Triangle vs. Layered Tips...

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Dakota Cues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ever since I got back into pool after a fairly long break, I have used a layered tip. My current choice is the Kamui Black Soft.

I have heard a few people make comments like "Such and such layered tip plays like a great Triangle tip", and it looks like a lot of players still use Triangles.

For those of you that have tried layered tips and gone to a Triangle, OR started out with a Triangle and went to a layered tip, what was your reason for the change?
 
I've used Med. Moori for 7 years now...I have tried , in between, Everest, Kamui soft, Super Pro, Sniper, Wizard, and kept going back to Moori. But in the last few months I bought a Coker with a Triangle and I love the Triangle...So now I'm happy with Triangle over the Moori...
Now this is just me. Not speaking for anyone else. It just works real well for me....I feel better cue ball control and can actually draw better with less effort with the Triangle....I'm actually amazed myself I feel this way after 7 years with the Moori....:confused:
 
I used Triangle tips damn near 20 years until I switched to Moori MH. The reason for the switch? I needed to change my tip and they didn't have any Triangles in stock so I grabbed the Moori. Next time I went to change my tip, same thing. If they ever get Triangles back in stock I'll go back. Although, now that I see I can up my game by at least 5 balls using a Kamui tip I may go that way.
MULLY
notice the sarcasm, people
 
I'm one of those who has commented on a layered tip playing like a great triangle (I believe it was in reference to an Everest).

I like a hard tip. The hardness of the Triangle is just right for me, and it gives very good ball control. Unfortunately, a while back they started becoming somewhat inconsistent in hardness and resistance to mushrooming. So, I started trying layered tips. In the past year I have tried Moori, Everest, Talisman, and Kamui. All good tips, but no better than a proper Triangle, in my opinion. The Everest, and to a lesser extent, the Kamui Black medium, felt very much like what I was used to with Triangles.

I was trying to choose between the Everest or Kamui for retipping all my shafts when I bought a new cue last month from Doug Patrick. Doug had installed a Triangle tip and it was exactly like a Triangle should be. Now I'm thinking about putting all the shafts in a crate and shipping them to Olathe.

In my opinion, if you can get a good Triangle, there's no reason to go to an expensive layered tip.



<sarcasm noted, mully>
 
I never use a layered tip, but I have been using Trangle for long time.
Not I chose the Trangle, but it was installed on a Mcdermott cue which I bought it.

I have got no complaint since the Trangle has always been kept in a good shape.
 
I break with my player, and that doesn't bode well for layered tips. The guy who put on all 3 moori's ,that broke chunks off em, didn't tell me that or i wouldn't have even tried em. Triangle tips or nothing for me.
 
I've been mostly a triangle man most of my playing career. I spent a year with a moori, and although it feels better than a triangle I don't like it as much.

I don't have to spend much time shaping them, they hold chalk nicely and spin the ball just as well and that's all I can ask for.

Maybe it's just the moori tip I had, but I found it glossed over very quick and wouldn't hold chalk. I would have to do tip maintenance every other game. I've never miscued so often in my life as I did during that year.
 
I bet the folks who use layered tips also buy their dog meds at the vet's office and not from petmed.com. Wonder why they elect to pay more? :shrug: :lmao:

Seriously, triangles are great tips, there are no magic bullets, so why would you pay 10 times what a tip is worth just to say you have a layered tip?

Besides, if you do get a bad triangle tip (which I never have BTW) wouldn't you know right away? With a layered tip ..... I dunno, how many layers do the damned things have .... couldn't a lower layer be bad and you find out when you don't want to know? Ahhh... it's all hype IMO.
 
Thanks for the responses so far.

A long tme ago I played with LePro tips. I got sick of having to scuff and de-mushroom (is that a term? :p) all the time. A friend told me about these new "Moori" tips, so I thought I'd give them a try. Very good results, and never went back to the Lepro.

I've heard a lot of layered tip users (especially Moori) say that the new tips are nowhere near as good as the old ones, so that's why they switched back to a non-layered tip.

I'm just looking for a blend of Feel, Grip and Longevity. I know each of those qualities will vary from tip to tip, and for both layered and non, but it seems like there is still a lot of great non-layered tips out there, and the Triangle seems to be one of the most popular.
 
Life Span?

I forgot to add one other thing.

One nice thing about the layered tips is that they last (for me) longer than the LePro I used to use. A friend of mine uses a Kamui Black Hard, and has had it on his main player for over a year and it still looks practically new. I think that's probably one of the main reasons for the increased price of layered tips - Longer Life.

For those of you that use Triangle tips, how long does one of these typically last? Are you getting months out of these tips?
 
Dakota Cues said:
Thanks for the responses so far.

A long tme ago I played with LePro tips. I got sick of having to scuff and de-mushroom (is that a term? :p) all the time. A friend told me about these new "Moori" tips, so I thought I'd give them a try. Very good results, and never went back to the Lepro.

I've heard a lot of layered tip users (especially Moori) say that the new tips are nowhere near as good as the old ones, so that's why they switched back to a non-layered tip.

I'm just looking for a blend of Feel, Grip and Longevity. I know each of those qualities will vary from tip to tip, and for both layered and non, but it seems like there is still a lot of great non-layered tips out there, and the Triangle seems to be one of the most popular.
Click to expand...

I do cue repairs and i've installed more Triangle tips than any other tip in my area. One thing i've noticed is some of the newer Triangle tips aren't as consistent as they were when I first started installing tips. I've had a number of them look good before I installed them and then not shape right and i'd have to cut it off and try another tip. Maybe I just got a bad box or two of Triangle tips plus I don't do near as many tip installations as I used to do. I like the way Triangle tips play and I think I got caught up in the layered tip hype when Moori tips first came out. All I heard was this was the new way to go when you put a tip on your cue. I played with Moori tips for years after that until they changed their firmness or whatever they did. The Moori Slow tips of today are not what the older ones were and they don't play the same to me. I've tried many different tips since I can install my own tips and i've settled on Sniper tips as my tip of choice. However I wouldn't have a problem putting a good Triangle tip on my cue and playing with it until it needed replacing.

James
 
SCCues said:
However I wouldn't have a problem putting a good Triangle tip on my cue and playing with it until it needed replacing.

James
Click to expand...

Thanks James,

Since you have done a lot of re-tipping, you would be a good one to answer the question I had.

Do single layered tips (even specifically Triangles) last *anywhere* near as long as the layered tips?
 
i was a die hard triangle man myself until about a yr ago i guess when i got a kamui medium and then the black medium and i honestly think its the best tip ever made, cuts easy, holds it shape and plays great you get alot of feedback and it grabs the cue ball very well. kind of soft hit with hard tip english works great for me ill use these for as long as they are made.:thumbup:
 
junkbond said:
I'm one of those who has commented on a layered tip playing like a great triangle (I believe it was in reference to an Everest).

I like a hard tip. The hardness of the Triangle is just right for me, and it gives very good ball control. Unfortunately, a while back they started becoming somewhat inconsistent in hardness and resistance to mushrooming. So, I started trying layered tips. In the past year I have tried Moori, Everest, Talisman, and Kamui. All good tips, but no better than a proper Triangle, in my opinion. The Everest, and to a lesser extent, the Kamui Black medium, felt very much like what I was used to with Triangles.

I was trying to choose between the Everest or Kamui for retipping all my shafts when I bought a new cue last month from Doug Patrick. Doug had installed a Triangle tip and it was exactly like a Triangle should be. Now I'm thinking about putting all the shafts in a crate and shipping them to Olathe.

In my opinion, if you can get a good Triangle, there's no reason to go to an expensive layered tip.



<sarcasm noted, mully>
Click to expand...

Installation is key in a triangle,I prefer to put them on and shape them by hand and blade,keeping sanding and tearing to minimum.Burnish side and some nose oil
 
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I switched to a Kamui brown when I got my new cue earlier this year and I'm a big fan. I work it about once a week or two (takes less than 5 min) and it plays great and holds chalk fine. That Kamui tip tool works great and it will work on any layered tip. There was a thread on here about how to work a kamui tip to "infuse" or "condition" (I forget the word he used) the chalk in the top layer so you don't get the glossed over result some comment on. I used to do something like that but now that I follow that recommendation I've noticed an improvement in consistency of cue ball control.
 
3andstop said:
I bet the folks who use layered tips also buy their dog meds at the vet's office and not from petmed.com. Wonder why they elect to pay more? :shrug: :lmao:

Seriously, triangles are great tips, there are no magic bullets, so why would you pay 10 times what a tip is worth just to say you have a layered tip?

Besides, if you do get a bad triangle tip (which I never have BTW) wouldn't you know right away? With a layered tip ..... I dunno, how many layers do the damned things have .... couldn't a lower layer be bad and you find out when you don't want to know? Ahhh... it's all hype IMO.
Click to expand...

For consistency. I'll gladly pay $10 for an Everest tip that lasts me 2 1/2 years (which is how long the last one was on for). I can't even count how many times I've heard of non-layered tips being inconsistent, and thus people were getting duds.

I'm not sure how often you'd need to replace a Triangle, but I'm willing to bet they don't last two years on average. I like knowing that on the day before I take it off, my tip is going to play the same way it did the day after I put it on. In my opinion, you just don't get that from a non-layered tip.
 
K Knight said:
I switched to a Kamui brown when I got my new cue earlier this year and I'm a big fan. I work it about once a week or two (takes less than 5 min) and it plays great and holds chalk fine. That Kamui tip tool works great and it will work on any layered tip. There was a thread on here about how to work a kamui tip to "infuse" or "condition" (I forget the word he used) the chalk in the top layer so you don't get the glossed over result some comment on. I used to do something like that but now that I follow that recommendation I've noticed an improvement in consistency of cue ball control.
Click to expand...

I jsut switched last week to my first layered tip, a Talisman WB Hard. I really don't even know the difference, other than it plays significantly harder hits than my LePro did. Anyhow, would you happen to have the link or be able to point me in the direction of the Kamui thread you referred to?

Thanks.
 
Dakota Cues said:
Thanks James,

Since you have done a lot of re-tipping, you would be a good one to answer the question I had.

Do single layered tips (even specifically Triangles) last *anywhere* near as long as the layered tips?
Click to expand...

Mike,

The life of a tip depends on how much you play and if you shape and scuff your tip a lot. I think you get a lot of life out of a Triangle tip and I don't think it would be much shorter than what I get out of a Sniper tip. One advantage to layered tips is they don't normally mushroom (Moori tips do a little), but if you get a little mushrooming on the sides and you re-shape the tip you are good to go. Unless you compress your solid layer tip before you install it you will probably get a little mushrooming and that just indicates that the tip has settled and it's ready to play for quite while. Players who play everyday will wear tips out pretty fast, but the average player won't have to have a new tip installed for quite a while.

James
 
Thanks again for all the info guys. I really appreciate it.

I might have to try out a Triangle tip this next time around and see how it compares. I usually shape and scuff my tips only when needed, otherwise I leave them alone. Also, when doing this I try to do as little as possible so I don't end up grinding my tip down to nothing, too quickly.

I like the fact that the layered tips last longer, and like it was said earlier, paying more for longevity actually *saves* me money since I have to send my shafts out to get re-tipped.

It looks like people are happy with the performance of BOTH layered and non-layered tip, too, so I don't know that there is clear cut advantage in that department.
 
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