I recently saw a for sale thread for a "Low Deflection" Katana shaft and figured I've tried everything else so why not?
I've used Predator, Lucasi, OB, McDermott i-shafts, ect... and with exception to the OB Classic shafts, none of them had the radial consistency, lowered deflection and offered the feel of a solid maple shaft. No foam and no hollow/filled front ends.
The Katana shafts are manufactured in China exclusively for CueStix and like a few other manufacturers, the quality/finishing is excellent right out of the package(each shaft has a sock that comes with it similar to Predator). The taper is a very long (18") and the ferrule size is 12.5mm. After measuring both the ferrule itself and the joint collar I can say that it is more modified pro-taper than euro but does start moving up in size after about 3". Total weight of each shaft was about 3.7oz and were within two grams of being matched exactly. I know that may sound lighter but keep in mind the diameter of the shaft is smaller.
Tiger has created a "Katana" tip for this brand that that quite frankly is garbage and needs to be replaced as soon as the shaft is received. I contacted Tiger and was informed that the tip most similar to this one is an Everest which I believe is like comparing apples to oranges. Another note is that the first 1/8" of an inch was impregnated with some sort of odd waxy substance that would obviously slide right off of the cue ball. JUNK
Pros:
Cons:
This will be my personal shaft of choice from this moment forward.
I've used Predator, Lucasi, OB, McDermott i-shafts, ect... and with exception to the OB Classic shafts, none of them had the radial consistency, lowered deflection and offered the feel of a solid maple shaft. No foam and no hollow/filled front ends.
The Katana shafts are manufactured in China exclusively for CueStix and like a few other manufacturers, the quality/finishing is excellent right out of the package(each shaft has a sock that comes with it similar to Predator). The taper is a very long (18") and the ferrule size is 12.5mm. After measuring both the ferrule itself and the joint collar I can say that it is more modified pro-taper than euro but does start moving up in size after about 3". Total weight of each shaft was about 3.7oz and were within two grams of being matched exactly. I know that may sound lighter but keep in mind the diameter of the shaft is smaller.
Tiger has created a "Katana" tip for this brand that that quite frankly is garbage and needs to be replaced as soon as the shaft is received. I contacted Tiger and was informed that the tip most similar to this one is an Everest which I believe is like comparing apples to oranges. Another note is that the first 1/8" of an inch was impregnated with some sort of odd waxy substance that would obviously slide right off of the cue ball. JUNK
Pros:
- Super high quality manufacturing
- Price! You can pick-up a brand new shaft on e-Bay for less than $159.00 shipped
- Stiff hit even with a long taper and smaller diameter with great sound resonance
- Great Playability and excellent cue ball control with very little effort
- Very easy to adjust from solid maple to LD
Cons:
- Made in China (I would say the same about other brands)
- Tiger tip needs to be replaced immediately before playing
- Only one year warranty provided
This will be my personal shaft of choice from this moment forward.
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