Mezz Power Break II vs. Kai - any questions?

I have the luxury of having both in the case right now, deciding which to keep. I'd been on the PBII for a few years, so it's definitely an adjustment to using a full length breaker again. Suddenly, full cue jumps seem so much more difficult; there was a certain confidence in having less butt length past your grip hand afforded by the shorter PB2. I'm not so sure about the rubber grip on the Kai - the ribbing structure and streaking lines creates a 'spine' that makes you want to hold it a certain way each time, for better or worse. Another minor complaint is that it is a lot less friendly going down the sleeve of a soft case.

Also, by having two copies of the Deep Impact II, I've pinpointed for myself that the stock Sonic tip as my preferred tip over the Taom I have on my original shaft. Indiscernible energy transfer, similar hit feel - plasticky and thinner than phenolic, and the Sonic doesn't lose any material when it touches the table on the follow through.

If you guys have any questions about these two or how they compare to the original PB, feel free to ask away I've also got access to a BK3 to add to the mix as well.

Marky Mark said:

I'm glad I haven't jumped on the Taom bandwagon. I've always found the Sonic tip to be better than the Samsara and phenolic tips I've tried. The Sonic tip feels solid when it hits the CB every break shot. My only gripe with the Sonic tip is that over time it tends to not hold chalk as well as it initially did.

With regards to the respective cues, I find that they are equal in terms of performance & feel. Rock solid construction-wise as well as the reult that it yields. I also prefer the taper on the DI II over the Pro H. The shaft is also not overly stiff like the Pro H.

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The feedback is what I like on it for a non-leather tip. The Taom has a similar feel to me, but that gradual coning, especially with 9-ball breaks involving a trailing follow-through, was what really got to me over two installations.

I can't even imagine how stiff and hard the Pro H is, I'd been using the Pro R for a year or two and that felt almost too stiff.

BigBoof said:

I have a BK3 that I fall in and out of love with. The Mezz break cues intrigue me but, like their shafts, have too many choices.

I hope you get some discussion.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

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For better or worse, Mezz really does have an overwhelming amount of options. Try pinpointing which shaft you want between WD700/HP2/ExPro, and then deciding on a break shaft.

I didn't really get along with the Air Drive either- great to have so many options, but kind of stressful to think about which configuration is the best at the time.

cluelesscuer said:

Predator Revo with a samsara tip is the best break shaft especially if you're player cue is the same (predator revo) with a softer tip. Don't underrate familiarity. After all, you are performing a pool shot that requires aim and stroke (except with a harder stroke) just like when not breaking.

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I certainly don't doubt the importance of familiarity, but there's definitely limits where matching doesn't make as much sense for some. Players using 11.75mm tips probably aren't going to enjoy using the same dimensions with a break tip. Some might shoot very squared and still for normal shots with a back-weighted cue, but benefit more from a front-weighted cue for a violent break with body movement for example.

When I moved from the Pro R to the DI II, I did immediately appreciate the more pro taper than the conical taper on the Pro R.

ctran said:

what is the difference between the Deep Impact 1 and Deep Impact 2 shaft?

I am using Mezz PB1 DI1 and would look to get a PB2 DI2

and is an upgrade from PB1 to Kai worth it? any major performance improvement?

thank you.

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When the DI1 came out, they had a lot of problems with the black ferrules cracking (my local cue repair guy has trauma from seeing so many of these come in), so they had to update them with the brown, presumably phenolic ferrule. Although I had the earlier version, I found it to have no weaknesses in the hit, it was just a little more flexible than the Pro R I also had at the time and the hesitation in the back of my mind knowing about the potential part failure.

The DI II has a ferrule-less design like the Pro R, where the tip sits on a G10 plate. You don't get as much feel from the ferrule resulting in a slightly richer hit, but as far as stiffness and energy transfer goes, doesn't add too much from the first version.

The big difference between the PB1 and Kai vs. PB2 is that the PB2 has that 4" shorter butt, which makes a bit more difference than you think. Because it reaches the same maximum diameter in a shorter distance, your grip hand will have more material filling it than if you were to hold the same length on a full size cue. You get less back mass swinging around if that's a concern to you, and you can also add weights to two positions for more minute tweaking. What's really neat about the PB2 is how it converts from a breaker to a medium-long distance jump cue; I preferred this over most other jumpers I've come across for that range of shot.

Going from PB2 to Kai, I'm near the glazing point of worrying about which one is absolutely better - for the various styles of breaks I've tried between them, they both perform as good as it gets. Where I find the Mezz series to edge out over the BK3 is how the rack responds to a weaker or medium hit; I find the rack moves more on 8/10 ball racks where I'm focusing on lightly popping and squatting the CB in the middle of the table. In full truth, my currently being enamored with the Kai could very well be a bit of new toy syndrome, but even at its worst, it's still undoubtedly one of the breaking greats. I'm still torn on which to keep in the case, but the most responsible decision would be based on that aforementioned length and diameter in the grip factor.