Anyone Use A Rhino Carbon Fiber Shaft?

Just got Rhino playing shaft in last night. Spent a few hours with it. I have been playing with a defy 12 and the Rhino I ordered was a 12.5. It actually shot pretty well. Not a lot of difference between the McDermott Defy. I was surprised. 3/8X10 fit well, although the Rhino is 1/32 ish smaller at the base than the defy, you wouldn't notice if you didn't look closely.
 
ngtvd said:
I bought a Rhino break shaft recently. Changed the tip to a Kamui Sai and used it for about a month before the ferrule completely ripped apart, taking the tip with it. Heard about several other people having the same issue. I have 2 of their playing shafts in 30 and 29 and think they play great and are worthy of the hype but the break shaft sucks ass in my experience.
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May i know when u change the tip. The original bakelite and the ferrule are the same color. When changing the tip, was the ferrule cut? I have attached mine change to caiden. U can see. The ferrule is very short
 

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Choir Boy said:
First impressions after 2.5 hours of play. Remember these are 30" shafts so they will inherently feel different than the usual 29" shaft.

First these are well packed with 5 layers of protection including bubble wrap, a plastic sleeve over a plastic tube and double boxed. Impressive though not as fancy as my Cuetec or Whyte Carbon. No matter it's packaging and arrived with no damage and no carbon dust, which is what it's all about.

I ordered 2 shafts, a 12.6mm with a 5/16x14 joint and a 12.2 with a 3/8x8 Chinese radial joint which I'm told is slightly different than an American radial because of patents apparently.

Now for the good stuff, how do they play? Crisply and accurately are the terms that come to mind. Like the Cuetec they are low deflection but not zero deflection. Maybe slightly less than the Cuetec. The important thing is the deflection is consistent and reacts as expected the harder you hit your shot. This isn't true for cheap carbon shafts which I find deflect way too much on harder hits.

The medium tip helps. It's firmer than the How medium on my Cuetec and doesn't feel quite so spongy. I have a soft Kamui black clear which I consider bouncy. Yet the tip grips well. I prefer a crisp hit so I'm pleased.

The Cuetec plays fine and is easy to control, but the Rhinos give a bit more feedback with slightly more vibration, but not too much, with the Whyte Carbon having the most vibration. This is likely because the Rhino is an inch longer but the same weight.

It feels alive like my '80s Meucci but with lower deflection and is much easier to control. I like a live shaft. Again I'm pleased.

My first impressions are very positive and I feel no need to try a Predator which was in the back of my mind. These are quality shafts in my opinion and are a steal for $200.

I was able to break and run with no problem and delicate shots were a breeze. Oddly the 12.6mm felt more precise than the Cuetec. Let me get out the micrometer and check the sizes. Be right back.

Ok, the 12.2mm is dead on at 12.2 and the 12.6 measures 12.69. Odd because the Cuetec is 12.55mm.

Also the 30 inch Rhino12.2 weighs in at 3.8 ounces as does the 29 inch Cuetec. The 30 inch 12.6 Rhino is 4.1 ounces which makes sense as it has a metal pilot.

All very interesting. Only one problem remains. I can no longer blame my equipment when I screw up. 8-( LOL!
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What is the taper type and length?
 
ngtvd said:
I bought a Rhino break shaft recently. Changed the tip to a Kamui Sai and used it for about a month before the ferrule completely ripped apart, taking the tip with it. Heard about several other people having the same issue. I have 2 of their playing shafts in 30 and 29 and think they play great and are worthy of the hype but the break shaft sucks ass in my experience.
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I had to replace the insert in one of their 'break' shafts and the way the plastic looks, and the way it machined as I remove the insert remains, makes me think they are using white acrylic (plexiglas). Cast? Extruded? Who knows, but cast acrylic should be stronger, and still not what I'd install as insert in a break shaft. I replaced the Rhino insert with PPSU. PPSU is a very glue friendly engineering plastic originally dreamed up for the healthcare industry, and you can beat it on an anvil with a hammer and it won't break - it will deform under the ball pein hammer test, but not break. Can't say the same for acrylic. PPSU is my go-to insert material now for CF play AND break/jump shafts, unless someone requests something different.
 
ngtvd said:
I bought a Rhino break shaft recently. Changed the tip to a Kamui Sai and used it for about a month before the ferrule completely ripped apart, taking the tip with it. Heard about several other people having the same issue. I have 2 of their playing shafts in 30 and 29 and think they play great and are worthy of the hype but the break shaft sucks ass in my experience.
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NCC1515 said:
I had to replace the insert in one of their 'break' shafts and the way the plastic looks, and the way it machined as I remove the insert remains, makes me think they are using white acrylic (plexiglas). Cast? Extruded? Who knows, but cast acrylic should be stronger, and still not what I'd install as insert in a break shaft. I replaced the Rhino insert with PPSU. PPSU is a very glue friendly engineering plastic originally dreamed up for the healthcare industry, and you can beat it on an anvil with a hammer and it won't break - it will deform under the ball pein hammer test, but not break. Can't say the same for acrylic. PPSU is my go-to insert material now for CF play AND break/jump shafts, unless someone requests something different.
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I want to make sure I got NCC1515's comment right. The photo below shows a metal insert in a Rhino shaft where the insert would fit into a butt. Circling the metal insert is a dark-black plastic piece that the metal insert is glued to. This plastic piece is glued to the Rhino carbon-fiber shaft.

Ngtvd above is referring to the failure of a Rhino ferrule. You are referring to a failure at the other end of the Rhino shaft --- the plastic that the metal insert fits into. Correct?


Rhino shaft insert and plastic outer.jpg
 
My take on ngtvd's post was that his 'ferrule' insert at the tip broke off, just like the one which was handed to me to fix with a PPSU insert.
 
I bought a 12.4mm carbon fiber Rhino shaft (Q-loc joint, Rhino’s version of Uniloc) over a year ago.

Played with it everyday since and I love it. I changed the tip a couple times to experiment but didn’t have any problems with the Rhino tip that came with it. I even bought the Rhino break shaft a few months later.

Awesome value for the price and the hit is similar to the Revos and SVB Ghost that I’ve tried from friends (carbon fiber is carbon fiber). You can change the tip to alter the feel to your preference.

If you’re looking to give carbon fiber a try but you don’t want to drop the cash on a popular brand, Rhino is a no brainer. Only potential drawback I can see is that they operate out of Vietnam, so shipping could take a week or two depending on your location.
 
Paul_#_ said:
Pro taper. My 10.5mm Rhino stays at 10.5mm for 9.5" from cue-tip bottom. It then increases to 11.3mm @ 12".
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Hey Mr. Paul, I could use your advice/insights.

I am considering buying a Rhino cue (not just a shaft, but one of their actual cues, from their website, rhino-billiards.com). For the life of me, I cannot figure out which of their cue models definitely have a pro taper and which ones do not.

There are several Rhino cues for sale on Amazon, and their specs on Amazon's site say they have a "thin conical taper". Here's one example: https://www.amazon.com/RHINO-G-w-Pool-Cue-Wrapless/dp/B0D8VFSH39/

But over on the Rhino website, the specs for nearly all their cues say they have a pro taper. Have you per chance figured out their product naming conventions, or product line abbevations, such that you could know for sure which type of taper each of their cues has?

I would call the company, but they don't appear to have a US phone number (they just list a street address in Hanoi, Viet Nam). Any insights you can provide will be greatly appreciated!
 
Rhino CF shaft are great. Match the butt on two of my cues perfectly. Cost less. Pro taper and 30inches with no extra charge. Many different sizes. Best money spend. I did purchase a Revo 11.8 but that hybrid taper sucks a$$. Sent it back and ordered the 12.4 but it feels too big. Now I'm back to playing with my Rhino 11.8...Would liked to see if Revo makes a real difference but the shorter shaft and taper was not good...and believe me that inch does make a difference..;) seriously.
 
RápidoEddy said:
But over on the Rhino website, the specs for nearly all their cues say they have a pro taper. Have you per chance figured out their product naming conventions, or product line abbevations, such that you could know for sure which type of taper each of their cues has?
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If the 10.5mm Rhino shaft has pro taper, I'd bet the larger shafts do, too. My 10.5mm has pro taper.

My guess is that whatever playing cue and shaft sold on their website has pro taper. I know that sounds wrong but the specs for their over $330 cues are the virtually the same as their $250 cues. I think their cheaper cues used to have a fiberglass shaft.

Below are the minimal differences in their descriptions of the $250 Camo and Nebula $330 cues:

Rhino 250 dollar specs.jpg
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Rhino 330 dollar specs.jpg
 
The 12.5mm shaft has a pro taper.
As men, the cheap cues have fiberglass shafts and not carbon.
I’ve tried a full Rhino carbon cue and I find the hit too soft and the balance too rear to my preference.
The shafts are OK
 
RápidoEddy said:
Hey Mr. Paul, I could use your advice/insights.

I am considering buying a Rhino cue (not just a shaft, but one of their actual cues, from their website, rhino-billiards.com). For the life of me, I cannot figure out which of their cue models definitely have a pro taper and which ones do not.

There are several Rhino cues for sale on Amazon, and their specs on Amazon's site say they have a "thin conical taper". Here's one example: https://www.amazon.com/RHINO-G-w-Pool-Cue-Wrapless/dp/B0D8VFSH39/

But over on the Rhino website, the specs for nearly all their cues say they have a pro taper. Have you per chance figured out their product naming conventions, or product line abbevations, such that you could know for sure which type of taper each of their cues has?

I would call the company, but they don't appear to have a US phone number (they just list a street address in Hanoi, Viet Nam). Any insights you can provide will be greatly appreciated!
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Rhino answers emails fast. All their playing cf shafts have long pro tapers, not conical in any way. BTW, they're 179 right now.
 
I had one and it played fine. It got me thinking that changing from wood to CF after 65 years would be a good idea. Bought a Viking Siege shaft for my Viking at it plays fine too. Feels a little better to me; very well balanced and smooth and the tip is better. Do I actually play better with the Viking vs the Rhino? Possibly.
 
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