Any good cloth besides Simonis?

[carter1984]

Are you guys kidding me? This thread is symptomatic of the subject" What is wrong with pro pool?" There is only ONE cloth company that gives back to the game in a significant manner. Only Simonis sponsors lots of tournaments and players. Only Simonis pays for the live streams of major pro events so that you can watch them for free. Only Simonis gives cloth to tournament promoters so that regional tours do not have to be played on worn-out tables.

How anyone who cares about the health of the game could choose anything but Simonis is beyond me. Play on what the pros play. Play on Simonis. Don't just give lip service to loving the game. Prove it with your purchasing power.

Jerry, I respectfully disagree that Simonis is the ONE cloth company that is contributing significantly to the pool world.

Milliken is currently a sponsor of a number of regional tours in the US, as well as leagues, tours, and events in Europe and Asia. They are also sponsoring the US Snooker Association with the Strachan 6811 snooker cloth.

I sell Milliken Super Pro, as well as Simonis. Both companies are giving back to the sport, however they are both giving back in relation to their sales. Don't we all wish we had millions to invest in the philanthropy of the game, but we don't, so therefore companies like Milliken and Simonis must base their marketing, advertising, and sponsorship on budgets, which ultimately correlate directly to sales of their product.

With that being said, I do agree that it is important for consumers to patronize those companies that are contributing to the sport. I just wanted to make sure that folks are aware that there is more than one cloth company trying to help.

 

[Dartman]

Centennial cloth is nothing more than Championship Tour Edition with a teflon coating. It is made by Championship for Brunswick.

FTR - Championship does not "make" any of their cloth styles.

 

[rjtcobra]

Centennial cloth is nothing more than Championship Tour Edition with a teflon coating. It is made by Championship for Brunswick.

Agreed, it leaves bad burn marks, too. I am starting to think that it plays much slower than 860, especially off the rails. I am actually thinking about switching over to Simonis 860. They are sending me a color wheel to review.

 

[Dartman]

Milliken Super Pro is an excellent alternative. See this thread for a more detailed report from another forum poster-

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=158733&highlight=milliken

Correct - an excellent alternative.
Why is it that the first question people typically ask is "how does it (or pick any other brand) compare to Simonis".

I'm not knocking Milliken but the "detailed report" you reference suggests to me that the
poster is biased - especially in the "wear" comments. Looking at the 2 pics he posted here -
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=2061937&postcount=7
both the MSP and Simonis show ball marking which is typical of any worsted cloth.
I'm hoping this is not what that poster considers wear.

 

[pooltchr]

I do most of my teaching at the Green Room in Pineville, NC. All of their tables are covered with Milliken SP, and it is as good or better than any cloth I have ever played on.

Steve

 

[pooltchr]

Correct - an excellent alternative.
Why is it that the first question people typically ask is "how does it (or pick any other brand) compare to Simonis".

I'm not knocking Milliken but the "detailed report" you reference suggests to me that the
poster is biased - especially in the "wear" comments. Looking at the 2 pics he posted here -
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=2061937&postcount=7
both the MSP and Simonis show ball marking which is typical of any worsted cloth.
I'm hoping this is not what that poster considers wear.

I can't speak to what that poster considers wear, but I know a couple of room owners who did some side by side comparisons of the two, and found that on average, they got about 2 months more wear out of the Milliken before it required changing. For a room with 18 tables, 2 months per table results in significant savings. And 90 percent of the players don't notice any difference between Milliken and Simonis. The ones who do are probably evenly split on which they prefer.
One other thing that hasn't been mentioned, but for those little accidents when liquid finds it way to the cloth, it just beads up on the Milliken, and can be blotted up with a dry towel without leaving a stain.

Steve

 

[brechbt]

Another vote for Centennial cloth. I've had it on my home table for about 4 years. The table gets used almost every day, and the cloth is holding up very well. It plays almost like Simonis and is very consistent. I rarely see it for sale though; finding it might be the biggest problem with it.

 

[QB Custom Cues]

FTR - Championship does not "make" any of their cloth styles.

I believe it to be D&R Industries/Championship with Championship owning 25% of the company. Either way Brunswick has thier Centinnial cloth manufactured through them.

 

[Predator5K4]

Milliken Super Pro is an excellent alternative. See this thread for a more detailed report from another forum poster-

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=158733&highlight=milliken

I've been playing on the Milliken Super Pro on barboxes for almost a year, and it plays real nice. It marks up pretty bad, and really quick, compared to the cheaper slower cloths, but it doesn't affect play at all, just aesthetic. Plays pretty fast. I have heard that it doesn't have any stretch to it, so felting your rails with MSP can be a little bit of a chore. (lots of whining by the table mechanic). When it comes time to refelt my 8 footer, I'm going with MSP.

 

[knoxpossum]

I have used both Simonis 860 and Gorina Granito Basalt on my table. I alternated and used each brand twice. I feel the Gorina cloth plays very similar to Simonis. In each case the Gorina cloth looked and played well for longer than Simonis ( about 1.5 times as long). I will use Gorina on my table from now on.

I've got Gorina Granito Basalt on my table and agree with the comments above.

 

[paksat]

I own the simonis 860,, and honestly its not much better than championship tour edition cloth,, I wont be purchasing simonis again any time soon,, It really is over rated and no doubt overpriced........

Ya know, I haven't had much experience with simonis.. but the times I have played on it, I wasn't real impressed.

I'm hoping it was just because the diamond tables it was on were tough though.

That said, I play on champion felt most of the time and I see nothing wrong with it.

The only gripe I have with champion is it can tend to be inconsistant. Sometimes it's like playing on ice and other times it can play like a rug.

Now if simonis is more consistant, then i'll take it!

 

[NewStroke]

If you don't like Simonis, give Muellers a call. The person I talked to there swears they have an equivalent.

If you don't like that, consider velvet. Not only will your pool balls love you forever, you can wear the cloth as a cape when you are not shooting. Sometimes it's just nice to lounge around the house dressed like a Spartan warrior using my cue as a spear to stab donuts and eat them in victory.

 

[Dartman]

I believe it to be D&R Industries/Championship with Championship owning 25% of the company. Either way Brunswick has thier Centinnial cloth manufactured through them.

D&R is the company that markets the Championship brand.
Their cloth is made for them by a mill in Mexico.
Centennial is a branded cloth made for Brunswick the same as AccuGuard is a branded
cloth for Olhausen made by Hainsworth.

I might add that Milliken and Hainsworth also produce textile products other then billiard cloth -
not so Simonis which makes only billiard cloth.

 

[Home Billiards]

Champion 3030 Tour Edition is a great cloth.

 

[14oneman]

The two cloth's I like the best are Simonis 760, and Granito.

I don't care for the 860.

 

[LWW]

This was discussed on a TAR stream, and I took it to heart.

When given a choice in cloth, why not go with not only the best cloth known to man, but also a company that always sponsors pool. Simonis.

I know they sponsor pool ... which is good.

I don't know if they have the best product. I don't know that they don't. I only know that they have a good marketing dept with a good budget.

Myself, durability is more important. I haven't played on any relatively new cloth that played different enough to say "WOW! THAT'S THE SHIZZLE!"

LWW

 

[LWW]

If you don't like Simonis, give Muellers a call. The person I talked to there swears they have an equivalent.

If you don't like that, consider velvet. Not only will your pool balls love you forever, you can wear the cloth as a cape when you are not shooting. Sometimes it's just nice to lounge around the house dressed like a Spartan warrior using my cue as a spear to stab donuts and eat them in victory.

That's a post of the year nominee IMHO.

LWW