Natty or Paint with cushion?

As the title says, natty with cushion or paint with cushion?

I've been dying to try cushion clear because it seems like a paint i would really like. I also see a lot of people over at Sweets rocking cushion tamas instead of the sticky clear. Sweets said that cushion on natty has a very special feel, and i wonder if anyone has experience with both types. Which do you prefer? And do you like cushion more than prime sticky clear?

The damas i've been checking out are the V5 Khalifa and V12 Freeza.

 

TBH it's all up to personal tastes and whether or not you got a good batch. Paint with cushion clear tends to be better than cushion clear on natty overall, but I've had 3 natty cushion clears that have held up to some serious jamming without chipping/peeling as much as others I've seen on here and IG, and I've had and have seen some cushion clear painted tamas that had more issues with peeling than most. The playability is still 100%, you just need to remember that with extended play (especially if you're the kind of player who likes taps and other high impact tricks) that the paint and whatever clear is on it will take damage.

Personally, I think I'd have to say my preference is natty cushion clears as they hold up and play better than natty silk/rubber clears (KUSA Ghost silk) or natty sticky clears (LOL Clear-esque or Prime Clear-esque sticky clears).

 

Pro clear master race

 

Thank you, seems like the Prime C V5 Khalifa might be a solid choice. Even though i haven't learned taps yet, i like durable paint that keeps its grip.

 

I hear you, would love to try pro clear sometime because it seems to be a very loved paint by players who've been playing a while. But it might not be an option right now because i don't buy new damas too often, and i'm worried that i won't like it. From what i've heard, it supposedly becomes grippier than cushion after being properly broken in.

 

‘Properly broken in’ is a little more challenging to describe than it would traditionally be for like a natty for example. I have a few pro clears (from F2-prime custom) if you look across a couple other posts here on DS you might find people saying that paints like cushion, and pro clear come in different thicknesses depending on the batch. This is true as far as what I can observe from my own collection. Observing this, the different pro clears and cushions all wear into that sweet spot (no pun intended) at different rates as well.

Taking all this into account Pro-clear takes an extremely long time for me to break in, unless I don’t really care about cement knocks. The thickness on proclear can last through a fresh beech ken or 2 before you can truly start appreciating what makes it great. (During this time it is more difficult to lighthouse/lunar, although it improves your ability to do so by challenging you to be more accurate/ deliberate with any ken placement atop the tama)

I’d say if your curious, make sure you snag one at a weight you’re comfortable with, because just one can last you a very long time (depending on how much you play every day).

All in all I’m still pro-clear master race but I don’t want to sell you on something you won’t be happy with. Hope this helps!

 

Perfect! Thank you.

 

I prefer the kaleb kendama "paint."

 

Now we are talking!