If you’re searching for your first kendama, you’re probably asking the same five questions most buyers ask:
What kendama should I buy?
What is the best kendama for beginners?
What shape is best?
What paint type should I get?
Is there a high-quality kendama that isn’t expensive?
This guide will answer all of those clearly and honestly. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to look for and why the Sol Pastels have quickly become one of the best beginner kendamas available.
The best kendama to buy is one that helps you learn tricks and progress quickly, is durable for months of consistent play, and has been made recently.
Many beginners seek cheap, discounted kendamas, accidentally buying outdated shapes with slippery paint, or poorly balanced shape. That makes learning all tricks much more difficult than it needs to be.
A good modern kendama should have:
A well-balanced shape
A bevel that is 23mm-25mm wide
Grippy, durable paint
Good tracking for tama control
Large cup rims for longevity and durability
The Sol Pastels were built specifically around these principles. They are made entirely of beech wood, which makes them super affordable, with a modern kendama shape designed to be well-balanced, durable, and easy to learn new tricks on.
The best beginner kendama is one that makes learning tricks easier, not frustrating. Sol Pastels were created with one clear goal: help new players learn kendama tricks with ease.
They feature:
A 62mm beech tama
A wide 24mm bevel for landing spikes and stalls with ease
The KD Shape ken designed by Sol Kendamas Legend player Kevin DeSoto, a professional player with nearly two decades of experience
A shorter string that is more manageable for new players
A metal bearing bead to prevent the string from getting tangled easily
The KD Shape is well-rounded for every trick. It supports tricks from the fundamentals like big cup, small cup, and spike, while also offering the balance and structure for tricks at the highest level. This is not a toy-store kendama, it is not a discounted, out-dated kendama, it’s a modern shape designed by a pro to accelerate learning and last for years of play.
Kendama shape matters more than most beginners realize.
Older kendamas from 10 to 20 years ago were smaller, less balanced, and not optimized for modern trick progression. Today’s shapes are larger, more forgiving, and better suited for balance tricks like lunar. In 2026, learning how to spike a kendama for the first time is easier than ever.
The KD Shape on the Sol Pastels is a modern design that accomplishes all of that, and more. It’s the same shape used on Sol’s higher-end and pro-level models, which means you’re not sacrificing performance for price.
Paint technology has changed everything.
Twenty years ago, sticky and durable paint like we have today did not exist. Most kendamas had glossy paint that was slippery and hard to control.
Modern sticky paint is game changing. It allows you to land lighthouses and lunars with ease, stall more consistently, improve control across all balance tricks, and build confidence in landing tricks much faster.
The Sol Pastels feature grippy, durable sticky paint that performs at a high level while still holding up over time. On top of that, they use an 80/20 horizontal split design, which improves tracking during the rotation of the tama. A laser-engraved Sol logo tracking dot on the top of the tama helps you line up spikes more accurately.
This combination of modern paint and smart tracking design makes learning dramatically easier than it used to be.
This is where most buyers hesitate.
Pro models often retail around $59.99. Collaboration kendamas using the same shape can reach as much as $109.99 or more.
The Sol Pastels are $29.99.
They use:
A 62mm beech tama with a 24mm bevel
The pro-designed KD Shape on beech wood
Sticky paint with 80/20 split tracking
Laser tracking dot on top of the tama
Shorter string, which helps make learning beginner level tricks easier
Metal bearing bead to keep the string untangled as you progress to higher level tricks
You’re getting modern performance at half the price of pro models and significantly less than high-end collaborations.
That’s why many experienced players recommend Sol Pastels to new players. It’s a well-rounded kendama that performs above its price point.
If you’re new here, Sol Kendamas is a team and community focused kendama brand. Sol Kendamas started in 2014 with the goal of making kendama more accessible in America, to host and promote in-person events that continue to grow kendama, and to help foster existing relationships in kendama.
The KD Shape was designed by Kevin DeSoto, a professional kendama player with nearly 20 years of experience. The goal behind the Sol Pastels was simple: To Make a kendama that is affordable, accessible, durable, modern, and honed for progression.
If you want:
The best beginner kendama in the game
A durable kendama built for modern tricks
A shape designed by a professional player
Game-changing sticky paint
An affordable price at $29.99
The Sol Pastels are the clear choice.
When you are starting out, you do not need to spend $59 to $109 to get a kendama that plays at a high level.
You need the right shape, the right paint, and a setup designed to help you progress.
That’s exactly what the Sol Pastels deliver.
