$25 for a piece of chalk is ridiculous!
- Thread starter Rocket354
- Start date
Good for you. So this means that the available money you would have had to purchase a cube of Kamui chalk is now gone? You would like to claim that you literally made a conscious and deliberate choice to either buy a cube of chalk or take your family to dinner and now chalk is off the table forever or until you earn enough money to again put it to a choice?
I apologize that I haven't been able to make my point clear enough to you using hypotheticals and I congratulate you on choosing family time over an equipment purchase. I am pleased to hear that your choice resulted in happiness and I sincerely hope that it pays you happiness dividends long into the future.
Well there are actually people presenting false choices. Better equipment certainly improves a person's ability to perform at the highest level. Efren Reyes with the crappiest Wal Mart stick is still going to be a better player than I am. But I will certainly do better against him due to the fact that he is handicapped with sub-par equipment.
Money does buy a better game if spent properly. If one spends money on good instruction then they will improve much faster than spending money on crappy instruction or spending money on table time with no instruction.
Money spent on a good cue means that the player is not having to overcome technical issues that affect what the cue ball does. Money spent on good balls reduces the amount of errors caused by improperly balanced balls. And the list goes on.
Equipment does not replace hard work, it enhances it.
Because the premise is that the Kamui chalk outperforms the Blue Diamond. Thus you get the performance advantage. In other words you invest $15 more and get better performance every use. Assuming the claims are true that is.
I can solve the Great Kamui Chalk Debate very simply:
It is chalk that costs $25.
You don't have to buy it, but you can if you want to.
You might like it, you might not.
The end.
Go ahead and argue with that! :grin:
It is chalk that costs $25.
You don't have to buy it, but you can if you want to.
You might like it, you might not.
The end.
Go ahead and argue with that! :grin:
In Vegas on the dry tables with Shitmonis 860 these days the rock skids constantly soon as the table gets dirty. I did notice when I started with a clean table and only used Kamui chalk every shot alone, I made a mess of the table but the CB didnt skid near as much. So yeah I'd say that there might be something to this.
The real beef is Shitmonis is shaving the nap lower and lower on the 860 nowadays, it damn near looks like 760. I have old 860, Tony's box at BlackBoar has old 860, there is fuzz above the weave on it. Some time ago they started cuutting it closer down and the balls started skidding and sometimes the CB hopps up when it hits the OB. I played 1P this past week in Vegas and almost every game we had a skid. Al Lawrence was there(Southwest Cues) he is a good player and agrees 100% ith me, the cloth is cut closer and more skids. In LA the tables are wet and its ok.
Of course it is possible that C is better. That's what makes it trivial.
Hence, I called it an anecdote few would oppose.
This is the trivial part. I'm not suggesting that such a difference doesn't exist, only that the statement is a trivial one.
The difference has to be statistically significant. Randomness and data noise present huge problems isolating any variable when two such constructs exist. The closer the proximity of these two constructs, the more trouble it is isolating any variable as a probable cause for the result. One would have to generate a very large amount of data with a large confidence factor to make such an assertion, and I have doubts that something so indirect as chalk can generate that kind of result.
Here's the problem with using chalk as the variable. Let's assume for a moment that chalk A allows a player to cue 20% closer to the outer most edge than chalk B. Assume no other differences between chalk A and chalk B.
Given an established difference, these are the kinds of questions we would need to ask.
1) What is the relative difference in spin rate between these two cue positions? Is it even significant? Is it also 20% or is it only 2-3%?
2) Does any change in spin rate make the ball easier or harder to control?
3) What percentage of the time is that spin rate required to achieve a certain position?
4) How many other position routes may one be able to take given that they are only using chalk B?
This isn't exhaustive, and I'm sure others could add to this, but it highlights this problem of absolute vs relative. Even if there exists an absolute difference, is there a relative difference?
my money, my choice...
I bought a couple of pieces of Kamui chalk today, and am looking forward to trying it out.
I bought them for two reasons: 1. $50 doesn't mean THAT much to me and 2. I felt like it.
Maybe I will think it was worth it, maybe I won't. Why some people feel the need to criticize other's spending habits, or perceived gullibility, is beyond me, much like people feeling the need to defend why they buy what they do (which I suppose I just did above.)
You earned it, you earned the right to do whatever you want with it, other people's opinions be damned.
To the members who are also golfers; I played competitively through my teenage and university years. Golf might be, in my opinion, the only game better than pool/snooker, only because it is played outside. Regardless, I remember when persimmon woods were considered exotic. Then it was the "metal" wood. Then it was 492 dimples, graphite shafts, perimeter weighting, the long putter, over-sized heads, etc. Personally, I still play with Wilson Staff Fluid Feel muscle-back irons, 1 through SW, with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts, and don't plan on ever changing, despite improvements in equipment technology. I do admit to using a Big Bertha, but it is the original model.
My point being, I can fully understand and appreciate the value in constantly trying to improve the quality of equipment in any given sport/game, the same as I value having the options and income to try out whatever I feel is worth it. Who knows, maybe Kamui chalk will be the next Taylor Made? After all, when was the last time you saw someone swinging a laminated driver?
Ryan
I bought a couple of pieces of Kamui chalk today, and am looking forward to trying it out.
I bought them for two reasons: 1. $50 doesn't mean THAT much to me and 2. I felt like it.
Maybe I will think it was worth it, maybe I won't. Why some people feel the need to criticize other's spending habits, or perceived gullibility, is beyond me, much like people feeling the need to defend why they buy what they do (which I suppose I just did above.)
You earned it, you earned the right to do whatever you want with it, other people's opinions be damned.To the members who are also golfers; I played competitively through my teenage and university years. Golf might be, in my opinion, the only game better than pool/snooker, only because it is played outside. Regardless, I remember when persimmon woods were considered exotic. Then it was the "metal" wood. Then it was 492 dimples, graphite shafts, perimeter weighting, the long putter, over-sized heads, etc. Personally, I still play with Wilson Staff Fluid Feel muscle-back irons, 1 through SW, with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts, and don't plan on ever changing, despite improvements in equipment technology. I do admit to using a Big Bertha, but it is the original model.
My point being, I can fully understand and appreciate the value in constantly trying to improve the quality of equipment in any given sport/game, the same as I value having the options and income to try out whatever I feel is worth it. Who knows, maybe Kamui chalk will be the next Taylor Made? After all, when was the last time you saw someone swinging a laminated driver?
Ryan
I bought a couple of pieces of Kamui chalk today, and am looking forward to trying it out.
I bought them for two reasons: 1. $50 doesn't mean THAT much to me and 2. I felt like it.
Maybe I will think it was worth it, maybe I won't. Why some people feel the need to criticize other's spending habits, or perceived gullibility, is beyond me, much like people feeling the need to defend why they buy what they do (which I suppose I just did above.)
Axle Rose,
Your post may be the most sense-making one so far in this thread. As far as I am concerned, I have no problem people spending their money whichever the way they deem appropriate.
I think the argument arises when people feel the need to justify their purchase in ways that doesn't make sense to others. This may be because they haven't yet justified it within themselves? I don't know, but it sure is a possibility.
By the way, I used to cover your songs a lot in early 90's
And I sincerely hope you win a tournament someday using Kamui chalk!
Considering that I have about two miscues in each race to nine which generally cost me the game I certainly have a personal statistic to use for comparison. I am certainty that I will win money and tournaments using Kamui chalk. How much the chalk will help me remains to be seen.
I am sure it will help a lot, all these positive comments about kamui chalk cannot all be that far from the truth.
My point was that there is also a group of people that is doing good enough without a $25 chalk. I support those that believe in this chalk, it's just that I don't see myself spending that much when I think I could spend it in better ways (IMO)...
Hello, before answering your questions, I have one small correction. I said that I was a B- (read "B minus") player on a good day, more often a C+ player. So take anything I might say with that caveat.
I assume you mean this question as what's my ability using Kamui chalk? If so, I think how Roadie put it is the best. I feel that I can go further out to the extremes of the cueball with more confidence using Kamui. I'm not sure how to translate it to a scale; I'd just be pulling a number out of my nether regions.
The first time I chalked with Kamui and hit the cueball, I noticed a light-blue tip mark on the cue ball. However, I didn't notice any more after that. So yes for the first shot, no since (I think this happens any time I chalk, so every hour or so another spot might show up). I didn't notice anything on the tables like chalk marks, but then I was playing on blue cloth. However, there is of course much less chalk dust on the tables as this stuff is not nearly as dusty as any other chalk I've ever used.
I've gone through a few cubes of blue diamond. The first couple I bought seemed a bit less dry than Master's and I felt like I got all the improvements that I get with Kamui, just to a much lesser degree. I felt I could draw a little better, the stuff stayed on my cue a little more.
The last couple cubes I've used seemed drier than the first couple. One of them was downright dusty. So perhaps BD has a bit of a quality control issue? (Remember, upon weighing just a few cubes I got a range of 16.6 to 18.1g which seems like a big range. Makes me wonder what else varies from cube to cube...).
I can't put numbers on it, but I felt BD was a small but noticeable improvement over Master's, while Kamui is more like a medium to big improvement. A lot of its value I feel is in not having to chalk very often at all and not being dusty, where the actual performance gain (a single hit with a Kamui-chalked tip vs a single hit with a fresh BD-chalked tip) is small if the Kamui-chalked tip has been used for 20+ shots, or closer to medium if the Kamui chalk was freshly applied.
It's very nice not having chalk dust falling on my hands requiring me to run wash them every hour or so; not having the dust ground into my shaft with every shot, or slowly building on the cloth; not having to worry about how much chalk I'm drinking with my water.
It's also quite liberating not having to search for a piece of chalk on the rail after every shot or two. It was a preshot routine for me to chalk (maybe I'd stretch out to a few shots if I were doing a lot of center-ball hits), but now I can forget about worrying about chalk and just focus on the game, waiting to rechalk in between games every 30 mins to an hour. I like the freedom.
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Right, you need to work on your game if you are miscuing. Not buy some new chalk.
Tap Tap Tap
So when US Open winner John Schmidt says it would be worth it if it simply reduced his miscue rate by 4 per event your advice to him is that he needs to work on his stroke?
I plan on ordering some Kamui chalk from Seyberts sometime soon. Whenever the next batch of JB Flowers cases comes in I am ordering one of them and that comes with $20 Seyberts cash so I figured eh why not order a piece of that chalk for $5 more dollars since I already have every tool I want for my cue as it is.
I have to admit the main reason I want to try it is because of the comments about it kind of smearing on your tip. During summer it is super humid here and it seems to make the pool hall chalk here pasty which for some odd reason I find to be mesmerizing.
I have to admit the main reason I want to try it is because of the comments about it kind of smearing on your tip. During summer it is super humid here and it seems to make the pool hall chalk here pasty which for some odd reason I find to be mesmerizing.
I have found myself scouring the 'net for news and reviews on this chalk, just because it seems so damn interesting lol. Is $25 too much? Maybe, but so is $600 for a cue lol. But I know that shooting with that $600 cue gives me more confidence and I can do more things with the cue ball than I can with a house cue. That is a combo of my skill level (not great) and the equipment.
I just might buy some when Seyberts gets a new shipment in. Do I need Kamui Chalk? No. Do I want to buy some based on the reviews of several people plus someone I know personally that used it in Vegas and loved it? Yes. Great marketing by Kamui, i'm sure they are counting on their customers to have similar thinking.
I have not heard one bad thing so far regarding the performance, only the price.
I just might buy some when Seyberts gets a new shipment in. Do I need Kamui Chalk? No. Do I want to buy some based on the reviews of several people plus someone I know personally that used it in Vegas and loved it? Yes. Great marketing by Kamui, i'm sure they are counting on their customers to have similar thinking.
I have not heard one bad thing so far regarding the performance, only the price.