Opinions on Bamboo Tribute & Sunrise Performer?

[br4d24]

Hello everyone, I have been doing lots of research on this site and now am finally making a post. I got turned on to kendama a little under a month ago by Curtis (winter solstice) and ended up buying a Sunrise Performer off of him. I realize its not the best one to get for a beginner but i couldn't wait to order one online

Anyways i just wanted to know what everyone's opinions on the bigger sized kendamas are - what tricks are easier and what tricks are harder? I find it hard to tell because I am just learning still - on that note the ones that do seem to stand out most are lighthouses and birds, also UFO's and whatever its vertical equivalent is called.

Secondly I had made up the decision to buy a new regular sized kendama and went through with ordering a beautiful bamboo tribute. I tried to do some research online about the bamboo vs regular materials but i didn't find much of anything. I think this is due to how new these kendamas are (released recently right?).

Anyways if anyone has played one could you let me know what to expect? Also how are they for durability and the rest? I feel tribute as a brand is quite reputable - also like the idea of having a ken that doesnt come loose, my performer was horrible for that, and i ended up having to put a little screw in to hold it (heavy ball would even break the superglue when trying harder new tricks that sometimes end in hard tama on cup action).

[happygoat]

I know this is not a direct answer to your question, but in my opinion you should just go and buy a classic regular kendama like an ozora, sunrise or a TK16.

Just my 2 cents!

You could also read the FAQ for more info: http://www.kendama.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,6.0.html

[br4d24]

Yeah i am gonna buy a regular styled one next - I just really liked the look of the bamboo tribute and also liked the features tribute has to offer over other brands.

Additionally since ive never had much time playing on a regular kendama getting this bamboo one shouldnt be any harder to adapt to compared to a normal kendama; considering ive never played either.

[primechicken]

I bought the purple translucent paint - bamboo tribute a month or so ago. My initial thoughts were that it is a beautiful piece, the striped bamboo really does look quite nice, especially with the translucent paint on the tama. The Kendama is a little heavier than most kendamas but not quite as heavy as the cherrywood pro-models from KendamaUSA (those things are beasts!). It plays alright, the ken makes more of a hollow clicking sound, which feels a little weird to me but thats just personal. Still however the bamboo seems pretty durable so far. The Ken has a glossy finish to it (part of what holds the layers of bamboo together I'm assuming) which makes tricks like lunars a little difficult however because its a little slippery. The paint on the tama is very nice though. It was very sticky right out of the package and Lighthouses are performed easily right away. And like someone else on the forum mentioned before about tributes, these are lighthouse magnets! I got 1-turn and 2-turn lighthouses pretty consistently with this tribute and is still probably my best kendama for performing 2-turn lighthouses. The translucent paint is a little softer than most paints though, so it is more susceptible to minor dents and chips, but nothing major. I prefer the translucent paint to the normal tribute paint, and it does look quite nice!

Overall it is a pretty decent kendama but I probably wouldn't make a bamboo kendama my go-to piece. Not a bad piece for your collection but I personally probably won't buy another bamboo piece before this one is completely beat up.

These are just my opinions however, and relatively speaking I haven't played this kendama for very long at all. These are just my thoughts on it so far.

[br4d24]

hey man thanks for the review! that is exactly the kind of input i was looking for

If it is heavier then I am excited because I am used to playing on a jumbo sized kendama (sunrise performer) so having a slightly heavier setup is no issue! I got one for my brother and one for myself, one of the two is a natural finish! I wonder if the natural finish would be any different for tricks like lunars vs the translucent paint?