I've played these for a few years now and keep finding new reasons to like them. When I first played one the only plastic kendama I'd tried up until then were Bandai (interesting) and Daiso (hopeless). On those the hard plastic made playing a challenge for all but the most basic tricks. The Catchy Air has polyurethane rings inside the cups that make it much more playable and a good bit quieter than wood. That particular feature was pointed out to me when I visited my mom's place for Christmas a couple of years ago when I was clacking around the house with my Ozora she told me to switch. It was also the first standard height, big cup kendama I ever played and it seemed like one turn lighthouses were programmed into it. It's great for repetitive practice on j-sticks, earth turns, etc. I liked how the spike never dulled and it didn't hang in the tama hole. I also liked how every one I've ever touched was balanced within a 2-3g max between tama and ken. Total weight runs around 146g. Lately I've been using a matched pair for 2 handed tricks. The only things I didn't much like was the inability to do stalls readily and the Tribute style hole. You can do stalls but they're really hard. It was because of this that I came up with the idea for Kendama Bumpers back in 2015; with a set of those on it stalls are much more pleasant. Lately I was trying to figure out a hack for the string hole and came up with one that makes it more like a REZ. I've only been playing it this way for a couple of weeks but so far I kind of like it. Since the Catchy Street is just a wood version of the Air I think I'm going to try and restring it the same way. Unlike a Tribute the tube through the sarado is removable on the Air (can also be done with the Catchy Street which is basically a wooden Air). Anybody else put some time in on a Catchy Air? Color swapping parts is easy and they have a interesting but funky kendama holder too (red).
So far I've only chipped the tama going for an over enthusiastic spike or the very rare yank. I've seen them, but haven't done it myself, snap the ken below the sarado from spacewalk mishaps but then that kills a lot of good kendama. A friend did a hand roll and missed and the tama popped out of alignment but I just snapped it back together. I'm not that hard on my kendama so they tend to last a long while. IIRC Catchy updated the design slightly to improve durability vs the first gen ones from a few years back.
I think @Max "Norx" Norcross said it best, "a shower dama." I definitely need one hanging on my shower head.
This is a great idea. I do want to say though that @goenKendama is a well established member of Downspike so I find this post quite interesting. If a noob would I posted this I would not have given it much thought but this is coming from a moderator mind you. I would definitely like to at least try one out to see how it plays but there is something about a hollow plastic kendama that just screams cheap piece of shit. Not that it couldn't work and be great, but I would really have to get my hands on one to make a final decision. Interesting post through, really has me thinking about kendama possibilities.
To be honest I didn't like my Catchy air that much. Mine might of been a first gen (I bought it about 10 months ago) but I found the 'net' design to make my fingers sore after a while. The enlarged base cup helped me to come to grips with lighthouses, and the rubber rings are a neat idea, which were quite effective (buuut easily fell off). Haha, I saw a video where someone played a catchy air underwater.
I can't find them anywhere that I order damas and stuff. Or at any stores. I want one but i don't really want to make an order solely for this hit or miss type of dama. Id rather try to trade one of my jammers for one or something.
The tama looks like it has metal weights in it so be aware that they might rust. You could probably shoot them with a silicon lube every once in a while and they'd hold up OK. It also makes a superior "beach" kendama since saltwater/sand doesn't play well with wood. Thanks for the vote of confidence . . . I think. No pressure. Like I mentioned I'm not super hard on any of my kendama and like other tools I use different ones in different conditions. The Catchy Air has grown on me for a variety of reasons and I've learned to accept, or mod, its limitations and just have fun with it. (edit: forgot to mention that Catchy is owned by Yoyo Factory and they have some pretty solid experience with quality injection molding from their yoyo line. I tend to think of these like I would one of their plastic yoyos, inexpensive rather than cheap. YMMV) The urethane rings do pop out particularly since your fingers actually go into the cups (because of their depth) and hook them. I've been using rubber cement when that happens rather than super glue and haven't really found it too bothersome. Just make sure that you put them back into their cups facing the correct direction. There is an "up" and "down" difference in shape that mates properly to the cup lips. You can find them on Amazon for as little as $9.99 (I think the retail is $14.99). If you're looking to try something new and understand in advance that it will be "different" in many ways then I think they can be a pretty cool addition to your kendama arsenal. Also just for grins I weighed the ones I've got around here. ken/tama = 73/73; 75/73; 75/72 and the Kendama Bumper equipped one is 78/73. (Also of note is I put Gaffer's tape over the sarado knot on the ones that are still strung like a Tribute. That probably adds 1g. I do that with all Tribute strung kendama since that knot popping out really annoys me. Actually it's the same reason I usually put a knot above the tama too. Guess I'm just sphincter retentive that way.)
I have my Catchy Air from sometime back and i passed it over to my gf. Love these things, they have decent weight, the colors are fun, doesn't succumb to the usual downfalls of wooden setups, always consistent weight, great for anyone, especially beginners. Dama dare if you so happen to get one - bird over the valley.
So have any other players taken the "plastic plunge"? I just pulled out my R/L pair for a #WoodyWednesdays (yes I can spot the irony there) post for IG/FB. I really like doing two handed tricks with these.
I’ve got one and really enjoy it. Makes learning some stuff easier, IMO. Learned lighthouses on this fairly quickly.
Interestingly it was one of the first "big cup" kendama out there along with its wooden brother the Catch Street; long before it was a "thing."
Ah, I didn’t even realize that. I knew I was way better on it than with my KUSA Tribute, but I really like the Tama on those, the silk paint is so nice. Just recently got a Kaizen 2.0 and KROM pop, which I think also have larger cups. Def makes it easier for noobies like me
Looks rad! I've always wondered how these things play. I could see myself using one of these things to practice spacewalks and stuff so I stop ruining my nicer damas. How's the lunar balance?
Just ran across this. . . In the video and mentioned above only stalls are very difficult but thats fixable with Kendama Bumpers.
I have a couple that I think are a sort of 'rare' colourway. They're blue, but with orange cups and tama. They were made for the NYC Toyfair a few years ago, picked them up from the YYF homies while I was there. I've always given them a thumbs up. I like that they're different, nothing else out there is quite the same. YYF could have ordered another boring dama from China like many 'outside' or small brands do, but instead they went for something wild. It honestly plays pretty legit too, considering it is plastic. For the price, A+! One interesting note: I've definitely noticed that the one on the DotD shop wall has slowly become sun-bleached. The tama isn't nearly as brightly coloured as it used to be! It's 2-3 years old, so not a huge deal
Hmm I can't find any pics of the one I have online.. I guess that confirms its rareness? lol This purple/white combo is actually pretty sick though
I don't believe that colorway was ever sold thru retail outlets. The purple/white was the basis for my "Hulk" version above. It's a much darker color of purple than their other purple models.