A More Nuanced Look at Buying Bogu

So I wrote a post before and stand by the statement that if you’re a beginner looking for your first set, just go with KendoStar. It’s easy, it’s simple, the price is good, it’s designed for the European market and they’ve got the most men sizes. That’s my standard answer, but not everyone is standard. For instance, if you are of Asian descent your choices are very different. Bogu is first and foremost designed for the East Asian market, so the standard sizes will fit you very well. Another factor to take into consideration is do you have money to spend? If you can afford to pay more, your choices are better. Then, do you have the luxury to wait? If you can wait for your bogu, well now there are even more options!

I currently have two bogu sets: one for home training and one for travel. The home set is an old 2mm proper leather and indigo tare ordered from E-Bogu, still like new over a decade later, the original bamboo dou one of my first sensei gave me, a pair of Nexus kote from Nine Circles and a Kamui men from KendoStar. My travel set is an orizashi tare from Kendo-Sport, a cherry red dou from Kendo24 and a men I bought from the Sankei dealer in Denmark. Not an off the shelf KendoStar set!

If you’re Asian, as I previously stated, your choices are great. I would actually first point to Nine Circles. I don’t recommend their cheaper models, in terms of budget sets, I’d still prefer KendoStar’s bottom shelf items, but if you can afford their Titan or Nexus series, they are very good. They have quite traditional styling, properly comfortable deerskin palms, and the Nexus set is the newer cross stitch type, an imitation of handmade bogu that is gaining popularity with good reason. I have had my Nexus kote for three years and they are so protective as to seem almost magical. Kote hits have been virtually painless and I’ve recommended it to several people who for various medical reasons can’t afford bruising and a sensei or two as well. I assume the men is as good, though I have no first hand experience.

If you’re a woman, Kendo-Sport will actually make a custom dou for you (KendoStar as well). If you’re not aware, busty women can have trouble with their dou mune sticking out and catching on the bottom of their men. It’s often a posture issue, but it’s very unpleasant and frustrating and not something guys have to deal with, so if you can afford to avoid the problem, I would. I can’t speak to the protective qualities of Kendo-Sport’s gear, because I haven’t tried it, but if you’re interested in aesthetics, I will say the understated elegance of the tare I own is noteworthy. As an orizashi (all cloth) item, it’s not particularly luxurious, but the himo are gently tapered, which is both very pleasing to the eye and more comfortable. There is a bit of ornamental stitching on the himo as well. I find it makes the simple act of handling the tare much more pleasurable than my E-Bogu one. We interact with our bogu countless times as we put it on and take it off, so to me enhancing the experience has merit.

If you’ve got money, I actually would just go custom with Kendo24. They have very affordable prices and I like their choice on protection. My Nexus are actually worn out (please do not take that as a criticism of their quality, simple as a testament to how many students I have and how often they wail on my poor arm) and I’ve ordered my new pair from Kendo24, one reason being that they offer a doubly protective kote, but also that I have very slender hands. When I bought from Nine Circles they told me I could choose between the correct length or width. I chose length. They are very comfortable, but almost comically wide on my hands. I am looking forward to kote when I don’t have to make a compromise. Similarly I have been considering ordering a men from them. They do old school 2mm style. This is terrible for kote, I know from experience and clearly Kendo24 agrees, because their kote are a wider gauge, but for men I find it unrivaled protection. My old men was heavy and poorly fitting, but I never felt a single blow. The KendoStar men I have is decent protection, but not as good and the fabric on the inside is rough. 

Please note that Nishiguma and Meijin have both been left out of this review simply because I have never worn their gear. I have every reason to believe they are very good quality. In the case of Nishiguma, you can’t beat beautiful, unique styling and they carry carbon fiber dou, which are as strong as bamboo, but incredibly light. For Meijin, the fellow who runs the shop has excellent customer service and a money back guarantee on sets where he took your measurements. Both are worth looking at if you’re really shopping around, I just won’t vouch for something I haven’t tried. 

Happy shopping everyone!