Sure Elastic break tip review.
I bought a sample of a new high end break tip from Germany called the Sure Elastic. It is designed with optimal breaking properties in mind and is made of black synthetic material.
Installation and cutting.
The tip is easy to install and no specific glue is required for a secure installation. I used loctite 401 glue to put the tip on and it bonded well. The material cuts easily with sharp tool bit and can be shaped with a razor blade like any other tip. I used P240 grit sandpaper to scuff the tips surface for more chalk adhesion. The developers note was to not use too coarse grit to avoid material transfer from the grooves left by the coarse paper on shots with a lot of force so stay on the finer side of 180 or so, just to be safe
Picture of the tip installed on a Mezz Pro R break shaft:
Play.
I started off with an eight ball break, head on hit with a lot of power to get a feel for the energy transfer. From the first few racks broken it was clear that the tip has what it takes to crush a rack with force without losing control. I tried many types of breaks that I use and know that I control well and the Sure Elastic worked well on all of them. From the 9 ball cut break with a bit of side hold the CB to breaking 10 ball, trying to pop the CB up some and leaving it in the middle of the table. I was breaking well with the new tip and the feedback, sound and feel, was pleasant to me. It doesn't have a glass like *tink* like G10 based materials have nor does it feel overly hard. Long story short; it breaks like a beast as it is designed to.
Then I proceeded to play a couple racks with my break cue to see if the tip grips enough to play with. Well, it suffices to say that it doesn't really. There isn't quite enough grip to play shots softly with spin. The worse miscues that I had on a couple shots left some marks on the cue ball, seemed like a little of material transfer from the tip to the CB.
That said I didn't notice any issues hitting shots with spin with breaking speed at any time. I have only miscued once breaking with the Sure Elastic so far and that is okay considering I've purposely been pushing my ability and the tips performance to the limit.
But not being that suitable for regular play can still be a factor to consider when choosing a tip that suits your needs the best. If you are packing one cue to do it all with you may be better off with something leather based.
I also tried jumping with it as I often use my break cue to jump long shots. I could still jump shots where not much elevation was required but not quite as easily as I am used to with another synthetic tip I usually use.
The Sure Elastic is made with breaking propertues primarily in mind so it makes sense that it doensn't perform as well as an all arounder for jump / break / regular play as it does for purely breaking in my opinion.
Comprasion with other tips on the market.
In my opinion Elastic shines bright when it comes to breaking. It performs exceptionally well with only Taom hanging in the same league regarding power, control and feel of hit.
From my experience the Elastic doensn't leave streaks on the cloth like Taom does when breaking against the cloth, nor does it show similiar wear to the sides that Taom has a tendency for but it does mark the CB some if you miscue with it.
Elastic jumps better than the leather based J/B tips like Samsara but not quite as well as its synthetic rivals, Taom or Cell BK for example.
Elastic feels a lot like Taom 2.0, more pleasant than the extremely hard phenolics for example.
All that above shows the inevitable tradeoffs between products, there doesn't seem to be a perfect tip that does it all the best. No tip is perfect in every way so I guess we should focus on choosing the product that gives us the good qualities that we are looking for with the bad that we can live with. To me, Elastic is something that I can definitely cope with.
Even though it is impossible to accurately rank tips from best to worst as the criteria of judgement depends on intended use and personal preference I'll chime in on my thoughts of the best tip for me personally;
I'd say that Elastic is definitely among the best break tips I have tried. In a perfect world it would jump as well as a Taom with a full cue, then my personal debate on number one could be over. For now the debate continues but the Elastic stays on my cue untill I reach a conclusion on wich I'll ultimately stick with.
I will end my review with this following short video that show how the tip cuts on a lathe and has a couple demonstration shots to give an idea how it breaks and jumps. Please note that I am far from a pro player so cut the guy in the video some slack :thumbup:
https://youtu.be/BQAY9aC5fH0
Feel free to PM me or post in this thread with any questions you may have and I will do my best to answer them. I am not paid for this review or sponsored in any way. I bought the sample and tried my best to keep this review truthful and unbiased from my personal point of view :smile: If you want to try one for yourself you can contact Andreas Sure on Facebook for pricing of these tips.
I bought a sample of a new high end break tip from Germany called the Sure Elastic. It is designed with optimal breaking properties in mind and is made of black synthetic material.
Installation and cutting.
The tip is easy to install and no specific glue is required for a secure installation. I used loctite 401 glue to put the tip on and it bonded well. The material cuts easily with sharp tool bit and can be shaped with a razor blade like any other tip. I used P240 grit sandpaper to scuff the tips surface for more chalk adhesion. The developers note was to not use too coarse grit to avoid material transfer from the grooves left by the coarse paper on shots with a lot of force so stay on the finer side of 180 or so, just to be safe
Picture of the tip installed on a Mezz Pro R break shaft:
Play.
I started off with an eight ball break, head on hit with a lot of power to get a feel for the energy transfer. From the first few racks broken it was clear that the tip has what it takes to crush a rack with force without losing control. I tried many types of breaks that I use and know that I control well and the Sure Elastic worked well on all of them. From the 9 ball cut break with a bit of side hold the CB to breaking 10 ball, trying to pop the CB up some and leaving it in the middle of the table. I was breaking well with the new tip and the feedback, sound and feel, was pleasant to me. It doesn't have a glass like *tink* like G10 based materials have nor does it feel overly hard. Long story short; it breaks like a beast as it is designed to.
Then I proceeded to play a couple racks with my break cue to see if the tip grips enough to play with. Well, it suffices to say that it doesn't really. There isn't quite enough grip to play shots softly with spin. The worse miscues that I had on a couple shots left some marks on the cue ball, seemed like a little of material transfer from the tip to the CB.
That said I didn't notice any issues hitting shots with spin with breaking speed at any time. I have only miscued once breaking with the Sure Elastic so far and that is okay considering I've purposely been pushing my ability and the tips performance to the limit.
But not being that suitable for regular play can still be a factor to consider when choosing a tip that suits your needs the best. If you are packing one cue to do it all with you may be better off with something leather based.
I also tried jumping with it as I often use my break cue to jump long shots. I could still jump shots where not much elevation was required but not quite as easily as I am used to with another synthetic tip I usually use.
The Sure Elastic is made with breaking propertues primarily in mind so it makes sense that it doensn't perform as well as an all arounder for jump / break / regular play as it does for purely breaking in my opinion.
Comprasion with other tips on the market.
In my opinion Elastic shines bright when it comes to breaking. It performs exceptionally well with only Taom hanging in the same league regarding power, control and feel of hit.
From my experience the Elastic doensn't leave streaks on the cloth like Taom does when breaking against the cloth, nor does it show similiar wear to the sides that Taom has a tendency for but it does mark the CB some if you miscue with it.
Elastic jumps better than the leather based J/B tips like Samsara but not quite as well as its synthetic rivals, Taom or Cell BK for example.
Elastic feels a lot like Taom 2.0, more pleasant than the extremely hard phenolics for example.
All that above shows the inevitable tradeoffs between products, there doesn't seem to be a perfect tip that does it all the best. No tip is perfect in every way so I guess we should focus on choosing the product that gives us the good qualities that we are looking for with the bad that we can live with. To me, Elastic is something that I can definitely cope with.
Even though it is impossible to accurately rank tips from best to worst as the criteria of judgement depends on intended use and personal preference I'll chime in on my thoughts of the best tip for me personally;
I'd say that Elastic is definitely among the best break tips I have tried. In a perfect world it would jump as well as a Taom with a full cue, then my personal debate on number one could be over. For now the debate continues but the Elastic stays on my cue untill I reach a conclusion on wich I'll ultimately stick with.
I will end my review with this following short video that show how the tip cuts on a lathe and has a couple demonstration shots to give an idea how it breaks and jumps. Please note that I am far from a pro player so cut the guy in the video some slack :thumbup:
https://youtu.be/BQAY9aC5fH0
Feel free to PM me or post in this thread with any questions you may have and I will do my best to answer them. I am not paid for this review or sponsored in any way. I bought the sample and tried my best to keep this review truthful and unbiased from my personal point of view :smile: If you want to try one for yourself you can contact Andreas Sure on Facebook for pricing of these tips.