Players HXT LD shaft vs. other LD shafts

[jsp]

Up until last week I've never played with a low deflection shaft. I'm also cheap, so I bought the least expensive LD cue that I could fine, which is a Players Pure X Technology cue with their HXT LD shaft. I've been playing with it for a week and I'm still getting used to it.

My question is this. For those who have played with one, how does the Players HXT shaft, which one can purchase for $100, compare to the more popular/expensive LD shafts such as Predator, OB, Tiger, etc.? Does the HXT shaft squirt slightly more than its more expensive counterparts? Are the differences only a matter of feel/preference?

Right now I can't justify paying twice the amount for a Predator/OB shaft if the deflection properties are comparable to the HXT shaft.

 

[Kris_b1104]

Up until last week I've never played with a low deflection shaft. I'm also cheap, so I bought the least expensive LD cue that I could fine, which is a Players Pure X Technology cue with their HXT LD shaft. I've been playing with it for a week and I'm still getting used to it.

My question is this. For those who have played with one, how does the Players HXT shaft, which one can purchase for $100, compare to the more popular/expensive LD shafts such as Predator, OB, Tiger, etc.? Does the HXT shaft squirt slightly more than its more expensive counterparts? Are the differences only a matter of feel/preference?

Right now I can't justify paying twice the amount for a Predator/OB shaft if the deflection properties are comparable to the HXT shaft.

I guess you get what you paid for, I would assume you get more deflection from a $100 shaft than you would get from let's say a Predator or OB. My personal shaft is a 314-2 and I have to say that the HXT shaft does have more "feel" to it based on my experience playing with my friend's cue. I didn't do any comparing tests to determine which has more deflection but with only playing with it for a short time I noticed it felt more solid. But I still pocket balls better with my 314-2

 

[hang-the-9]

Up until last week I've never played with a low deflection shaft. I'm also cheap, so I bought the least expensive LD cue that I could fine, which is a Players Pure X Technology cue with their HXT LD shaft. I've been playing with it for a week and I'm still getting used to it.

My question is this. For those who have played with one, how does the Players HXT shaft, which one can purchase for $100, compare to the more popular/expensive LD shafts such as Predator, OB, Tiger, etc.? Does the HXT shaft squirt slightly more than its more expensive counterparts? Are the differences only a matter of feel/preference?

Right now I can't justify paying twice the amount for a Predator/OB shaft if the deflection properties are comparable to the HXT shaft.

HXT has more deflection than most other LD shafts, but it has a more solid feel than them as well. I just played a bit with a McDermott i3 and while it juiced the ball a bit more than my HXT, it felt a bit hollow and dead like most Predator shafts.

 

[bdorman]

My experience is limited to

Regular maple shaft
Player's HXT
OB 1 and OB Classic

The Player's shaft has a minimal amount more deflection than the OB shafts, but the difference between a regular maple shaft and either of the LDs is large.

I hesitate to speculate on the difference in feel because the Player's cue (HXTE10) had a linen wrap while the OB121 is wrapless. I like the feel of the wrapless MUCH more. That makes it hard to judge the feel-difference of the shafts.

 

[ScottK]

The HXT is a very good shaft for the money.
Other LD shafts retail for over twice as much.
They are not twice as good.
Buy the HXT.

I can switch from my HXT to a Predator to an OB with no significant adjustment.

Literally, you could make me swap to a random shaft between the three from shot to shot and it wouldn't bother me in the least. I could probably tell which one I was hitting, but there would be no practical difference.

If you particularly dislike the hit of one of them that could be an issue, but it's a separate one from performance.

 

[crazysnake]

Up until last week I've never played with a low deflection shaft. I'm also cheap, so I bought the least expensive LD cue that I could fine, which is a Players Pure X Technology cue with their HXT LD shaft. I've been playing with it for a week and I'm still getting used to it.

My question is this. For those who have played with one, how does the Players HXT shaft, which one can purchase for $100, compare to the more popular/expensive LD shafts such as Predator, OB, Tiger, etc.? Does the HXT shaft squirt slightly more than its more expensive counterparts? Are the differences only a matter of feel/preference?

Right now I can't justify paying twice the amount for a Predator/OB shaft if the deflection properties are comparable to the HXT shaft.

If you like it, stick with it. I use one on my main player. Don't think about those other LD shafts. You're not missing out on anything. I switched from a 314-2 to the HXT.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

[wambamcam]

I've never liked the 314 shafts. Tried them several times, and I felt the hxt felt much better.

 

[naji]

Up until last week I've never played with a low deflection shaft. I'm also cheap, so I bought the least expensive LD cue that I could fine, which is a Players Pure X Technology cue with their HXT LD shaft. I've been playing with it for a week and I'm still getting used to it.

My question is this. For those who have played with one, how does the Players HXT shaft, which one can purchase for $100, compare to the more popular/expensive LD shafts such as Predator, OB, Tiger, etc.? Does the HXT shaft squirt slightly more than its more expensive counterparts? Are the differences only a matter of feel/preference?

Right now I can't justify paying twice the amount for a Predator/OB shaft if the deflection properties are comparable to the HXT shaft.

HXT squirt much more, do not buy it. Buy OB2, I am sure you will like it, buy from Amazon.com so you have one month to return

 

[Agent 99]

You have a great shaft

Up until last week I've never played with a low deflection shaft. I'm also cheap, so I bought the least expensive LD cue that I could fine, which is a Players Pure X Technology cue with their HXT LD shaft. I've been playing with it for a week and I'm still getting used to it.

My question is this. For those who have played with one, how does the Players HXT shaft, which one can purchase for $100, compare to the more popular/expensive LD shafts such as Predator, OB, Tiger, etc.? Does the HXT shaft squirt slightly more than its more expensive counterparts? Are the differences only a matter of feel/preference?

Right now I can't justify paying twice the amount for a Predator/OB shaft if the deflection properties are comparable to the HXT shaft.

I think the HXT shaft is the best bargain in pool shafts. Bar none.

Personally I do not think the amount of deflection has anything to do with how well the shaft plays.

All shafts have deflection when using side English. Some slightly more or less than others.

It's the shooter that makes the difference. It's all about becoming use to your shaft and being able to automatically find the aiming point given the force of the shot.

The shooter must do this with ANY shaft he uses.

The advantage comes with shooting only with one type shaft all the time, until you become one with it and never think about deflection again, allow nature to take it's course through repetitive practice.

I think it's far more important to like the "feel" of your shaft than how much deflection it measures. You can not change the feel of the shaft, but you can adjust your aiming point, this will actually happen automatically with enough shooting with the SAME type shaft all the time.

Good rolls.

 

[crazysnake]

HXT squirt much more, do not buy it. Buy OB2, I am sure you will like it, buy from Amazon.com so you have one month to return

I agree with naji, there is more squirt with HXT than there would be with the ob2, or predator 314-2. But I take it from your original post that you have not tried those shafts. In which case you should you enjoy the excellent playing qualities of your HXT. Do not distract yourself by what those other shafts do or don't do.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

[jsp]

Thanks all for the input. Just to clarify, as I mentioned in the OP I already bought the HXT shaft and have played with it for over a week now. And I have already experienced a noticeable improvement in my game. Two days ago I won my first local 9-ball tournament playing with it. So I think I adjusted to it fairly quickly. Though, I don't think I'm a fan of the soft hit, but I think the Kamui soft tip has much to do with it.

I think when my game eventually plateaus again I will fork up the money to try one of the other more popular/expensive LD shafts. But for now, I'll ride out the HXT and continue enjoying the improvement in my game.

On a side note, my aiming with the HXT shaft is still not automatic. On many shots I still have to mentally remind myself that I can't use backhand english. I guess it's just a matter of time before it becomes second nature.

 

[AlexandruM]

With couple friends we made a test using Joss standard maple shaft, McDermott G-Core, Predator Z2 and Players HXT. I can say HXT shaft have 5-10% less deflection than standard Joss shaft, G-Core have 15-20% less deflection, Z2 has 30-35% less deflection.
HXT is a good shaft, but nothing special, I wouldn't buy it only for his LD proprieties. For 150$ you can buy a used Predator/OB or Intimidator shaft.

 

[scassidy77]

I currently own an on+2 shaft, a mezz wx900 shaft, a jacoby edge hybrid shaft, and a pure X htx shaft. I played for 5 years with a mezz wd-700 shaft prior to buying these and it warped. Instead of buying another one I decided to buy all these new shafts to try to find "the perfect shaft". Which would make me play better. Haha.. foolish me, thinking that the shaft would make me play better... I tried them all over the course of a year, trading them back and forth. They all play well. (Any shaft you are use to will play well for you). Lowest deflection to highest deflection. The ob+2 is the lowest, followed very closely by the jacoby edge hybrid. The difference between the ob and the jacoby was very minimal. Next was the mezz wx-900. It had noticably more deflection than the ob or jacoby. The pure X htx shaft had a little bit more deflection than the wx-900 does. The one I ended up going with was the pure-x htx shaft. After playing with the mezz wd-700 shaft for so long I got really use to the deflection if it and knew exactly how it would play and where I needed to aim when applying right and left hand English on the cue ball in order to pocket my ball. Any time you switch shafts, you need to re-learn how to aim again because the difference in deflection means you have to aim different when applying any side English to the cue ball, than you did with your old shaft. For me, I could never get use to the ob, jacoby, or mezz wx-900 because they squirted differently the my old mezz wd-700 shaft did. And I was unable to make a lot of the hard English shots reliably with these new shafts that I was easily able to with my old wd-700 shaft. The pure X shaft played the closest deflection wise to what I was used to with my old mezz wd-700 shaft, and I could play the best with it because of that. I plays great. Sure, if I would have just picked one if the other shafts and kept playing with it religiously for a year then I would have learned how to play with it, but didn't want to keep losing games in the mean time during leagues trying to figure out the new deflection. And honestly, I prefer to have some deflection. You can do things to get ball position utilizing deflection that you cannot do with no deflection. You have to adjust your game accordingly.
I did this and I see other people getting hung up on the deflection if thier shafts. And the truth is that it really makes no difference. The only thing that matters is that you are use to your shaft and can reliable know how to aim with it in any given shot. There is not really any big advantage to using a very low deflection shaft. I think the middle ground of the pure X htx shaft is perfect, cause you get the best if both worlds. Some if the best players around my area use regular maple shafts that came with thier cues. And they are almost professional caliber players. One of them does compete on the pro circut. Just remember, the shaft doesn't make you play better. You learning to play better and practice makes you play better.

 

[hang-the-9]

Thanks for the opinion, but it's a 4 year old post, and the wall of text writing makes it a bit hard to read. I am thinking the guy is already used to the shaft by now hehe

I currently own an on+2 shaft, a mezz wx900 shaft, a jacoby edge hybrid shaft, and a pure X htx shaft. I played for 5 years with a mezz wd-700 shaft prior to buying these and it warped. Instead of buying another one I decided to buy all these new shafts to try to find "the perfect shaft". Which would make me play better. Haha.. foolish me, thinking that the shaft would make me play better... I tried them all over the course of a year, trading them back and forth. They all play well. (Any shaft you are use to will play well for you). Lowest deflection to highest deflection. The ob+2 is the lowest, followed very closely by the jacoby edge hybrid. The difference between the ob and the jacoby was very minimal. Next was the mezz wx-900. It had noticably more deflection than the ob or jacoby. The pure X htx shaft had a little bit more deflection than the wx-900 does. The one I ended up going with was the pure-x htx shaft. After playing with the mezz wd-700 shaft for so long I got really use to the deflection if it and knew exactly how it would play and where I needed to aim when applying right and left hand English on the cue ball in order to pocket my ball. Any time you switch shafts, you need to re-learn how to aim again because the difference in deflection means you have to aim different when applying any side English to the cue ball, than you did with your old shaft. For me, I could never get use to the ob, jacoby, or mezz wx-900 because they squirted differently the my old mezz wd-700 shaft did. And I was unable to make a lot of the hard English shots reliably with these new shafts that I was easily able to with my old wd-700 shaft. The pure X shaft played the closest deflection wise to what I was used to with my old mezz wd-700 shaft, and I could play the best with it because of that. I plays great. Sure, if I would have just picked one if the other shafts and kept playing with it religiously for a year then I would have learned how to play with it, but didn't want to keep losing games in the mean time during leagues trying to figure out the new deflection. And honestly, I prefer to have some deflection. You can do things to get ball position utilizing deflection that you cannot do with no deflection. You have to adjust your game accordingly.
I did this and I see other people getting hung up on the deflection if thier shafts. And the truth is that it really makes no difference. The only thing that matters is that you are use to your shaft and can reliable know how to aim with it in any given shot. There is not really any big advantage to using a very low deflection shaft. I think the middle ground of the pure X htx shaft is perfect, cause you get the best if both worlds. Some if the best players around my area use regular maple shafts that came with thier cues. And they are almost professional caliber players. One of them does compete on the pro circut. Just remember, the shaft doesn't make you play better. You learning to play better and practice makes you play better.

 

[S.Vaskovskyi]

Personally I do not think the amount of deflection has anything to do with how well the shaft plays.

All shafts have deflection when using side English. Some slightly more or less than others.

It's the shooter that makes the difference. It's all about becoming use to your shaft and being able to automatically find the aiming point given the force of the shot.

The shooter must do this with ANY shaft he uses.

The advantage comes with shooting only with one type shaft all the time, until you become one with it and never think about deflection again, allow nature to take it's course through repetitive practice.

I think it's far more important to like the "feel" of your shaft than how much deflection it measures. You can not change the feel of the shaft, but you can adjust your aiming point, this will actually happen automatically with enough shooting with the SAME type shaft all the time.

Good rolls.

100% agreed with all said above. It couldn't be said better from the player's perspective.

 

[scassidy77]

Ya, I did it from my phone so it does look a little cumbersome to read now that I see it lol. I know its an old post. I didn't put it up there for this guy, I put it up there so other people who are curious about these shafts with similar questions can read it.
I have pool related questions sometimes and google search them looking for an answer. Most of the time, the information or answers I'm looking for comes from older posts on Azbilliards. So doesn't matter how old or new the posts are. All the posts are helpful and informative, but yes I see what your saying haha..

 

[Ched]

To the OP post:
I bought my HTX shaft /after/ I already had been using both the OB and Katana shafts. I was very disappointed. There just seemed to be a tremendous amount of squirt any time I used left or right English. (High and low didn't/don't really come into play here) Quite honestly - I thought the HTX was worse than some of my "stock" shafts (Joss - Mezz and Lucasi; although the later two do claim reduced deflection and run into higher prices)

The bottom line is going to be your own experience with the HTX. If you like it, and it seems to be accurate for what you're doing - no need to look elsewhere.

edit: You also mentioned that you couldn't justify sinking $200-$300 or more into Predator/OB etc. That pretty much should tell you what you need to know. A "gut feeling" is often a very real tip-off as to what you should do.

 

[jsp]

Up until last week I've never played with a low deflection shaft. I'm also cheap, so I bought the least expensive LD cue that I could fine, which is a Players Pure X Technology cue with their HXT LD shaft. I've been playing with it for a week and I'm still getting used to it.

My question is this. For those who have played with one, how does the Players HXT shaft, which one can purchase for $100, compare to the more popular/expensive LD shafts such as Predator, OB, Tiger, etc.? Does the HXT shaft squirt slightly more than its more expensive counterparts? Are the differences only a matter of feel/preference?

Right now I can't justify paying twice the amount for a Predator/OB shaft if the deflection properties are comparable to the HXT shaft.

Since this thread has been bumped up after 3.5 years, I figure I give an update.

I still use the HXT shaft. I still haven't tried another low deflection shaft. And I am still cheap.

Sure the HXT shaft may have more squirt than other more expensive LD shafts, but I'm already accustomed to mine (after about a week) and I have no desire to spend money or time experimenting on another shaft.

Thanks all for the input.

 

[Pacecar]

This is an old thread, but I wanted to give my month-long experience with the $134 shipped Pure X HXT Skinny pro-taper LD shaft cue that comes with an advertised 11.75mm Kamui black soft tip (but really measures 11.94mm .... my cue plus one other poster). I used a McDermott 12mm standard maple shaft cue for the last 30 years (worn down to 11.95mm). The McDermott shaft seemed to have a pivot point near 8", which is shorter than my normal 10.5" bridge length. Excessive squirt aim was a challenge for me for inside English, unless I choked up on my bridge and used BHE.
I'm super-happy with my HXT Skinny! It's a moderate LD shaft, that seems to have a pivot point at my normal 10.5" bridge length. The hit and feel is great. I have more confidence than ever before for consistently pocketing balls, with whatever English is needed for position play.
This HXT cue (or HXT Skinny shaft available for various joints) is a great value if you like playing with pro-taper 12mm tips and you use a moderate bridge length.

 

[radnur22]

Ya, I did it from my phone so it does look a little cumbersome to read now that I see it lol. I know its an old post. I didn't put it up there for this guy, I put it up there so other people who are curious about these shafts with similar questions can read it.
I have pool related questions sometimes and google search them looking for an answer. Most of the time, the information or answers I'm looking for comes from older posts on Azbilliards. So doesn't matter how old or new the posts are. All the posts are helpful and informative, but yes I see what your saying haha..

Posts with good info should be resurrected occasionally. It beats searching and going through 100's of posts. I did gain good info from this post. I was going to buy a cheap HXT, but in the end, I'll continue to play with my 3 month old McDermott with a G-core shaft. Thanks!