Buying New Bogu

[Kendo15]

Hello Fellow Kendokas,

Well both of my sensei's have both okayed me for bogu they told me to begin my search. I have waited for this time for some time now and i can't wait to get into bogu. But I was wondering.....

I am going to buy korean because it is cheaper and since i am a begginer i am going to buy machine stiched. There was two korean sites that caught my eyes. www.kendoshop.com and http://www.sehyun-kumdo.co.kr/e-sehyun.htm. Does anyone have any input on these two sites? have you baught from them, have any experiences? Also any other bogu companies that could be useful to me within a reasonable price range would be very good. Thanks for your time!

[JSchmidt]

I got my armor from Sehyun and it's very good quality for the money. I've seen Kendoshops stuff and it's quite similar in quality.

Jakob

[Simon Chien]

I also got mine ( a 2mm machine stiched one ) from Sehyun. The quality is very good and the 50 pieces LIKE DO is also very good for shock absorbing and light weight. There're many colors among which you can choose.

[Simon Chien]

However, since Sehyun does not accept credit card payment , you have to pay by Bank-transfer or other ways. Make sure to ask for free bougu bag , men himo and do himo and men towel if you are going to buy a whole set bougu from Sehyun.

[stakenaka]

Either should be fine. Just don't get bogu from eBay!

I would use different words than 'antique' or 'vintage' to describe most of those sets. I think I would use words that are explicitives refering to cow feces...

You should do a 'kendo' search on eBay: I got a few chuckles!

[Kendoboy]

Then again.....

I got a pretty decent set off ebay. It's not as new condition, but I wasn't told that it was. I just wanted a cheap one to last a while until I saved up for a good new one. Still, £180 for a 1bu 60 slat bamboo do, men, tare is not bad. I guess it just depends on luck.

[akihiro]

Kendoboy:

Wow!!! It sounds like you got the deal of the century! The type of bougu you describe generally runs about $2000+ for a Korean-made set and $6000+ for a Japanese-made set!

[kendo_chick]

I got my bogu at Kendoshop and haven't experienced any problems. It comes pretty fast and it is pretty good quality (as good as can be expected for machine stiched)

[inner_cent]

personal preference... I won't ever buy from Kendoshop at all. I am currently using kendoshop product right now is because when i started, I just wnt to make sure I do like kendo before I put much of the investment into bogou.
However, now I regret it, since I find out I pay quite expensive for my set (Because my area has a "Sole-agent", so we must buy through the damn guy).
I had help afew of my junior source for some japanese made bogou, although they are more expensive than Kendoshop, but, all agreed that the product are alot more better than kendoshop (in terms of the material,comfort, and fitting).

So I always recommend Japanese stuff instead..... but budget is your concern, go for Sehyun instead, their quality are better than Kendoshop

[nodachi]

I have browsed some of the online websites for bogu. I looked in a few stores too. I assume that handstiched is better than machine stiched, but what types of things are good to look for. For example, I have no clue whether a 2 mm stich is good, or what is better than that.

Can someone just jot down a few things to look for in a good quality set of bogu? Cost is an issue. I understand that better quality will cost more, but I at least want to understand what is good and what is not so good so I can have something that is reasonably priced and will last.

Thanks, any help is muchly appreciated

[alexpollijr]

I'd point you to some threads discussed a short while ago but It'll be quicker to tell again

The smaller the distance, the harder and more durable is the padding. So, for machine stiching, 2mm is best, even if it's a bit too hard to break in. For hand stiching (which is said to be superior to machine ones), 1.0 bu (about 2,5 cm I believe) is the best one.

I've had two sets this far. Both were from e-bogu. The first one was 5mm, which is nice for beginning with. The second one I use to this day, it's a 2mm one which is very nice, and shows little signs of wearing out after one year of hard practice seven hours per week.

But, if possible, get japanese stuff. Just don't get the 'junior' type of stuff, say, 8mm or 6mm.

jes my 2 cents of brazilian currency

[John W]

When I began my kendo, I started off with a set I hired from my club which was about 5mm machine stitch. This was ideal for the training I was doing and about three years later I was convinced that I would be doing kendo for many years to come so I decided to buy my very own set.
I spent along time looking on the internet for good deals and basically droping into this forum for some advice on bogu suppliers etc..
I finally came across Kendoshop and at the time they were having a sale with 15% off bogu for the month of August this year. So I bit the bullet and bought myself a 2mm machine stitch bogu set and I am very, very happy with it.
I wanted the bogu to be custom made so instead of having a men that was too lose or too tight or kote that just did not fit properly I wanted something that would fit MY body. Get custom made stuff you will not regret it!!
If I had more $$$$$ I would have obvioulsy bought hand stitch but maybe some other day!
Of course if you are still growing then maybe not, but if you have pockets lined with gold, well what the heck buy it anyway!

[Hingus]

Everyone in our dojo who owns bogu has purchased from Kendoshop and we are all very pleased. Be aware that they have recently hired a new manager and he isn't quite as quick to answer messages and questions as the old manager.

The bottom line is patience is required whtn ordering from Kendoshop, but they have a great price/performance ratio.

[Kendo15]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I was wondering with anyone who has ordered from Sehyun, is there stuff made to your body specifications? like custom made stuff from kendoshop? Also does anybody know how the imatation shark skin DO from sehyun is any good?

Thanks,

[Nishi]

I have ordered 4 bogu from Mr Hong at Sehyun, 2x 1.2 hand stitched and 2 x2.5 mm machine stitched (for our dojo). Sehyun are an incredible company. They make standard size adult "DO" however, their "KOTE" and "MEN" are made to measure.

As for the imitation "sturgeon do"..i'm sure its like any other "DO" at that price...made of fibre, and works just as good as any other.

I will only deal with Sehyun these days because of the quality. I purchased a 1.2bu set from them one year ago, and put it through 3 (2 hour) classes/per week.There has not been a stitch out of place...for the value, the bogu is awsome.