are Predator cues really that good?

[lakeman77]

Yes, worth the money. Buy one and never look back, work on the rest of your game. Are other cues as good? Certainly. None will make you the next Johnny Archer, lot more to the game than the cue.

 

[goombavskoopa]

In my experience Predator products are "top of the line" if you're looking at production cues. They're not just China made crap. Their products really are engineered by a group of engineers who attempt to build a decent hitting cue that's high quality.

In the fancier designs and things like that, yes you are paying for how "pretty" it is. I completely agree with that portion.

In my experience the Predator shafts really do hit the best (in my opinion) but they are expensive. I think the OB Pro+ Shaft hits just as well as the Z3. If I had to choose though, I'd pick the Z shaft. As for their cue.....they are what they are. They feel good, perform well, but a lot is paying for the name.

For the money, buy a custom made cue. It'll feel better, play better and you always have that support and relationship with the cuemaker which is invaluable. Out here in CT I cant tell you how good it is to have Paul Drexler in my backyard and bouncing ideas off of him. I

 

[philschroeder]

........and those Revo's are crap. I read on here that they break clean in half if you just look at them wrong!! for reals........

This is bad information.

There's another thread on here that started as a thread about that 10-ball match between Earl and Shaw, and turned into a Revo bashing thread. A user literally videoed himself smashing his Revo against the ground, with stills of the bend that he put on the shaft. No breakage, no warping.

I've seen the pics of the shaft that got broken against the side of the pool table. I don't believe that's accurate at all.

 

[Chopdoc]

So I hear a lot about Predator cues here. They are expensive for a production cue IMO. My questions is: are they worth the $$$ ?

I won a really seriously nice 8 point full splice Predator off a guy playing 9 ball about 3 years ago.

First, I beat him with a 1970's Joss, so I don't know how much that Predator helped him. And he was an APA 9. :wink:

Second, I traded that Predator for a pristine C-Series McDermott with an It's George case. I do NOT regret that trade. Yes, the other guy got a "deal", I hope he enjoys the cue.



I guess they are worth it if that's what you want. To me they are not worth so much, but to others they are.




.

 

[justinb386]

Hi sneaky_russian,
As a cue builder of over 20 years i can honestly say that anything over 500 usd your just paying for pretty.

Yeah, and paying for the popularity of the name. Predator cues are made in China, so how great can the quality really be? Too bad that the company could not stay in Canada (or Florida, before that, from what I read in the past).

 

[justinb386]

I prefer OB products, which I feel have higher quality, better playing, and better looking products.

^^^for the LD market anyways that is.

Yeah, and OB cues are made here in the USA (unlike Predator, that are made in China).

 

[justinb386]

No....I gave one away to a team.mate tonight. I got tired of It taking up space in my closet..... But as they say....one mans trash is another mans treasure

That was really generous of you to do. I always loved the pre cat 314 Predator shafts (that I heard were originally made in Florida).

 

[justinb386]

Like any cue if you like the way they hit it's worth the money. If not its not.

I agree with someone saying there tacky. I never liked the way they hit or looked until the road line series. I don't know if it's because there's no metal joint or because it's fully spliced but I and many of my friends who dislike predator hit with my road lines and like the hit.. that being said I'm now playing with an old Scruggs sneaky that I think plays lights out lol

Yeah, I love the looks of the Road Line series.

https://www.seyberts.com/predator-roadline

I think they are really nice looking cues.

 

[justinb386]

I currently play with a Predator 8K-3, and I like it quite a bit. I've played with cues that hit better, and cues that hit worse, so I'm not naive enough to tell you that they are the best cues money can buy. My first cue was a Roger Pettit (actually borrowed from my dad) and it hit lights out. My player before my current cue was an OB, which also hit nice, but I wasn't terribly impressed with the design and finish.

I ended up purchasing my Predator after deciding to get a custom cue made. I drew it up on paper and was ready to find someone to build it. Then I saw the 8K-3 online and it basically looked like what I wanted to have custom made, but at a lower than custom price. Figured I'd give it a shot, and I am satisfied with the purchase. Been playing with it for about a year and a half now.

I love the looks of the 8K-4.

https://www.seyberts.com/predator-8k-cues/predator-8k-4-pool-cue/

The 8K-3 is very nice too though. Just not that flashy.

https://www.seyberts.com/predator-8k3-pool-cue

 

[justinb386]

View attachment 447865

I don't think my Predator Classico is tacky. Full splice and no metal joint, has as natural a hit as a one piece.

That is beautiful I think. Very nice cue. Love the sharp colored veneers (going into reverse too). Very nice. Would be really cool if it had a really nice highly figured BEM forearm though (in my opinion). I never liked straight grain maple.

 

[sciarco]

Predator

My buddy had one and he kept complaining about the uniloc joint coming loose had to keep on tightening it,i had a pred sneaky with no problems but now I shoot with a Madden.

 

[justinb386]

Indeed. Predator owes everything to the most aggressive marketing the market of cues has ever seen. In the mid 00s when Predator stormed in, there was a time that 14 out of 16 of the worlds elite players were playing with a Predator. That's how strong they were investing.

I remember hearing about Predator cues way back when they 1st came out (around 96?), and the marketing of their shafts sounded really awesome to me.

 

[justinb386]

I hate these threads. Despise them. Now I want to buy a Classico.

Lol, yeah, after seeing it, I would love to have one too.

https://www.seyberts.com/predator-classico-no-wrap-cue

 

[justinb386]

Yes, worth the money. Buy one and never look back, work on the rest of your game. Are other cues as good? Certainly. None will make you the next Johnny Archer, lot more to the game than the cue.

If I could afford a high end Predator, then I think I would rather use the money to try to find a nice used Lambros. I understand they are 2 completely different types of cues though.

 

[justinb386]

In my experience Predator products are "top of the line" if you're looking at production cues. They're not just China made crap. Their products really are engineered by a group of engineers who attempt to build a decent hitting cue that's high quality.

In the fancier designs and things like that, yes you are paying for how "pretty" it is. I completely agree with that portion.

In my experience the Predator shafts really do hit the best (in my opinion) but they are expensive. I think the OB Pro+ Shaft hits just as well as the Z3. If I had to choose though, I'd pick the Z shaft. As for their cue.....they are what they are. They feel good, perform well, but a lot is paying for the name.

For the money, buy a custom made cue. It'll feel better, play better and you always have that support and relationship with the cuemaker which is invaluable. Out here in CT I cant tell you how good it is to have Paul Drexler in my backyard and bouncing ideas off of him. I

Here is another cue company that is from China, and in my opinion, their cues (that come with the Universal Smart Shafts) hit much sweeter then Predator cues.

https://www.pooldawg.com/brand/universal-pool-cues

Problem is that the name Universal is just not a popular name, and they do not have the marketing that Predator has always had. I had one of their cues though, and I loved it. It hit amazing, in my opinion. I got it used for a fraction of its original retail price (of over $1,000). I am betting that very few US players have even heard of Universal cues, and that is a major issues on why they are worth so little on the used market.

 

[justinb386]

My buddy had one and he kept complaining about the uniloc joint coming loose had to keep on tightening it,i had a pred sneaky with no problems but now I shoot with a Madden.

I never understood why such a high end cue maker like Predator would use the Uni Loc joint in their cues. Why not use a Radial Pin, or a piloted 5/16x14 joint (like in the original Predator cues)? My point is that I just think the Uni Loc joint seems (to me) to be a joint mostly used on cues like Lucasi for example. It should noy be a joint used on a high end cue (high end to me is like over $600). I understand that Lucasi makes high end cues now though (that are priced over $600), and are very nice, in my opinion.

 

[KMRUNOUT]

I never understood why such a high end cue maker like Predator would use the Uni Loc joint in their cues. Why not use a Radial Pin, or a piloted 5/16x14 joint (like in the original Predator cues)? My point is that I just think the Uni Loc joint seems (to me) to be a joint mostly used on cues like Lucasi for example. It should noy be a joint used on a high end cue (high end to me is like over $600). I understand that Lucasi makes high end cues now though (that are priced over $600), and are very nice, in my opinion.

Predator does have a few radial pin offerings if I recall correctly. However, I'd say a big part of it is one of the owners of Predator also owning the UniLoc company.

KMRUNOUT

 

[JoeyInCali]

I never understood why such a high end cue maker like Predator would use the Uni Loc joint in their cues. Why not use a Radial Pin, or a piloted 5/16x14 joint (like in the original Predator cues)? My point is that I just think the Uni Loc joint seems (to me) to be a joint mostly used on cues like Lucasi for example. It should noy be a joint used on a high end cue (high end to me is like over $600). I understand that Lucasi makes high end cues now though (that are priced over $600), and are very nice, in my opinion.

B/c a lot of people thought it was so hot to be able to join the shaft with one twist.
High end??? Pred is not high end.
Uniloc was used by a lot of high end cue makers.
Then the romance died.

 

[vjmehra]

B/c a lot of people thought it was so hot to be able to join the shaft with one twist.
High end??? Pred is not high end.
Uniloc was used by a lot of high end cue makers.
Then the romance died.

How would you define High End for a production cue then?

Custom cues are on another level of course!

 

[garczar]

Universal.......................

Here is another cue company that is from China, and in my opinion, their cues (that come with the Universal Smart Shafts) hit much sweeter then Predator cues.

https://www.pooldawg.com/brand/universal-pool-cues

Problem is that the name Universal is just not a popular name, and they do not have the marketing that Predator has always had. I had one of their cues though, and I loved it. It hit amazing, in my opinion. I got it used for a fraction of its original retail price (of over $1,000). I am betting that very few US players have even heard of Universal cues, and that is a major issues on why they are worth so little on the used market.

Same factory makes Universal, Lucasi, Bear, Dynamic, Riley. This is the factory that Bill Stroud helped set-up. Their cues are very well made. ErnieChen used to make Predator butts (and Falcons) in Canada but has since moved to China. Don't know if he still makes any Pred. stuff.