Begleri Buyers GuideWhat begleri to choose? Like any sport or hobby, the equipment is both a huge part of the hobby, and at the same time almost irrelevant. If you play basketball, you need to have a ball. But do you need to have the $200 official NBA ball to start with, or will the $5 thrift store ball work to get you going? Yoyo players face this dilemma all the time, and the question was answered a few years ago when a World Champion won the national title with a $12 beginner yoyo. The simple answer is that you need whatever you can get your hands on that will work to build the skills. After that everything is ‘want’ The available products on the market range from $1 for a set of mass produced plastic cheap quality Chinese beads to near $100 for high end titanium beads. The joy of begleri is that unlike yoyo or kendama, precision and balance are less a factor. You need a pair of beads that are reasonably close to the same shape and weight, but they can be hand made, crafted from just about anything you can get your hands on. The standard cord to use is paracord, but you can make you own cord out of anything that isn’t going to snap when slinging and will hold a knot. Once you get past the start up and into the area of “want” you are looking at a wide range of choices. I’m going to cover a few options in different price ranges with some of my opinions on them. I’ll be sticking to beads I’ve actually played with, which for the most part limits the discussion to what I stock at Return Top Shop. Take it with the grain of salt that I’m not an expert, and I’m not you. My tastes won’t be your tastes. I’m dividing this into 4 categories: 1. Beginner/inexpensive beads 2. As-is beads (not modifications or upgrades available) 3. Modular beads 4. High-End/Collectable
The Pros: They don’t break your stuff when you fling them across the room, they bounce when you drop them so they are an easy pick up when you drop while walking and slinging. The Cons: The balls are very large relative to most peoples hands, limiting your trick options. They are also ‘tacky’ and don’t slide between the fingers easily. The cord is tricky to change so you are generally stuck with the length of the band that comes with it.
2. As-is beads There are a lot of these on the market. They are the easiest and usually cheapest thing to make as you are just dealing with the machining of a single part. There are a wide range of these available on the market in general in a variety of materials. The Aroundsquare Everyman AL sport and the R2FG ACM are great starter sets. The Rain City Skills "October" beads have a bit more weight and momentum to them. The Pros: Simple and usually less expensive. There are a variety of designs on the market. So you can try different shapes and sizes The Cons: Not adaptable, the weight is set so if you see a shape you like you have to adapt your style to it’s weight. 3. Modular Beads
4. High End/Collectables There are many makers that only sell direct and as such you can hunt to find collectable begleri sets that aren’t available in retail stores. Some such sets are made of Titanium (The A02 Titans, the MonkeyfingeR Ti Ape Grapes and Kokonutz). The Zeekio Hand Painted Steel are a head addition to a collection. Finally the Kudos Begleri offer a variety of wood/metal combinations. If you have found yourself with the collecting bug I suggest you join one of the online begleri communities to see what else is out there. I’ve linked a few below and there are many more to be found. I've talked about what I carry at Return Top Shop, but there is a wealth of variety out there. Below are links to a few other brands that you can generally only get in one place. I encourage you to look around, try different things and see what works for you!
MonkeyfingeR Aroundsquare - Wide range of products Sketch Begleri - Monkey Fist style begleri TGP - One of the longest running makers, plenty of original designs. Butterfield Machine Gumdrops Begleri - Very active in the Begleri community, head to Begleri USA on Facebook to read her weekly posts Thanks for reading! Feel free to add to this overview in the comments, I’m happy to update it with feedback from the community. Facebook - This links to what seems to be the biggest group, but there are a bunch of others that are pretty easy to find. Discord - There is at least 1 begleri channel I know of but you need an invite. Use the contact form to send me an email if you are interested in joining. Instagram - Not much for discussion but a lot of people post videos and pictures there. Just poke around #begleri
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