BeCue Product Review February 2017
Custom made 31” Shaft at 12.05mm diameter and 31” butt (Naked design)
First Impressions after 5 complete hours of use
I understand that Cue’s will change over time. I never really put too much stock into cue reviews unless they are given in the right context. Most shafts/cues hit great right out of the box. But the real story is how will they play after 300 hours of use. With that, I would like to preface these views and comments on the BeCue 5.1 shaft and carbon composite butt as a first look with five hours of heavy drills and play. This isn’t after a few hits on a demo table at a trade show. I really didn’t hold anything back with this cue right out of the box. From power stroke drills to light touch shots – I tried to go as complete as I could in regards to testing this product and to get a solid idea as to the viability of carbon composite in a playing cue compared to a novelty/fad.
THE LOOK
Right out of the box, the BeCue is, for lack of a better word, mesmerizing. Under the glow of my home table fluorescents, watching the butt section’s carbon composite fiber weave pattern dance in the reflective light is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in a pool cue. It’s eye catching to say the least, and makes you want to take a closer look.
The white shaft is beautiful and naturally neutral to the eye. It complements the dark grey/black weave pattern of the butt – a no-frills, no-flash simple design of modern cue technology. The white shaft does not take any getting used to when down on a shot and sighting in.
I’ve never been one for cleaning and maintaining spotless shafts. I always saw the dark blue stained shaft as a badge of honor – a symbol of all the hard work you have put in on the table. Therefore, I am looking forward to a weathered chalk-stained battle hardened look of the white BeCue 5.1 shaft. But so far, the cue maintains its cleanliness and doesn’t stain as easily as, for example, the white ferrule material that is used in other shafts.
THE WEIGHT
I do not have an accurate scale to weigh the cue so all I can do is compare to my current cue (Predator P3 butt, with 4” mid cue extension, OB+ classic shaft) which clocks in at 21 oz.
The 31” BeCue butt has a better feel/balance than my Predator P3 butt with the 4” extension installed. The 31” shaft has a great weight to it all on its own. It feels more solid than any other low deflection shaft that I own. The same goes for the standard 29” BeCue shaft. (The standard size BeCue cut/shaft comes in at 19 oz. and can be adjusted in weight with the Leonardo system by .5 oz to the desired weight)
The cue together has amazing weight distribution. I easily utilized the Leonardo Balance system and plugged in the largest weight cartridge and immediately the feel to my regular cue (Predator P3 with added uni-loc weight system) was identical.
The Leonardo Balance system is quite the invention. It is easily installed and can easily be removed with the supplied magnet cap. The pieces are machined extremely accurately and the weights fit exact and tight inside the butt. With the fairly powerful magnet, you can slowly work the weight back and forth while pulling out and it slips right out. However, once the player finds their preferred feel—the weight will stay in there for a while and the end cap screws in extremely tight and locks down.
With the BeCue shaft having some weight to it, and after adding weight to the back of the cue, it still has a great balance and weight distribution. With my other cue, on rail shots, with cue ball frozen to the rail requiring a super short bridge—when choking up on the grip to use a shorter backstroke, the shaft would tend to raise up since the balance was shifted further back. Here the shaft stays down and exact, because of the engineered weight distribution. In my research I learned that this was specifically engineered by utilizing the metallic steel/titanium components to distribute the weight throughout and provide for a superior feel. This goal has been successfully achieved here with the BeCue.
THE FEEL
The BeCue butt diameter comes in at 30mm, which is a hair under my original Predator P3 butt at 32mm. This is my preferred thickness, which is more comfortable for me over other thinner diameter cues that I own (Predator IKON, Lucasi, and Longoni).
I’ve been a wrapless fan for a while so I’m more than happy with the carbon composite/clear coat grip area of the butt.
The shaft is given its white color by a coat of aeronautical paint and it has a slight texture to it. It is not a varnish or clear coat in any way so it’s not sticky and slides quite nicely through my open and closed bridges.
However, I prefer a bit more smoothness to the shaft, especially the 15-18 inches from the tip so I treated this shaft just like any of my other wood shafts and used my cue burnishing/cleaning pad. A few times over with the light grit side, then a few more times over with the smooth leather side—worked like a charm. The shaft is slick and smooth and slides even better. In the new realm of carbon fiber cues – this is extremely unique to the BeCue. The paint acts as a barrier over the carbon composite, and it can be slightly modified for feel. Of course, you can’t sand too much, but then again, you can’t do that with wood either or you could lose the taper/diameter in areas.
THE HIT
In my opinion, this is the greatest quality of the BeCue—the hit.
Even with just a handful of shots, and a brand new tip, you realize that this is a new experience to the game of pool. The hit of this cue is solid and steady, yet still low deflection. There is zero trade-off between the two.
As accustomed to smaller diameter low deflection shafts, there usually is a vibration of some form—especially when loading up on an extreme power shot. With BeCue, not an ounce of vibration is felt throughout the cue or seen visually in the shaft on the follow through of the shot. This shaft plays solid and stays solid no matter what.
The sound is solid and low. Gone is that hollow “thunk” sound of other LD shafts. The only modification needed for sound/hit is your choice of tip. The stock Ultraskin Medium tip did not have that hardness out of the box, but with the elimination of a few layers, another few hours of heavy play to further compress the remaining layers—I’m now getting that crisp pop that I prefer in the hit. I most likely will be changing to my usual Kamui Black Medium, which will go a bit harder and crisper. But that is my preference. The steady aspect here is the shaft—it sounds solid.
I even conducted a sound test with various other shafts. Side by side comparison—a predator Z2, Longoni S2, OB classic, OB+ classic, Samsara True Shaft, and the BeCue 5.1—lightly tapping them against the table slate, you can hear the variations in pitch from the cored out wood and without a doubt, the BeCue sounds (and feels) more solid than the rest. This is due to the rubber compound composite sound dampening material that is used inside and the result is superb. This is an engineering success of some significance.
CONCLUSION
After 5 hours of playing with BeCue, I am a big fan. I will continue to play with this cue. I was convinced not just after the 5 hours of BeCue, but more so when I decided to immediately shift back and work with my main playing cue to see the difference. It was night and day. I never realized how much vibration there was before. This experience was like getting glasses for the first time after going years without, and seeing so clear, then taking the glasses off and realizing just what you’ve been missing.
The greatest realization is that this cue out of the box and with 5 hours of play, after it is all said and done, will be the same cue after 1,000 hours of play. That is the main advantage and selling point of Carbon fiber. The realization that you can get used to something the way it is and it won’t crack, deteriorate, or expire on you under regular play. And THAT is something that this sport has never seen before.
Already we have seen Carbon Fiber in a shaft, but this entire cue is carbon fiber composite and pretty darn tough. Already, as clumsy as I am, while practicing…moving to my next shot and chalking around the corner of my Brunswick Gold Crown, I inadvertently caught one of those pesky metal corner castings with the butt of my shiny new BeCue…I quickly looked it over expecting the usual dent and found nothing. Already, it’s working as advertised. Bravo BeCue.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT
The 5.1 Shaft comes with a standard taper that begins about an inch from the tip. For those who utilize a shorter bridge, not as long of a follow through, this will not even register. However, it is noticeable with a longer bridge and takes some getting used to. Again, this is carbon fiber, and can't be modified so it has to be built for the player's specs right out of the box.
The guys at BeCue informed me they are working on a "pro-taper" design and they aren't quite there yet because it has not performed as well as the 5.1 shaft in the testing process. But they are close.
The butt cap comes locked in extremely tight and requires the use of a small Allen wrench to gain access to the weight cartridge system/area. The tightness is important so it needs to be locked in with a tool. But some player's might not have an allen wrench set.
BeCue is also going to make this correction in the second generation of the Leonardo Balance System - which will come with an ergonomic tool that the player can utilize.
I am also looking forward to the butt extension and break cue products that will be released in the future. This company is trying new things and that is great for us!
I understand that they will have a booth at this year's super billiards expo - please stop by and give these guys a tip of your hat and try one of their cues. It's a new and evolving experience to the sport and it's nice to see it happen.
