MKUltras - 10mm Titanium Mílos Short Form Edition
MKUltras - 10mm Titanium Mílos Short Form Edition
With all of our other bead options, it's hard to imagine anything minimalist carving out a new space for itself between our mini sigmas, our spherical beads, and the rest of our range. But the Mílos justified their existence from the first samples, and have become a new favourite for many. These apple-shaped beads are a traditional shape, and were originally modelled after our jade bodhis. In terms of weight and feel, the Mílos have a lot in common with our similarly sized spherical beads, but to the tactile and auditory connoisseurs out there, the differences will be immediately clear. The Mílos are essentially short and cylindrical, but with heavily rounded external edges, and a 3mm bore that hugs the cord slightly more than our spherical beads. This makes gives them a very comfortable feel for bead counting, dramatically reducing the potential hot spot where the thumb grabs each bead.
The 10mm Mílos beads are the perfect size for this material, and work well with the short setup. The 3mm bore on the beads provides a great experience during bead counting, and the crisp clack of the beads during raindrops is pleasant and fresh. The beads can be played in two packets, or from the 15mm titanium boss bead. As we have restocked the beads for this short form launch, we took the opportunity to bring in a brand new colour PVD coating--a steely blue-grey that we've never made available before. This colour is subtle but distinctive.. it has a definite blue tone to it, but it is quite understated, unlike our usual saturated blue PVD or anodized finishes.
The Short Form Mílos MKUltras feature 21 of our 10mm apple shaped Mílo beads, and are designed to be worn on the wrist in a single loop. The sliding 15mm AO2 etched Lil' Boss bead provides a friction fit locking mechanism to keep the set in place when worn, while sliding down to create slack when the set is being played.
Details on the Titanium Mílos MKUltras:
- 21 x 10mm Mílos + 1x 15mm AO2 Etched Lil' Boss (~57g)
- Gr5 Titanium, Natty (Polished surface)
- Gr5 Titanium, Blue-grey (blue greyish PVD polished surface)
- Strung on AO2's new custom 12-strand, high density, 2mm Kevlar cord
More general information can be found below, and for anyone interested in the full narrative and some moving visuals of these beauties, have a look at the February 2024 drop preview video, time stamped below.
General Information on the MKUltras
The MKUltras are a hybrid design, combining elements of traditional Mala and Komboloi beads. The MKUltra name gives a nod to this lineage, as well as their expedience as tools to help us focus our minds and still our thoughts. They can be used in a variety of ways, ranging from quiet bead counting, through to raucous flipping.
The unique setup of the MKUltras allows them to be worn like mala beads, or carried discretely in the pocket. They adjust by means of a simple friction fit through the larger "Micro Boss" bead closure. Although the design is exceedingly simple, we're fairly confident you won't find anything quite like them around. This is a knotless system, and does not require any special lock bead. The cord is simply compressed when threaded through the Micro Boss bead, providing a reliable, secure fastener, that is easy to adjust when needed.
In this way, the Ultras can be worn on the wrist, or loosened and slid up above the elbow to keep them out of the way when needed. Excess cordage can be knotted loosely around the Micro Boss bead when they are worn on the wrist, or left dangling. This modifiable arrangement allows them to be used very quietly, for simple bead counting used in breath work and meditation, to "raindrop" methods marked by the satisfying, rhythmic clacking of the beads, as well as much more physical methods of manipulation which resemble short game begleri play. While they aren't intended as a highly technical skill toy, there are still a solid range of moves you can link together, and lots of ways of working with them.
New to the Ultras? You can wear em on your wrist, or check out the video below for some other examples of what these beads are capable of.
