plus sized tamas get even bigger, but honestly I would prefer a larger tama on smaller ken rather than a larger ken with a tiny tama.
"If you could go ahead and lace that trick.... That would be greaaat. Oh, and I'm gonna need you to come string Damas on Sunday as well. Yeah." *sips coffee*