Predator Revo vs Mezz ExPro Shaft Comparison?
- Thread starter ChrisinNC
- Start date
I played with an ExPro Wavy joint and compared it side-by-side to a Revo 12.9 Quick Release joint. I really liked the ExPro (and Mezz cues in general) but found I could hit shots more accurately/consistently with the Revo. This was especially noticeable on thin shots up the rail with inside english and long, slow cuts.
The other big difference was the soft tip on the Revo (The factory Victory Soft) I've always played with harder tips in the past, usually a Kamui Medium Black or Brown. With the Victory I can play really soft shots very accurately without any obvious loss of power on hard stoke shots. The first night I played in my BCA league with the Revo everyone on my team was commenting on how good my soft shots were. I even ran a rack of 8 ball on a 9' table without the cue ball hitting a rail.
I did miss the 12.5mm diameter of the ExPro so I switched to a 12.4 Revo when they came out. I've not gone back to the Mezz since. I'd like to try a Radial pin Revo setup but that will have to wait until they become available again.
HTH, YMMV, GLGB.
The other big difference was the soft tip on the Revo (The factory Victory Soft) I've always played with harder tips in the past, usually a Kamui Medium Black or Brown. With the Victory I can play really soft shots very accurately without any obvious loss of power on hard stoke shots. The first night I played in my BCA league with the Revo everyone on my team was commenting on how good my soft shots were. I even ran a rack of 8 ball on a 9' table without the cue ball hitting a rail.
I did miss the 12.5mm diameter of the ExPro so I switched to a 12.4 Revo when they came out. I've not gone back to the Mezz since. I'd like to try a Radial pin Revo setup but that will have to wait until they become available again.
HTH, YMMV, GLGB.
Thanks for your feedback. I wonder if the Mezz EX Pro shaft with the Mezz United joint would make any difference as to the way the shaft will play as opposed to the Mezz Wavy joint? I plan to be using it with the United joint.
I've played both and the revo wins hands down when comes to less deflection and energy transfer.
Now, as for "feel"....well, if feel is more important than performance then mezz wins. To me though, feel means nothing.
I had rather not feel and collect money than "feel" something and place lower in tournaments. That's just me though.
Rake
I've owned both and played extensively with both for a reasonably long period of time :smile:
Revo is stiffer, more rigid and harder hitting shaft. Both are LD enough to not really make a real difference between the two shafts in question. Both are ridicilously powerful with their energy transfer so that shouldn't be the deciding factor either.
It really boils down to the feel factor. Would you rather have the zero flex, extremely rigid feel of a Revo or the softer, occasionally even whippy ExPro shaft? The ExPro is the more natural feeling shaft of the two and being able to fine tune the taper and finish of the shaft is great compared to Revo. I played decent with the shaft and quickly got a feel for it on basic shots. I really enjoyed the feel of the shaft when hitting the CB close to center, that perfect *thump* was great and something that may up your confidence when the need to force a shot through comes up. However as I mentioned earlier that the ExPro has a lot of flex to it and that is what came to be the end of my time with that shaft. I never really got in to terms with it when extreme sidespin had to be used, I was so often over running position and the flexy feel just plain bothered me. I didn't want to ruin my game relearning what my mind expected so I ended up selling it after a few months of use.
Now what made me let the Revo go... I was in love with the thing at first. The stiff hit and low flex feel great in my opinion and there were shots that I absolutely loved shooting with the revo. However there were more shots that I felt awkward shooting with it. Drag shots especially, wich are definitely the stronger shots of my capabilities became obviously more difficult and the touch that I usually have with finesse position shots was missing altogether. I tried my best to adapt to it, playing long sessions trying to get a feel for those shots but I never got there. That is something that the power and rigidity don't justify over so I ended up selling the shaft. For a more detailed description of the Revo I suggest you to read through the review thread I wrote when I was experimenting with it. Link below to the Revo thread
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=5853805#post5853805
Revo is stiffer, more rigid and harder hitting shaft. Both are LD enough to not really make a real difference between the two shafts in question. Both are ridicilously powerful with their energy transfer so that shouldn't be the deciding factor either.
It really boils down to the feel factor. Would you rather have the zero flex, extremely rigid feel of a Revo or the softer, occasionally even whippy ExPro shaft? The ExPro is the more natural feeling shaft of the two and being able to fine tune the taper and finish of the shaft is great compared to Revo. I played decent with the shaft and quickly got a feel for it on basic shots. I really enjoyed the feel of the shaft when hitting the CB close to center, that perfect *thump* was great and something that may up your confidence when the need to force a shot through comes up. However as I mentioned earlier that the ExPro has a lot of flex to it and that is what came to be the end of my time with that shaft. I never really got in to terms with it when extreme sidespin had to be used, I was so often over running position and the flexy feel just plain bothered me. I didn't want to ruin my game relearning what my mind expected so I ended up selling it after a few months of use.
Now what made me let the Revo go... I was in love with the thing at first. The stiff hit and low flex feel great in my opinion and there were shots that I absolutely loved shooting with the revo. However there were more shots that I felt awkward shooting with it. Drag shots especially, wich are definitely the stronger shots of my capabilities became obviously more difficult and the touch that I usually have with finesse position shots was missing altogether. I tried my best to adapt to it, playing long sessions trying to get a feel for those shots but I never got there. That is something that the power and rigidity don't justify over so I ended up selling the shaft. For a more detailed description of the Revo I suggest you to read through the review thread I wrote when I was experimenting with it. Link below to the Revo thread
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=5853805#post5853805
I appreciate your detailed feedback of both shafts in question. Just curious, if you tried both and gave up on both, what shaft did you end up going back to? ThanksI've owned both and played extensively with both for a reasonably long period of time :smile:
Revo is stiffer, more rigid and harder hitting shaft. Both are LD enough to not really make a real difference between the two shafts in question. Both are ridicilously powerful with their energy transfer so that shouldn't be the deciding factor either.
It really boils down to the feel factor. Would you rather have the zero flex, extremely rigid feel of a Revo or the softer, occasionally even whippy ExPro shaft? The ExPro is the more natural feeling shaft of the two and being able to fine tune the taper and finish of the shaft is great compared to Revo. I played decent with the shaft and quickly got a feel for it on basic shots. I really enjoyed the feel of the shaft when hitting the CB close to center, that perfect *thump* was great and something that may up your confidence when the need to force a shot through comes up. However as I mentioned earlier that the ExPro has a lot of flex to it and that is what came to be the end of my time with that shaft. I never really got in to terms with it when extreme sidespin had to be used, I was so often over running position and the flexy feel just plain bothered me. I didn't want to ruin my game relearning what my mind expected so I ended up selling it after a few months of use.
Now what made me let the Revo go... I was in love with the thing at first. The stiff hit and low flex feel great in my opinion and there were shots that I absolutely loved shooting with the revo. However there were more shots that I felt awkward shooting with it. Drag shots especially, wich are definitely the stronger shots of my capabilities became obviously more difficult and the touch that I usually have with finesse position shots was missing altogether. I tried my best to adapt to it, playing long sessions trying to get a feel for those shots but I never got there. That is something that the power and rigidity don't justify over so I ended up selling the shaft. For a more detailed description of the Revo I suggest you to read through the review thread I wrote when I was experimenting with it. Link below to the Revo thread
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=5853805#post5853805
hi
I had Ex-Pro and played with Revo, if you OK with small tip diameter go with Revo. I am Mezz fan but Revo is just better for me.
Also Revo tapper is different, it does not rise quickly as with Ex-Pro which raise rapidly...
I had Ex-Pro and played with Revo, if you OK with small tip diameter go with Revo. I am Mezz fan but Revo is just better for me.
Also Revo tapper is different, it does not rise quickly as with Ex-Pro which raise rapidly...
Went back to 314'3 back then.
I have since gone to Mezz with my primary playing gear, I have a CP13SW-MD butt with a 12.8mm Mezz maple shaft and a WX900 that I have been experimenting with recently. I can still play up to my speed with the 314'3 and I'm not planning to let it go even though I no longer play full time with it
Went back to 314'3 back then.
I have since gone to Mezz with my primary playing gear, I have a CP13SW-MD butt with a 12.8mm Mezz maple shaft and a WX900 that I have been experimenting with recently. I can still play up to my speed with the 314'3 and I'm not planning to let it go even though I no longer play full time with it
Mezz maple shaft - what is your experience with that one? Feedback? Deflection? Learning curve?
It was a rather straight forward change actually. The hit of those shafts is something unique and with some taper modification mine are relatively LD compared to most solid maple shafts. Of course there was a learning curve to really get a feel for it but it just came to me naturally enough that it never bothered me during the transition from the trusty 314. I have played my best pool with these shafts, every record of mine have been played with a mezz maple shaft and generally they've been the shafts I've been most comfortable with. I have two, one for each Mezz joint configuration and they both play and hit the same.
The WX900 has a pretty similiar feel to it but it is very low deflection to my liking. I will give it an honest chance as I really like the way it feels and performs but I still find myself missing some shots with it that I'd make most of the time with the maple shaft. I struck lucky with this particular shaft as it is very dense, straight grain maple and packs quite a punch. More so than my usual shaft of choice but only time will tell wich one will prevail to remain the main player. I'll give it a month or two and make my decision after the test period.
The WX900 has a pretty similiar feel to it but it is very low deflection to my liking. I will give it an honest chance as I really like the way it feels and performs but I still find myself missing some shots with it that I'd make most of the time with the maple shaft. I struck lucky with this particular shaft as it is very dense, straight grain maple and packs quite a punch. More so than my usual shaft of choice but only time will tell wich one will prevail to remain the main player. I'll give it a month or two and make my decision after the test period.
I have both Ex Pro and WX900 so I am curious about Mezz maple shaft.
What do you mean by "unique" hit? And how did you modify the taper? Basically how would you compare Ex Pro vs Maple? Which has crisper hit? Which has better energy transfer? As far as WX900 goes your experience is very similar to mine, it is really comfortable to stroke with yet it is harder to pot longer shots, it is very demanding when it comes to precision of tip placement.
^ ExPro has better energy transfer, atleast it feels a tad more powerful. The maple shaft has a certain feel to it that is difficult to put in to words... The best I can think of is that the hit feels and sounds sweet, very pleasant and natural feeling "thump" to it. I like it the best with a relatively hard tip on it. It is difficult to say wich has a crispier feel as they are quite different to begin with. I just prefer the hit of the maple shaft but that may be just me :thumbup: It just suits me well and that touch is what made me stick with it instead of committing myself to ExPro.
I took the taper back quite some on both shafts and took the United one down to 12.3mm. The wavy is at 12.75mm and taper pulled back to my specs. Taper modification alters the shafts playability quite noticeably and I have just went by trial and error untill I got the desired results. What I ended up with is a very low rising taper for the first ~40cm and a smooth parabolic transition towards the joint.
I do concur with you take on WX900 and the ultimate importance of tip placement. The maple shaft is a little more forgiving in my hands than the 900 atleast for now. That said it also makes some shots a lot easier when extreme draw has to be used for example so it could be worth the time getting to know it a little better. I'll keep trying to tame that thing for a while longer and see how that goes :wink:
I took the taper back quite some on both shafts and took the United one down to 12.3mm. The wavy is at 12.75mm and taper pulled back to my specs. Taper modification alters the shafts playability quite noticeably and I have just went by trial and error untill I got the desired results. What I ended up with is a very low rising taper for the first ~40cm and a smooth parabolic transition towards the joint.
I do concur with you take on WX900 and the ultimate importance of tip placement. The maple shaft is a little more forgiving in my hands than the 900 atleast for now. That said it also makes some shots a lot easier when extreme draw has to be used for example so it could be worth the time getting to know it a little better. I'll keep trying to tame that thing for a while longer and see how that goes :wink: