i haven't tried the kaizen 2.0 or the craft yet. What's the difference from the old kaizen shape? Is it worth the money?
The cups are noticeably bigger on the Kaizen 2.0 compared to 1.0, and Crafts are hecka dank! Well worth a purchase either way! And I especially love the ash and maple Kaizen 2.0s
Crafts (both the 2.0 and slim) are made in the US. The Kaizen 2.0s are made (I believe) from the same overseas factory as the original Kaizens. That being said, both are still excellent setups (I only have the 2.0 setups but I have friends with the Craft Slim and they love it). Definitely worth the price.
The cups, like on a HG, are bigger on Kaizen 2.0s. I wouldn't say that the kens are very similarly shaped though. The HG ken has sharper edges and a more protruding ring. They definitely have a different feel from one another in my experience.
Here's a picture of an Ash Kaizen Craft 2.0, Sweets Hickory Homegrown, and a Maple Kaizen 2.0. You can see the Homegrown is somewhat thinner than the 2.0 shape, and the cups I believe are bigger on the Kaizen/Craft than the Homegrown.
Hi all, I'm new to kendama and Downspike. I know this is kind of an old thread - sorry for pushing it up again. I'm thinking of purchasing a Kaizen 2.0, but the wood that I'm after (Padauk) is only available in the original Kaizen shape. Can someone please tell me how big the cups are in cm on the Kaizen 2.0 and on the original Kaizen? Your help is much appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Welcome. I will edit the post later to give you accurate measurements but right off the bat 2.0 > 1.0 in terms of shape and playability (in my opinion). Definitely go for a Maple or Ash Ken as it is a favorite among the community.
Don’t know the exact measurements but holding my kaizen 1 and 2.0 big, small and base cups against each other there is a cup rim difference in the 2.0s favour. So about 1mm all round. I have a couple of beach 1.0s and an ash select, beech turquoise and maple half split 2.0 and all have been well balanced kendama. The 2.0 is probably my go to ken shape. I have Pops, dawgs and primes but feel most comfortable with 2.0s or Ozora.
From a kaizen birch 2.0: Big cup inside diameter: 0.74 inch Small cup: 0.64 inch Bottom cup: 0.49 inch
Hi @Jake.ship Thank you for the info, but you sure those are in inches? cause 0.74 inch is like the width of a finger...
Hahaha I should have caught that, my zero was off on my tool, sorry. Here you go: Big cup: 1.55 inch Small cup: 1.44 inch Base cup: 1.28 inch
Thanks again @Jake.ship , you're amazing! Noob question to everyone though... if the 2.0 is better than the 1 then why are most of their kendamas still in the 1 shape? Is the 1 shape better for certain tricks? Or are they being slowly faded out?
I think that they see that the time of big cups came, but they probably want to sell all these old kaizens, but it looks like nobody wants them so they slowly start upgrading pro mods to 2.0