boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
This is my review/thoughts on my new Onyx tip by Tiger and how it compared to the various Kamui tips I have used. I will start out by saying, I am definitely not a Kamui hater, I use their chalk (cue dramatic music for resulting price complaints) and absolutely love it. I can use other chalk but honestly I would rather not. To me, as long as it lasts, it's price is negligible. I would say one cube lasts as long as 50 cubes of masters. Imagine 49 extra cubes of blue dust on your hands and cloth. Anyway I'm a bit sidetracked... on to the tips.
Taking the advice of my cue repair guy, I decided to use a Kamui super soft. It was pretty good, gave good spin, but was too soft for me personally. Well, I went up the hardness scale to a soft. Better, but still not what I wanted. Next came a medium on my wife's cue. Still not quite right. A hard, again, nice but it seems to feel deadened in a way. It's like at the very perimeter of the tip, where the round meets the vertical edges has no structural integrity to it. All of the Kamui seemed to glaze over a little bit after 15 shots normal playing (nothing a light scuff with my Kamui gator grip cant fix... told you I was a Kamui fan ha ha) and that edge just rounds over. I admit I sometimes use "silly-extreme" english, or may miscue on a draw shot.
So, I bought a $11 Onyx tip from cuecomponents (rated as a medium) and I couldn't be happier. I would say it holds chalk twice as well as a Kamui (using Kamui chalk on both). It has a beautiful feel to it, absolutely no mushy feel. On soft shots the Kamui's just have a mushy/dead/dampening feel. Not so with the Onyx. My Onyx really feels amazing with soft and harder shots. It really gives a great tactile sensation I am looking for. I have used some "silly-extreme" english and have miscued once on a draw shot (stretched out over the table after he missed a shot), but the edge where the round meets the vertical side is perfect still.
Both tips give good action, it is subjective but I think the Onyx gives better action with a more crisp feel. That could be due to how much better the Onyx seems to hold chalk.
I guess all in all, I would say the Onyx is similar, but a DEFINITE upgrade from a Kamui. Much better feel, and costs much less. If these were priced solely by performance and feel, and the Onyx is a $11 tip, a Kamui should be about $8.
I can say after using the Onyx, as long as they are available I will never go back to Kamui tips.
Taking the advice of my cue repair guy, I decided to use a Kamui super soft. It was pretty good, gave good spin, but was too soft for me personally. Well, I went up the hardness scale to a soft. Better, but still not what I wanted. Next came a medium on my wife's cue. Still not quite right. A hard, again, nice but it seems to feel deadened in a way. It's like at the very perimeter of the tip, where the round meets the vertical edges has no structural integrity to it. All of the Kamui seemed to glaze over a little bit after 15 shots normal playing (nothing a light scuff with my Kamui gator grip cant fix... told you I was a Kamui fan ha ha) and that edge just rounds over. I admit I sometimes use "silly-extreme" english, or may miscue on a draw shot.
So, I bought a $11 Onyx tip from cuecomponents (rated as a medium) and I couldn't be happier. I would say it holds chalk twice as well as a Kamui (using Kamui chalk on both). It has a beautiful feel to it, absolutely no mushy feel. On soft shots the Kamui's just have a mushy/dead/dampening feel. Not so with the Onyx. My Onyx really feels amazing with soft and harder shots. It really gives a great tactile sensation I am looking for. I have used some "silly-extreme" english and have miscued once on a draw shot (stretched out over the table after he missed a shot), but the edge where the round meets the vertical side is perfect still.
Both tips give good action, it is subjective but I think the Onyx gives better action with a more crisp feel. That could be due to how much better the Onyx seems to hold chalk.
I guess all in all, I would say the Onyx is similar, but a DEFINITE upgrade from a Kamui. Much better feel, and costs much less. If these were priced solely by performance and feel, and the Onyx is a $11 tip, a Kamui should be about $8.
I can say after using the Onyx, as long as they are available I will never go back to Kamui tips.
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