Difference in Poison and Predator

I think Poison is the lower line stuff that doesn't include a laminated shaft. I think they're basically the experiments that never quite did well enough when they were marketed under the parent company's name

Different brand names targeted at different price points.

It's along the same line as Star cues by McDermott. Just a lower line of cues, not as fancy or technical, to have a price point for more casual players.

Interesting that even at a lower price point, Poison is advertised as a high performance cue, with the LD venom shafts. If anyone has both, please tell us the difference in playing characteristics.

Hooper840 said:

Hey guys, this may be a dumb question, but what are the technology differences in poison and predator. Due to the price difference, I'm assuming there has to be one. What would make predator better than poison "by predator?"

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About $200 bucks.

To me I can feel the quality reducing drastically when I play with a Poison cue compared to a Predator cue. Poison down right sucks when compared to Predator.

I believe (and this is my own thought) that they are made in China by the Jian Ying company. I'm not sure of the American ties that company might have but I have reasonable evidence that Predator and Poison models are first made and marketed there. I have purchased several of their cues, which for cheap Chinese cues are of a decent quality IMHO, and a year or so later the same cue design will somehow appear in the Predator or Poison line of cues. I only ever purchased one with a laminated LD(?) shaft. I believe they called it a 'Y' core. Where the core is a 3-prong sort of Y shape and three additional pieces are inserted to form the circular shaft. Upon changing the tip I found the hollow front end. Interesting design, very solid hit. I always expected to see Poison come out with the 'Y' core but to my knowledge that never happened. Anyways, my thought is that after test marketing them with the Jian Ying label, they become either Predator, or Poison depending on how well the marketing went, and at that point the price will double, or triple (or fourple...). Other than the shafts, basic hard rock maple for Poison, or the Predator laminated pie configuration for Predator I think they are pretty much the shame. I think if you put a Predator shaft on the butt of any cue it pretty much becomes a Predator cue. Poison is just the "poor mans" Predator, minus the shaft but that can be easily remidied