Has anyone played a Bahama Kendama??

[Winter Solstice Kendama]

Thinking this is a new company or a tripe toy maker that puts out affordable half baked attempts at legit toys.

http://mse-wholesale.com/products/tabid/62/categoryid/7/productid/155/default.aspx

These are what are making my mouth wet:



any thoughts BKA folks? Let me know what you think or have experienced

-Curtis

[BKA]

We touched on the Bahama in this thread: http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,346.0.html
I suspect that no-one over this side of the pond has splashed out on one (yet), but we'd love to hear otherwise.

[Winter Solstice Kendama]

Sweet! Thanks Void!

I think I'll be the first to take a stab at these new hippy balls. Next checque, (next Thursday,) and I'll grab one of these and give it a real good working over.

...if they're as good as the Dragon dama's, I'll just about stool le trousers...those are some sleeper toys on their own as well...

-Curtis

[AlexSmith]

If you're liking the stained look go for a Sweets. Support the brands that are out there every day promoting kendama as best they can, not the ones that spent a bunch of money on Facebook sidebar advertising. Until I see otherwise I lump these into the Kaleb kendama category.

[Winter Solstice Kendama]

If you're liking the stained look go for a Sweets. Support the brands that are out there every day promoting kendama as best they can, not the ones that spent a bunch of money on Facebook sidebar advertising. Until I see otherwise I lump these into the Kaleb kendama category.

Yeah, I've been seeing these pop up everywhere. Not any effort put into unique paints or a specific vibe or brand by the seller, just cashing in with cheapies I guess. I suppose they're likely playable from what I can gather, but I don't want to waste the money and effort where the company selling doesn't have the same rep as say, Kendama World. When they're just run of the mill it looks and feels like a Line 6 combo versus my Laney VH100R monstrosity and a V30 loaded 412...

-Curtis

[Anthony A]

I have played with two of these actually. They can be found at http://www.jugglesam.com/c-57-kendama.aspx. They are made by a company know as Yo-Yo Sam (their other company and site is Juggle Sam).

I have met the owner of the company at a number of juggling conventions in the NE United States and he is a really nice guy. He was super into yo-yo as a kid and he now runs this shop. He has some of the best prices around for juggling equipment. He also has some equipment and yo-yo's made for him. The bahama kendama is one of them. He seems to really like kendama but doesn't play it much himself. Bottom line is I don't think he's in it for the wrong reasons.

He sent two of them, one normal and one XL, to a friend of mine (and poster on this site) and they are not bad, but not too great either. They are great for spacewalk and hand wrap tricks. The string also feels a little long though. The paint is just ok, nothing too great. The spike blunts pretty badly over time. Lighthouse and bird are fine, not sure about lunars.

I'll see if I can get my friend to weigh in a little more on them.

[Benjugglin]

I have one of their big kendamas and I've been pretty happy with it so far. The spike is a little smaller than I wish it was, but it's not enough to be a big deal. The paint chips away a little bit, but it does carry a pretty significant weight so hitting it against things is bound to have a bigger effect than with a normal kendama. They seem to have used some sort of pink primer underneath the blue paint so chips are especially noticeable.
It plays just as well as I want a big kendama to. There are very few tricks I can pull off with a normal kendama that I can't do with this one and they're really just because of the size (not the make).

[Anthony A]

I have one of their big kendamas and I've been pretty happy with it so far. The spike is a little smaller than I wish it was, but it's not enough to be a big deal. The paint chips away a little bit, but it does carry a pretty significant weight so hitting it against things is bound to have a bigger effect than with a normal kendama. They seem to have used some sort of pink primer underneath the blue paint so chips are especially noticeable.
It plays just as well as I want a big kendama to. There are very few tricks I can pull off with a normal kendama that I can't do with this one and they're really just because of the size (not the make).

Oh yea, I completely for got about the small spike. It's not bad though. Ben, we gotta get Joe Showers in on this thread.

[MasterKatra42]

Showers, reporting in!  *Stretches out* Man it sure has been a while!

So, to add to the human quality of the owner of yo-yosam.com, Mitch is a great guy.  His son, Sam, does a little bit of all of the props he offers on his website.  I've had many discussions with Mitch about the kendama scene, and how he could positively influence it by getting more kendamas into the hands of kids willing to play it.  I went to his house in PA to film an instructional DVD for the I've-never-played-kendama-before crowd.  There are some clips up on the tube, but I'd rather not share the link, because the audio is busted (I've made him aware of this, he's trying to fix it).

One company that seems to be in it for the greed is Mama Kendama.  Mitch is trying to come out with new paints, which may seem cheap, but I'd prefer to think of them as unconventional.  Like the naked style Sweets offers.  Mama Kendama buys from the same manufacturer that Yo-YoSam has, and the manufacturer won't sign exclusivity rights for some paint styles.  They are ripping off everything Mitch is doing and creating nothing for themselves.  Yo-YoSam dropped a freaking sweet leopard print tama, and mere days later, Mama Kendama offered the same paint.  Balls.  Mitch is cleverly trying to circumvent this by offering things like the beginner DVD, and kendamas with some palm trees engraved in the cups.  If Mama Kendama copied these details, people would obviously notice they don't fit with the theme.

Now, onto the actual kendama!  Like Ant said, I got two kendamas in the mail, one big and one regular size.  The large one was natural, so no paint, and the regular one was grey.  The big one was a bit slippery, but after a few drops and dings, it has settled in and plays nicely.  It doesn't hand you tricks, but it plays as a normal kendama should.  My regular Bahama has not lost any of the color on the ball, because the paint does not have a base coat or a glossy finish.  There is nothing to chip off.  The area around the hole has been beat to death, and actually has leveled out a bit.  Bird, bat, axe and stilts are all pretty easy tricks.  Naughty bird is near impossible because of the small spike.  The spike is very small, but I just think the cups are too high.  At first, all my flip lighthouses and even some jumping sticks were thrown off because the side of the middle cup would contact the ball before the cup could come around.  Basically, I was used to a sweets, and the longer handle of the ken meant I was aiming too high.

The spikes of both the Bahamas needed some time to wear in.  They were rough at first, but after enough play, they would polish the spike and inside of the ball hole enough that they wouldn't get caught at any weird angles.  The ball would literally stop on the spike and not seat down to the cross piece.  The roughness has it's upsides, though, in the form of bird tricks.  Slip grip tricks are easy, and wing walkers too.

All in all, I feel this is a good kendama.  Sure, it's not a Sweets, because they're so hot right now and everyone wants one.  I would like to point out that my two Bahama kendamas are still holding up and play very consistently.  I have played regularly on seven Sweets kendamas and only two have maintained their paint job and playability.  2/2 on Bahamas and 2/7 on Sweets.

TL;DNR:  I like Bahama Kendama as a company and as a toy.  I write very stream of conscious style, and jump around a lot.  Questions about the kendamas will receive answers.

[Anthony A]

Joe, I had that suspicion about Mama Kendama. That Leopard print kendama that Ross has is way cool.

[The Void]

Thanks for the feedback, Joe - very informative. Worth waiting for!

[Waylon]

I'm pleased to know yoyosam is the company behind BK. I've had excellent experiences with YYS and a few lengthy phone calls with their people, who are all passionate about skill toys. Their customer service is outstanding and intentions in the skill toy communities sincere. 

[Tetsuya Takahashi]

I usually stay away from these kinds of kendama brands (ex.Kaleb,Momma,Bahama,Skillz,ect.) but there are some that catch my eye.
I don't know why but it's kinda like a sixth sense for me.

Just my opinion on this

[AlexSmith]

I retract my previous post, from what I've heard the guys behind this company have been in the juggling/skilltoy sort of scene a long time now. While they may not be a considered a core kendama brand, everyone who knows the people involved always has good things to say!