Boso Bamboo Drumsticks Are a Sustainable, Highly Durable Alternative to Wood

Boso (pronounced bō-sō) means "bamboo house" in Bamana, a Mandé language spoken in Mali (West Africa). Boso was founded in 2010 by musician and entrepreneur David Reid. As a studio guitarist Reid had seen the arsenal of sticks that drummers carry—sticks for every musical style plus backup sticks in case of breakage—and wondered if there was a way to produce a durable stick from a high-quality sustainable resource.

Make Every Beat Matter

Reid located a bamboo supplier in China as well as a factory ready to meet their exacting specifications. Determined that drummers should be able to go green without compromising on comfort, tone, or consistency, Reid explored countless combinations of reformed bamboo materials and continues to do so today. Continuous testing and rapid design prototyping ensure Boso maintains their pursuit of new densities and resilience qualities that challenge the trusted wood products drummers have grown to love.

Boso produces two types of solid 100% Anji bamboo material to their specifications using their unique process (patent pending): Boso Natural™ and Boso Dark™.  The combination of these two materials creates a third, comparable in weight to Hickory, called Boso Strata™.

We Listened to You

The Boso team was able to get prototypes into the hands of a variety of drummers of all genres and skill levels. The feedback was positive: the sticks were highly durable and resilient, unique in feel and tone, and the texture of the bamboo fibers provided a natural grip. The drummers also offered a number of suggestions for the Boso team. They wanted sticks in various weights: light sticks for fast hands and low volumes, and heavy sticks for building strength and playing loud. They also wanted sticks that were easy to pick out of their bag.

Boso currently produces a full line of bamboo sticks (5A, 5B, 7A, 2B, and marching band sizes), providing drummers with a greener alternative to traditional hickory. By layering natural and compressed bamboo using a patent-pending method Boso calls Strata Technology™, Boso is able to mimic the density of hickory and produce bamboo sticks that match the weight drummers are accustomed to.

Boso also produces sticks made entirely of natural bamboo and entirely of compressed bamboo for players looking for a lighter or heavier stick. And all Boso sticks are engraved with a signature "B" at the butt end so that drummers can easily pick the Boso sticks out of their bags.

We're Just Getting Started

Boso wants to put sticks in the hands of drummers around the world. We're working with local dealers and global distributors so keep your eye out for updates from us via Facebook and Twitter. There's much more to come from Boso. We'll continue to work closely with new artists that share our philosophy to design and manufacture the best tools for the work you do.

If you're interested in working with us please review our endorsement program. All we ask is that you keep making music.