Krom has got by far the maddest slayers on one companies pro team like fisher and Thorkild, and obviously Bonz.
They are very underrated but I can't say they are the best. If you put an active ken on a cush you won't regret it.
After having an internal debate with myself over the past year or so I am still considering this question. Sweets is obviously up there...affordable Kendamas with a reputation for giving back to the community. Grain Theory is really great too...cutting edge damas and a pro image that is great. Kendama USA is super prolific so they are a real contender as well. KROM is KROM so they KROM it up like no other....but if I were to pick one kendama company that is THE best...I would have to go with Clamp Kendama.
I am a Terra fan. Clean stuff. Hand turned damas are beauties. Love to oogle their insta lol. Great vibe from the company. GT #2
I'm going to go with Sweets Kendamas. I feel they've pushed kendama in the USA to a higher level. Not to mention the man himself is simply a legend. Mad respect Mr. Jorgenson!
I love how the Big 3 companies are all neck-and-neck. In fact, I could make the argument that it's an interchangeable title between the three.
Difficult to choose only one but my personal choices would be : - GT for the pro team and the aesthetic of their kendama. - KUSA for the playability (Craft shape series are just perfect to me) and their large offer. - SOL for their "community love" because it feels good to not being considered as a Number. Chad has always kind words or small surprises and the Sol shape is nice. One year ago, I would have said KROM because the Slaydawg was my Go-To at that time but after 2 purchase with 20g Tama/Ken Difference, I completely lost confidence into them and stopped buying from them. It might have change now though...
I know I already chose Sweets but I have to say I've been feeling the love from Kendama USA lately. Those guys (and gals) have gone out of their way for me many times now, and it seems like they are happy to do so. Not to mention the craft slim plus is the best kendama ever made. Also, their sales and pricing can't be beat. KUSA all the way!
i don’t have any KUSA damas but i love how much new stuff they drop. it’s new designs every other week
exactly. I lot of people were annoyed that they hadn't created a new shape in a really long time as they didn't drop stuff regularly at all. But now, they're super dope and I pretty much only use kusa damas (even though I did use their damas a lot even when others were annoyed with them).
Their (kusa) whirlwind sale going on right now is off the chain. Unbelievable discounts including buy one get one mugens for $100. Just snagged a $200 mystery box. Super excited!
There's definitely an interesting cycle of major companies dropping new damas. The pop came out maybe 6 months after I started playing and at the time it felt like KROM and Sweets were leaving KUSA in the dust with their better shapes and constant drops of new colorways. It feels like KUSA has totally flipped that situation on its head the past few months and have been putting out new damas nonstop. I've definitely been jamming a ton of kusa damas recently and haven't bought anything from Sweets in a minute. I know the decade mod dropped which was sick but otherwise it's been pretty stale in terms of new shapes or major product.
I think a lot of that, for Sweets, can be contributed to the fact that most of their new drops within the last year+ have been the custom V-series drops. Sweets hasn’t really pushed their base Prime series since they released the newer Primes (the Radars, Sports Stripes, etc), but what makes Sweets stand out among the larger kendama companies is their painting their kendamas in shop. Unfortunately they only have one painter in the Sweets shop painting all the Prime and Homegrown customs so of course there will be a large gap of time between each drop, maybe more depending on design conceptualizing and how it needs to be painted, the quantity they make (which may/may not be the quantity they actually put on sale depending on the end quality result) and the coating process as well (this last drop with the Beer series I believe were both Pro and Cushion Clear options).