there's another builder in vietnam on FB. https://www.facebook.com/AffordableCarbonShaft 190 for one or 340 for two. heard good things about the product and his service.
Anyone Use A Rhino Carbon Fiber Shaft?
- Thread starter Eric M.
- Start date
I saw that post somewhere else here. I was a little worried about the cost of shipping and customs to get it here plus, what if there's an issue? There was just about as many feedback about him as the Rhino (very little). It was a toss up but going through Amazon gives me some time to sample the shaft and return if there is an issue.
Heh. bloodninja is a legend amongst of lot of us IT types "of a certain age"...
I messaged the company about the tip on their carbon fiber shaft. This was their response:
Thank you for your inquiry about the F1 Crystal Cue Tip, and we appreciate your interest in our products. We're here to provide you with all the information you need.
- The Rhino brand, as well as the F1 Crystal Cue Tip, is registered and manufactured by our company, Carbon Billiards Ltd.
- The F1 Crystal Cue Tip has been a part of our product lineup since 2013, primarily catering to the domestic market in Vietnam. However, it has received high praise and recognition as one of the finest tips for cue sports enthusiasts. This positive reception encouraged us to incorporate the F1 Crystal Tip into Rhino's carbon products to help achieve the highest level of performance.
- As for the hardness of the F1 Tip, typically, the tip hardness for pool cues is categorized as MEDIUM, while for carom cues, it is uniformly classified as HARD.
We hope this information clarifies your questions. If you have any more inquiries or require further details, please don't hesitate to reach out. Your satisfaction is important to us, and we are here to assist you with any additional information or assistance you may need.
Thank you for considering our products, and we look forward to serving you.
Best regards,
Rhino Billiards
Thank you for your inquiry about the F1 Crystal Cue Tip, and we appreciate your interest in our products. We're here to provide you with all the information you need.
- The Rhino brand, as well as the F1 Crystal Cue Tip, is registered and manufactured by our company, Carbon Billiards Ltd.
- The F1 Crystal Cue Tip has been a part of our product lineup since 2013, primarily catering to the domestic market in Vietnam. However, it has received high praise and recognition as one of the finest tips for cue sports enthusiasts. This positive reception encouraged us to incorporate the F1 Crystal Tip into Rhino's carbon products to help achieve the highest level of performance.
- As for the hardness of the F1 Tip, typically, the tip hardness for pool cues is categorized as MEDIUM, while for carom cues, it is uniformly classified as HARD.
We hope this information clarifies your questions. If you have any more inquiries or require further details, please don't hesitate to reach out. Your satisfaction is important to us, and we are here to assist you with any additional information or assistance you may need.
Thank you for considering our products, and we look forward to serving you.
Best regards,
Rhino Billiards
Cool they responded that fast. Better than a LOT of custom makers. I hit balls last nite with one attached to a Eddie Farris(Tulsa cue maker) butt and i thought it played great. I like the fact its 30" which for me is my favorite shaft length. I think you'll like it and you got it for song.
Pool artist
Member
Yes i.buy mi
ne locally I stopped using cuetec years ago but I still have the lifetime warranty see my point. I'm going retro I'm still using my old meucci winter series never will use carbon but just saying if it's made in Japan I'm not buying I'm. Not supporting slave labor.
Pool artist
Member
The tip ferrule snapped and split but quality maybe I got a bad one sold it for 100 bucks got me a bunch of tips.
Thanks for the feedback. The Rhino is made in Vietnam. Regardless, I think you might be confusing Japan with China. Japan did away with slavery in the 1500s and even today don't have anymore of an issue with forced labor (different than slavery) than the US.
its probably alot like other carbon shafts, this wont have any extra efren on it
I’ve been using the Rhino carbon fiber shaft for a few weeks now and thought I’d post my experience.
First off, I’m a beginner, this is the only carbon fiber shaft I’ve used so it really isn’t a comparison to others. I think someone above mentioned playing with the Rhino and other carbon fibers and it seemed comparable. My experience is limited to Maple cues (Schmelke, LA Cues and J&J). Tips I’ve used are the Schmelke soft, UltraSkin Black medium and Water Buffalo hard.
The Rhino shaft was installed on a Schmelke butt and is 30” compared to the Schmelke 29” maple shaft.
The first thing I noticed is the Rhino felt lighter. I weighed both and the Rhino was only a ¼ oz. lighter. I think what I was feeling is the extra 1” length in the shaft pushing the weight in the butt back slightly. This took about a rack to get use to and I liked the lighter feel on my bridge hand.
The shaft was very smooth which I guess is a trait of carbon fiber shafts. This felt like my Schmelke maple shaft when it was new although it didn’t take long for the Schmelke to develop some friction. I have yet to do anything more than a mild cleaning of the Maple shaft so am not sure if that smoothness will come back. If the Rhino remains this smooth over time without needing constant cleaning / polishing, it will definitely be a plus.
The combination of the light weight mentioned above and the smoothness of the shaft really made for feather light and frictionless motion on my bridge hand. This was a plus for me which felt really good.
The tip is the Rhino F1. Since this was their own and I could not find any reviews about it, I had purchased a handful of UltraSkins anticipating needing to swap the tip. That was not the case. Right from the start I noticed I had more control over the cue ball, more grip when using spin. My backspin and English improved immediately.
I am a fairly soft shooter, probably due to my skill level, so the advantages of the stiffer shaft were not immediately recognizable. It took a bit of play and switching between the carbon fiber and maple shaft to notice the difference. Where I noticed it most was with hard shots and long shots. I was able to feel the decreased deflection and the advantages of having a stiffer shaft. My shots were straighter and more consistent. I finally set up a series of shots across a 9’ table for about 30 minutes and switched between shafts. That’s when I really noticed the advantage of the carbon fiber stiffness.
The shaft rolls perfectly straight by itself and almost perfect on the Schmelke butt. I didn’t damage the end as someone mentioned above, but then I didn’t beat the crap out of it or use it for breaking.
I was concerned that Rhino does not sell replacement tips. If I get use to this one and it wears out, I’ll have to try something else and should probably start with something else from the beginning. An e-mail confirms they do sell the tips for $15 each. It should be listed on their site beginning 11/1/23 according to an e-mail from them.
So, did the Rhino improve my game? Slightly, I’m the biggest part of my game that needs improving. I feel the Rhino carbon fiber is a better tool to use as I progress. I’ve been working on my breaks with a J&J break cue. I’d really like to try breaking with a carbon fiber, I have a feeling I may really feel a difference there since breaks are nothing but hard, long shots.
It looks like Rhino has ended their relationship with Amazon and are now selling directly from their site. Love or hate Amazon, there was certainly a sense of security knowing you could return something within 30 days if you didn’t like it. Rhino takes Paypal so they also offer dispute resolutions and refunds minus return shipping costs (I think, you might want to look into it yourself before taking my word).
In another post I asked what was a good beginner cue. I got a lot of feedback but someone said if you really think you’re going to stick with pool, start out with carbon fiber, it’s the best that is available these days and you’ll eventually go that route. Save some money and get the better cue right from the beginning. I finally realized what he meant, it was good advice.
As I mentioned above, this is the only carbon fiber shaft I’ve used, so I have no idea if others would perform better, I’ll leave that to players who have used Rhinos and other carbon fibers to comment on.
First off, I’m a beginner, this is the only carbon fiber shaft I’ve used so it really isn’t a comparison to others. I think someone above mentioned playing with the Rhino and other carbon fibers and it seemed comparable. My experience is limited to Maple cues (Schmelke, LA Cues and J&J). Tips I’ve used are the Schmelke soft, UltraSkin Black medium and Water Buffalo hard.
The Rhino shaft was installed on a Schmelke butt and is 30” compared to the Schmelke 29” maple shaft.
The first thing I noticed is the Rhino felt lighter. I weighed both and the Rhino was only a ¼ oz. lighter. I think what I was feeling is the extra 1” length in the shaft pushing the weight in the butt back slightly. This took about a rack to get use to and I liked the lighter feel on my bridge hand.
The shaft was very smooth which I guess is a trait of carbon fiber shafts. This felt like my Schmelke maple shaft when it was new although it didn’t take long for the Schmelke to develop some friction. I have yet to do anything more than a mild cleaning of the Maple shaft so am not sure if that smoothness will come back. If the Rhino remains this smooth over time without needing constant cleaning / polishing, it will definitely be a plus.
The combination of the light weight mentioned above and the smoothness of the shaft really made for feather light and frictionless motion on my bridge hand. This was a plus for me which felt really good.
The tip is the Rhino F1. Since this was their own and I could not find any reviews about it, I had purchased a handful of UltraSkins anticipating needing to swap the tip. That was not the case. Right from the start I noticed I had more control over the cue ball, more grip when using spin. My backspin and English improved immediately.
I am a fairly soft shooter, probably due to my skill level, so the advantages of the stiffer shaft were not immediately recognizable. It took a bit of play and switching between the carbon fiber and maple shaft to notice the difference. Where I noticed it most was with hard shots and long shots. I was able to feel the decreased deflection and the advantages of having a stiffer shaft. My shots were straighter and more consistent. I finally set up a series of shots across a 9’ table for about 30 minutes and switched between shafts. That’s when I really noticed the advantage of the carbon fiber stiffness.
The shaft rolls perfectly straight by itself and almost perfect on the Schmelke butt. I didn’t damage the end as someone mentioned above, but then I didn’t beat the crap out of it or use it for breaking.
I was concerned that Rhino does not sell replacement tips. If I get use to this one and it wears out, I’ll have to try something else and should probably start with something else from the beginning. An e-mail confirms they do sell the tips for $15 each. It should be listed on their site beginning 11/1/23 according to an e-mail from them.
So, did the Rhino improve my game? Slightly, I’m the biggest part of my game that needs improving. I feel the Rhino carbon fiber is a better tool to use as I progress. I’ve been working on my breaks with a J&J break cue. I’d really like to try breaking with a carbon fiber, I have a feeling I may really feel a difference there since breaks are nothing but hard, long shots.
It looks like Rhino has ended their relationship with Amazon and are now selling directly from their site. Love or hate Amazon, there was certainly a sense of security knowing you could return something within 30 days if you didn’t like it. Rhino takes Paypal so they also offer dispute resolutions and refunds minus return shipping costs (I think, you might want to look into it yourself before taking my word).
In another post I asked what was a good beginner cue. I got a lot of feedback but someone said if you really think you’re going to stick with pool, start out with carbon fiber, it’s the best that is available these days and you’ll eventually go that route. Save some money and get the better cue right from the beginning. I finally realized what he meant, it was good advice.
As I mentioned above, this is the only carbon fiber shaft I’ve used, so I have no idea if others would perform better, I’ll leave that to players who have used Rhinos and other carbon fibers to comment on.
This is a great post, thanks Eric. This will help a lot of players out.
I also do not want to spend $400+ on a carbon fiber shaft, so I really thank you for your time spent giving this information out.
I will be checking out the rhino shaft for myself.
WTF? There is no slave labor in Japan. China is a different deal but i doubt Cuetec has slave labor in their shop. Most forced labor in China is in agriculture, big construction projects,textiles. Just curious, do you shop at BestBuy, WalMart at all? Reason i ask is probably 75% of what they sell is made in China. Its impossible to live today and not buy Chinese-sourced things.
too much mumbo jumbo for a $200 shaft,
theyre cues are ugly af too
theyre cues are ugly af too
ever use one? they play fine and are finished as nice as any cf shaft i've seen. i dont know neone that bought a whole cue , just their shafts.
im sure they play fine , someone was asking me about em no experience since no one has one here. they just fugy
Their shafts look like everyone else's carbon fiber shafts. They do have a Nebula line with carbon fiber shafts and carbon composite butts. I was a little taken back by the bright colors of the butts. Also, there is a sort of "molded in" textured grip on the butt with a shine. Not sure how it would feel but it's far from a wrap. Not your typical look. Not sure what the advantage of the carbon composite butt is. The gray one looks OK. It's a $300 cue.
Black Friday sale
Rhino cf shafts with tip is $160. Do not know shipping cost.
Rhino cf shafts with tip is $160. Do not know shipping cost.
15bux to most
US places.
It looks like they are offering free shipping during that sale.
Just ordered a Rhino 30" 5/16x14 12.6mm for a custom Viking 30" butt I currently use with a 12.4mm 29" Cuetec. I also have a 11.8 Whyte Carbon on a early 80s classic Meucci windowpane butt.
Was looking for a bit longer stick but decided this was a less expensive way to experiment with a 60" cue.
I haven't played much since the 80s because of family, mortgage etc., but I spent time on the road for a while in the bad old days tangling with the likes of Balsis, Shady Grady, Tony Ellen, Boston Shorty and others from the east and south.
The modern 9 ball game is different because of safeties and Texas express. I played roll out, spot balls on scratches etc which puts a premium on shot making vs precision play. I loved ring games exactly because it put a premium on shot making and running out. You can't hide a bad shot with a good safe in a ring game.
My point being now that I'm retired and coming back to the game with only one good eye, I like the new rules and I'm upgrading and replacing all my vintage equipment. The new stuff is mostly high quality and I'll post my opinion on the Rhino after I get it in 10 days or so.
I can still string a few racks together so I think I can add some value to this discussion.
FWIW my current playing cue is a 29" Cuetec 12.4 with a HOW medium with a 30" Viking custom butt playing at 19 ounces.
Was looking for a bit longer stick but decided this was a less expensive way to experiment with a 60" cue.
I haven't played much since the 80s because of family, mortgage etc., but I spent time on the road for a while in the bad old days tangling with the likes of Balsis, Shady Grady, Tony Ellen, Boston Shorty and others from the east and south.
The modern 9 ball game is different because of safeties and Texas express. I played roll out, spot balls on scratches etc which puts a premium on shot making vs precision play. I loved ring games exactly because it put a premium on shot making and running out. You can't hide a bad shot with a good safe in a ring game.
My point being now that I'm retired and coming back to the game with only one good eye, I like the new rules and I'm upgrading and replacing all my vintage equipment. The new stuff is mostly high quality and I'll post my opinion on the Rhino after I get it in 10 days or so.
I can still string a few racks together so I think I can add some value to this discussion.
FWIW my current playing cue is a 29" Cuetec 12.4 with a HOW medium with a 30" Viking custom butt playing at 19 ounces.
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