Yet another bogu comparison question...

[Paul Kerr]

OK folks, before anyone launches off at me and says "go search the forums" - I already have and I have a specific bogu question for you all.

I'm in the market for my first set of bogu. I live in Europe (The Netherlands) so my online choices are limited to either Eurobogu or Nine circles (the import duty on goods from the States is just ridiculous here). I have a budget of up to 1,600 euro. Ideally I'd like to spend no more than 1,400 but I'm prepared to pay more if, frankly, the difference is worth it in quality.

So far I have narrowed my choices down to the S21, F23 and Y15 sets from Eurobogu.

I would love if anyone could give an opinion of the value/quality of each of these sets specifically. If you own or have owned any of these sets what are their respective merits etc...?

Also, what would be a comparable bogu set from Nine Circles that would fit within this budge range?

Many thanks in advance for any help you can give.

[slidercrank]

If budget is a concern, then of course F23 will be a better buy than S21. As far as one can tell from the specification, F23 has a tighter stitching than S21, but is cheaper because F23 do is a yamato do (plastic). Yamato do will do the job as well as bamboo do and does not look bad. I note that S21 is much more expensive on Eurobogu.net than on bogubag.com. This makes the price differential between F23 and S21 greater in Europe than in N America.

Then again, I don't know how Koei can offer a 1.5 bu bogu at such a low price as Y15. With bogus, any lowering in quality of material doesn't really show up until you have used the set hard for a long while. Given its reputation, I'll believe that Koei didn't cut any major corner on Y15. Thus, if you're intent on blowing all of your budget, Y15 is a great choice.

The bottom line is, F23 and Y15 are both great bogus and given proper care, will last you a long long time. It just all depends on how much money you wanna blow.

PS. Don't know what's your height, or your dojo mate's kendo level. If your dojo mates are much taller than you, and/or they tend to strike men excessively hard, then Y15 will become a much better choice than F23.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Actually despite F23 having tighter stitching than S21, the S21 men is a little nicer with stiffer padding. You can see this reflected in the price of the men alone. However eurobogu seems to be still offering the WKC special deals on F23 and Y15. If you can afford it I recommend you take advantage of the Y15 deal.

Another option is to mix and match - people think they have to buy complete sets but you can pick pieces from any set to put together, there isn't any price advantage to buying a set (except for the sale ones). If I were buying from Koei's machine-stitched options on a budget, I would pick S22 men and kote, and combine those with a cheaper tare and doh. But given the sale pricing at eurobogu right now, you're better off with the Y15 set.

[Paul Kerr]

Thanks for the replies folks - very helpful.

I THINK I'm moving towards the Y-15 - seems like such an excellent price/quality deal, though I'll "sit on it" a few days more.

Excellent point, btw, Slidercrank about the height/build difference - something I hadn't factored in at all. I'm a 5'8" stocky Irishman in a dojo of big Dutchmen and svelte Japanese :). So I guess, I'm in the middle of the scale.

[Pichit]

Hi

I did ask both eurobogu, bogubag and koei about F-23 bogu which eurobugu reply that F-23 set cannot upgrade from yamato do to bamboo do except for very large player they will use second choice 50 piece bamboo do without any extracharge. Also you need to keep in mind that some part of F-23 bogu made from other country outside Japan but for S-21 bogu use all Japanese part ( I have read from previous thread). Also Koei said that palm part of kote made from cow leather.

In my idea if you are going to buy bogu from eurobogu, you should go for Y-15 bogu or ask stroud sensei (www.bogubag.com) whether you can buy from him or not ( he sold some koei bogu to UK) so that you can get better price from him but you will pay for shipping.

For buy bogu from korea, you don't have to buy korean bogu from Nine circle, you can order from other korea bogu manufacture by internet which I can guarantee that the price will be cheaper at the same quality. like
e-kendo
http://www.e-kendo.com/eng/main.html
sehyun
http://www.sehyun-kumdo.com/e-goods-list.htm
kumdomall
http://www.kumdoshop.co.kr/index.phtml
kendomecca
http://kendomecca.com/
swordman
http://swordman.com/
e-bogu
http://www.e-bogu.com/

Also there are other japanese kendo bogu manufacturer that you can buy
boguya
http://www.bogu-ya.com/
Mitsuboshi
http://www.mitsuboshi-web.com/english/kendo/index.html
eikobudogu
http://www.eikobudogu.com/#
Moribudogu
http://www.moribudo.co.jp/ef-first.htm
Tozando
http://www.tozando.com/eng/index.html
Eguchi
http://www.eguchi.net/cart_index.htm

The inconvenient point for these bogu company is that they tend not to except credit card, so you have to send money via bank account. Also if you are interested in Mori and Mitsuboshi bogu it's better ask for catalogue from them as they have large amount of grade of bogu but not on web site and also ask them for discount they usually give cheaper price (up to 50% off) to foreigner.

Take your time OK it's better to look for the bogu that you really want and at good price. Good Luck!!!!

Pichit

[Paul Kerr]

Well, after some excellent advice here and elsewhere privately, I've bitten the bullet and splashed for the Y-15 bogu from Eurobogu. "Sitting on it" a few days meant sleeping on it for one night, waking up and saying "Go for it!"

Mr. Stroud was very helpful via email, even though I told him I would probably not be purchasing from him - so a public "thank you" is due here for him.

Thank you also to all of the replies here.

Now, I just have to do this set of armour some justice :)

[lucian]

Lo Paul,
I would advise against-using Eurobogu
They talk more crap than Tozando, if you want Koei bogu go direct to Koei just cut Eurobogu out of the picture, Koei will let you go straight to them
Ninecircles are good but cost a lot for Korean made bogu, I got my suit shipped from Korea in 3days and the tax was a killer £31.26p :) for the whole suit
Go to Sehyun if your looking for excellent bogu that’s not too expensive, my new suit from them is great! And they made it in 3weeks it took Eurobogu longer than that to reply about stealing cash from my bank account (twice in 7 months)
Go anywhere for bogu but don’t use Eurobogu

[Hai_hai]

...I have a budget of up to 1,600 euro. Ideally I'd like to spend no more than 1,400 but I'm prepared to pay more if, frankly, the difference is worth it in quality...

That's a lot of money for your first set of bogu.

[Paul Kerr]

That's a lot of money for your first set of bogu.


Yes, it probably is. My reasoning is simplethough: I KNOW I'm going to be continuing with kendo and, as I can afford it, I would like to buy the best quality I can. Also, since this is a special offer on the Y-15 I thought it would be the best investment possible.

[Paul Kerr]

Well, the Y-15 set I ordered arrived yesterday - not even three weeks after I placed the order through Eurobogu. The fit and quality are excellent and I'm happy as the proverbial pig in s**t :smiley: .

Eurobogu did a great job keeping me informed of order progress etc. so a public thanks to Serge and Jan there - they've got a very happy customer.

Ahead of me, of course, lie the months of humiliation until I get used to the darn thing :normal:

[Shinaido]

I have been looking at bogu online and pricing different sets. I have also considered waiting until a tournament in Detroit in February (thanks for the tip, Ezaki Sensei!) and buying from the suppliers that visit the tournament.

Questions:
Do suppliers price higher online or at tournaments?
Does bogu ordered online from measurements taken by the kendoka fit as well as bogu measured/purchased from a supplier in person/in shop?
What has your experience been with this issue?

Thanks,
Jonathan