It seams like we have lot of buyers guides for cues on the US side. I was wondering if I could map out some ideas of cues per Canadian prices based on different budgets. I am always shopping for cues even when I have no intention of buying a cue. Yeah I'm weird, what can I say I like cues. Lot of Canadians don't have the capability to try before buy.
100 to 190
Action inlay, Griffin, Rage, Valhalla, Star, Lucky, Delta(Han's delta 5/16X14 cues), Dufferin
A good upgrade for the action inlay or any entry level to mid level cue would be to add a Summit LD shaft (12.5mm or 11.5mm) and could make them play as good as any Lucasi or dare I say it Predator. Always check if your lower cost cue shaft have been properly burnished, if not, burnish it if you know how, if you don't bring it to someone to properly burnish the shaft. This can affect the playability and feel more than you can possibly imagine. Sometime on very low cost cues the shaft are sometime fresh cut and require to be properly sealed and burnished. This can make all the difference.
200 to 350 price.
Elite cues, Raid splice, Delta(Mit cues line-up), Player/PureX, Poison, Cuetec/Scorpion, Falcon (more in Quebec)
350 to 480 price.
McDermott, Lucasi, Joss, Viking, Falcon (more in Quebec), Joss plain, J. Flowers ($300 US cue)
Falcon and Joss are very similar and in other provinces they are pretty much the same price scheme then go look more into Joss.
490 to 650 price.
McDermott, Viking, Lucasi, Joss, Pechauer
660 to 800 price
Predator Roadline, Mezz, Tiger, Pechauer, a possibility of new Canadian custom maker sneaky pete.
850 to 1200 price
Mezz, Predator, Pechauer, Schon, Custom sneaky pete (Josey, etc.) or entry level new Canadian custom maker(Merry widow).
1200 to 1500 price
Schon, Jacoby, Mezz, Pechauer, Start looking into a customs simple cues with nice woods(Merry widow) or more known Canadian/US custom makers
1500 to 2000 price
Schon, Jacoby, Pechauer, Mezz/Exceed or other custom cue makers all the way. Don't even look into production companies unless you wish something specific from a maker(hit/look).
2000 and up
Well the sky is the limit time to put some research on a mid to high level custom maker (which is available to take an order) and put a deposit and have a good follow up with. May take some time. Should not be your first cue more in the dream cue line or fourth cue purchase knowing what exactly you want.
As far as I am concern Predator is overpriced after the 1200 dollar since you can simply just buy the shaft and add to the any cue(lucasi,etc) even for many custom builders. In my opinion for the same price you would be better off with Schon, Mezz, Pechauer or Jacoby at a higher price range. They have better build quality. Predator are very good but at a certain price you get very little for your money especially when you consider the advent of carbon fiber spreading to all makers and soon to custom makers as well where the difference is so minor it matters little. Predator love to make your cue a billboard and put panthers all over it. You also have much greater resale value on a Schon, Mezz, Jacoby and a little less on Pechauer because they produce such a large variety of cues but the level of quality is very good for their entire line(as said from a distributor that sells many brands in a YouTube video). Also LD shaft variety is great and you have lot of options were the different between Predator and them is so minimum that it does not justify such a large cost increase.
PS. You can get carbon shafts or LD shaft for any cue and any joint.
LD shafts at price ranges
under 300.
Summit LD Shaft, Player HXT shaft, McDermott G-core (3/16X10)
under 350.
custom LD shaft/ kielwood shaft
under 450
Go to a custom carbon shaft by pass everything. The prices in Canada are inflated and are not worth it for any wood base predator or similar shaft. For the price of a 314, Z, etc, etc you can get a custom carbon and by-pass it all. If you still like wood go with a custom kielwood shaft.
Do I did find a US guy making custom carbon shafts for about 250 US. So all carbons seem way overpriced right now. It seems like a price correction is coming in the near future. Since you can get carbon fiber blanks on ebay for 100 to 120. I predict some Canadian custom makers will be coming out with carbon shaft options cheaper than production in the near future.
I may be wrong but I believe all carbon shafts come from two Asian sources since it seems like there are two type of blank variety. It is not surprising the companies are coming out with a carbon options almost all around the same time period. I doubt Predator would be giving the competitor the capability to make carbon shafts if they came up with the process themselves(patent).
Carbon don't ding, easy to clean and are not affected by change in humidity, temperature and will last pretty much forever BUT if dropped on a steel edge or a very hard surface you can crack them(especially if they are cold) or scratch them. If your Canadian I'm sure you have seen carbon fiber hockey sticks crack(light but can be brittle in the cold). PS. variable sized carbon fiber tube has been around a long time (bicycle handle bars) and they are more complex to make than a straight tapered tube. They sell for under 100$. Just to give you a idea how overprice carbon shafts are. Overtime cheaper alternatives will be coming out.
Cue and Case makes: Players/HXT, Lucasi, Predator butts and sections of the shafts, Poison, Dufferin, Rage, Cuetec
Cuestix makes: Action, Elite, Katana, Griffin, Summit, Spartan (trying to compete with high end cue and case), Scorpion, Outlaw, Voodoo, 5280
Asian sub-contractors.
KPS billiards(Taiwan) makes -Falcon, McDermott(asian lines, Star, Lucky), Bear, Orchid, Raid, Brunswick, part of Han's Delta(5/16X14 cues). Also involved in cloth, tables, decorative items.
Kao Kao makes -Han's Delta(Mit cues), Mit cues, Fury cues, Action lines, 5280, Elite, Katana, Cuetec, Scorpion, Summit, Eight ball mafia, outlaw, Athena, Griffin - Also a major wood supplier to everybody/atlas.
Hamson company -Players, Lucasi, Dufferin, Rage, Poison, Universal, Valhalla, Spartan, Predator butts and partial shafts. Believe to be the maker of uniloc components, radial, bullet joint.
Miki cues Japan makes Mezz and Exceed and a division company Adams cues that make Adam(part in Japan/part in China made by Kao Kao not sure), Balabushka series(Japan/China), Musashi(Japan).
US made Joss/Pechauer/Viking/McDermott/Schon/Meucci/Jacoby/OB/ Tiger /Predator only does final shaft construction in the US
** Meucci production in the past had quality control issues. Meucci custom made by Bob himself not so. Don't know current situation on this. So one must factor this in any decision especially at the price point of their cues. Also they urethane over any wrap section on their cues. So if you like the irish linen feel well that won't do for you.
Italian made Longoni
Work in progress. The more info the better you can make a decision on what to buy.
*****Any feedback is appreciated. Any info on Canadian custom makers that are still working in making cues(such as contact/prices ranges, etc) I would like to create a Canadian custom maker list that is up to date**** Current info is very sparse and not up to date.
100 to 190
Action inlay, Griffin, Rage, Valhalla, Star, Lucky, Delta(Han's delta 5/16X14 cues), Dufferin
A good upgrade for the action inlay or any entry level to mid level cue would be to add a Summit LD shaft (12.5mm or 11.5mm) and could make them play as good as any Lucasi or dare I say it Predator. Always check if your lower cost cue shaft have been properly burnished, if not, burnish it if you know how, if you don't bring it to someone to properly burnish the shaft. This can affect the playability and feel more than you can possibly imagine. Sometime on very low cost cues the shaft are sometime fresh cut and require to be properly sealed and burnished. This can make all the difference.
200 to 350 price.
Elite cues, Raid splice, Delta(Mit cues line-up), Player/PureX, Poison, Cuetec/Scorpion, Falcon (more in Quebec)
350 to 480 price.
McDermott, Lucasi, Joss, Viking, Falcon (more in Quebec), Joss plain, J. Flowers ($300 US cue)
Falcon and Joss are very similar and in other provinces they are pretty much the same price scheme then go look more into Joss.
490 to 650 price.
McDermott, Viking, Lucasi, Joss, Pechauer
660 to 800 price
Predator Roadline, Mezz, Tiger, Pechauer, a possibility of new Canadian custom maker sneaky pete.
850 to 1200 price
Mezz, Predator, Pechauer, Schon, Custom sneaky pete (Josey, etc.) or entry level new Canadian custom maker(Merry widow).
1200 to 1500 price
Schon, Jacoby, Mezz, Pechauer, Start looking into a customs simple cues with nice woods(Merry widow) or more known Canadian/US custom makers
1500 to 2000 price
Schon, Jacoby, Pechauer, Mezz/Exceed or other custom cue makers all the way. Don't even look into production companies unless you wish something specific from a maker(hit/look).
2000 and up
Well the sky is the limit time to put some research on a mid to high level custom maker (which is available to take an order) and put a deposit and have a good follow up with. May take some time. Should not be your first cue more in the dream cue line or fourth cue purchase knowing what exactly you want.
As far as I am concern Predator is overpriced after the 1200 dollar since you can simply just buy the shaft and add to the any cue(lucasi,etc) even for many custom builders. In my opinion for the same price you would be better off with Schon, Mezz, Pechauer or Jacoby at a higher price range. They have better build quality. Predator are very good but at a certain price you get very little for your money especially when you consider the advent of carbon fiber spreading to all makers and soon to custom makers as well where the difference is so minor it matters little. Predator love to make your cue a billboard and put panthers all over it. You also have much greater resale value on a Schon, Mezz, Jacoby and a little less on Pechauer because they produce such a large variety of cues but the level of quality is very good for their entire line(as said from a distributor that sells many brands in a YouTube video). Also LD shaft variety is great and you have lot of options were the different between Predator and them is so minimum that it does not justify such a large cost increase.
PS. You can get carbon shafts or LD shaft for any cue and any joint.
LD shafts at price ranges
under 300.
Summit LD Shaft, Player HXT shaft, McDermott G-core (3/16X10)
under 350.
custom LD shaft/ kielwood shaft
under 450
Go to a custom carbon shaft by pass everything. The prices in Canada are inflated and are not worth it for any wood base predator or similar shaft. For the price of a 314, Z, etc, etc you can get a custom carbon and by-pass it all. If you still like wood go with a custom kielwood shaft.
Do I did find a US guy making custom carbon shafts for about 250 US. So all carbons seem way overpriced right now. It seems like a price correction is coming in the near future. Since you can get carbon fiber blanks on ebay for 100 to 120. I predict some Canadian custom makers will be coming out with carbon shaft options cheaper than production in the near future.
I may be wrong but I believe all carbon shafts come from two Asian sources since it seems like there are two type of blank variety. It is not surprising the companies are coming out with a carbon options almost all around the same time period. I doubt Predator would be giving the competitor the capability to make carbon shafts if they came up with the process themselves(patent).
Carbon don't ding, easy to clean and are not affected by change in humidity, temperature and will last pretty much forever BUT if dropped on a steel edge or a very hard surface you can crack them(especially if they are cold) or scratch them. If your Canadian I'm sure you have seen carbon fiber hockey sticks crack(light but can be brittle in the cold). PS. variable sized carbon fiber tube has been around a long time (bicycle handle bars) and they are more complex to make than a straight tapered tube. They sell for under 100$. Just to give you a idea how overprice carbon shafts are. Overtime cheaper alternatives will be coming out.
Cue and Case makes: Players/HXT, Lucasi, Predator butts and sections of the shafts, Poison, Dufferin, Rage, Cuetec
Cuestix makes: Action, Elite, Katana, Griffin, Summit, Spartan (trying to compete with high end cue and case), Scorpion, Outlaw, Voodoo, 5280
Asian sub-contractors.
KPS billiards(Taiwan) makes -Falcon, McDermott(asian lines, Star, Lucky), Bear, Orchid, Raid, Brunswick, part of Han's Delta(5/16X14 cues). Also involved in cloth, tables, decorative items.
Kao Kao makes -Han's Delta(Mit cues), Mit cues, Fury cues, Action lines, 5280, Elite, Katana, Cuetec, Scorpion, Summit, Eight ball mafia, outlaw, Athena, Griffin - Also a major wood supplier to everybody/atlas.
Hamson company -Players, Lucasi, Dufferin, Rage, Poison, Universal, Valhalla, Spartan, Predator butts and partial shafts. Believe to be the maker of uniloc components, radial, bullet joint.
Miki cues Japan makes Mezz and Exceed and a division company Adams cues that make Adam(part in Japan/part in China made by Kao Kao not sure), Balabushka series(Japan/China), Musashi(Japan).
US made Joss/Pechauer/Viking/McDermott/Schon/Meucci/Jacoby/OB/ Tiger /Predator only does final shaft construction in the US
** Meucci production in the past had quality control issues. Meucci custom made by Bob himself not so. Don't know current situation on this. So one must factor this in any decision especially at the price point of their cues. Also they urethane over any wrap section on their cues. So if you like the irish linen feel well that won't do for you.
Italian made Longoni
Work in progress. The more info the better you can make a decision on what to buy.
*****Any feedback is appreciated. Any info on Canadian custom makers that are still working in making cues(such as contact/prices ranges, etc) I would like to create a Canadian custom maker list that is up to date**** Current info is very sparse and not up to date.
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