@Eruel Ursua We had a bunch of similar threads so I've merged them with yours so others may see the previous comments. You might also check out these: Natty!!! Next Natty? Differences in Natty Kendamas Painted vs. Natty Natty Appreciation Thread Roots of the Natty
Sup guys, I’ve been thinking about investing in a nice natty Kendama to truly break in and hopefully play for a long time, but I really have no idea what to look for. I live in Canada, so shipping is pretty expensive from almost anywhere and the USD conversion is brutal lol. So I guess I have a few questions, if anyone could give me a hand I’d appreciate it. I’m also a bit of a noob so I don’t know a ton about different shapes and woods and all that. A KUSA Craft would be about 100$ to my door, is it worth it? If so, what wood would will last me the longest? A Terra Prefect would run me like 140$ (ish), is that worth it? If neither of those are worth the price tag, what are some other less expensive options? thanks to every and any reply
@Rowan.h We had a similar thread so I've merged yours. You might also check out these: Natty!!! Next Natty? Differences in Natty Kendamas Painted vs. Natty Natty Appreciation Thread Roots of the Natty Shades of Grain Favorite Wood for a kendama and why?
Terra is Canadian and their site shows in CAD so looks like right now they have Hickory or Red Elm for CAD 119.99 (~US$90)
@Rowan.h I've never had a Craft before but I've heard nothing but good things about them. I've got a few friends who have them and they all really like theirs. On the other hand I have a few different Terra products and I LOVE each one. Its also cool to support a Canadian company rather than pay duties and such from the border crossing. They also ship really fast from what I've experienced.
I personally like the Prefect shape better than the Shift. I've owned several of each, but it's personal preference. If you go KUSA, I recommend ash or birch, maple can be more difficult to break in. If you go Terra, I would recommend the hickory. It has a real solid feel to it, although not as grippy out of the box as red elm. Red elm is light but very grippy. Good luck!