How important is having the right tip to you?

CreeDo

CreeDo

Fargo Rating 597
Silver Member
Over the years I've accepted that one cue isn't as good as another, having a cue with the right weight, diameter, etc. matters, as does LD vs. no LD. Duh, right?

But I'm still not sure how important the tip is.

I just accept whatever tip comes on the shaft, I don't find one tip miscues more than another. In fact I'm not sure I can feel the difference at all just by hitting, except when a tip is obviously very hard (like phenolic).

I dunno if I could pass a pepsi challenge hitting with brand A vs brand B, or medium vs. soft.

On paper, it's the only part that touches the CB, so it sounds important, but I can't help wondering if some players just talk themselves into thinking they really play any differently. Has anyone ever tracked in a semi-scientific way an improvement (or decrease) in their performance after switching tips?
 
I don't think it's a performance issue from one tip to another, it's just a personal preference based upon feel (or perceived feel). I completely do agree though that there are people out there who can't tell the difference between tip A and tip B, but swear up and down that tip A is the nuts. Marketing and hype play more of a factor than a lot of people think. If someone were to do the pepsi challenge with cue tips, I bet a lot of people would pick a tip that is different from the hyped up tip they swear plays best.
 
Important

A hardish tip holds it's shape, won't mushroom, therefore lasts longer. But, a hardish tip is more prone to miscue. In my search to find a hard tip that still has "grip" on the cue ball and won't miscue when using extreme english, I came to the conclusion that the leather itself - how it is tanned - is very important. I have found that Elk Masters if compressed a lot and Triangles if pressed a little suit my needs. What these two tips have in common is that they are chrome tanned leather.

I assume that some layered tips are made from leather that has similar properties, but I can not address that. I gave up on layered tips a long time ago because of delaminating problems (the delaminating problems could be because of poor installation, but that is a reality that I have to deal with).

One time, I gave a "cue mechanic" a pressed Triangle to put on my cue. He shooed me away while he did the work. There was a period of time (maybe two years or something) where Triangles were being made pretty soft for some reason. Well as soon as I hit the first ball, I knew it wasn't the tip I gave him. It was not as hard as a compressed Triangle, it was not even as hard as a normal good Triangle out of the box. It was more like those soft dud Triangles that were being made for a while. I could feel the difference when hitting balls. The softer tips will compress as you play and eventually, they will become hard enough over time, but they are losing their shape over this time and you lose a lot of leather reshaping them as you go. Thus I like pressing them before installing - since the brands I like are not hard enough out of the box. Then once you but them on, they don't change shape - or not much.

I have bought cues and played with whatever tip came with them. Sometimes the tip is good enough to keep it on for a while, sometimes you want to change it right away.

I like hard tips for the reasons stated above, but also I think they are more accurate to shoot with, because there is less variation of the material at the instant the tip hits the ball - same reason I like stiff shafts.

So I do think there is an objective difference between tips. But I also think there is a preference thing too. It's hard to get the best of all worlds, but for my preferences, I think I have found that (or have come close).

Hard tip for accuracy + hard tip for holding shape + good leather for cue ball grip and reduced miscues + non layered for no delaminating + non layered for being more affordable = pressed (or soaked and pressed) Elk Masters or Triangles.

Try pooldawg8's milk duds. They are great tips.

Fatz
 
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Having the right tip is very important if you are going to shoot a couple hours or more during a session. It needs to hold up. Forty years ago a Le Pro tip would be a good tip. Used to be able to play 12 hours straight with no problems. Now...when you get a Le Pro, you don't know what you are going to get.


I like Triangle. Very consistant.



If you are going to play just a few games or a short time period, it is not as important.


Some tips, are just no good at all.
 
I can't tell you, the tip is one of the most important part of the cue, like you said it's the only thing that touches the cue ball. Not only different kind of tips, but also the thickness of the tip.

In general ( really in general ;) ), the softer the tip is the more english you will have. But it means you can have some unexpected english on the cb sometimes.

About the thickness, a new tip feels softer than a 1mm thick tip :). It's all about the "feel", I don't know know to explain but with a 1mm tip I "feel" the cb much more better than a new one.

Ralf Souquet plays with Kamui Super Soft and the tip is ALWAYS like new (that means very thick), and with the predator shaft I can guarantee you that you won't feel any feedback at all with that combo. But he's the most successful player of all time :rolleyes:

But many many many pro loves the ultra thin tip...

It's all about the "feel" man, like an thick "long duration" condom vs a "ultra sensational" thin one ;)
 
poolguy4u said:
Having the right tip is very important if you are going to shoot a couple hours or more during a session.

It needs to hold up.

Forty years ago a Le Pro tip would be a good tip. Used to be able to play 12 hours straight with no problems.

...

If you are going to play just a few games or a short time period, it is not as important.

...
Click to expand...


What does the time length of a playing session have to do with anything?
 
The tip makes a huge difference. I assure you that I CAN DEFINITELY tell the difference, so long as it's on my player. Pepsi challenge isn't really worthwhile unless it's all on the same shaft. Once I'd played with the same shaft day in and day out for 5 years or so, I came to a point where the tip type/manufacture/install became an issue to me. I would later have one Schon shaft with 15 years of daily play/exerience. I went from Le Pro tips to medium Triangle on a recommendation from a repair guy, and saw/felt the difference right away. Stayed with them for over 20 years. Then I started messing with Milk Duds and now with Kamui Black Soft. My ability to control the cue ball was greatly improved with both of these tips, my preference landing with Kamui because of consistency between tips and the longer life cycle.

If you don't care or can't feel a difference in tips, rock on! You'll save a fortune in the long run...:cool:

Me, I'm definitely picky about the tip I use and how it's dressed for play.
 
Nothing scientific but about 10 years ago I purchased a Moori M tip at a tournament I was playing. I was in dead stroke at the time. When I got home I had it installed and saw huge difference vs the hard buffalo hide tips I'd been playing with for a few years.
Sure wish the Moori's were still made that way. I'd still be with them.
 
Pre-Flag Master said:
What does the time length of a playing session have to do with anything?
Click to expand...


It means a lot. If you are going to shoot for 8 hours straight, you don't want a tip that is going to mushroom or glaze over after 30 minutes of play.


If you are just going to shoot a few racks or so, a slip on tip will work. LOL


Thanks for asking.:thumbup:
 
Not Just Tip

It's important for the correct tip for the hit that I like. However, the joint, shaft wood, taper and and ferrule all contribute to that hit that I like. So, I like different tips for different sticks. To just isolate the tip is narrow minded for me. I have to try different things for each individual cue. That being said, most of the time, I prefer a kamui ss.
 
The tip is critical. The whole cue has to work in harmony, each of the components make a big difference in the feel of the cue.
 
The notion, mentioned above, that a soft tip imparts more english is not substantiated; but remains the lore of the soft[er] tip users. One can get enough draw to run up table 7 diamonds bounce off the rail and back down table 6 diamonds with a hard tip and a level stroke. How much more spin does one ever need?
 
CreeDo said:
Over the years I've accepted that one cue isn't as good as another, having a cue with the right weight, diameter, etc. matters, as does LD vs. no LD. Duh, right?

But I'm still not sure how important the tip is.

I just accept whatever tip comes on the shaft, I don't find one tip miscues more than another. In fact I'm not sure I can feel the difference at all just by hitting, except when a tip is obviously very hard (like phenolic).

I dunno if I could pass a pepsi challenge hitting with brand A vs brand B, or medium vs. soft.

On paper, it's the only part that touches the CB, so it sounds important, but I can't help wondering if some players just talk themselves into thinking they really play any differently. Has anyone ever tracked in a semi-scientific way an improvement (or decrease) in their performance after switching tips?
Click to expand...

I like medium size tip, and the sound it makes is in between "tud" and "tak".
 
It makes a big difference if your tip is consistent. Over a period of a few hundred hits it can mean many games won or lost.
 
As far as generating a lot of controlled spin, remember masse cues use very hard tips. For those that get into diameter and "accuracy" discussions, remember masse cues also use large diameters.

Personally tips are important to me in synergy with the rest of the cue. I don't like the same tip on every shaft. In general though I have always gravitated back to LePro, but I have a small supply of them from the eighties so I don't know what the newer ones are like.


.
 
It sounds like tip is pretty important for a lot of you. I've been mostly ignoring this part of my equipment.

Some people like to divide pool players into two camps... speed players vs. spin players. Obviously there's some overlap but let's say I'm a spin player... I never like to hit hard, I like to let spin do the work, and I'm comfortable with going to the far edge of the CB. I'll do a heavy sidespin shot at least once per game probably. I find my cue tips last forever and I don't think I've ever had a tip mushroom visibly, though I've seen mushrooming on house cues.

With all that said, what tip would you recommend?
 
CreeDo said:
It sounds like tip is pretty important for a lot of you. I've been mostly ignoring this part of my equipment.

Some people like to divide pool players into two camps... speed players vs. spin players. Obviously there's some overlap but let's say I'm a spin player... I never like to hit hard, I like to let spin do the work, and I'm comfortable with going to the far edge of the CB. I'll do a heavy sidespin shot at least once per game probably. I find my cue tips last forever and I don't think I've ever had a tip mushroom visibly, though I've seen mushrooming on house cues.

With all that said, what tip would you recommend?
Click to expand...

Again, I'd say the milk duds made by pooldawg8. They are soaked and pressed Elk Masters. Only $3 each. If you don't like that maybe try a regular Elk Master right out of the box.

Fatz
 
MitchAlsup said:
The notion, mentioned above, that a soft tip imparts more english is not substantiated; but remains the lore of the soft[er] tip users. One can get enough draw to run up table 7 diamonds bounce off the rail and back down table 6 diamonds with a hard tip and a level stroke. How much more spin does one ever need?
Click to expand...

I would basically agree with this. I think it was more to do with the texture of the leather itself. I get pretty decent draw with a tip that is hard enough to not change shape as I play.

Fatz
 
It's the accumulated pounding a tip takes that makes it mushroom. Even if you only shoot pool for 15 minutes a day, one day a week (as an example), a "soft" or "bad" tip would still mushroom. After 32 weeks, you would have eight hours of pool. So you would still want to get a good tip for yourself, regardless of how short your playing sessions are.

Fatz


poolguy4u said:
Having the right tip is very important if you are going to shoot a couple hours or more during a session. It needs to hold up. Forty years ago a Le Pro tip would be a good tip. Used to be able to play 12 hours straight with no problems. Now...when you get a Le Pro, you don't know what you are going to get.


I like Triangle. Very consistant.



If you are going to play just a few games or a short time period, it is not as important.


Some tips, are just no good at all.
Click to expand...






poolguy4u said:
It means a lot. If you are going to shoot for 8 hours straight, you don't want a tip that is going to mushroom or glaze over after 30 minutes of play.


If you are just going to shoot a few racks or so, a slip on tip will work. LOL


Thanks for asking.:thumbup:
Click to expand...
 
CreeDo said:
It sounds like tip is pretty important for a lot of you. I've been mostly ignoring this part of my equipment.

Some people like to divide pool players into two camps... speed players vs. spin players. Obviously there's some overlap but let's say I'm a spin player... I never like to hit hard, I like to let spin do the work, and I'm comfortable with going to the far edge of the CB. I'll do a heavy sidespin shot at least once per game probably. I find my cue tips last forever and I don't think I've ever had a tip mushroom visibly, though I've seen mushrooming on house cues.

With all that said, what tip would you recommend?
Click to expand...

i have alway sspun the cue ball a lot. it's just the way I learned. The tip is critical to me.
I put in about 20 % of the paly I did three years ago, but whenin action as years past I changed tips about every month. I have used the sniper for about 10 years and after about 200 hours of play it seems to lose it's hit and I refuse to worry about it and just change it and be done with it. i don't need any excuses for missing or i might go "Off the air".LOL!
 
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