Are we all playing with the same leather (layered / solid) tip after 4-6 months?

BadBeef67 said:
The softer the tip, the more shaping is required, which shortens it's lifespan as you're removing material. The less material there is the harder it'll feel, regardless if that's whats actually happening to the tip, hardening that is versus staying soft.
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Good point, and something I didn't consider out of the gate. During the rather short period (8mths) I played with a soft tip. I only really made effort to remove the mushrooming around the edge, and didn't bother chasing an arc for general shaping.
 
I have some shafts I barely play, with both solid and layered tips on them from 20 years ago. On the rare occasion I get them out to hit a few racks with them, they play perfectly fine. They don't need a single thing, just brush chalk on them and shoot.

<====== Thinks you're barking up the wrong tree....
 
In the past 4 years or so I've only changed them out when I want to try something new or experiment. Sometimes it's two years, sometimes it's two weeks. I no longer use shapers except for the initial shaping. Just a 1" square of sandpaper to lift out old chalk before a session. My thoughts is the old chalk picks up humidity... no idea if true or just in my head, but old chalk on a tip feels different to me.

I currently have some DIY milkdudded lepros on both of my sticks and I'm going to leave them for the long haul. But... I'm also curious to experiment with some soft tips now that I'm actually at a solid point in my game. But they might just go on another cue, I have no idea if I'll like the hit after using hard for so long. I'm huge on the sound/feel/feedback so I may not like them.

To more directly address OP's question, I don't think there's any time frame. If a tip starts playing bad or de-laminating, or otherwise gets in your head, it's time to change it.
 
I play with my Elkmaster normally year or two.
Sometimes If i get bad one, that can be replaced very quickly.
I play more than most.
 
I play Triangle tips that I compress before installing. I generally get 10 months or so of play before I change them and I play quite a bit. As far as hardness goes, the harder the better. I’d use a piece of rock if I could get it to hold chalk.
 
Frosty said:
I play Triangle tips that I compress before installing. I generally get 10 months or so of play before I change them and I play quite a bit. As far as hardness goes, the harder the better. I’d use a piece of rock if I could get it to hold chalk.
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Yup.
Hard Pressed Triangles.
One layer.
Shape them however you like.
Possibly the best bargain in pool equipment at about a buck apiece.

The way the cue tip market is today, a new tip comes out every week, and they are all the best.

I'll stick with my Triangles.
Keep it simple stupid.
 
SSP said:
Carbon Fiber was a big change in billiard equipment, I wondered when someone would make a BCA legal tip that is not made of leather, Bulletproof cue tips did just that with their Recoil tip, I have been using these tips for the last 3 months and I have no plans of changing to another tip, natural products like wood and leather have one inherent flaw if you are trying to build a consistent product, you will never find trees or animal skin that have exactly the same grain or skin density, layered tips helped but the glue that bonds the leather glazes and the leather gets harder over time being exposed to air, the Bulletproof Recoil tip is made of a man made resin they claim does not change over time, so far I find this to be true, they also claim their tips hold chalk better than a leather tip, I also find this to be true, I'm using TAOM V 10 chalk, I find I only need to chalk about every 5 shots or so, I shaped the tip with a Willard dime radius shaper 1 time, it still has perfect shape with ZERO mushrooming, I am using their hard (green) tip, I don't have any experience with their Med or Soft tips, if you have never heard of them or thought about trying one give them a shot, if you are like me the worst thing that could happen is you don't like them, you cut it off and continue your search for your perfect tip, I have tried Kamui Athlete, Tiger Black Onyx, TAOM Fusion, Becue Medium and Hard and some I don't remember, I now have the Bulletproof Recoil on both of my shafts.
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Thanks for the glowing endorsement! We spent over a year developing them and another year of having local players put them through the paces before making any of the claims we do or making them available to the public. We had just 1 question for the 100+ players testing them. "Is there ANYTHING you can do with a leather tip that you can't do with the Recoil?" To this day, nobody has been able to demonstrate anything that a leather tip can do that ours cannot. What really convinced us that we were on to something was NONE of the players testing them switched back to leather and nearly all of them had us put them on all their shafts.
 
I have been using Ultraskin Ivory tips lately and am very impressed with them.
I also have a Bulletproof Recoil tip that I will be checking out soon.
 
Bulletproof Billiards said:
Thanks for the glowing endorsement! We spent over a year developing them and another year of having local players put them through the paces before making any of the claims we do or making them available to the public. We had just 1 question for the 100+ players testing them. "Is there ANYTHING you can do with a leather tip that you can't do with the Recoil?" To this day, nobody has been able to demonstrate anything that a leather tip can do that ours cannot. What really convinced us that we were on to something was NONE of the players testing them switched back to leather and nearly all of them had us put them on all their shafts.
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Is there anything you can do with a leather tip you can't do with a Bulletproof Recoil tip? YES, lots of things, you can feel your tip change hardness over time, you can fight with glazing on your tip, you can spend time reshaping it, but the biggest one of all, drum roll please, you can blame your mis-cues on your tip !!!!
 
ChrisSjoblom said:
I play with Triangles, always have. I shoot from 4 to 10 hours per week (actual playing/practice time). I play 8-ball most of the time, and I break with my playing cue. I've replaced two tips in the past 12 years, and one of those was due to a cracked ferule that needed replacement. After the initial break-in my tips only require minimal maintenance - slightly roughening the surface with a pick maybe 3 or 4 times a year and almost never needing reshaping or trimming a mushroom.

I get plenty of spin, draw, etc when needed using Master chalk, and my miscue rate is lower than most of the people I play with even though they are using Taom. Most of them are using layered tips which they seem to be constantly changing whether or not they look worn down. Most also are using CF shafts, and none would ever think of breaking with their playing cue.

I've shot with some of their cues on various occasions and I haven't found anything superior about them. I really believe people buy into new products or technologies without objectively testing them, and for the large majority of recreational players any improvement they see is either psychological or imagined.
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I don't believe a CF shaft plays better than a wooden shaft either, I KNOW it plays more consistent, I had a custom David Tice cue that was gorgeous with 2 custom shafts, I had a "favorite" shaft with that cue, one played better, over time wood will wear down and that will change how the cue plays, I have (2) CF shafts and you can't tell one from the other, my personal preference is for consistency, a CF shaft won't make you draw or follow better than a wooden shaft, it's the quality of your stroke or lack thereof that determines that, just saw an add for a well known players shaft that said "he went through 57 variations to get the perfect shaft for him" it then asks "would you like to get his shaft?" ......NO! I don't want his shaft, Do I have the same body type, height, speed of stroke ect.? Probably not, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say putting on a shaft designed for him is not going to make me play like this player, I know, hard to believe, but I'm guessing I'm right about this, If you have never taken a lesson from PBIA instructor do yourself a favor and give it a try, it will take you a lot farther than using (insert your favorite pro players) shaft and use what works for you 😉
 
I pretty much mess with my tips on a daily basis. I am always going for that perfect nickel radius. I use the same shaft all week then on Saturday I swap for the other one. On average my tips last about 3 months. I am using layered tips so when i get down to the second layer i am putting on a new tip.

I just changed tips going from a super soft to a medium tip hardness. I seem to be getting a little more action on the cue ball. The hardness does not seem/feel does not feel that much firmer of a hit. I will be changing my shafts tip probably tonight.
 
Bulletproof Billiards said:
Thanks for the glowing endorsement! We spent over a year developing them and another year of having local players put them through the paces before making any of the claims we do or making them available to the public. We had just 1 question for the 100+ players testing them. "Is there ANYTHING you can do with a leather tip that you can't do with the Recoil?" To this day, nobody has been able to demonstrate anything that a leather tip can do that ours cannot. What really convinced us that we were on to something was NONE of the players testing them switched back to leather and nearly all of them had us put them on all their shafts.
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Can you jump balls with them tips?
 
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