[Siuchingach]

Heres a breakdown of my bogu..

First set all purchased from Eguchi 3.5 yrs ago. I think it was the 4.5mm set that cost ~800 bucks American.

Men - My first men was pretty painful to wear. My ears hurt, then became bloody from it rubbing against the fabric. I was also wearing glasses in my men at the time so that could have some effect. I had to take it off during one practice because it hurt so much. Take care of it by drying it off after each practice. My first one became so bad that the outer bindings around the mengane started to become bloated from the moisture and just broke apart when it dried. Got a new 3mm one with chitan (from Eguchi) and I know what to do with this one at least. This one was SOOOOO comfortable it was unbelievable. I was wearing it for practice 2 days after i bought it and later that week was in a taikai with it. It was THAT comfortable. Oh ya.. Men himo. Have an extra set handy. I have gone through 3 sets of men himo since people with screwed up shinais hit it and they start to fray.

Kote: I have 2 pairs. both had to be repaired once. The holes usually form in the palms.The first pair is VERY tight.. Can barely move. The second pair is VERY comfortable. Same stitching too. Sometimes if the padding is thick, your wrists feel like they are cemented in place.

Dou - Still the original. The strings and everything. They should last a long time no matter who you buy it from. Hongsermeier uses Mothers car wax to polish it. I tried it and it works pretty well.

Tare - Still going after more than 3 years, although I might need to have the strings replaced soon. They start to fray after a while.


My 0.02,

Tim