Cuetec Thunderbolt

[SPINDOKTOR]

I know many people bash cuetec, Are they truly that bad? I myself really dont know for sure, so I went ahead and purchased a thunderbolt model, 99396 to see for myself... I will do an honest unbiased review..Im going to play with the thunderbolt for a week, every day, for 3.5 hours a day exclusive..So even if I dont care for it, im not going to simply revert to another cue, im giving the cuetec a full test drive and im treating this as though ive never heard of a cuetec...


in the meantime, why do you like or dislike cuetec? also have you tried the thunderbolt series? your thoughts?




SPINDOKTOR

 

[Johnnyt]

I hate to admit this but about five years ago after being away from pool for about five years and poolrooms longer than that, I bought a new Thunderbolt. I had been shooting for a few weeks with my old Viking and complained to the room owner who was a pro in his day) I just couldn't pocket balls like I use to.

He shot a few shots with my cue and said the shaft was too thin and to buy one of the new cues that had the new technology shafts. Of course know it all all Johnnyt didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but I knew someone as smart and pool savvy as me would figure it out. To ask is weakness.

After spending hours looking at cues on the net I came up with the cue that was going to bring me back to at least a B+ player...the Thunderbolt. I walk up to the counter at the room and showed the owner my new cue. I thought I saw a shocked look on his face that went away just as quickly. After all I played in that room 8-12 hours every day and drank at his bar to closing just about evey night. So all he said was wow a Thunderbolt...nice looking cue.

I go back on a table and start hitting balls. Everytime I hit with it there was a loud BOINK sound. Every player in the room stopped and looked each time I hit a ball. I put it on EBay that night and sold it to an Allision Fisher fan for $110. She was very happy with it. Johnnyt

 

[poolplayer2093]

i've seen some people play well with them but the shafts get too sticky for me.

 

[asbani]

I play with cuetec, they are awesome cues... I been playing with them for like 9 years now... I used every shaft of cuetec, from the old original fiberglass shafts, to s.s.t and then bought thunderbolt and finaly vortex.

I found that thunderbolt is an ok shaft (for me) but i prefered the vortex. Vortex is just awesome shaft for cuetec... but then I got my predator for cuetec, a 314-2 and its playing really really cool for me!

asbani.

 

[KJ Cues]

Where did you get your 314-2 for the CueTec? Just curious. Thanx.

 

[asbani]

Where did you get your 314-2 for the CueTec? Just curious. Thanx.

KJ, Your not joking now right? Well I hope you are because you created it for me! and I sent you a thank-you msg too when I received it!! and to remind you more. the deal was done by me and Rick Matzke in patrical who is a really great guy. (Seybert's Billiard Supply)

 

[SPINDOKTOR]

I know the Fiberglass shafts have that sound, But wont my ThunderBolt come with a Maple Shaft? I cant/wont play with a fiberglass Shaft, I was under the impression the shaft is maple with a Rod in it or something??? Also its says the tip is a layered pig skin, If it is the Fiberglass clad maple shaft, I wont use it.. This is why I purchased a Thunderbolt, because of the shaft..


SPINDOKTOR (Know's Nothing at all about cuetec)

I hate to admit this but about five years ago after being away from pool for about five years and poolrooms longer than that, I bought a new Thunderbolt. I had been shooting for a few weeks with my old Viking and complained to the room owner who was a pro in his day) I just couldn't pocket balls like I use to.

He shot a few shots with my cue and said the shaft was too thin and to buy one of the new cues that had the new technology shafts. Of course know it all all Johnnyt didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but I knew someone as smart and pool savvy as me would figure it out. To ask is weakness.

After spending hours looking at cues on the net I came up with the cue that was going to bring me back to at least a B+ player...the Thunderbolt. I walk up to the counter at the room and showed the owner my new cue. I thought I saw a shocked look on his face that went away just as quickly. After all I played in that room 8-12 hours every day and drank at his bar to closing just about evey night. So all he said was wow a Thunderbolt...nice looking cue.

I go back on a table and start hitting balls. Everytime I hit with it there was a loud BOINK sound. Every player in the room stopped and looked each time I hit a ball. I put it on EBay that night and sold it to an Allision Fisher fan for $110. She was very happy with it. Johnnyt

 

[Johnnyt]

I know the Fiberglass shafts have that sound, But wont my ThunderBolt come with a Maple Shaft? I cant/wont play with a fiberglass Shaft, I was under the impression the shaft is maple with a Rod in it or something??? Also its says the tip is a layered pig skin, If it is the Fiberglass clad maple shaft, I wont use it.. This is why I purchased a Thunderbolt, because of the shaft..


SPINDOKTOR (Know's Nothing at all about cuetec)

Thunderbolt has a Maple shaft wrapped in Fiberglass with grafite core. Johnnyt

 

[ioCross]

I play with cuetec, they are awesome cues... I been playing with them for like 9 years now... I used every shaft of cuetec, from the old original fiberglass shafts, to s.s.t and then bought thunderbolt and finaly vortex.

I found that thunderbolt is an ok shaft (for me) but i prefered the vortex. Vortex is just awesome shaft for cuetec... but then I got my predator for cuetec, a 314-2 and its playing really really cool for me!

asbani.

are you travis trotter's cousin?


seriously tho, unless you wear a glove cuetec's and any fiberglass cue are terrible after about 30 minutes of play. it becomes completely un-strokeable.

that along with the horrendous BLONK sound it makes whenever you hit a ball, and the dead rubbery feel of the hit not to mention the decal designs ... just all around a bad cue.

especially constering the fact that you can buy a players cue for 50 bucks and have a cue that hits 20x better than they do.

 

[BPG24]

I know many people bash cuetec, Are they truly that bad? I myself really dont know for sure, so I went ahead and purchased a thunderbolt model, 99396 to see for myself... I will do an honest unbiased review..Im going to play with the thunderbolt for a week, every day, for 3.5 hours a day exclusive..So even if I dont care for it, im not going to simply revert to another cue, im giving the cuetec a full test drive and im treating this as though ive never heard of a cuetec...


in the meantime, why do you like or dislike cuetec? also have you tried the thunderbolt series? your thoughts?




SPINDOKTOR

I am not a Cuetec fan but I was in a pool room about 2 years ago that had new Cuetec house cues and i was without a cue. I thought they played better than alot of the 1 piece cues i have ever played with. i must say i was surprised

 

[JoeyInCali]

I am not a Cuetec fan but I was in a pool room about 2 years ago that had new Cuetec house cues and i was without a cue. I thought they played better than alot of the 1 piece cues i have ever played with. i must say i was surprised

Must be because old made in Canada Dufferins are no longer around.

 

[McChen]

Thunderbolt has a Maple shaft wrapped in Fiberglass with grafite core. Johnnyt

the thunderbolt does not have the fiberglass cladding, it is a maple shaft with a graphite rod core. the python shaft is a thunderbolt shaft covered in fiberglass.

 

[BPG24]

Must be because old made in Canada Dufferins are no longer around.

Most of the Dufferins that I have used have been in pretty bad shape. Never had the pleasure of playing with one that was straight and had a decent tip

I think the Cuetecs were brand new because i saw no traces of chalk on the tip or the shaft. the taper was a little short and thick but they weren't bad. I do not like the 2 piece Cuetecs at all so that is the reason i was so surprised by the house cues

 

[gedukas]

I hate to speak up for cuetec(i don't play with one), but a guy at ACIU regionals this past weekend was able to stroke the shit out of a cuetec and play some mean 9 ball with it. He did not have a glove and def had a fiberglass shaft. Seemed weird, but it worked amazingly for him.

 

[madhaterm3]

you know...

if you have really really bad hearing and a lot of chalk on your hand they really aren't all that bad.....

 

[trueblu8]

I know the Fiberglass shafts have that sound, But wont my ThunderBolt come with a Maple Shaft? I cant/wont play with a fiberglass Shaft, I was under the impression the shaft is maple with a Rod in it or something??? Also its says the tip is a layered pig skin, If it is the Fiberglass clad maple shaft, I wont use it.. This is why I purchased a Thunderbolt, because of the shaft..


SPINDOKTOR (Know's Nothing at all about cuetec)

No you want the Vortex dude. That's the one with the maple shaft, and no fiberglass cladding on the outside. I must say that piqued (sp?) my interest as well. Because the main reason that I never was too fond of cuetecs or any fiberglass clad cue for that matter was because of the stickiness (sp? lol) after they got a little broken in. So I'm wondering how that Vortex is. It might be good as a backup cue or something. Cuetecs don't play half bad though. I mean I would still prefer a nice Dufferin over them as JoeyInCali has said. But I didn't have my cue a couple times and I have to agree with BPG24, often times it can be hard to find a Dufferin that isn't badly beat up, and the cuetecs don't play half bad. I will always prefer a nice wood cue though.

My mistake dude, both the Thunderbolt, and the Vortex come with a maple shaft, just different truss rods inside.

"The Cuetec Thunderbolt shaft is not coated in Fiberglass. Care for and maintain this shaft in the same way you would treat any top quality maple shaft."

"Cuetec VORTEX - The Ultimate Cue Shaft
The Cuetec Cue engineers have done it again! After two years of extensive development, Cuetec Cues is proud to announce the ultimate in Maple Shaft technology. This laminated maple shaft is reinforced by a high modulus graphite crossbeam that extends its entire length. The wood for the shaft is hand selected from the finest North American maple available and then C-N-C computer cut to ensure an exact fit for the graphite crossbeam. The Cuetec VORTEX shaft has been designed to fit all Cuetec Cues."

 

[Johnnyt]

the thunderbolt does not have the fiberglass cladding, it is a maple shaft with a graphite rod core. the python shaft is a thunderbolt shaft covered in fiberglass.

Your right, it's the butt that's wrapped like that. Johnnyt

 

[McChen]

i've heard a lot of people say the fiberglass shafts get sticky, which is quite true. i've discovered that if you sand the shaft (lightly) with some 220 or 400 grit sandpaper, the shafts slide quite nicely. nice little trick to make these shafts playable.

 

[asbani]

are you travis trotter's cousin?


seriously tho, unless you wear a glove cuetec's and any fiberglass cue are terrible after about 30 minutes of play. it becomes completely un-strokeable.

that along with the horrendous BLONK sound it makes whenever you hit a ball, and the dead rubbery feel of the hit not to mention the decal designs ... just all around a bad cue.

especially constering the fact that you can buy a players cue for 50 bucks and have a cue that hits 20x better than they do.

I don't wear gloves, and Vortex cuetec shafts are really good... they are wood. and I don't wear gloves using them, but again I also have 314-2 for cuetec, and Z Shaft for cuetec, and OB-1 for cuetec... so therefore I don't use gloves for any of those shafts with my cuetec butt.. and its lovely believe me, Now i'm using cuetec with my 314-2. and it hits like a champ

 

[asbani]

by the way, why are you going for thunderbolt, when vortex is there too from cuetec. they recently released vortex shafts, and I just think what your talking about is vortex, and not thunderbolt.

I have them both shafts, and I was admiring vortex slightly more, It has lovely feeling.

-asbani.