Are Kamui Clear tips a gimmick???

My opinion on them is that its a gimmick. I do not use the chalk at all but have liked Kamuis tips for the most part besides my last one which was a medium black clear. It hit way too hard for a medium, I miscued more with this tip then any other I have ever owned. Maybe I got a bad one but I literally had this new tip cut off a few of days ago and an Ultra soft put on. I have miscued once with the Ultra where with the Kamui I miscued at least once a day if not 2-3 times.
 
Acually their is real science behind the clear tip pad. It works even with normal tips. Not just Kamui.
Is the difference enough to pay and have those pads put onto tips?
Some definitely think so. It does change the way a tip performs that is for sure.
In cues that have the softer ferrules, I think the tip pads a real good thing. Those that have hard ferrules and have people who can get the surfaces very flat will see very little difference.
 
It all comes down to preference and preference is sometimes influenced by status.
A 10 cent Le Pro will do the job as well as a Kamui Black Clear Medium tip.

I've always thought that the name was rather funny. It's literally the description of the tip. It would be funny to see car manfacturer's do the same... "This here is a Chevrolet Large Red Truck." To the point, though, I believe they are a gimmick and they could have been even more gimmicky with a slick name.
 
I just picked up a new 314-2 shaft with a Kamui clear soft tip. I always have played 314's primarily with Moori mediums. After 2 weeks of play I am absolutely in love with it. It isn't glazing over at all. The hit is softer, but the feel and spin control is just awesome.

Sometimes using a new shaft or stick refocuses one, but I really think it's more than just that. I never played with soft tips much, but I think I've been won over. If this one plays a bit harder in a month or so that's fine, but it really hasn't changed much. With the Mooris they would glaze over a bit and after 2-3 weeks of play I would get a couple miscues and have to scuff it. Once I shaped the Kamui initially, it just hasn't changed after about 50 hours of play. So far so great, fingers crossed.
 
I Kamui clear installed on my OB1 about 3 months ago. No complaints what so ever, I love it. It does have a strange look with the carbon fiber pad under it, but the only people that it seems to bother are people i play agianst. They say I couldn't stand my tip looking like that. I tell them if you look at the object ball when you shoot you will never notice it. I had some of the same comments when I went to the OB shaft about the wooden ferrulle.
 
I played with the kamui clear soft for almost a year and found that they were glazing over and I was losing confidence in their ability to hold chalk and not miscue. I recently cut one off and put on a Kitech Soft which I have found really holds chalk well. The kitech soft plays more like a kamui ss though so I am going to cut that one off as well and put kitech mediums on. and the beat goes on...
 
Some people like them,some don't, one lasted nearly 3 wks before it was cut off and replaced by another brand. In my place, I would say "gimmick".
 
I miscued more with this tip then any other I have ever owned
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Funny that you should mention this Lenny.

A Freind of mine and a pretty decent player in town, a guy that can replace a tip by hand that would make any person with a lathe jealous, got one of those new Porper ferrules and a couple of the new Morikami tips.

I replaced the ferrule for him, also adding the Morikami tip.

He was all pleased as punch the first night he started using it. I ran into him for a few games last week. Before we stared playing, he said that he no longer liked this tip and that it was miscueing on him way too much.

After a few games, I had to agree with him. I would call this guy a very close Master if not at least being able to compete at that level.

So, he knows whats happening in the English department. In just a few games, it was, click, click, clickety click. Miscueing more times in a few games than most would in a year.

Not that I am comparing the quality of a Kamui tip vs a Morikami. But, they both have clear pads on them.

Coinkidink or not. Your guess is as good as any other.
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
Funny that you should mention this Lenny.

A Freind of mine and a pretty decent player in town, a guy that can replace a tip by hand that would make any person with a lathe jealous, got one of those new Porper ferrules and a couple of the new Morikami tips.

I replaced the ferrule for him, also adding the Morikami tip.

He was all pleased as punch the first night he started using it. I ran into him for a few games last week. Before we stared playing, he said that he no longer liked this tip and that it was miscueing on him way too much.

After a few games, I had to agree with him. I would call this guy a very close Master if not at least being able to compete at that level.

So, he knows whats happening in the English department. In just a few games, it was, click, click, clickety click. Miscueing more times in a few games than most would in a year.

Not that I am comparing the quality of a Kamui tip vs a Morikami. But, they both have clear pads on them.

Coinkidink or not. Your guess is as good as any other.
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Those Morikami tips are just BS aren't they? A Kamui rip off with the names Mori and Kamui smoshed together...
I tried to ask Joe Barringer som questions about Morokami tips and the claims he makes about Moori tips on hes website. I just got a fairly rude reply.
 
It would appear that they are just that Kim. From my one small experience with one.

It can be the quality of the tip, the pad itself or a combination of both.

I wouldn't feel the need to try a tip with a gimmicky name that was borrowed from 2 other well known tips.
 
Kamuis are a gimmick period IMO. I don't understand the fascination with these tips
 
Me neither Colonel. Altho when it comes to tips, I am not much of a Kool Aid drinker.

I would rather eat the Proof that is in the Pudding with any tip.
 
I have a super soft original/tan Kamui clear on one of my cues. Although I liked the hit, it was a little disappointing at first because the it would flatten after what seemed like just a night or two of play, and would try to mushroom after reshaping it the first couple of times. But, this was several months ago and it seems to have "broken in" now. I have to reshape it more often than other tips I've used but I also generally use a medium. It seems to hit fine now but I doubt I'd buy another due to cost. The only reason I gave it a try was because I got a good deal on it when I bought the cue and got the tip replacement included for free. I also ended up getting the tip for a dollar or two below retail.

The clear pad is supposed to make installation easier/better but I can't speak to that since I didn't put in on. I don't notice any glare from lights or anything while playing but people say that while I'm holding my cue, it looks like a beam of light is radiating from my cue like a magic wand.

I wouldn't go as far as to call Kamui tips a gimmick, but imo, they're not a great value.
 
NitPicker said:
I have a super soft original/tan Kamui clear on one of my cues. Although I liked the hit, it was a little disappointing at first because the it would flatten after what seemed like just a night or two of play, and would try to mushroom after reshaping it the first couple of times. But, this was several months ago and it seems to have "broken in" now. I have to reshape it more often than other tips I've used but I also generally use a medium. It seems to hit fine now but I doubt I'd buy another due to cost. The only reason I gave it a try was because I got a good deal on it when I bought the cue and got the tip replacement included for free. I also ended up getting the tip for a dollar or two below retail.

The clear pad is supposed to make installation easier/better but I can't speak to that since I didn't put in on. I don't notice any glare from lights or anything while playing but people say that while I'm holding my cue, it looks like a beam of light is radiating from my cue like a magic wand.

I wouldn't go as far as to call Kamui tips a gimmick, but imo, they're not a great value.
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Not a good value? You installed a SUPER SOFT tip and you're surprised that it mushroomed. I've had the same clear black medium on my cue for over a year; never picked/scuffed/shaped and it hasn't moved one micron.

The laws of physics do apply to cue tips, even Kamuis.
 
Kim Bye said:
Those Morikami tips are just BS aren't they? A Kamui rip off with the names Mori and Kamui smoshed together...
I tried to ask Joe Barringer som questions about Morokami tips and the claims he makes about Moori tips on hes website. I just got a fairly rude reply.
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They are trash.
 
The Laws of Physics do apply to cue tips.

Specially the Kamui SS Brown. What goes up, must come down.

I took the brown off, tossed it up and toward the garbage can in the shop.

It came down and landed perfectly in the pail.

At one time and I imagine still so, Ultra Skins were out selling Kamuis at Seyberts by a country mile.

Speaks volumes on the ever changing tip market.

At one time, Moori was the flavor of the year, then Kamui. Moori and kamui obviously still have their die hard fans which is cool.

At one time, everyone had to try a Moori and a kamui.

But, at some point, someone else comes out with a better tip and players move on.

Of course, in order to stay competitive, one tip maker has to try and come up with a New and Improved version.

God, as long as I can remember, Tide has been coming out with a New and Improved Tide at least once a year.

And to myself, that is all the Clear Pad is. A gimmick with the excuse or reasoning that all repairmen are Beeg Dummies and don't know how to properly prep and install a cue tip.

Something that players and repairmen alike have been doing for decades with lesser quality glue than available now on many different brands of cue tips.

So why all the installation fuss now. Apparently all tips have been playing like crap and falling off for the last couple or three decades.

Nope, just a last ditch attempt at trying to hold onto a share of the market.

In fact, not too long ago, didn't Kamui come out with a water proof tip. Pretty cool if yer a drooler and drool on your cue a lot.
 
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I asked the installer for a Kamui black soft, I received a Kamui black soft clear at no extra cost because he ran out of regular. After a month of playing, and getting the tip down to the height I prefer, it plays just fine. holds its shape as the Kamui soft did before. Eventually the clear plastic fades and does not shine as it does new.

If the clear really bothered you, one could always take a black sharpe marker and darken it in.

As for the pros, I casually walked around during the turning stone to get a closer look at those who use Kamui tips, and I was surprised to see many with the clear installed. So they must not see a difference except it doesn't harden with the glue when it gets really low to the ferrul (that's the take I've heard most on the subject)
 
conetip said:
Acually their is real science behind the clear tip pad. It works even with normal tips. Not just Kamui.
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I posted before about how padded Kamui tips originated. For pool, it's just a gimmick, yes. They had to find a good reasoning behind their product, and they succeeded like they usually do. They are so skilled in promoting and advertising.
 
Look at it it from this angle; does it act as a glue barrier, as Kamui says? Absolutely. If this was the only concern, Kamui could have stayed with the black pad that is above the clear layer.

It is a brilliant marketing scheme. You can see that clear layer from a good ways away. It also gets people talking about it, hence this thread. I guess you can call that a "gimmick," but it is marketing.

It also combats against counterfeits. It is much more difficult to produce the knock-off. Kamui is always tweaking the design and logo so it does not benefit the large scale counterfeit operations.

Cost is a non-issue. A product is only worth as much as someone will pay for it. More players are popping for Kamui tips than any other layered tip, at the moment.
 
buddha162 said:
Not a good value? You installed a SUPER SOFT tip and you're surprised that it mushroomed. I've had the same clear black medium on my cue for over a year; never picked/scuffed/shaped and it hasn't moved one micron.

The laws of physics do apply to cue tips, even Kamuis.
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Lordy! You do understand value don't you? At 20+ dollars...its value is not any greater than a 50 cent tip, imo. It was the first time I used a soft or super soft and yes, I was a little surprised but I understand the physics. But the physics isn't why I wouldn't buy another, it's the cost compared to performance...ie value. Glad yours has worked well for you and you like it.
 
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