I was wondering what your favorite premium kendamas are and what you love about them (aka RWB, GTs, Crafts, HGs, etc.). I called them premium as they are more pricey than the regular kendama. But I only own one premium kendama, a Homegrown, which I love.
Honestly it's totally up to each person I'm least familiar with RWB's but my friend has one and honestly it surprised me how amazing it felt in the hand, it's birch and matched with a cushion clear tama from sweets and it's incredible (amazing lunar balance) I have a Maple homegrown that is awesome as you proabbaly know, a little thinner which is nice I have a Craft Slim that is epic but I always feel like I'm gonna break it, that could be because it's slim though. I should add that it's probably my favorite looking kendama and lighthouses and lunars are super fun, great for slingers too And GT's, probably the priciest of the bunch but in my opinion. Worth it. I just got a birch Ken and the cups are huge and it just feels so durable, with a cushion clear tama it's so fun to play with, it is a little thicker but it's my favorite Ken
I have a GT-1 Gin n Tonic spectra, two Craft 2.0 (maple and ash), a hickory Homegrown, 2 RWB classics (birch and hickory), and an ash Nihon Slaydawg. Of them all, my GT and hickory RWB classic are my favorites. The GT has a totally broken in Sweets aTack white to teal fade tama on it that makes it great for lunars, lighthouses and stalls. Looks beautiful too! My hickory and ash RWB classic has that classic (obviously) look and feel and plays and sounds amazing. Still pretty fresh so still has a lot of breaking in to do, but definitely lovin' it so far!
I've heard some pretty great things about RWB. I've tried the classic shape, and I really liked it. I wanna try the OG soon.
Only tried slaydawg and gt. I've played several friends' slaydawgs, and obviously the paint is OP, but the thing that stood out to me was the obvious difference in size. They just seem super meaty in your hand. In terms of GTs I'm lucky enough to own a birch GT1 ken X raw ash and the thing slaaaaays. Birch is incredible and plays amazing. GTs are totally worth it, as well as crafts I've heard, jury's out on slaydawgs, homegrowns I've played as well are dependable and fairly ok for the price, but RWB is something I desperately want to try.
Definitely GT since I have like 11 of em lol. Its mainly because I have easy access to them and because raw ash tamas are prime. I had a padauk stripe HG once but I ended up selling it because I was playing my GTs more than I was the HG. I have been thinking of getting rid of a couple GTs in exchange for a HG though. I plan on getting an Ash Slim Craft and a RWB Classic ken in the (hopefully) near future. I played a friend's Ash Slim and it was super awesome considering I don't usually like ash kens. I also want to try out the Classic shape from RWB because I like the thin shaped kens. The hype on the Slaydawg is pretty real though, I'm glad I purchased one because its a nice kendama. The OG shape is cool. I had one before and it was pretty balanced in terms of slings and lunars, but it was just a bit better for slingers. I paired it up with a musou tama and the lunars were just fine on it.
In general anything Grain Theory, but more specifically, Hickory GT-1 gotta take the #1 spot with me. Crazy grains, durable, generally heavy, and a shape that's good with every thing. Also real fans of the Craft, Homegrown, RWB, and PNW lines. All crazy good American made products that everyone should try.
Slaydawgs are so hype, I really wanna try soon! I have heard literally nothing bad about them except maybe the weights.
I see... Ever since I saw the hickory complete with Mash glazed tama a few years ago, I wanted to own one but never got the chance to get one for myself. I definitely need to pick up a GT soon.