Having attended the SBE for a while now I thought I would share a few of my thoughts on the event. Also, a few thoughts on where the direction that pool equipment is headed. The SBE crowd has been impressive the last few years to say the least, if you plan to attend on a Saturday, be prepared to park out in the nose bleeds...Or on the mulch.
-There have been quite a few generic sticker cue brands in attendance the last few years. Basically a company creates a "brand" and sells generic catalog import cues of varying quality. Some with carbon shafts, some with wood. Basically on the level of an Action or Players style cue. No innovation, no style. Just generic decal cues in a flashy booth. I really hope pool does not go down this path of pure import garbage. Some of the cues for $350 with a "carbon" shaft were absolutely horrible. I know there is a huge market for the cheap players cues (I own a few), but these "brands" market them as something more. They pop up and then disappear all the time.
- I really miss the booths that featured used cues and the guys were up for a good haggling. Those booths are what made the Expo fun IMO. Go down there with a case full of cues and see what kind of trade deals you could work up. Most of the trading aspect is gone. Most of the vendors offer "show specials", but none of them want to get into any fun back and forth negotiations. The price is the price nowadays. I understand margins are slim, but with the price of production cues doubling in the last few years...There is definitely room to wiggle. A few manufactures had "show specials" that were hundreds of dollars more expensive than their price on Seyberts....I think the amount of people who make offers on the internet and then disappear have killed negotiations.
- I hit a large variety of cues. Getting on a table was sometimes difficult because of the crowds. Most everything felt decent in my hands. A few certainly were not my cup of tea. Carbon fiber and me (still) do not get along, although a Becue made me feel like I could actually give it a go at some point. Having a 100% carbon butt and shaft certainly has its advantages.
- A Longoni with their S2 shaft was by far the standout favorite of the production cues I tested...It just felt right in every aspect. Their build quality was excellent and it felt perfect in my hands. For a brand I have never considered, I will be putting one into my arsenal soon....Their Expo pricing was a bit.....steep. The only downside is the proprietary pin. Cuelees make gorgeous cues, but they are NOT cheap. They also screwed together like crap. They would not even budge a dollar on price lol. As a Schon fan it was nice to see a large display of them this year. The all carbon Mcdermott was ok, but nothing Earth shattering.
- As a mild Predator fanboy, they have been seriously lacking as of late. Their build quality has been a bit questionable as well. I purchased a sneaky from them with a Centro shaft. They were offering an incredible deal on their website, an offer I couldn't refuse. The fit and finish on the butt was complete trash. Selling cues with stickers and paint for $2,000+ is absolutely disgusting as is selling $1,200 Skittle colored breakers...and they sell every single one they produce. Their selection at the show was abysmal, but the booth was always full. They sold more t-shirts than cues.
- Musashi/Adam/Hayakawa make some incredible looking cues. They are priced inline with the craftsmanship.
- The variety of chalk available is absolutely mind blowing...It is freaking chalk.
- I felt kind of bad for the people playing in the amateur side of the tournament. The crowds were spilling over into the tables with active matches going on, and there was no way around it. I am hoping they get a logistics guy in there to make the floor plan flow a bit more. A lot of room is wasted and it really makes for some annoying congestion for both players and people just browsing.
- Long lines for the bathrooms all day. The port-a-shitters were fine early in the day. They became a warzone after dark.
- The action room could have used more tables. There were a few points in the night where there were more arguments happening than shots on a table. Some big money, supposedly, changed hands. I take everything that happens in there with a grain of salt. A few more tables would help with the riff raff.
- I went down there with a pocket full
