The history of predator low defection.. interesting video

[Patrick Johnson]

How important is the very stiff conical taper in making the shaft low deflection?

Mostly irrelevant - just along for the feel.

pj
chgo

 

[dendweller]

I took apart a couple of my personal 314-1 that had broken (due to my anger of smashing on the table) and saw how they were built personally. This was around 2000. I still have one that I had bandsawed in half lengthwise in my basement. (not near me now)

i've owned all iterations of the 314 and still use the pre-cat as my main player. the wood in the 3rd gen was of poor qua

I have a question for people that have played different versions of the 314, do you see much of a difference in the deflection from the precat to the 3? I have an early one from around 2000, was thinking about getting a newer one. Thanks

 

[skogstokig]

I have a question for people that have played different versions of the 314, do you see much of a difference in the deflection from the precat to the 3? I have an early one from around 2000, was thinking about getting a newer one. Thanks

nope. i've turned mine down to 12.2mm though.

on that topic i saw kaci is back to his old 314-2

 

[middleofnowhere]

I have never bought a Hi-Tech Hype shaft. Maple works for me, when I plsy great it is on me, when I play bad it is on me.

Pool is a game of skill, not who has best tools.

JMHO.

With all due respect, I saw Parica lose several thousand. The spot was he had to use a house cue and not his own cue.
The way it came about was he was banging balls around on a table and a guy he had just beat said, " I'll play you the same game but you have to use that cue". Parica agreed.

Big mistake. It flipped what was a pretty close game with Parica having the edge to a lopsided loss. The cue made that much difference.

 

[iusedtoberich]

I have a question for people that have played different versions of the 314, do you see much of a difference in the deflection from the precat to the 3? I have an early one from around 2000, was thinking about getting a newer one. Thanks

No. I’ve had multiples of pre cat 314, cat 314-1, 314-2, z-1, z-2 (skipped all the -3’s), Revo 11.8, 12.4, 12.9. I personally think the whole family lineage squirts almost the same (and significantly less than anything else).

 

[Crasher]

I have a question for people that have played different versions of the 314, do you see much of a difference in the deflection from the precat to the 3? I have an early one from around 2000, was thinking about getting a newer one. Thanks

I have every 314 iteration, and the only one that I find plays acceptably is the pre-cat. The second and third iterations play almost identically to one another, both with higher deflection than my pre-cat.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... Big mistake. [Using a house cue] flipped what was a pretty close game with Parica having the edge to a lopsided loss. The cue made that much difference.

On a related note, Eddie Robin has said that the only characteristic he really cared about in a cue -- if he had to use a strange one -- was deflection/squirt. He would be OK with any other change.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Pool is a game of skill, not who has best tools.

The skilled guy with the best tools beats the skilled guy without ‘em. Tools count.

pj
chgo

 

[Lowell]

On my first Predator cue (98-1), I had the pre-cat logo, my later shafts (that I still own) are all 314-2
I did not feel any difference in the hit when I got the newer shafts. it did have a shorter ferrule with less front end mass and improved performance.
This is all in people's heads, just like saying that CF feels dead...

Over the years, I've tried many LD shafts from different brands and of course also CF shafts that claim to be LD, none perform as well as the 314-2 in terms of low deflection. The original OB shaft, the Revo 12.9 and the SMO 12.5 are the only that come close.
** Maybe there are some shafts out there that are as good or even better, I've tried a lot but not all of them...

Have you tested the 314-3?

 

[skor]

Have you tested the 314-3?

No

 

[Fore Rail]

The skilled guy with the best tools beats the skilled guy without ‘em. Tools count.

pj
chgo

There are times when the best tool is a house cue.

The "skilled" player with all the latest and greatest has lost from time to time to the above.

 

[7stud]

Have you tested the 314-3?

By updating the internal structure with their V-Tek** construction, Predator engineered the 314-3 to be 3% lighter at the front end. This reduction in mass results in a claimed 4% decrease in deflection compared to the older 314-2, while simultaneously making the shaft stiffer and stronger.

** The V-Tek construction process integrates several key features:

Ferrule: A proprietary material that is both lighter and stronger than standard ferrules.

Vault Plate: A strong, lightweight plate that sits above the ferrule, completely reconfiguring stress points to increase energy transfer.

Tip Silencer: A lightweight component positioned under the tip. It creates a strong, tactile gluing surface and provides an audibly pleasing sound upon ball contact.

Predator Victory Tip: An 8-layer premium tip engineered to maintain optimum compression throughout its lifespan.

 

[skor]

By updating the internal structure with their V-Tek construction, Predator engineered the 314-3 to be 3% lighter at the front end. This reduction in mass results in a claimed 4% decrease in deflection compared to the older 314-2, while simultaneously making the shaft stiffer and stronger.

I doubt that 4% is something that a human can notice or adjust for, so in other words, they play just the same…