I have accumulated a small collection of different chalks over time and today I finally got around to testing them all to compare them. I took a few pictures for your curiousitys sake and to keep tabs how I liked wich chalk. Here is what I came up with after trying more than a dozen of different chalks.
Here is the line up of chalks tried today;
- Kamui 1.21
- Master Sky blue
- Master Blue
- Master Preflag blue
- OB
- Blue Diamond
- Magic Chalk
- Venom
- CUEL
- Triangle Pro chalk (only available in green)
- Triangle blue
- NIR
- Predator 1080
- Molinari
*
- Navigator
(* tested after the initial test on a different day)
I put each and everyone of them through the following testing action:
The test tips are a Taom 2.0 jump and break tip in green and a Milkdud tip as a leather playing tip. Both have been played with for a long time and I did not scuff either tip to provide a consistent testing basis. This is exactly how my tips look when I play so that is what I tested with.
First I wiped both tips clean of any previous chalk to give the chalk a clean surface to take on. I chalked up like I always do, gently wiping through the tips surface until the tip is totally covered in chalk. Note that other chalks took a bit more effort than some others to have the same coverage. I kept notes on the ones that felt difficult to apply evenly and on those that were substantially easier than the others. More on that under each chalk tested later on. I also played with the chalks to have a feeling how they are in action. No surprise there, everyone of them worked like chalk does as I chalk on nearly every shot
Skyblue Master
This is my usual table chalk at home that I have used for the most of my pool career, the sky blue Master chalk. It goes on well, covers the tip nicely and has always been a good solid choice for me. My favourite of Master chalks, the colour is nice on Tournament blue cloth.
Blue Master
A bit darker shade than the skyblue, other than that works pretty much exactly a like.
Preflag master
The iconic Preflag chalk. I dont actually like it as much as the new ones, it feels a bit dryer and the texture is coarse. Doesnt go on as smoothly. I dont care much for this piece but it is old as what and clearly it hasnt been stored properly as the wrapper is faded.
Venom
Venom chalk by Florian *Venom* Kohler. I bought a signed box a while back and decided to include it in the testing. It goes on smooth and has a nice texture but for some reason it seems to leave a quite thin coat especially on the break tip. Works though, decent chalk but I'll leave it on display for now :smile:
NIR
By a recommendation of a friend I got some NIR chalk to try out. Definitely worth the price in my opinion. Goes on the best of all chalks tested, has a fine texture and a deep blue colour. Feels really nice when applying and coats the whole tip very easily. I was impressed with this stuff actually, only down side is that it makes a bit more mess than some of the others tested. Good stuff though, I'll start carrying some around maybe.
Cuel
An odd horse of the bunch, the Cuel chalk. A fairly unknown and an affordable premium chalk I bought out of curiosity. It works fine but seems to leave a layer a bit too thick on the tip, leaves a bit of a mark on the cue ball. Not quite my cup of tea but it doesnt suck either. Mediocre in every way.
Blue Diamond
Made by Longoni and used by many pros including the likes of Niels Feijen is the first premium chalk I stumbled across when I got in to the game.
It goes on nicely and evenly and just simply performs. Only reason I dont use it much is that it tends to stick to the CB a bit. That makes me uncomfortable using it all the time so it just sits in the basket most of the time.
Molinari
One of the worst if not the absolute worst of the tested chalks. It makes a mess, leaves huge chunks of chalk on the tip, stucks to balls and the round shape is even more fun trying to catch than the Predator octagon shape :grin: I hate it, I would not play a rack with this stuff if I had to.
Predator 1080
Used by many sponsored pro players comes the Predator chalk. It has a funny shape that likes to roll on the floor if dropped but it makes up by looking so ace. I used to play with the stuff for a while but I changes back to Master as this too leaves more residue on the cue ball. It is far superior to Molinari for example and I could play with it if asked to so good stuff in my books. Never had much issues with it, just a little messy.
Magic Chalk
The best chalk of the world the label says. The chalk goes on well and works excellently. Stays on well and is generally nice to play with. Leaves a little thicker coat than the likes of Master. Not anything over the top great though, the first cubes I got were A++ but the later ones feel different and leave a bit of a mess behind. A bad box perhaps?
OB chalk
A new contender on the chalk market by OB. Decent chalk, looks pretty and has a premium feel to it. The texture feels coarse but it still goes on pretty well. An okay chalk, nothing wrong with it but I'm a bit OCD how I want my chalk to feel and sound when applying so I haven't kept up with it.
Triangle blue
Old but gold? The house chalk of numerous rooms up here. It is a mediocre chalk in every aspect. It looks okay, it feels okay, it goes on okay and so on. Makes a mess and is a very dark shade of blue so I dont care much for it
Kamui 1.21
The most expensive of the tested chalks, made by Kamui in Japan. The stuff has to be stored in a air tight bag and it feels totally different from normal chalk. It is a very light shade of blue and the texture is very soft, nearly mud like. Leaves a very thick layer of chalk on the tip when applied. Makes a weird noise and feels weird when applying, therefore I kind of disliked it from the get go. Doesnt work any better in my opinion than standard chalks to justify the price tag. In the same boat with Molinari I'd say.
Triangle Pro chalk
The new premium chalk made by Tweeten fibre. Aimed at the market for serious snooker players it only comes in green colour at the time, sadly.
The green is a darker shade than usual green chalks wich is nice. It has a little different texture than oiriginal Triangle a smooth but firm that goes on without much noise when wiping it on. It goes on very easily like NIR and it just feels so comfortable when applying. Surely a giant leap up from standard Triangle, this pro version is a whole different species. Excellent chalk for sure and I have already contacted Tweeten asking if this will be made in blue.
Navigator
A premium chalk from Japan. It is on the pricy side of premiun chalks at 15€ a cube but it seems to be well worth it. Applies evenly and easily, has a perfect texture in my opinion with its dry but smooth feeling composition. Feels like a perfect cube of Master but is noticeably cleaner to use. Minimum chalk marks left on balls and on the table. The wrapper is bright blue, nothing too fancy there. My favourite thing about this chalk is that it is nearly impossible to apply too much of it and therefore its very clean in use. Doesnt leave excess on either tip but still provides an even, total coverage for the tip. I like this a lot and I will continue to use it for more time before I give my final verdict on it. So far it is becoming my favourite of chalks tested.
That was all I got for today. Hopefully someone found that useful or interesting. I sure enjoyed writing it all up for you to see and to revisit the older chalks today.
Here is the line up of chalks tried today;
- Kamui 1.21
- Master Sky blue
- Master Blue
- Master Preflag blue
- OB
- Blue Diamond
- Magic Chalk
- Venom
- CUEL
- Triangle Pro chalk (only available in green)
- Triangle blue
- NIR
- Predator 1080
- Molinari
*
- Navigator
(* tested after the initial test on a different day)
I put each and everyone of them through the following testing action:
The test tips are a Taom 2.0 jump and break tip in green and a Milkdud tip as a leather playing tip. Both have been played with for a long time and I did not scuff either tip to provide a consistent testing basis. This is exactly how my tips look when I play so that is what I tested with.
First I wiped both tips clean of any previous chalk to give the chalk a clean surface to take on. I chalked up like I always do, gently wiping through the tips surface until the tip is totally covered in chalk. Note that other chalks took a bit more effort than some others to have the same coverage. I kept notes on the ones that felt difficult to apply evenly and on those that were substantially easier than the others. More on that under each chalk tested later on. I also played with the chalks to have a feeling how they are in action. No surprise there, everyone of them worked like chalk does as I chalk on nearly every shot
Skyblue Master
This is my usual table chalk at home that I have used for the most of my pool career, the sky blue Master chalk. It goes on well, covers the tip nicely and has always been a good solid choice for me. My favourite of Master chalks, the colour is nice on Tournament blue cloth.
Blue Master
A bit darker shade than the skyblue, other than that works pretty much exactly a like.
Preflag master
The iconic Preflag chalk. I dont actually like it as much as the new ones, it feels a bit dryer and the texture is coarse. Doesnt go on as smoothly. I dont care much for this piece but it is old as what and clearly it hasnt been stored properly as the wrapper is faded.
Venom
Venom chalk by Florian *Venom* Kohler. I bought a signed box a while back and decided to include it in the testing. It goes on smooth and has a nice texture but for some reason it seems to leave a quite thin coat especially on the break tip. Works though, decent chalk but I'll leave it on display for now :smile:
NIR
By a recommendation of a friend I got some NIR chalk to try out. Definitely worth the price in my opinion. Goes on the best of all chalks tested, has a fine texture and a deep blue colour. Feels really nice when applying and coats the whole tip very easily. I was impressed with this stuff actually, only down side is that it makes a bit more mess than some of the others tested. Good stuff though, I'll start carrying some around maybe.
Cuel
An odd horse of the bunch, the Cuel chalk. A fairly unknown and an affordable premium chalk I bought out of curiosity. It works fine but seems to leave a layer a bit too thick on the tip, leaves a bit of a mark on the cue ball. Not quite my cup of tea but it doesnt suck either. Mediocre in every way.
Blue Diamond
Made by Longoni and used by many pros including the likes of Niels Feijen is the first premium chalk I stumbled across when I got in to the game.
It goes on nicely and evenly and just simply performs. Only reason I dont use it much is that it tends to stick to the CB a bit. That makes me uncomfortable using it all the time so it just sits in the basket most of the time.
Molinari
One of the worst if not the absolute worst of the tested chalks. It makes a mess, leaves huge chunks of chalk on the tip, stucks to balls and the round shape is even more fun trying to catch than the Predator octagon shape :grin: I hate it, I would not play a rack with this stuff if I had to.
Predator 1080
Used by many sponsored pro players comes the Predator chalk. It has a funny shape that likes to roll on the floor if dropped but it makes up by looking so ace. I used to play with the stuff for a while but I changes back to Master as this too leaves more residue on the cue ball. It is far superior to Molinari for example and I could play with it if asked to so good stuff in my books. Never had much issues with it, just a little messy.
Magic Chalk
The best chalk of the world the label says. The chalk goes on well and works excellently. Stays on well and is generally nice to play with. Leaves a little thicker coat than the likes of Master. Not anything over the top great though, the first cubes I got were A++ but the later ones feel different and leave a bit of a mess behind. A bad box perhaps?
OB chalk
A new contender on the chalk market by OB. Decent chalk, looks pretty and has a premium feel to it. The texture feels coarse but it still goes on pretty well. An okay chalk, nothing wrong with it but I'm a bit OCD how I want my chalk to feel and sound when applying so I haven't kept up with it.
Triangle blue
Old but gold? The house chalk of numerous rooms up here. It is a mediocre chalk in every aspect. It looks okay, it feels okay, it goes on okay and so on. Makes a mess and is a very dark shade of blue so I dont care much for it
Kamui 1.21
The most expensive of the tested chalks, made by Kamui in Japan. The stuff has to be stored in a air tight bag and it feels totally different from normal chalk. It is a very light shade of blue and the texture is very soft, nearly mud like. Leaves a very thick layer of chalk on the tip when applied. Makes a weird noise and feels weird when applying, therefore I kind of disliked it from the get go. Doesnt work any better in my opinion than standard chalks to justify the price tag. In the same boat with Molinari I'd say.
Triangle Pro chalk
The new premium chalk made by Tweeten fibre. Aimed at the market for serious snooker players it only comes in green colour at the time, sadly.
The green is a darker shade than usual green chalks wich is nice. It has a little different texture than oiriginal Triangle a smooth but firm that goes on without much noise when wiping it on. It goes on very easily like NIR and it just feels so comfortable when applying. Surely a giant leap up from standard Triangle, this pro version is a whole different species. Excellent chalk for sure and I have already contacted Tweeten asking if this will be made in blue.
Navigator
A premium chalk from Japan. It is on the pricy side of premiun chalks at 15€ a cube but it seems to be well worth it. Applies evenly and easily, has a perfect texture in my opinion with its dry but smooth feeling composition. Feels like a perfect cube of Master but is noticeably cleaner to use. Minimum chalk marks left on balls and on the table. The wrapper is bright blue, nothing too fancy there. My favourite thing about this chalk is that it is nearly impossible to apply too much of it and therefore its very clean in use. Doesnt leave excess on either tip but still provides an even, total coverage for the tip. I like this a lot and I will continue to use it for more time before I give my final verdict on it. So far it is becoming my favourite of chalks tested.
That was all I got for today. Hopefully someone found that useful or interesting. I sure enjoyed writing it all up for you to see and to revisit the older chalks today.
Last edited:
