The Kamui brand has always stood for excellence in quality and craftsmanship. The new Kamui Roku is a new line of chalk on the market that is turning heads with looks of interest and skepticism.
The chalk it self has a new look and feel to it. The new Hexagon shape that Kamui has chosen just feels right in your hands. The chalk feels a lot stiffer and harder to apply; it takes many swipes or brushings to apply it correctly. Once applied the chalk sticks to the tip with a different feel, as opposed to the other chalks in the Kamui line. In my opinion the chalk is harder of a consistency than anything else that is on the market. The chalk feels a lot different than anything else, it really does.
In some pool rooms across the nation they have banned the use of soft chalks like some of the Kamui lines because of the transferring qualities on to their cloth. Comments have been made in the community that the original Kamui was too messy. The consistency was very soft with the Kamui 0.98 and the 1.21. Some players loved the tackiness of it and the ability to go rack after rack without chalking over and over. Some prefer the softer of the two different variations.
What Kamui did was take the same chalk and make the consistency, texture and the residue that comes off the tip when stroking the cue ball. With the Roku the chalk does not transfer from the tip to the cue ball, well minimally. Now those of you who love the Kamui brand will naturally hop on board, while we all need to try this new Kamui Roku for ourselves.
Many pool players and pool room owners alike will love the new look and feel of the Roku. Now you can still apply as much English and obtain extreme draw shots with this chalk. The myth that you apply more English with some chalks more so then others is simply a stroke issue. There is no evidence to substantiate these claims. The correct scuffing or picking of the tip will help the chalk stick to the tip as well, like the Kamui Gator grip offers.
Something else that Kamui did was taking the wrapper of the chalk and gave it a matte coating with perforated lines to make it easier to tear it off as the chalk gets worn down, similar to the other chalks in the Kamui line. The paper sleeve that Kamui uses to hold the chalk is thick and will hold the chalk together well.
Really the only negative thing I have to say about it is if you are not used to a harder chalk then this will seem really foreign to you. It just takes longer to apply then the softer chalks on the market. This chalk will last you a very long time even with daily use. The Roku is also smooth to apply even though it’s of a harder texture. All in all we as a community have requested something different and Kamui has listened to our requests and created a little something for everyone.
Author: Garret Troop
Editor: Chris Freeman
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sponsored by Jacoby Custom Cues
