tetron vs cotton hakama

[DanDan]

i get the feeling that tetron hakama is better than cotton bcuz it's low maintenance. the question is is it? what are the pros and cons?

[HEIJO SHIN]

Hi Dan Dan,

Yes Tetron it is easier to manage, and wash and iron. If you search the threads you will see this question come up,form time to time. I own a 10000 weight cotton and its a real pain in the a!!. It leaks blue dye everywere, and is a bugger to iron, but does look good on.

Someone in another thread recommended buying two, one of each, and use the cotton one just for gradeings. I think thats a great idea, as the tetron one can stand all the washing and ironing, and there cheaper to replace.

HEIJO SHIN

[Alicia]

i have been brought up through kendo with everyone saying cotton is better, or just being disdainful of tetron hakamas, so i am conditioned to say COTTONCOTTONCOTTON. definitely harder to keep the pleats in, but folding it after every class seems to work all right, so that is not really an issue. and they look better on, slightly thicker or stiffer or something, i dont know, so they seem to not just hang, like the others. however maybe liking cootn for this is just snobbish. and ive grown quite used to being blue

[Hai_hai]

i get the feeling that tetron hakama is better than cotton bcuz it's low maintenance. the question is is it? what are the pros and cons?

pros: low miantenance and cheap

cons: Doesn't look as, pardon my English, samurai-ish as a heavy cotton hakama. A heavy cotton hakama looks good, not flowing, feminine and delicate. The cotton hakama also gets a worn appearance after washings... very Edo period looking. It takes me away to a different time... a time where udon noodles were made by hand, not by a machine... a different place... a place where futomaki are made by a machine, not by hand... Japan.

[JSchmidt]

Hi Dan Dan,
I own a 10000 weight cotton and its a real pain in the a!!. It leaks blue dye everywere, and is a bugger to iron, but does look good on.

HEIJO SHIN
Don't iron it!. First, it'll make it look shiny, secondly, you can avoid it entirely by folding it correctly after practice.
Also, when you wash, fold it up while it's still damp. Yes, it takes longer to dry, but it'll keep the pleats sharp.
However...starting out with a tetron hakama might not be such a bad idea until you learn how to maintain it. (Or at least a cheap cotton one).
My first hakama (cotton) very quickly lost all it's pleats and is pretty much unrecoverable :p. (Also partly thanks to wonky tailoring from Tozando)

Jakob

[Kaede]

My first hakama (cotton) very quickly lost all it's pleats and is pretty much unrecoverable :p. (Also partly thanks to wonky tailoring from Tozando) Oh, what a relief!!! I thought it was just me... I have the standard cotton hakama from Tozando and it is a nightmare to fold it! It sort of twists when you try to put the pleats in the right place. If the front pleats are perfect the sides are not...Which makes it impossible to fold the sides right...

Therefore I usually just hang it up when I come home and tidy up the pleats... It just don't feel right, though!

Kaede

[elssha]

Oh, what a relief!!! I thought it was just me... I have the standard cotton hakama from Tozando and it is a nightmare to fold it! It sort of twists when you try to put the pleats in the right place. If the front pleats are perfect the sides are not...Which makes it impossible to fold the sides right...

Therefore I usually just hang it up when I come home and tidy up the pleats... It just don't feel right, though!

Kaede Do you mean that they sort of stand up on the sides like flaps when the front ones are tidied up? As if the fabric was sown too tightly or something?

[Commander]

I have a cheap hakama, first one on the hakama page www.ninecircles.co.uk (http://www.ninecircles.co.uk) its not nice, my hakama is shiny, doesn't sit nice and it has a rough texture to it. Its polyester/rayon is that tetron?


As for cotton, theres a nice one on www.kendo-bogu.com (http://www.kendo-bogu.com) (#8000) with stitched pleats! :D

[Kaede]

Do you mean that they sort of stand up on the sides like flaps when the front ones are tidied up? As if the fabric was sown too tightly or something?Yes, something like that... The seams on the sides are not lined up when the pleats are in place... :(

[elssha]

I had that problem with mine (though mine isn't cotton) then...
not sure if this will work on yours, but it solved mine, so...
1~ when you fold the back pleats, have the stiff thing on the back (not sure what it's called, sorry)folded down, with the base of it lined up with the front(so the top edges are =).
2~ once back pleat are done, and after you've turned it over, unfold the stiff thing out (the way it's supposed to be while worn), and fold the front pleats. Now pull the top layer left (or right... whichever side is away from the pleats) until the bottom of the second vertical line (bottom of what will become what you tie with) is lined up with the base of the stiff thing, or when they line up.

Erm... not sure if that's helpful, and I am sorry that I didn't use all the terms, but don't even know where to look them up and I'm in a bit of a hurry.

[Kaede]

Thank you for the advice! I will try this.

Kaede

[elssha]

sure thing ~_^... hope it works for you (as mine isn't cotton), I know how annoying it was when mine wouldn't lay flat, I wondered if I had folded it wrong or something for the longest time.
Oh, do you actaully know the names of that thingamadoodle in the back? It's annoying me not to know now.

[Kaede]

It's called a "koshiita"...:)

Unfortunatly your method did not really work... It went much better, but not as perfect as I want it to be...:down:

I'm going to ask the hakama expert at my club to try to fold it if he is there today, to se if he knows a good way to solv the problem...

Tanks for the tip though... I'm going to buy a white hakama/gi set with a tetron hakama, so I might use your method then! I'm not sure about the "silver pearl" bogu though...:p :D

[elssha]

sorry it didn't work, though if it did help a bit, you might try playing with just how much you pull on it...
Thanks for telling me the term, BTW (now I just have to ingrain it in my head)

[meow]

I used a tetron hakama for the first 9 months. I think for a very beginner a tetron hakama is a good choice, because it´s easy to maintenance. You can even put it in the washing machine (no dryer!) and it will still keep the pleats. No ironing necessary.

Now I own a 8000 cotton hakama. The pros: I think it looks better and it cools better because cotton feels a little bit cooler and because the fabric is stiffer it stands away from your body.

As already mentioned above, maintenance is a little bit harder and you have to be more carefull when folding the pleats after practice. The good thing is: I learned how to iron a hakama (always put a towel over the hakama when ironing!):wink:

Even if a cotton hakama is a bit harder to take care of, I would not go back to a tetron hakama.

[jasmine]

I feel the tetron hakama is a little uncomfortable.It's not cool in summer.Especially ,it makes static electricity and I'm easy to fall.Now I wear "toyobo" hakama.It's made of 65% cotton and 35% polyster .It is said that's a special hakama,very light,cool in summer and warm in winter.(I really feel that.)
It's still easy to fold . :ko:

[Kaede]

Well...did a little experiment yesterday after training. I let some of the others in my club try to fold my hakama... They couldn't do it "perfect" either.

As JSchmidt said in an earlier post...wonky tailoring by Tozando...:disapp: Otherwise the hakama is realy nice looking and comfortable. I need to get a second set of hakama and gi otherwise it won't dry until next training after washing. I decided to try Kendoshops. The others in my club uses the $32 set and they are happy with it... I mean it's just for practicing... I might get somthing more RBSO when I reach above national level... Also, because I've never used anything else but cotton it would be nice to broaden my hakama knowledge... :p

And jasmine as for static electricity... If you can put it in the washing machine...why not try one of those "anti static" deturgents? Even if you use an other hakama now it's always good to have extra training clothes for extra training sessions! :D

[elssha]

Well...did a little experiment yesterday after training. I let some of the others in my club try to fold my hakama... They couldn't do it "perfect" either.

As JSchmidt said in an earlier post...wonky tailoring by Tozando...:disapp: Otherwise the hakama is realy nice looking and comfortable. I need to get a second set of hakama and gi otherwise it won't dry until next training after washing. I decided to try Kendoshops. The others in my club uses the $32 set and they are happy with it... I mean it's just for practicing... I might get somthing more RBSO when I reach above national level... Also, because I've never used anything else but cotton it would be nice to broaden my hakama knowledge... :p

And jasmine as for static electricity... If you can put it in the washing machine...why not try one of those "anti static" deturgents? Even if you use an other hakama now it's always good to have extra training clothes for extra training sessions! :D
$32 as in hakama + gi? Does that include shipping?

[Kaede]

Yes it's both hakama and gi! Go to www.kendoshop,com (http://www.kendoshop,com/). $32 is the cost for sizes 110cm-150cm, $34 160cm-175cm, $38 180cm-190cm. Unfortunatly this does not include shipping...:disapp:

Kaede

[elssha]

hmmm
do you know how long it ships?

[Kaede]

Usually about a week or so... I have heard of exeptions, though. I guess it depends on how much you order...

[elssha]

um... did i read right? the gi is part poliester???

[Kaede]

Gi is 100% cotton. Hakama is cotton 35 % + polyester 65%. At least the white set... I looked at the blue sets description and I believe it's the same as for the white...

[jasmine]

Gi is 100% cotton. Hakama is cotton 35 % + polyester 65%. At least the white set... I looked at the blue sets description and I believe it's the same as for the white...

They are made in China.most gi and hakama in China are cheap in cluding deluxe one.

[elssha]

oh... cuz i'd hate a part poly gi... yeash!

[Kaede]

I agree with you Elssha! I had a cotton polyester mix childs gi when I practiced Aikido. It's very uncomfortable! After a hard workout it feels like waring a plastic bag for a gi... The gi HAVE to be cotton! The hakama... I can agree with those who belive cotton look nicer and are the most comfortable, but I'm no fanatic. I could even think of trying the summer hemp hakama at Tozandos. (Just hope it's better taylored than their standard cotton...:disapp: )

[elssha]

my set (cotton gi, mix hakama) was $70... wish I had known there was a place to get it for under 40... though, how much would shipping for clothes cost? Hmm...
My hakama has a wierd white spot though (noticed it once after practice... can't get it off since)... I can't tell what it is for the life of me.

[tantadi]

I agree with you Elssha! I had a cotton polyester mix childs gi when I practiced Aikido. It's very uncomfortable! After a hard workout it feels like waring a plastic bag for a gi... The gi HAVE to be cotton! The hakama... I can agree with those who belive cotton look nicer and are the most comfortable, but I'm no fanatic. I could even think of trying the summer hemp hakama at Tozandos. (Just hope it's better taylored than their standard cotton...:disapp: ) I use the hemp hakama from Tozando, like it very much. I've only had a polyester hak before, so I don't have much to compare with. It does look a little different from the cotton ones in color and texture. But I like the feel of the fabric, it doesn't get sticky or warm, dries fast after (hand)washing. And it keeps the pleats.

[Kaede]

I use the hemp hakama from Tozando, like it very much. I've only had a polyester hak before, so I don't have much to compare with. It does look a little different from the cotton ones in color and texture. But I like the feel of the fabric, it doesn't get sticky or warm, dries fast after (hand)washing. And it keeps the pleats.Sounds like a very nice option! I have to think of this...
Is it a "summer" hak or do you think it can take the cold Swedish winters? I HATE to freeze...I know it's a strange attitude from someone who has decided to live so far up north, but I'm asian in origin...:o

[tantadi]

I'd say it is a summers hakama for most people. (I get hot easily).

[EzzzE]

sorry for hijacking this thread, my question is: has anybody got the same problem: when folding tetron hakama, i never seem to get all the folds as perfect as the were... there is alsways one or 2 folds that can not be in place...though i have to say that the hakama was that way when i got it already.... time for a washing and reironing ?

greetz EzzzE