So as I promised earlier I am providing my Becue with Prime-M 12.0mm review. And while there was a voice of one guy who rightfully pointed out that there is a sub-forum dedicated to cue reviews I cant ignore the fact that vast majority of replies asked me to post it here in the main forum. I will use already existing thread, hopefully it wont cause any outrage. Prior to the review I am pointing out again that I am sponsored by Becue but it is my own initiative to write this review as several posters are curious about Becue; I repeat - no one is pushing me to write it, just myself! And as Revo is only other mainstream CF shaft available on the market atm and I own and played with Revo 12.9 I will use it as a reference in my review. Ok here we go
I have been playing with Prime-M for 10 days now and I am starting to get used to it so thats where I stand now. As usual I will break my review into several categories:
1) energy transfer
2) stroke comfort
3) feedback/hit
4) deflection
5) weight distribution and grip
1) Energy transfer
While some folks here are still in deep denial when it comes to energy transfer difference between carbon fiber and wood the fact is there is a SIGNIFICANT difference in material properties between wooden shafts and CF shafts. Basically Revo was the only LD shaft that had about the same energy transfer as full maple shafts. That is until Becue came around. And I can say that Prime-M competes with Revo on the same level in this regards.
2) Stroke comfort
Here it is simple - I definitely like Prime-M 12mm much more than Revo 12.9mm (and Revo 12.4 as well as I had chance to shoot with it too) when it comes to stroke comfort, Prime-M is definitely easier on my fingers due to the long taper in combination of Prime-M thickness; also it is easier to play shots off the rail or jacked-up due to the slimmer shaft. Oh and I forgot to say that the surface of Prime-M is basically the same as Revo, no colour layer at all
3) Feedback/hit
Revo vs Becue are little bit different, Revo seems quite stiff while Becue is more on the flexible side. This topic is very subjective as each player prefers something else so I will just say that I like both Revo and Becue, from time to time I shoot few shots with wooden cue just to see the difference and I really dont see myself coming back to wood any time soon
So both are winners for me
4) Deflection
In this regards Prime-M is quite close to Revo with Revo winning this battle by a nose. Both Prime-M and Revo are very consistent with the amount of deflection (or better to say with the lack of it) with different speeds which shortens a learning curve considerably. The main reason for Prime-M having slightly higher deflection than Revo is the transparent ferrule. Becue has decided to sacrifice a few % of deflection with that transparent pad, it allows players to change tips without having to take Prime-M to service person with a lathe every single time - thats basically the reason why Becue went this way.
5) Weight distribution and grip
Becue is 19oz and little bit back-heavy but nothing extreme. I had a custom order in regards to the butt surface as I really like the grip of Becue Dark Matter breaker (basically the similar feeling as the shaft itself). I was told what material that surface is but honestly I dont rememeber the name, basically some toxic shit if you smoke it
So here you have it, this is my review on Becue Prime-M 12mm. It is up to you fellas what you take from it.
P.s.: I am having fun with Becue for sure, on Saturday I participated in team nationals and I won 14-1 match (race to 75) in two innings with runs of 8 and 67 and out which felt good :thumbup: I dont practice 14.1 much nowadays, i just played on the instinct alone with Becue