Rhino 'Time' and 'Time Crystal' tips

NCC1515 said:
Had a teammate ask if I'd seen them so I looked them up. Searched on the web and here and couldn't find a review. Rhino is selling a tip made from layered "microfiber" cloth, in five hardnesses. Being a cloth and probably polyester (?), and available in multiple hardnesses, I would expect the binder might be polyurethane. If Rhino has a presence here, they can comment or not. They have a 'Time' and 'Time Crystal' tip and the only difference I see is that the 'Crystal' tip includes a clear pad underneath. No explanation if that clear pad is acrylic or polycarbonate. I'm not a fan of clear pads, and I favor harder tips, so I bought the 'Time' tips in medium hard, or #4. I have two CF shafts which are essentially the same, and they each had MH and H layered pigskin tips on them for almost a year now. Can't say the name because they are a product given for evaluation and I haven't seen the maker bring those tips to market - yet. Suffice to say: the evaluation tips installed and play as well as UltraSkins and I like them.

As for the Rhino Time tips: I replaced the MH tip on my 'home' shaft with a Rhino Time #4 and so far, it does everything the former MH tip did in terms of performance, so I can play all manner of shots as I normally do, including draw and extreme left or right spin, with no surprising results. Chalks easily and holds chalk well. An observation as an installer is: with my normal burnishing and finishing steps, I was unable to get any kind of 'shine' on the sides of the Time tip. So don't know how absorbent - or not - the edges of the layers are, since my assumption is that they are saturated with some aforementioned binder. Will the tip still be performing satisfactorily 6mo or 1yr from now? I guess 'time' will tell, although pricewise, they cost 3-4 times an UltraSkin.
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So here is the 6 month review: These tips (and I can only speak for the #4, which is a 'Medium Hard') don't mushroom and performed as well as my Whitten (I can say the name now) and UltraSkin tips. No touching up/reshaping has been needed. One thing that may be an issue, although I've seen other posters on AZB complain of the same issue with pigskin or leather layered tips: every so often, there seems to be something transferred to the cue ball, like maybe a bit of the layer adhesive(?). Otherwise, these tips are an interesting and seemingly effective innovation, and may outlast natural hide tips, if the tip's layer adhesive holds up.
 
I've had a #3 M installed and my first impressions were wow. i like it, contrary to common feedback & opinions.
I can get quite a bit of bite on the cueball, and have no issues with chalk staying on.
didn't mushroom either, played like a seasoned tip.

I am currently waiting on a batch of #1 as the M was still way too hard for my liking.
Coming from a background of using true non-pressed elkmasters, i hated the feel of almost every other layered tip out there, however these tips do not give the same crispness when hitting the CB. which i prefer.

I am hoping #1 will be able to replace my elkmasters as they are getting hard to find good pieces.
 
NCC1515 said:
So here is the 6 month review: These tips (and I can only speak for the #4, which is a 'Medium Hard') don't mushroom and performed as well as my Whitten (I can say the name now) and UltraSkin tips. No touching up/reshaping has been needed. One thing that may be an issue, although I've seen other posters on AZB complain of the same issue with pigskin or leather layered tips: every so often, there seems to be something transferred to the cue ball, like maybe a bit of the layer adhesive(?). Otherwise, these tips are an interesting and seemingly effective innovation, and may outlast natural hide tips, if the tip's layer adhesive holds up.
Click to expand...
considering the Time Crystal tip costs 3-4x the UltraSkin as you previously posted, it doesn't make sense to get them. although from what I saw, they still cost more than the Ultraskin but not really something more than 2X the price. I guess Rhino came down with the price significantly. I would too considering there are multiple cue tip options that you can choose from.
 
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