Review of the OB-1 and OB-2 shafts

have to strongly disagree with poolhalljunkie here....i think that the OB shafts are great and there are many players i know of that shoot with one. yes it is a laminated shaft, whether you want to call it "pie" spliced or not. i own several OB-s, the OB-1, OB-2, OB Break, and OB Classic. Will get a Classic Pro someday. Anyways, I've never had a problem with any of these shafts, it is a quality product. The laminated design is a benefit IMO, gives the shaft radial consistency and the OB shafts are among the straightest (and stay that way) of any shafts I've seen. the only problem I've had is a tip pad popping off, but I glued it back on and never had a problem with it again.

Royce and company has always provided impeccable service, always eager to talk to customers about their products and provide warranty service. My OB Break joint facing was a little off, and they took care of that with no problem. There are many satfisfied stories from other posters here about getting great service from OB cues, yours is the first bad one i can remember. Perhaps not everyone likes the shafts (different strokes for different folks), but OB has always taken care of their customers. I think when you say "a pretty bad reputation among the common player", you are way off, I don't feel this way, and I have never felt that pool players in general feel this way either.

You might want to try the Classic series of shafts, these hit a lot different than the originals with the wood ferrule and foam core.

McChen said:

have to strongly disagree with poolhalljunkie here....i think that the OB shafts are great and there are many players i know of that shoot with one. yes it is a laminated shaft, whether you want to call it "pie" spliced or not. i own several OB-s, the OB-1, OB-2, OB Break, and OB Classic. Will get a Classic Pro someday. Anyways, I've never had a problem with any of these shafts, it is a quality product. The laminated design is a benefit IMO, gives the shaft radial consistency and the OB shafts are among the straightest (and stay that way) of any shafts I've seen. the only problem I've had is a tip pad popping off, but I glued it back on and never had a problem with it again.

Royce and company has always provided impeccable service, always eager to talk to customers about their products and provide warranty service. My OB Break joint facing was a little off, and they took care of that with no problem. There are many satfisfied stories from other posters here about getting great service from OB cues, yours is the first bad one i can remember. Perhaps not everyone likes the shafts (different strokes for different folks), but OB has always taken care of their customers. I think when you say "a pretty bad reputation among the common player", you are way off, I don't feel this way, and I have never felt that pool players in general feel this way either.

You might want to try the Classic series of shafts, these hit a lot different than the originals with the wood ferrule and foam core.

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LOL sounds like your an OB salesman trying to save some face. Read all the reviews folks OB cues are not all that. Sorry you don't like my honest review. TS! Good Shooting =====------------ O

poolhalljunkie

Again, sorry we didn't make you happy.

Feel free to call me and tell me about your situation. I would be happy to listen to it and see if we can do something for you.

We strongly urge anyone with a concern to send their cue or shaft to us and we can get a look at it. We don't make determinations over the phone. Our warranty is explained clearly on our website here:

http://obcues.com/warranty.html


Sorry that I don't remember your situation, but I would need to know a little more about it to look it up or recall what happened.

My offer still stands, and always will. Call me if you would like to.

Thanks

Poolhalljunkie1 said:

LOL sounds like your an OB salesman trying to save some face. Read all the reviews folks OB cues are not all that. Sorry you don't like my honest review. TS! Good Shooting =====------------ O

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i am not an OB salesman nor do i work in the billiards industry. i'm just an enthusiast.

you are definitely entitled to your opinion about the shafts. the point i was making was that like any shaft, you'll have people that like it and some that don't. people have different games and like different things. but that is a something totally different than saying a company produces poor quality products or has poor customer service.

the ob-1 and ob-2 shafts do have a unique hit that some will like and some won't. the ob classics have a more traditional hit that seems to appeal to more players, at the expense of a little more deflection. there are lots of OB reviews on here and some like the shafts more than others, but i don't remember reading a lot of issues with product quality or customer service.

McChen said:

i am not an OB salesman nor do i work in the billiards industry. i'm just an enthusiast.

you are definitely entitled to your opinion about the shafts. the point i was making was that like any shaft, you'll have people that like it and some that don't. people have different games and like different things. but that is a something totally different than saying a company produces poor quality products or has poor customer service.

the ob-1 and ob-2 shafts do have a unique hit that some will like and some won't. the ob classics have a more traditional hit that seems to appeal to more players, at the expense of a little more deflection. there are lots of OB reviews on here and some like the shafts more than others, but i don't remember reading a lot of issues with product quality or customer service.

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I must throw my 2 cents into this. I was looking around and seen a cue review section and stumbled on this intense conversation about the ob 1&2 shafts. First a little about me and my back ground. I have been playing professional pool in the northeast mainly and around the world for a US team. Some might know me with a little thought. (wink wink) I choose not to say who I am because I am in no way sponsored by ob but a good friend of mine is. Trust me when I say changing to a so called after market shaft is not a cut and dry thing. It all depends on the player his or her style of play and to some point your skill level in the game. That being said everyone is different and play the game different. I as you can guess have tried several different low deflection shafts to try and gain that edge over the other top players I face. I am not going to endorse one over the other but I will say this much. Poolhalljunkie (nice name btw) makes some very vaild points that I agree with. We dont use the word spongy but use the word dead hit or feel. That for me was the turn off. Again I must stress everyone is different. Some other players I know that are at a high level also noticed this as well. The splitting problem he spoke of I also have heard of in the past but to my mind this would have to be the exception not the rule when it comes to ob. Many things could have caused that to happen. How was it stored? Did you expose it to extreme heat and cold or very wet conditions? All of these things will ruin a great shaft very fast. I mentioned above a good friend of mine is sponsored by ob shafts. However very few of use choose to use them. Mainly we as a whole use the predator line of shafts. Many are currently changing over to the Intimadator shafts made by mcderrmott. Now will they stick with those who can say. I have played with both mcderrmott and predator and find them both to be very good. Just keep in mind if you are a casual player, pro or league player the only way to find a shaft that is right for you is to pick it up and give it an honest chance. These are not magic wands if you are a C player a new shaft is not going to make you an A player but might enhance your game a bit. As for the poor customer service I agree that would leave me a little jaded towards a product also. I always say remember the customer is always right if you want to keep them and negitive word of mouth can be a killer. Shoot straight everyone and have faith. Practice does make perfect in pool!

Poolhalljunkie1 said:

I have found the Mcdermott I2 to be the best LD shaft on the market. The control, construction and consistency is amazing. By far the best one out there right now. I have played ob1 & ob2 I find them both to be spongy and they tend to split and splinter. I have tried tip changes to get rid of the sponge like hit with no help its the way the shaft is made that causes this issue. The pie shape cut pieces used to maintain radial consistency is what causes the spliting and splintering. I have since sold both my ob shafts off and will never again buy their products. The warranty Mcdermott offers on the I series shafts is second to none in the market place another big plus when investing 200 dollars on a LD shaft. Do the research on these shafts the stats don't lie.

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I agree you make some fine points about the I shafts. But dont be so hard on ob. They make a good shafts also. To each their own I always say.

well said shooterny! i agree that the ob-1/2 shafts do have a very soft (or dead if you prefer) feel. that was probably the biggest complaint from players and a valid point, though some liked that feel. you do have to give OB credit for listening to the feedback and responding with the classic line of shafts, it has a much better hit. the older shafts if they had a weak point structurally, was probably in the wooden ferrule/tip pad area, that's where most of the issues i've seen occured, though it was pretty rare. the classic series ferrule probably eliminates all of this. never heard of any issues with the shaft laminations themselves though.

as for poolhalljunkie's experience...we'll probably never know exactly what happened. maybe it's his fault, maybe OB cues messed up, who knows. either way, royce cares enough to monitor these forums and respond, offering to talk it over with the customer and come up with an appropriate solution.

oh and shooterny....if you are who i think you are, thanks for taking the time to post on here! it is great to get some pros on AZB and get their insights. i hope you continue to post on here, i know we would all love it!

GDC said:

I'm surprised that with many shaft reviews, people neglect to mention their tip setup which makes a huge difference in the feel of the stick.

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nice review, and i just cant tell you how much i agree with the above statement. i think comparing 2 shafts without tip info is almost a complete waste of time.

Is it just me!

I play some high end 9ball here in Canada and I found with ob1 shafts compared with Predator that the Predator was a little stiffer but the ob1 had a ton of more feel to it.I've bought and sold and tryed almost every low deflection type of shaft on the market so I can give an honest opinion to customers I sell to, and without a doubt for a finesse style of play the ob1 shafts are a super shaft.Its funny how some say its a dead hit and I think its a quiet hit but very lively.It's all about the style of the player,thats what makes this cue stuff so fun.If everything hit the same,what the hell would I do with all my time!Probably get a life:shocked2:

Kind of an update for everyone here.

I used the OB1 for around 5-6 weeks, and I did like it, but with competitions coming up and wanting to have 100% faith in my equipment and not feeling like I had to make adjustments, I sold the shaft to a friend and went back to my solid maple shaft. This was in August 2010. Skip 7 months, and I am now back using a OB1 shaft. Sure, I have some tournaments coming up, but at a recent event, it was evident how many people use low deflection shafts compared to solid maple.

I had the perfect opportunity to try out probably the 2 biggest manufacturers of shafts in the pool world (in my opinion). They are the Predator 314-2 and the OB1. A friend had both, so perfect for me to compare to which I like. Whichever I liked was the shaft choice I was going to buy. Both are awesome shafts, the Predator 314-2 felt solid and was able to move the CB easy but the 'feel' factor wasnt as high as I might have hoped. It was also good craftsmanship from what I could judge. The OB1 was like I experienced last year, a fantastic shaft with really good 'feel', a nice solid hit, and I like the sound of the cue striking the CB compared to other shafts (including my much loved maple). Both the Predator 314-2 and the OB1 had Kamui Black SS tips on and both had been played around 20 horus of pool (not my favourite tip, I much prefer the Kamui Original Medium tips) This allowed me to give a fair opinion of them having the same tip. I found I was able to compensate a little less with the Predator 314-2, but like I mentioned above, the 'feel' of the OB1 is a better preference for me. Id say I was able to play top left/right english equally well with both shaft, but I was able to draw better with the OB1.

I have asked my friend to keep my 2 maple shafts away, and store them for me until I am 100% converted fully to the OB1 shaft, that way, I am not tempted to go back .

Both Predator 314-2 and OB1's are fantastic products, but for me (which is the important thing here), the OB1 pips the Predator 314-2 to the line based on 'feel'.

If you have the opportunity to try these shafts on your own cue (trying them on someone elses cue wont give you an honest opinion as you are too used to the feel of your own cue )

Just bought an OB cue, (Joss butt) with the OB2 shaft yesterday.
It took about 20 minutes to get used to it, now I'm in love.

The hit is firmer than one might imagine from a 11.75 tip with an Everest tip. SS joint. I like the taper and not bothered at all by the non pro taper, 1/2" ferrel.

I play a rather soft game most of the time, and the low deflection is letting me aim as if I've struck the cue ball in the center mostly. This shaft has great feel, not dead at all. The balance is awesome too, it's weighted at 18.7ish. I'm happy to be playing with this stick and sadly my McDermott with a standard maple shaft will be collecting dust now.

For $325 new, I think it was a good deal.
Top pic is the butt, bottom pic is the shaft.

I just today received a Schon OB 1 shaft. I have only hit a few racks with it.
I made my first 10 balls or so before a miss on a fairly tough shot.
Plenty of spin. It draws very easy.
It feels a bit spongy. It may very well be because of the new tip (as you have said)?
All in all, I'm pleased with it.
I get no where near as much squirt. That is a good thing for sure!
I also made a ball that was hidden pretty well. I just said to myself, "Lets see how far I can spin it, and see how close I can get it to the pocket."
lol It went in!
I know for sure I would not have made that shot with the original shaft.

OB Shafts, good and bad

All,

I have used OB's since they came out, they play fantastically, far better than the previous LD shafts i have used in the past. I feel the hit is the most solid of the LDs i have used whilst maintaining the advantages they offer, plus they clean up really nice.

But the 'bad' element is around the longevity of the product, (NOTE: this hasn't deterred me from using them), in essence i have had 2 issues with the shafts in the past.

1. OB2- the ferrule crumbled (fine for 1 year)
2. Break shaft- a large split/crack ran down the length (Amazing for 1 month, NOTE the break on this was immense until the fault occured)

I attempted to contact OB cues via the website contact page, but alas no response. A friend of mine is over a the expo and is going to try and speak to the guys F2F and get the situation resolved for me ( this may have happened already, if so i will post a response detailing how they have dealt with the issue).

BUT even with these issues i like the shafts so much i ordered 3 of them on my custom cue (ordered 3 to make sure i have time to get a new one sorted if i face problems again), and even with the likely issue with how long they last i consider it well worth it (i don't expect shafts to last for ever, i just hope the new ones last a lot longer than the other).

So in short 3 points to note:

1. Fantastic shafts (note i use Mori tips so can't comment on the standard issue)
2. Don't expect them to last for ever, nothing does but hope for longer than experienced
3. OB cues have issues with responding to mails

Overall i would suggest them to anyone, but advise them to factor replacements into the cost equation.

Craig

I can vouch for the length of response.

Luckout,

all three shafts are perfect, Bob has, as you would expect from him made sure they are all matched (i assume he took a large group on 'sale or return) and added the matching ring work and tips.

Also all the products seemed fine to me at the point of purchase, sounds like your experience differed from mine in that degree.

I should re-state that my experience is that up till the point they go wrong they are absolutely great, far better than any others i have played with, hence my willingness to buy multiple shafts so that i am not left using anything else whilst waiting to get another made up with matching ring work,

Craig