Help me choose a new cloth? Simonis 860? 760? etc

V

vpr80

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Hi,
Pardon if this has been covered before, and I am sure it has, I was just not able to find the answer with search.

I got a new (to me) table for my house, but I am not sure which cloth to use. Seems like Simonis is the best, but should I get 860 or 760? Obviously this is for casual play at home, not tournament or anything special.

Thanks
 
If your just playing regular billiards(8 ball and 9 ball) 860 is the way to go.
760 is way to fast for those games imo.
 
I never played on either one to know for sure, but I was thinking that 860 would be just fine for home play. Don't really see why I would NEED a faster playing cloth on an 8 foot table. Thanks
 
Like you, I fretted this decision for several days/week before deciding that my home table (8 ft) is for practice. Thus, my choice was 760. 760 is fast enough to make you work on the delicacy of your game (where my game needs imporvement). Its rather easy to add power when you move to slower felt/cloth, but somewhat more difficult to add delicacy when the felt is faster than what you are used to. 760 has the side effect of not having to use so much energy in breaking (and the resulting negative side effects: that you compress you tip nor beat the balls to death breaking.)

Now, on the other hand, if my home table would be (primarily) for play (not practice) 860 is recommended (and would have been selected).

I like and enjoy the speed of 760 on my 8 footer.
 
Simonis 860 is the best

The 860 is the nuts.No question it the cloth of choice for all serious players and poolrooms across the planet.;)
 
Get the 860 but be sure to get the "HR" version. Its the hot ticket no doubt. Slightly faster than standard 860 yet much more durable & fade resistant. The little white burn marks aren't nearly as bad either. Stays looking new much longer. After owning tables with both 760 & 860....I'm now a firm believer in 860HR. Do yourself a favor & get the "Tournament Blue" color too....very easy on the eyes and easier to see the ball edges.
Glen aka RealKingCobra steered me to it....thank you my friend! :thumbup:
 
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Varney Cues said:
Get the 860 but be sure to get the "HR" version. Its the hot ticket no doubt. Slightly faster than standard 860 yet much more durable & fade resistant. The little white burn marks aren't nearly as bad either. Stays looking new much longer. After owning tables with both 760 & 860....I'm now a firm believer in 860HR. Do yourself a favor & get the "Tournament Blue" color too....very easy on the eyes and easier to see the ball edges.
Glen aka RealKingCobra steered me to it....thank you my friend! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I forgot to mention HR. I'd get 860HR before 860.

Glen turned me on to the tournament blue also, and I love it.
 
The right Cloth is.......

860 is the Best of the Best.
All the pool rooms are going to it. I have been playing on it for years and have tried other cloths just to see for myself. None of them can stand up to the play of Simonis 860.
760 is faster but you do not want to put that on your own table b/c you will not be able to adjust on the 860 in the pool rooms. (Trust me). If you play One Pocket or Banks most of the time, then 760 is best.
I am changing out my table right now from the Tournament Green 860 to the Tour. Light Blue 860 b/c it is easier to see the object ball.
( I did not know about 860 HR and I just read about it. It sounds good )
 
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14-1 straight man is a cool guy just for liking straight pool =) but don't take it as the gospel when he says you won't be able to adjust to the 860 in pool rooms (when coming from 760 at home).

I alternate between the two speeds all the time - the home room has 760 on table 1 and all the other tables (and pretty much everything else in the state) have 860. I switch back and forth every week and I do just fine. In fact it really depends on the table. Some 860 tables play noticeably faster than others. You can see a major difference just by checking out how tightly the cloth was stretched.

The speed difference will only become too much to bear when you're comparing 860 that hasn't been broken in (plays a bit slow for 860) with worn shiny 760 (plays really fast).

Not saying his recommendation is wrong, because 860 is fast enough to enjoy any kind of game... and very common too. And probably a little less expensive. But I personally find 760 a real treat to play on. You really ought to try it for a while. Find a table somewhere that has it and give it a few hours.
 
ahhhh ha....so basically i opened pandora's box with this question...ok got it :)

seems like the general concensus is a follows:
860 - most popular choice
860HR - the new kid in town that's a bit slicker
760 - either love it or hate!

maybe i will try to find a pool hall in the area and see what they play on to try it out. i think right now i might be leaning for the 860HR.
 
To each their own.

"14-1 straight man is a cool guy just for liking straight pool =) but don't take it as the gospel when he says you won't be able to adjust to the 860 in pool rooms (when coming from 760 at home)." CreeDo

I am happy to hear that you do not have a problem playing on 760 & 860. I could not do it. It drove me crazy. 760 was just too fast for me. I think that it is very important to feel comfortable and to be relaxed when you are playing in a match in a pool room (leagues, tournaments etc.) and you should not have in the back of your mind. Now this is 860 and I have 760 at home. So I need to watch the way I hit my shots b/c the two cloths play different. Sometimes when I am really playing great in pool rooms. I feel like I am playing at home and that good tables like Gold Crowns & Diamonds play just like my table and the speed of the cloth is the same.
When I had 760 on my table. I was totally disoriented in the so called pool rooms down here in TX. Another thing that hurts the cloth in these pool rooms which slows down even 860 Simonis is that. They do not clean the tables (cloth) as they should and clean the balls. You can feel the balls when your racking and know that they need a good cleaning with all the smoke build up day after day. That isn't the case at my own home.
I had ordered Simonis light blue cloth for my table but I think I am going to call them up today and see if I can change it out for 860 HR. I want to give it a try.
 
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Yes, Why?

oldroller said:
If the HR is much better why do they make both?Just wondering
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing myself. It must be like everything. They want to make more money. So, now you can buy the old type of 860 Simonis or the new better improved 860 Simonis. Or, maybe there are people who will just stick with the orginal. I would hope that is why.
 
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