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Tier list of every shaft i've ever owned (with quick write-up of each)

B
So obviously - very very subjective - but here is my tier list of every shaft I've ever owned. Might be useful for anyone looking into one of these shafts - but please take my opinions with a grain of salt and try everything for yourself if you can.

S Tier: (Best of the best)

Cuelees Ex Solid: My favorite shaft ever. 12.2mm diameter (which is just perfect imho) solid maple with a carbon fiber core with a carbon fiber base. This shaft is just perfect. Very low deflection - extremely solid - lots of feedback - and great power. There is nothing on the market that I've tried that feels remotely as good. Won lots of matches and tournaments with this shaft.

Cuelees CT2: I have less experience with this shaft, but its almost identical to the Ex Solid - same diameter - same materials. The main difference is that this shaft does not have a CF base. This results in a significantly less powerful hit and more "wood-like" performance. Still an incredible, high performance shaft.

Cuetec R360: Before the CF craze, this was, in my opinion, the best shaft on the market in terms of feel. Feel is the most important element of any shaft for me - with performance being second (since you can adjust to pretty much any shaft as long as you like the feeling). The R360 shaft just feels awesome, and the taper and deflection levels were ahead of their time. When you also take into consideration that this was a budget option at the time, it makes an easy S-tier shaft for me

A Tier: (Excellent Options)

Predator Vantage: The best feeling shaft predator ever made. Very low deflection - with a really pleasant amount of power (not too hard and not too soft - just right). For those who like a higher diameter, you cannot go wrong with this shaft.

Predator Revo: Pretty classic. The OG carbon fiber shaft - still holds up today. Performance is honestly incredible on this shaft, no matter which diameter you choose. The only reason this isn't in S Tier is because the hit is too metallic and hollow for me - but in terms of pure performance - its still world class.

Tiger Fortis: Deflects more than a Revo but has a really pleasant hit to it. The shaft also felt really controllable in terms of power - especially considering the fact that i generally find CF a little wild to play with. Highly recommend for those who like to put feel first.

Cuetec Cynergy: Pretty self explanatory. Great shaft, better hit feeling than the Revo, slightly worse in terms of performance (imho) - ends up in the same tier as the Revo overall.

B Tier: (Great in the right circumstances)

Rhino CF: This shaft has no business being as good as it is for the price. If this were a 'bang for your buck' tier list - it would be an easy S. Since price isn't a deciding factor on this tier list - i decided to put it at B. It performs at least as well as a Cuetec Cynergy, but the finish on the shaft is atrociously 'powdery' and rough. Unplayable without a glove. If they fix the finish, its an easy A tier.

Omin Maple Shaft: One of the most pleasant and solid hits of any shaft I've ever used. Deflects like a broomstick, but honestly, the feeling was just magnificent. Won a few tournaments with this thing even though i was extremely uncomfortable any time i had to put side spin on a shot.

Infuzed Kielwood: Another maple / CF hybrid shaft. I'm generally a Kielwood hater as i dont see what problem its trying to solve. Lots of people say it deflects lower than regular maple - but i call bullshit. Still, it has a pleasant solid hit - and even though it has somewhat high deflection - it was very much consistent and pleasant feeling.

C Tier: (Decent - but nothing to write home about)

Predator 314-3: I'm sure i will get crucified for putting this in C tier but i just couldn't stand the way this shaft felt. It was far too whippy and vibrated far too much for me to ever consider it as my main playing shaft. Sold it probably a month after owning it. In terms of pure performance - its fantastic, which is why its not in D tier - but the feeling just wasn't for me at all. Vantage clears this shaft in terms of feel easily.

Triple Sixty TS1: A recent shaft that i purchased. Very low deflection, but somehow felt very inconsistent. I can't put my finger on why but i just didn't perform well with this shaft nor did I enjoy the way it felt. There is a ton of foam in this shaft which makes it feel heavy and dense. The sound is very muted, and so is the feeling. It feels like shooting the ball with a solid piece of plastic. Didn't enjoy it, traded it away pretty soon after receiving it. Still in C tier because it really does have low deflection - and if that is your only priority - it is a good option for $400.

D Tier: (Avoid at all costs)

Jacoby KW: Pretty well made shaft - but as i said - i am a hater of Kielwood. This shaft has seriously high deflection (at least my example did) and is somehow marketed as low deflection. Feel is pretty decent - but no better than any standard maple shaft (see for example the Omin shaft, which feels superior to this shaft). Paying a premium price for a shaft with this much deflection just feels wrong - at least the Omin (which has around the same amount of deflection) is cheap.

Cuelees P (CF Shaft): If you look at my S tier, you might think i work for the Cuelees marketing team. This should hopefully change your mind. Man, i hate this shaft. It only comes in 11.8 (which is fine for some) and has adjustable weight bolts near the joint (awesome). But this thing deflects like a goddamn mule. I'm actually impressed that they they managed to make an 11.8mm CF shaft deflect this much. Feeling is generally really good for a CF shaft, but this is heavily heavily outweighed by the atrocious deflection. Avoid this shaft.
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A new measure of tournament toughness: Harmonic Field Strength

mikepage
Rocket354 said:
[...]

More importantly, completely throwing away the bottom players, 65+, seems rather extreme. Just for example, in the Hanoi there were a number of upsets of tip-top players: Gorst, Raga, Roda, and FSR. The more rounds there are, the more players like Antonakis, Kiet, and Sevastyanov the top 64 have to fight through. So more players--and therefore more rounds--makes the tournament tougher, even before considering that more rounds just makes the marathon that much longer. Tyler Styer lost round one to an unknown in Hanoi--how much does having 256 entrants vs 96 matter when you have to fight more rounds to get to the money?

Again, I think it's a very interesting idea, but the method presented sounds predicated on faulty/poor assumptions.
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Having an extra round or a few extra rounds where you might get clipped by a weaker player matters less than it seems at first glance.

Let's say 64 800-level players are going to play a single elimination tournament on Saturday.

Then on Sunday those same 64 players play in a 128-player SE tournament with an extra round in which they each face a 700-level opponent who will upset them 10% of the time.

If you don't think it through, you might conclude that since you only have a 90% chance of even GETTING to the round of 64 that you now have a 90% of Saturday's chance of winning--i.e., that the tournament got tougher for you by the chance you get eliminated in the extra round.

But that's not true. Most of that 10% ding you get back through the fact that around 5-6 OTHER 800-level players have also been eliminated and so you now have a 10% chance of getting an easy round-of-64 draw if you DO get there.

Bottom line the effect of that extra round is small for you --and smaller than most people think.

In the 64 player tournament, you have a 50% chance of reaching the round of 32
In the 128-player tournament you have a 48.6% chance of reaching the round of 32 (not the 45% you'd conclude if you're just thinking about the 1st-round exit)
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My Latest Acquisitions = Jerry -R-/Vigus/COG/EO(studiotronics)

skor
Very nice!
I used to love black on black but it passed, I prefer to see some wood grain and patterns in the wood. Still classic look. If it had a BEM forearm it would be my pick.
If I had to pick one of those, I would go with the COG. but really weight and balance point would be the factors to pick just one

You should just keep them all, sell a kidney instead.
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Bulletproof Tips

J
Hi all! Have only been playing for about 5 or 6 years, so still developing preferences of different things.... weight of cue, tip size, tip hardness, etc. About 8 months ago, I ended up with a 11.8 Bulletproof shaft with the soft recoil and a 12.5 Bulletproof shaft with hard recoil. I have been absolutely loving the 12.5 with the hard recoil. Have replaced the soft recoil with a hard Ultraskin, as the soft recoil wasn't holding a candle to the hard. Trying the hard Ultraskin has made me realize that I just don't like the feel of layered leather tips compared to the hard synthetic. The thing I love most about the hard Recoil is that it transfers an incredible amount of energy with very little effort. The sound of the hit doesn't bother me, but people in my league still think it sounds off-putting. The only thing that I've had troubles with from time to time is controlling that energy. It can be very easy for me to over-draw with the Recoil hard.

My question is... have any of you that love your Recoil hard also tried a Recoil medium? What were your thoughts on the medium? More specifically... do you think the Recoil medium hits firmer than say a medium/hard layered leather tip?

I have a 12.4 shaft that I'm looking to ditch a perfectly good medium Ultraskin on in favor of the Recoil medium. If a Recoil medium feels closer to a Recoil hard than soft... I think I will do it. Thanks in advance!
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