If you install a soft,especially,and even a medium layered tip( kamuii,etc...) the tip will look perfect but after "x" amount of balls hit 50-300, the tip is gonna mushroom some,the softer the tip,the more it compresses and mushrooms. If you can,have a tip installed somewhere you can play or hit balls for an hour or so(hit full table shots and try spinning the cue in your hand preshot to compress equally.it will mushroom some and you want to go ahead and GET IT RESHAPED oN THE LATHE..and have the guy burnish it at the same time( they use various liquids, shoe polish,glue, SPIT, etc.. To burnish while spinning on the lathe. The reshaping after playing an hour or so USUALLY will shape tip back to perfect,and it will stay put because you compressed it for an hour.it will stay put after this. You may have to do it one more time if using a soft or super soft. A hard ord some mediums will not even need the first reshaping because it is mostly compressed to start with. Most repairmen won,t charge you if they sold/ installed your tip,but EVEN if they do,I absolutely think having a perfectly shaped trimmed tip is the most important thing when it comes to playing pool( to me anyway) i have a new tip installed i cut it down some,play for an hour or so, have it put back on the lathe,reshaped,then CUT DOWN to exactly where i like to play my tips( slightly lower than halfway,about the thickness of a nickel) burnished and painted black or dark brown with a sharpie. 98 percent of the time,it will stay right there for the life of the tip. If it glazes up a little, i will have one layer trimmed down,usually after 6 months or so,and if it does it again ,time to replace tip again. I personally like most all layered tips,everyone has there preference, I personally like REAL( do your homework on fakes) mooris. They seem to last and cut and shape better,to me,than the rest. And yes i,ve tried zans,kamuii,ultra skins,etc...,etc...moori's are my favorite,but i am gonna try a navigator.if its not any better,i am gonna play mooris for life and quit wasting time trying different tips. It's hard to imagine something playing better,to me, than medium mooris.sorry for the run on lol...