Suggestions on my first bogu...?

[djlanders020]

Hey all. I'm planning to buy my first bogu set, and I wanted to make sure (before I dropped a huge load of cash) that I wasn't buying crap gear or paying crap prices. I intend to stay with Kendo for a long, long time. Here is what i have so far (off of BoguBag.com)


Doh
60-stave bamboo, some minor laquer errors. $325

Kote
2-row, 2.0mm stitching, deerskin. $130

Tare
6-row silk, deerskin, 5mm stitching, indigo dye. $95

Men
Titanium grill, 4.0mm stitching. $220

Total price ~ $770

What do you think? Should I go for it?
Thanks in advance.

~ djl

[Hai_hai]

Skip the 60 piece bamboo do and get a yamato do.

[djlanders020]

Skip the 60 piece bamboo do and get a yamato do.
Well, the reason I was going to go with the 60 piece is because it was dropped from $580 to $325 due to a not-quite-perfect lacquer job. And I figured that a 60 piece would both be more durable and more comfortable for me when I'm wearing it.

Not sure if that changes your opinion.. whether it does or doesn't, let me know. I just thought that maybe I left out a relatively important piece of information.

Thanks again.

~ djl

[lucian]

Bamboo-do’s are more traditional but the do not do anything unique, they are heavier than fibre-do’s they are supposed to protect more but I could not really feel the difference between Yamato and bamboo-do

But I prefer the weight of the Bamboo-do better



I was thinking of getting the same DO it is worth it (but not the shipping to England ;) )

If you can get a Yamato-do cheaper you might want to consider taking that and using the extra cash to get a 3mm Men or a second set of Kote

But the Bamboo-do is a bargain; the lacquer is nothing to worry about, after the first few sessions in it will be scuffed to hell anyway



I would take extra kote if you saved enough cash on switching to Yamato-do, if not get the bamboo :D

[litige]

Hey all. I'm planning to buy my first bogu set, and I wanted to make sure (before I dropped a huge load of cash) that I wasn't buying crap gear or paying crap prices. I intend to stay with Kendo for a long, long time. Here is what i have so far (off of BoguBag.com)


Doh
60-stave bamboo, some minor laquer errors. $325

Kote
2-row, 2.0mm stitching, deerskin. $130

Tare
6-row silk, deerskin, 5mm stitching, indigo dye. $95

Men
Titanium grill, 4.0mm stitching. $220

Total price ~ $770

What do you think? Should I go for it?
Thanks in advance.

~ djl

Yeah drop the do, get the cheapest one, but spent the rest on some nice kote's or a really good men

[itachi]

Those are fine, I don't think you absolutely need a titanium men. But as long as you don't become a rich-boy show off then its alright =D. RIGHT HAI_HAI?

[Catherine]

I used a men with a steel mengane for a number of years and then switched to a men with a titanium mengane.

I think that a titanium mengane will make a lot of difference. I don't think that it is seen as a fancy piece of equipment anymore. It is much lighter and that will make the transition to using it easier.

As for the do, I like the weight of the bamboo do. However, I don't think that there is much difference between the protection that a bamboo do and a standard do give.

A bamboo do is a cool piece of equipment, but that doesn't really matter as usually only you will actually know that you are using a bamboo do.

Like others have said, it is really important to have good kote.

Catherine

[Musuko]

Just a quick question about bogubag: do they include the strings (I don't know the official name) when your order bogu? Thanks.

[Andoru]

You mean himo? They do.

[ctan]

Hi! The 4.0 mm MEN caught my eye; I think you may want to get a better one. You should probably talk to Sensei Stroud about quality since stitching intervals alone do not necessarily indicate better quality or protection, although in machine stitched sets (especially when comparing goods from the same company) they typically do. I would think that a 3.0 mm or 2.0 mm is typically better. In Koei's case, however, I think their 2.0 mm sets (or one of them at least; the "G" series, I think) are actually not made in Japan while one of their better 3.0 mm sets (the "S" series?) is; so you need to really ask Sensei Stroud about this. I think in general, you want to put as much money as you can into the MEN and KOTE and take money off DO and TARE. For DO, however, you do NOT want to get a fiberglass DO; the protection is horrible. I think in terms of protection, a 50 piece lookalike-type DO (Yamato DO) is as good as a real 60 piece bamboo DO; it is also lighter and usually significantly cheaper.


Hope this helps.

[ctan]

Also, this is NOT meant at all to be a plug; *purely* just something to consider, but you should know that the best Sehyun machine stitched set (their #200 i.e. special 2.0 mm set) is around the price that you'd indicated above, and the quality of that set is really first rate.

[JSchmidt]

I would drop the bamboo do and get a 2 or 3mm men instead.

Jakob

[Hai_hai]

Those are fine, I don't think you absolutely need a titanium men. But as long as you don't become a rich-boy show off then its alright =D. RIGHT HAI_HAI?

Hai. :) So desu.

[Hai_hai]

Yeah drop the do, get the cheapest one, but spent the rest on some nice kote's or a really good men

Don't get the $220 men. Look at the S-## line of bogu, S-17, S-20, S-21, S-22.

[djlanders020]

Thank you all for your quick responses. I appreciate your help. So, at this point, it's looking like I'll get:

50-row Yamato Do, 5.0mm stitching ($100.00)
2-row deerskin Kote, 2.0mm stitching ($130.00)
Indigo-dyed, 6 rows silk lines, deerskin trim Tare, 5.0mm stitching ($95.00)
Titanium grill Men, 3.0mm stitching ($305.00)

That brings my total to $630.00, which is much more reasonable than the $770.00 I was going to spend. Unless anybody has anything else to add as far as recommendations go, I'll get these within the next few weeks -- once I actually have cash.

Thank you all again. If you see anything I'm missing (like if I'm paying too much or my gear won't last very long...), feel free to post on it.

Gracias :)

~ djl

[Neil Gendzwill]

It would help if you just used the part numbers rather than the descriptions. I think you've selected the men from the F-23 set, we have several members who have that men and are happy, it is good value. I'm not sure where you pulled the kote from, but if you are going to get that quality of men you won't be happy going cheap on the kote. I'd recommend you get the S-22 kote instead. Also just for aesthetics you might want to spend a couple more dollars and get the tare from the KN-3 set. It's almost as cheap as the 5 mm you picked and will match your other pieces more nicely.

[djlanders020]

Sorry. Good call.

Men - Model 01-330 from F-23
Doh - No Model #, but it's the alternate on GZ-17
Kote - Model 06-240 from S-24
Tare - Model 04-160 from GZ-17

The Kote are under "Hand Made." I would've assumed those were really good, but obviously I could be wrong. I'm very much a beginner :-)

[Neil Gendzwill]

Kote - Model 06-240 from S-24

The Kote are under "Hand Made." I would've assumed those were really good, but obviously I could be wrong. I'm very much a beginner :-)

Ah, that's part of the confusion - they are 2.0 bu, not 2.0 mm. 1 bu is about 3 mm. I'd ask Stroud-sensei if I were you but I think you'll get more bang for your buck buying machine-stitched. I think at that price you're buying hand-stitched just to get hand-stitched but then I've never seen the S24 set.

[ctan]

Also, I believe when they say that the do is 5 mm, they mean that the intervals on the mune stitching are 5mm (not sure about this; you should check). Since this is a mix-and-match bogu set, the bogu may look quite weird (depending on the mune design chosen) if the ago on the men is like 3mm and the mune on the do is like 5 mm (again, depending on the mune design chosen) even when both the ago and mune are from the same design. You may want to ask Sensei Stroud if this is going to be a problem or, perhaps, which design you should choose to minimize this problem (I think simple designs in more conservative, dark colors (navy blue, say) should work better). This is going to be just a problem of aesthetics though; not protection, so if you're ok with it then it's no problem at all.

[cst]

For the money look at the "top 3mm or High 2mm" from e-bogu.com or "sm251" from e-mudo.com....YOu wont regret it..Personal experience and they are great....You get a hand made just of the sake of hand made at that price..you may be buying something pretty cheap...2bu looks like a cheap 4 to 5mm machine stitch from far away and will look pretty simple and plain. I wouldnt even look at hand stiched unless you are looking at over $1800.

By the way..duraluminum is lighter than and the cheaper than titanium men...so dont waste your money for titanium unless you spend big bucks.

[Hai_hai]

Sorry. Good call.

Men - Model 01-330 from F-23
Doh - No Model #, but it's the alternate on GZ-17
Kote - Model 06-240 from S-24
Tare - Model 04-160 from GZ-17

The Kote are under "Hand Made." I would've assumed those were really good, but obviously I could be wrong. I'm very much a beginner :-)

Well, as a beginner, you are getting a nice set.

This link shows what a "real" beginner set looks like.
http://www.eguchi.net/cart_6mmmachine.htm

[cst]

Hai..first of all your an idiot...2nd that is not a beginner set, thats an overpriced halloween custom piece of S..!

[Hai_hai]

Hai..first of all your an idiot...2nd that is not a beginner set, thats an overpriced halloween custom piece of S..!

You... have not been to Japan. No further statements.

[2 TEK]

Please! No foul language! :ogre:
Alex

[2 TEK]

Sorry, do not no what came over me:devious:

[Masahiro]

Hai..first of all your an idiot...2nd that is not a beginner set, thats an overpriced halloween custom piece of S..!
Actually that isn't an over priced halloween costume piece of $hit. In japan, you will often see beginner sets similar to the one given in the link by Hai Hai being used. There are vaguely 2 occasions these "halloween costumes" will be used.
>> 1) Parents will often purchase such "beginner" set for kids anywhere ranging from 8 to 13 years old. Because, A)the body are still growing and B)little kids really don't know why it is that they are doing kendo. it is often just a school curriculum.
>>2) Such "economical" sets are often provided at less prestigious dojos or school clubs. Because not everyone who joins will really stay on to study kendo. (yes, kendo isn't for everyone. EVEN IN JAPAN) For adults, who plan to do kendo consistently against other adults, such sets aren't recommended. . Simply because adults will be practicing with other adults, and adults hit much harder than if you were practicing with little kids.

[orayakab]

Well, as a beginner, you are getting a nice set.

This link shows what a "real" beginner set looks like.
http://www.eguchi.net/cart_6mmmachine.htm

I guess we now have an idea of what bogu hai hai owns. No wonder why he's all bent out of shape because everyone has better bogu than he.

Orayakab, U.

[Hai_hai]

I guess we now have an idea of what bogu hai hai owns. No wonder why he's all bent out of shape because everyone has better bogu than he.

Orayakab, U.

Actually, I own 8.0 bu bogu. It was sewn by a lazy old man who didn't feel like making a 2.0 bu.

[Masahiro]

Actually, I own 8.0 bu bogu. It was sewn by a lazy old man who didn't feel like making a 2.0 bu.

hahahaha, was this particular set a "gunome" set? because I was under the impressoin old men don't have very good vision? If it is, in that case, I think your bogu is a very fine one. A friend of mine who almost always win his division (Ni-dan/San-dan) wears a set which he holds together by duck tape. The set is so old I don't even know if it was handmade or machine stiched. But sadly, that has never stopped him from winning his trophies.

[orayakab]

Actually, I own 8.0 bu bogu. It was sewn by a lazy old man who didn't feel like making a 2.0 bu.

Well I suppose handstitched is better than like a 4mm machine stitched bogu

[cst]

Mas...my point in the beginners set was not to buy one... For the price You can buy a better set from a Korean Company than that...Sure they use it Japan..Unless I'm buying it for a little kid like Hai or as a rental I wont recommend people buy that as their first set.

[BozzDK]

Where are you ordering these items from? If you are just beginning, you may want to do some more research. For spending that much of cash, you can probaly get 3 mm bogu set from any leading kendo gear website, why would you want to have a mixed mm stitching?Your kote and the men are the one's that wear out most but you can work with duraluminum mengane instead of titanium.
good luck,

[Masahiro]

Of course, once again I mistook sarcasm for sincerity. How can I have forgotten, sense of humor differ from nation to nation and also from person to person. It was my fault indeed, as I am always inclined to be over-informative. :silly:

[Neil Gendzwill]

why would you want to have a mixed mm stitching?
Because that's the way to get the most bang for your buck. If you have a limited budget, I always recommend to get the best men and kote you can afford, and buy tare and doh with whatever's left over. If that means 3 mm kote and 5 mm tare, so be it. If you're concerned about the look, buy a tare from a cheaper set of the same stitch width. You don't have to buy a set.

Nobody I know has ever regretted spending more money on kote.

[Marine_Boy]

I can't post on ebudo, so I'll post here instead.

First post on kendoworld for a very long time...

Well, I recently purchased a new set of armour from ninecircles (bogushop) and used it for the first time last saturday.

It is their 2.5mm set and I think it looks great. However, it is a lot lighter than the club armour I was wearing for just under a year.

My personal opinion in the weight of the armour is that, it should be heavier and not lighter. Makes one practice harder.

However, if one can afford two sets of armour, try training a few weeks with a heavy set then switch to a light set. I think this kind of training help give the body new sensations and input.

[moetl]

... For DO, however, you do NOT want to get a fiberglass DO; the protection is horrible ...hi,
this statement caught my attention, because i cannot quite follow your choice of words! :)
i'm wearing club bogu with a do made of some kind of plastic and the do is not even properly fittet (it's too small - my hips are touching the do) but do strikes do not hurt! it's just that the day after the hips are a little bit sensitive to pressure but that's it. (not even a bruise appears)

so, why is the protection horrible - what else can happen?? :confused: