Sol. Their natty beech and maple setups, ken only options if you have a tama you want on a maple, ash, purpleheart, or walnut ken. There's the Sol Pioneer series on beech wood with the sticky glaze (same as Lol Clear on Slaydawgs) and the Sol Vibes on maple wood with silk paint. At most, it'd be $30 for one of these, or $16 at the least for a full setup (ken only varies between each wood choice)
Right now would be a prime time to get one of the Sol Pioneers ($29.99 Beech, sticky paint, comes with a bag, 2 stickers, and 2 buttons)
depends on what you want to spend and what you are looking for. sweets f3 is a good starter imo. if you are looking for a natty and something a little more fancy try homegrowns or kaizen craft. also everything krom!
Nobody's gone and mentioned Slaydawgs yet, so i'll put it here: Slaydawgs. (Of course there are people who mentioned Slaydawgs, hehe)
If I were in the market for a new kendama, I would wait until tomorrow. Grain Theory is having the prospects drop at 5pm (PST) and Sweets is having the Next Gen HG drop at 5pm (MST). If GT and/or Sweets is not your thing, then you should look at the following (in no particular order) RWB (OG or Classic) complete Terra (any of the Pro Mods) DWI Jarod Porter Pro Mod KROM (any of the Slaydawgs or any of the Pro Mods) Sol (Vibe or Pioneer series) Kendama USA (Craft or Craft+)
Sweets. First choice of mine and I think is a go to. Idk about their products now so I'm trying to get a KUSA or PNW
I think now thatI've played more Sweets setups, I think I can change my answer and recommend Sweets because the Homegrowns and pro models are amazing. While I haven't tried a prime, I definitely do think it is an amazing kendama with a good sticky paint, but you have to go with the custom line because the designs on the tama are unique and feature old and new paint formulas.
Merged two similar threads so others could see the past posts. Additional threads with similar but slightly different topics might be of interest to those searching out a new kendama. Check these for more info: Any good kendamas under $40 Recommended expensive kendama
I still have many Dama companies to try out. However, I have never gone wrong with: -Homegrowns and pro mods by sweets -Slaydawg by Krom. -I also own a grain theory which plays god-like, its just too pricey to jam to pieces. Some other companies and models I need to check out are definetly kusa crafts and DWI. ✌ Ide go with a prime since its got the stick you want and amazing prices. Heard many great reviews on them.
Pnw damas. I prefer the Koto series, but the slate is unbeatable in American made value. RWB Hickory for a classic feel!