As pool became my main hobby about two years ago, I've acquired a lot of equipment over this time due to continually trying and testing new things to find what worked best for me regarding all cue parts: tip types/shapes/hardness, shaft diameters/tapers/lengths, laminated vs one-piece, LD vs traditional maple, joint preference (not necessarily the pin type for me as I like them all, but more concerning stainless vs implex joint collars), wrap type, cue design, wood preferences, different weights, etc).
First let me state this...I shoot with EVERY single one of my cues on a regular basis. I have probably been using my newer/more expensive cues a little more often right now, but I still always cycle to a new cue after a few games when I play for hours. Because it is normally just me playing by myself, I will play my 12-ball game with a Cue vs Cue battle format...first to win 3 games and then I switch both cues. I've been keeping results and making little notes about each game. I am confident to play my best game with any of my cues on a given day. Based on my experience, the best advice to offer newer buyers is that these details and components really don't matter that much--it is more about how you can adapt your stroke, game and your personal preference to what feels good in your hands.
MY CUES (arranged by brand from left to right)
Players
C9921 - stock maple 13mm (re-tipped myself with an Elkmaster)
G-2280 - w/ 30" S-tuned Z3 shaft 11.75mm pro taper from Seyberts
G3395 - stock maple turned down to 12.5mm
G-1002 - stock maple 13mm (re-tipped myself with a Triangle)
Predator
SPORT2ICENW - it was the lowest price to try a Z3 on their butt. Later added the $2 blue rubber wrap which looks way better, imo
McDermott
SL04 - w/ iPro Slim shaft 12mm (HATE the Navigator tip, worst I've used to-date)
G513 - w/ G-Core shaft turned down to 12.25mm
G204 - "special order" w/ 31" G-core turned down to 12.5mm (selected the yellow stain and red leather wrap)
Meucci
SWBB2 - Skyler Woodward model 2 (changed to Meucci Ultimate Weapon 11.65mm shaft from the 13mm Bar Box Pro it comes stock with)
JS-S - Jayson Shaw base model at Seyberts w/ Meucci Pro 12.5mm (at under $430, this might be the "Best Buy" award. Love these Meuccis man
Cuetec
'96-97 Earl Strickland - my very first cue! The entire shaft, forearm and butt was all black with a carbon-fiber design...looked great in the case, but played terribly due to the graphic laminate that started peeling and made it impossible to use in humid conditions. My brother found it in original case when he moved, and thankfully Cuetec still uses the same joint pins..so I bought a new Cuetec model w/ R360 and then swapped the shaft over. Now looks and plays great, and has become my cousin's favorite stick to use.
Mezz
Axi-156 - w/ WX900 12mm shaft upgrade (probably my favorite shaft), Wavy Joint
EC7-R1 - my first Mezz, United Joint, upgraded to EX Pro shaft 12.5mm, Zan soft tip
Axi-155 - w/ WX900 12mm shaft, Wavy Joint, Kamui Brown-Med
JOSS
JOS44 - w/ stock maple shaft 13mm w/ Triangle standard tip (such smooth action, simple but elegant design...becoming a favorite of mine, the deflection isn't as much as people think compared to LD shaft)
Schon
LTD2201L - Schon Ltd series (one of 25 I think?), upgraded to 30" Jacoby Ultra Super Pro w/ stock Tiger Everest tip
SP1909 - Schon SP series, upgraded to 30" OB Pro+ 'custom' shaft w/ Zan-Med tip
Viking
A291 - w/ stock Vikore 13mm shaft and Tiger Everest tip (first 'good' cue purchase I made back in Oct '16...this was for my brother at 18 oz)
A416 - w/ stock Vikore 13mm shaft and Tiger Everest tip (first 'good' cue purchase I made back in Oct '16...this was for myself at 19 oz)
A508 - w/ Vikore shaft turned down to 12.25mm, upgrade to Kamui Black-Med tip, changed linen wrap to be white w/ double black spec
Lucasi
LZC29 - Lucasi Custom w/ upgrade to 11.75mm OB Pro+ shaft, changed to a Tiger Sniper tip that I love
LHF10 - Lucasi Hybrid w/ sport grip and stock Zero Flex Slim 11.75mm shaft, tip upgrade to a Kamui Black Clear-Med
Pure-X (Players)
HXTE2 (#173 on butt) - currently w/ HXT Classic turned down to 12.25mm w/ Kamui Black-Soft tip
HXT66 (#166 on butt) - w/ shaft upgrade to BD Cues' SS360/P shaft, 11.75mm w/ Ultraskin-Med tip
HXT91 (#159 on butt) - currently w/ stock HXT Classic 12.75mm w/ Kamui Black-Soft tip
extra shafts to swap if needed
Mezz WX700 - United Joint w/ stock Kamui Brown-Soft tip 12.5mm
Mezz WX900 - United Joint w/ stock Kamui Brown-Soft tip 12mm (have a wrapless Mezz Power Break 2 in blue w/ Deep Impact 2 shaft currently in transit that is only 54" long total...going to try this short butt w/ WX900 and see if it feels similar to my Snooker cue with a bigger tip--as I kick ass with my entry-level Snooker cue on pool tables)
Lucasi Custom - Uni-loc Quick, Zero Flex Solid 12.75mm
Lucasi - Uni-loc Quick, Air Hog jump cue, handle and shaft, 14mm Phenolic tip
Schon - 5/16x14, standard/stock maple shafts at 13mm (x2)
Pure X - 5/16x18, HXT Skinny shafts 11.75mm (x2)
Pure X - 5/16x18, HXT Classic shaft 12.75mm
Pure X - 3/8x10, HXT Classic shaft 12.75mm
Pure X - Turbo lock, for PureX Break/Jump cue 14mm Phenolic tip
Funny that my favorite current shooter/looker is the Joss 44 with the standard 13mm maple shaft and dollar tip. You can see I have a preference for smaller diameter tips overall (my 9.5mm tipped Riley Snooker cue plays amazingly well for pool), but it's fun to play with everything! I would get bored just using the same cue at home, even if it's the best way to stay consistent.
My 'nicer' cues (for me that roughly means over $500)
Guest cues are all up on this wall...
Older group pic on my old wine-colored felt, easier to see some of the colors in each cue...
My lone Snooker cue...absolute joy to play with this
I was bored and had some time today as you can see. Was very curious to see what most of you are holding on to, as I love each and every cue that I have. There don't seem to be any threads that I'm aware of where people can post new or old pictures of their cues--you don't have to type the details like I did.
Let's see what you got.
First let me state this...I shoot with EVERY single one of my cues on a regular basis. I have probably been using my newer/more expensive cues a little more often right now, but I still always cycle to a new cue after a few games when I play for hours. Because it is normally just me playing by myself, I will play my 12-ball game with a Cue vs Cue battle format...first to win 3 games and then I switch both cues. I've been keeping results and making little notes about each game. I am confident to play my best game with any of my cues on a given day. Based on my experience, the best advice to offer newer buyers is that these details and components really don't matter that much--it is more about how you can adapt your stroke, game and your personal preference to what feels good in your hands.
MY CUES (arranged by brand from left to right)
Players
C9921 - stock maple 13mm (re-tipped myself with an Elkmaster)
G-2280 - w/ 30" S-tuned Z3 shaft 11.75mm pro taper from Seyberts
G3395 - stock maple turned down to 12.5mm
G-1002 - stock maple 13mm (re-tipped myself with a Triangle)
Predator
SPORT2ICENW - it was the lowest price to try a Z3 on their butt. Later added the $2 blue rubber wrap which looks way better, imo
McDermott
SL04 - w/ iPro Slim shaft 12mm (HATE the Navigator tip, worst I've used to-date)
G513 - w/ G-Core shaft turned down to 12.25mm
G204 - "special order" w/ 31" G-core turned down to 12.5mm (selected the yellow stain and red leather wrap)
Meucci
SWBB2 - Skyler Woodward model 2 (changed to Meucci Ultimate Weapon 11.65mm shaft from the 13mm Bar Box Pro it comes stock with)
JS-S - Jayson Shaw base model at Seyberts w/ Meucci Pro 12.5mm (at under $430, this might be the "Best Buy" award. Love these Meuccis man
Cuetec
'96-97 Earl Strickland - my very first cue! The entire shaft, forearm and butt was all black with a carbon-fiber design...looked great in the case, but played terribly due to the graphic laminate that started peeling and made it impossible to use in humid conditions. My brother found it in original case when he moved, and thankfully Cuetec still uses the same joint pins..so I bought a new Cuetec model w/ R360 and then swapped the shaft over. Now looks and plays great, and has become my cousin's favorite stick to use.
Mezz
Axi-156 - w/ WX900 12mm shaft upgrade (probably my favorite shaft), Wavy Joint
EC7-R1 - my first Mezz, United Joint, upgraded to EX Pro shaft 12.5mm, Zan soft tip
Axi-155 - w/ WX900 12mm shaft, Wavy Joint, Kamui Brown-Med
JOSS
JOS44 - w/ stock maple shaft 13mm w/ Triangle standard tip (such smooth action, simple but elegant design...becoming a favorite of mine, the deflection isn't as much as people think compared to LD shaft)
Schon
LTD2201L - Schon Ltd series (one of 25 I think?), upgraded to 30" Jacoby Ultra Super Pro w/ stock Tiger Everest tip
SP1909 - Schon SP series, upgraded to 30" OB Pro+ 'custom' shaft w/ Zan-Med tip
Viking
A291 - w/ stock Vikore 13mm shaft and Tiger Everest tip (first 'good' cue purchase I made back in Oct '16...this was for my brother at 18 oz)
A416 - w/ stock Vikore 13mm shaft and Tiger Everest tip (first 'good' cue purchase I made back in Oct '16...this was for myself at 19 oz)
A508 - w/ Vikore shaft turned down to 12.25mm, upgrade to Kamui Black-Med tip, changed linen wrap to be white w/ double black spec
Lucasi
LZC29 - Lucasi Custom w/ upgrade to 11.75mm OB Pro+ shaft, changed to a Tiger Sniper tip that I love
LHF10 - Lucasi Hybrid w/ sport grip and stock Zero Flex Slim 11.75mm shaft, tip upgrade to a Kamui Black Clear-Med
Pure-X (Players)
HXTE2 (#173 on butt) - currently w/ HXT Classic turned down to 12.25mm w/ Kamui Black-Soft tip
HXT66 (#166 on butt) - w/ shaft upgrade to BD Cues' SS360/P shaft, 11.75mm w/ Ultraskin-Med tip
HXT91 (#159 on butt) - currently w/ stock HXT Classic 12.75mm w/ Kamui Black-Soft tip
extra shafts to swap if needed
Mezz WX700 - United Joint w/ stock Kamui Brown-Soft tip 12.5mm
Mezz WX900 - United Joint w/ stock Kamui Brown-Soft tip 12mm (have a wrapless Mezz Power Break 2 in blue w/ Deep Impact 2 shaft currently in transit that is only 54" long total...going to try this short butt w/ WX900 and see if it feels similar to my Snooker cue with a bigger tip--as I kick ass with my entry-level Snooker cue on pool tables)
Lucasi Custom - Uni-loc Quick, Zero Flex Solid 12.75mm
Lucasi - Uni-loc Quick, Air Hog jump cue, handle and shaft, 14mm Phenolic tip
Schon - 5/16x14, standard/stock maple shafts at 13mm (x2)
Pure X - 5/16x18, HXT Skinny shafts 11.75mm (x2)
Pure X - 5/16x18, HXT Classic shaft 12.75mm
Pure X - 3/8x10, HXT Classic shaft 12.75mm
Pure X - Turbo lock, for PureX Break/Jump cue 14mm Phenolic tip
Funny that my favorite current shooter/looker is the Joss 44 with the standard 13mm maple shaft and dollar tip. You can see I have a preference for smaller diameter tips overall (my 9.5mm tipped Riley Snooker cue plays amazingly well for pool), but it's fun to play with everything! I would get bored just using the same cue at home, even if it's the best way to stay consistent.
My 'nicer' cues (for me that roughly means over $500)
Guest cues are all up on this wall...
Older group pic on my old wine-colored felt, easier to see some of the colors in each cue...
My lone Snooker cue...absolute joy to play with this
I was bored and had some time today as you can see. Was very curious to see what most of you are holding on to, as I love each and every cue that I have. There don't seem to be any threads that I'm aware of where people can post new or old pictures of their cues--you don't have to type the details like I did.
Let's see what you got.