Just pulled the trigger, a happy thanks to this forum :)

[soulesschild]

A happy thanks to this forum for helping me decide on my Aoi FD-2 after searching through probably a good 200 or so posts on all the many threads about different bogu sites, reviews, etc. I thought it'd be nice to post a thanks once in awhile :).

Though a quick question, do kote stretch as you wear it more? I measured out 7.5 palm length and about 8.3 around the palm give or take 0.1 inches. Then again, I was stretching out my palm as far as possible naturally so I picked the right size by going 7.5x8.3 right?

And since my sensei hasn't allowed me to wear my men yet, is there a way I can test my men to see if it has paint "problems" that I have read about? An example would be this thread:
http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16825&page=2

Would it be out of line to ask my sensei if I could wear the men and have him/senpai whack me a few times?

Thanks again fellow kendoka and I await the day when I can offically don my men and get destroyed by my senpais xD

[tango]

when kote are new, they tend to be fairly stiff around the actual wrist... they'll get more flexible with use. No big deal.
in my experience, the palms stretch a little bit, but not in the way I think you're describing... if you put your kote on right now and try to curl your fingers, you might be able to figure out/see where your fingers are putting pressure on the deerskin.. so, there might be some slight stretching, but it shouldn't affect anything over time.

i can't speak for Aoi myself, but tozando used to make you trace an outline of your hand on paper and fax that in with your order..

as for paint peeling/chipping on the men, I really wouldn't worry too much about it..
I assume since your sensei has given you the ok to get bogu, it won't be too long before you're wearing the men... and even if that's 6 months from now, if paint starts peeling/chipping, I'm pretty sure Aoi will take care of any repair/replacement issues.

A quality bogu supplier worth its salt will not expect its men to peel/chip paint under normal use/conditions for several years. Several years.

[soulesschild]

Awesome :) Thanks so much.