Instead of rating on a scale of 1 to 10, I'll be logging how this strain affected me as either "not noticeable", "barely noticeable", "noticeable", "very noticeable" or "extremely noticeable" in five categories.
Garuda's "Red Banjar"
Energy / Focus / Motivation = Very Noticeable
Euphoria / Mood = Noticeable
Relaxation / Calming = Barely Noticeable
Sedation = Not Noticeable
Pain Relief = Barely Noticeable
Toss & washed 80% of my normal dose on an empty stomach. Slight onset after 25 minutes. Effects didn't seem to get any more pronounced after 1 hour and 20 minutes of initial dose. At this time I redosed 2 additional grams (for a total of 6g now). About 10 minutes later I felt a slight increase in the "strength" of this burn. Nothing major. I have in my notes to "try this strain at a low dose". A lot of Reds don't effect me now as much as they once did, so these "less pronounced" effects from "Red Banjar" did not shock me. 2 1/2 hours later I wrote in my notes, "Nothing other than energy and motivation appear to be standing out. Mood is calm / level. No sedation. Not much pain relief. Sustained energy seems to be the lead horse in this race. This is a fast red, in my experience. Like a moderate Green, without euphoria. Definitely not White-fast." Duration was approximately 4-5 hours.
Later that day, I tried "Red Banjar" at 50% (2.5g) of my normal dose. 30 minutes later, "Sustained energy, not much else". I noticed no real difference to speak of between the earlier full dose and this much smaller dose. Energetic aspects of this seemingly "odd" Red (odd to me, at least) began to wean after about 3 1/2 hours when used at this lower dose.
So, in the future, what would I use "Red Banjar" for? I would not use it on heavy pain days or days when I'm experiencing high anxiety. I would use it when I have the need to be semi-social, but not too much interactions. And activities that require sustained moderate energy. I wouldn't run a marathon on it
, and I wouldn't dose this before prolonged yard work or "Spring Cleaning" house work. For me, since I work evenings (with not many coworkers around), this may be a good "at-work" strain. I've had "fast-ish" Reds before, but this may be one of the most energetic reds I've had to date. To me, it's appearance looks like Red Bent (Bentuangie), which I've had from multiple vendors many times before, but even Red Bents have sedated me toward the end of the burn. Indeed, this is an "odd", perhaps unique (to me, at least) Red. I don't dislike it, but I'm not sure if I would order more. In my opinion, I think it would be worth trying if you like faster Reds. But not if you take Kratom for chronic pain, deep relaxation or sleep. Of course, your mileage may vary. Again, me and Reds, "We ain't what we used to be", unfortunately, so consider the sourse from whence this review came. Red Banjar, I congratulate you for keeping me on my toes and convincing me that "Not all Reds are created equally."
