Olhausen Belmont/Americana

I have an Olhausen Monterey (Modern Series) and I love it. I had them put the 860 Simonis (not standard) on it and 2 years later, it's still playing great.

I'm not a pro, but I do take my pool seriously. Olhausen are good tables. We had one in my family for years and it took quite a beating as we grew up.

For the money, they are a good home table. And yes, I would upgrade the ball set as well.

One thing I noticed on the tables you mentioned was that they are only available in 7 and 8 footers. Just thought I'd point that out.

I could be way off on this....I'd skip the cloth and ball upgrade and check to see how much they will cost you from a third party.

Chris

ThisIsMyUserNam said:

All,

I am in the market for a table, knowing very little. My wife insists we buy new because of a previous bad experience with used. I spoke to the local store and he recommend the Olhausen Belmont/Americana which he has for $2K. He says that I wouldn't really notice the difference if I bought a higher end table, since I'm no pro, and that the Belmont is a very good table: all hard woods, etc. I couldn't find much more info, so can someone provide some thoughts: is this a good table? Is this a good buy? Is there a reason I would want a better table? Would a higher end table play better or last longer?

Also, he recommended that I get a cloth upgrade and the better playset (balls, cues etc.) as the standard package isn't great. Is that true?

Thanks for the advice!!

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I agree with the other poster that said Olhausen makes a good table. I've had my Remington for about five years and I'm very happy with it. I can almost guarantee you that they are trying to sell you a table with 7/8" slate. I feel strongly that full 1" slate is important to the way the table will play, and to the resale value. It's going to cost extra, but I think it's worth it. Simonis 860 is definitely worth the extra money. I think the amount you might save by getting the cloth from a third party would be minor compared to the headache of getting someone else to install it. It just depends on your situation or the retailer.

I'd also skip the Premium play set. I'll guess that the standard set has two one-piece wood cues and premium set has four linen wrapped two-piece cues. That's the only meaningful difference. Both covers are worthless, and if you cover your table it will just get used as storage for the rest of the family. The balls in both sets are crap. Let your friends shoot with the wood cues from the standard set (they're perfectly fine, actually) and spend the difference on a set of Aramith Super Pro or Centenial balls now. You'll still have the cheap balls from the kit to let the kids bang around or throw at the cat. If you want more or nicer "house" cues later, they're a much better deal if bought separately anyway. A decent wood house cue will be about $25 or less.

Bottom line, the retail store that is selling you the table has very little else to offer that is not either badly overpriced or very poor quality or both. You pretty much have to deal with them to get a new table, but get out the door with as few "extras" as possible (except the Simonis 860) and add stuff later from a good online house or pro shop IF you want/need it.

Aramith Super Pros can be found brand new on Ebay for about $100. Only buy them if they're in the original unopened package.

I'm not sure how much you shoot now, but if you're like me, you're going to go nuts with a home table. I absolutely love mine.

Best of luck,

Tom