Equipment advacements in pool and snooker

O'SulliReyes

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As both a pool and snooker player, I could not help but observe a notable difference in the way playing equipment has advanced in both cue sports. In pool you have magic chalks, LD shafts, gloves, phenolic tips, Cyclops pool balls etc. You compare all that to what we have in snooker, and it would seem like snooker is still in the doldrums in terms of equipment technology. The only notable snooker tech I know of is the Gravity cue and the SightRight cue. On an unrelated note, there also doesn't SEEM to be a market for snooker-centric cue cases and snooker cues with a thousand aesthetic designs, at least certainly not as colourful and varied as what I see in the pool world.

Why is this so? For a cue sport that requires a lot more precision, one would rationally come to a conclusion that snooker would likely need the above advancements more than pool. Or is it an American capitalism thing: if snooker was an American game and pool an English one would we be seeing the same above technologies in the former and none in the latter? Discuss.
 
Last edited:

mikewhy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Simply: commercial interest. Americans will buy anything if marketed even halfway competently. We consider it a good thing, surprisingly. The manufacturers pump the money back into sponsorships. We have more tournaments, and bit more product.

It's a fragile cycle. Your system is better, in my opinion. Viewership, I imagine, is founded on a knowledge and educated audience.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
 

mchnhed

I Came, I Shot, I Choked
Silver Member
Cultural differences.
In America we collect individual Comic Books.
In Japan Comic Book collecting is not popular at all.

Why we in America decorate our Cues and in Europe they do not is a good question.
 

De420MadHatter

SicBiNature
Silver Member
We're getting there, just hold on.
Revo has a new snooker shaft for 2018. It's 13.6% straighter than any other cue. Also has quick lock tips. Depending on your shot selection, you change out tips, for draw, stun, and follow. And don't forget, if you have money to burn, we offer different tips for left and right English. These are smart tips, are Bluetooth compatible, and link up with your phone.
Now you can see precisely how many ft lbs of energy you are using to strike the ball :grin:
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As both a pool and snooker player, I could not help but observe a notable difference in the way playing equipment has advanced in both cue sports. In pool you have magic chalks, LD shafts, gloves, phenolic tips, Cyclops pool balls etc. You compare all that to what we have in snooker, and it would seem like snooker is still in the doldrums in terms of equipment technology. The only notable snooker tech I know of is the Gravity cue and the SightRight cue. On an unrelated note, there also doesn't SEEM to be a market for snooker-centric cue cases and snooker cues with a thousand aesthetic designs, at least certainly not as colourful and varied as what I see in the pool world.

Why is this so? For a cue sport that requires a lot more precision, one would rationally come to a conclusion that snooker would likely need the above advancements more than pool. Or is it an American capitalism thing: if snooker was an American game and pool an English one would we be seeing the same above technologies in the former and none in the latter? Discuss.
Snooker players and fans are very traditional in their equipment,dress,etc. In the last few years more maple-shafted cues, carbon ferrules and layered tips have been showing up. Other than that the cues haven't changed much at all. Inlays like pool cues just aren't seen. To them the cue is just a tool and not a status symbol.
 

O'SulliReyes

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We're getting there, just hold on.
Revo has a new snooker shaft for 2018. It's 13.6% straighter than any other cue. Also has quick lock tips. Depending on your shot selection, you change out tips, for draw, stun, and follow. And don't forget, if you have money to burn, we offer different tips for left and right English. These are smart tips, are Bluetooth compatible, and link up with your phone.
Now you can see precisely how many ft lbs of energy you are using to strike the ball :grin:

American ingenuity at its finest alright! 😂
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
American ingenuity at its finest alright! 😂

It's American ingenuity, for sure, but not the kind you think.
American cuemakers were light years ahead of the snooker world in making cues.
Snooker cues for a long time were very crude instruments compared to pool cues.

Snooker cue makers still haven't caught up.
 

pocketsplitter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What watches do rich Americans wear? Gold Rolex. What watch do rich English wear? Understated Patek or a longe sohn. In addition two of the tech you listed for pool is completely unnecessary for snooker. Why would they need phenolic tips or cyclop grade balls when snooker is usually a low impact sport.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It's American ingenuity, for sure, but not the kind you think.
American cuemakers were light years ahead of the snooker world in making cues.
Snooker cues for a long time were very crude instruments compared to pool cues.

Snooker cue makers still haven't caught up.
Ever played with a real no-shit snooker cue? They play great. With the snooker-size balls ash shafts have a killer feel. Not a big fan of the brass ferrule but you're seeing more synthetic/carbon ferrules these days. BTW, the year i went to DCC most players,unless sponsored, used super plain-jane no frills cues. Not much technology involved at all. Efren used a merry-widow Judd that had pretty wood but was super basic.
 

conetip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We're getting there, just hold on.
Revo has a new snooker shaft for 2018. It's 13.6% straighter than any other cue. Also has quick lock tips. Depending on your shot selection, you change out tips, for draw, stun, and follow. And don't forget, if you have money to burn, we offer different tips for left and right English. These are smart tips, are Bluetooth compatible, and link up with your phone.
Now you can see precisely how many ft lbs of energy you are using to strike the ball :grin:


I invented a tip system that allows an interchangeable tip to play as well as a normal glued to the ferrule tip. I can change a tip in less than 20 seconds.
I did a tip change during a match game and won. The loosing team protested and claimed I was not allowed to change my cue tip during a match as it was unscrewing the cue. The rules do not mention about changing tips. Only mention about breaking down and separating the cue shaft. The local APA changed the local rules so I could not do that again.I could only change a tip if the tip popped off the tip holder.
But currently, there are no official rules about having a break tip, a medium play tip, or a soft tip for masse shots and the changing of that tip during the game.
Neil
 

HaroldWilson

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As both a pool and snooker player, I could not help but observe a notable difference in the way playing equipment has advanced in both cue sports. In pool you have magic chalks, LD shafts, gloves, phenolic tips, Cyclops pool balls etc. You compare all that to what we have in snooker, and it would seem like snooker is still in the doldrums in terms of equipment technology. The only notable snooker tech I know of is the Gravity cue and the SightRight cue. On an unrelated note, there also doesn't SEEM to be a market for snooker-centric cue cases and snooker cues with a thousand aesthetic designs, at least certainly not as colourful and varied as what I see in the pool world.

Why is this so? For a cue sport that requires a lot more precision, one would rationally come to a conclusion that snooker would likely need the above advancements more than pool. Or is it an American capitalism thing: if snooker was an American game and pool an English one would we be seeing the same above technologies in the former and none in the latter? Discuss.

I think the main advances in snooker would be the super fine cloths used on the professional circuit and possibly advances in ball technology.

In terms of cues the general snooker cue design has been fairly consistent since the 1930's onwards when the butt was made slimmer. previously the cues had a billiard design with thicker butts. The brass ferrules where introduced in the 1920's when Willie Smith started using one instead of ivory or fibre.

However, in saying that I have a Mannock cue from 1905 and have owned a lot of cues from the 1920's which are made in the identical specs as today's cues. The hand spliced manufacturing is also almost identical to the way they have been made for years. Other additions where the mini butt extension and long extension I believe which came about in the 1980's.

So why don't they change the designs and come up with new fango gizmos and low deflection shafts? Most likely because if it ain't broke don't fix it and the British mentality is more towards putting in the hard yards rather than trying to make everything as easy as possible with as little effort as possible. Also they are less likely to jump on the band wagon in masses every time a new miracle tonic comes onto the market. If Mosconi could play as well back then with ivory ferrules and solid maple shafts and the Philippines players with cheap rack cues then that speaks volumes in itself to the irrational mentality towards the game in recent years.
 
Last edited:

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
I invented a tip system that allows an interchangeable tip to play as well as a normal glued to the ferrule tip. I can change a tip in less than 20 seconds.
I did a tip change during a match game and won. The loosing team protested and claimed I was not allowed to change my cue tip during a match as it was unscrewing the cue. The rules do not mention about changing tips. Only mention about breaking down and separating the cue shaft. The local APA changed the local rules so I could not do that again.I could only change a tip if the tip popped off the tip holder.
But currently, there are no official rules about having a break tip, a medium play tip, or a soft tip for masse shots and the changing of that tip during the game.
Neil

An amazing jump....

https://www.facebook.com/Masse.New.Zealand/videos/505906922922489/
 

conetip

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yip, and the tip can be changed for different jump shots to suite the user as well.
Neil
 
Top