Break Rak owners/opinions

Icon of Sin said:
Hey guys,

I was thinking of picking up a break rak at Valley Forge while I am there, I was wondering if any of you guys had them and what you thought of them.
http://www.breakrak.com/default.asp
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I don't have one, but Charlie had one in the AZ room at the DCC this year that we all took some turns with. I believe everybody felt it was a worthwhile training aid if you are looking to work on your 9-ball break. The product seemed to be well constructed - setup was quick and easy.
 
Icon of Sin said:
Hey guys,

I was thinking of picking up a break rak at Valley Forge while I am there, I was wondering if any of you guys had them and what you thought of them.
http://www.breakrak.com/default.asp
Click to expand...

I love mine. Since I've had a pitiful break in the past several years, being able to practice my break without having to rerack the balls has been a great tool.

Instructors also will have a good time with the Break Rak.

Fred
 
One of the best teaching/training aids I own...highly recommended, and Charley is a great guy to do business with.
 
Icon of Sin said:
Hey guys,

I was thinking of picking up a break rak at Valley Forge while I am there, I was wondering if any of you guys had them and what you thought of them.
http://www.breakrak.com/default.asp
Click to expand...

Here's my review from a few years back........Paul Mon

I was recently given a Break Rak by its inventor Charlie Bond. A few months back Charlie and I got into a spirited discussion over the merits of the Break Rak. Site unseen I told him my thoughts about the Break Rak. At the time I doubted that the Break Rak would be a useful tool in developing a consistent break. I also felt that the cost of a Break Rak was extremely high and that for my money I would rather pay someone to rack real balls for me. I told Charlie that I would never consider buying one without first trying it out. He graciously agreed to send me one free of charge to experiment with.

First of all you need to know that the Break Rak is a training aid that develops cue ball control when using a hard break. It will not give you any feedback as to how the balls spread. It sole purpose is to provide feedback on where the cue ball ends up after breaking a rack of 9 balls. To that end the Break Rak is a complete success, IMO. I can say with complete honesty that I have better cue ball control after using the Break Rak for one week. I used it about ½ hour the first time I set it up and again for about 20 minutes later that day. Each day since I’ve used it about 15 minutes per day.

The next day I brought it to the pool hall and it met with mixed reviews. The counter man and another player believed that it would benefit their breaking ability. Neither one of them or I think that anyone would rent it for use at the pool hall. Most pool players believe that they “know it all” and any invention of this kind is a gimmick. In my initial conversation with Charlie I called this product a gimmick too. My thinking now is that the Break Rak is indeed a gimmick, but not in a negative way.

In today’s global marketplace we see new gimmicks all the time. Some of us buy them and love them others sit back and settle for the status quo. I own one of pools most expensive gimmicks the Predator 314 shaft. Golf is full of swing aids and training devices. Pool is long over due for a truly effective break training device and the Break Rak meets that need. It is now up to the marketplace to decide if the Break Rak is worth the price. I’ll not quote the retail price here as it may have changed since it was first introduced. Charlie will be in Valley Forge this March demonstrating and selling Break Rak’s.

In closing I want to acknowledge Charlie as a gentleman who proudly stood behind his product and its merits. I admire his ingenuity for a well-conceived product and wish him success with his business.
 
A friend and I bought one a couple years ago and used it a lot. If you have any kind of a break, it will spot up the felt you use it on. I used it for a couple hours on one table and there were white spots all over the center of the table from where the cue ball bounced after making contact with the rack. All tables on which nine ball is played have a break track, but this accelerates the process by a huge amount. The only other negative thing about it, was no matter how I tightened it, the cue ball would spring off the rack further than it would off a normal rack of balls. I still recommend it as a training aid as it is obvious whether or not you hit the head ball full and can get a lot of reps in much faster. I heard that there is a BreakRak II out now but can't confirm that and don't know what improvements were made.
 
Couldn't you do the same thing by backing up one ball with a bean bag and breaking into it?
 
Godfather said:
The only other negative thing about it, was no matter how I tightened it, the cue ball would spring off the rack further than it would off a normal rack of balls.
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I'm not sure you're right here. Tightening the bunjee chords should have little affect on the cueball jumping back. The Break Rak should weigh as much as 9 balls, so the jumping back would should be equivalent to hitting a dead solid rack. That of course might be the biggest issue, as normally, you wouldn't get that kind of rack.

The contact time must be pretty short. I would think the cueball is long gone before the rack springs back. Maybe Charley has a slo-mo video of this. Tightening the bunjees might actually add false weight to the Break Rak.

Fred
 
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I really believe the BreakRAK is the best way to practice your break, which is a very important (if not THE most important) shot in 8-ball and 9-ball. I used to rarely practice breaking because of the tedium involved, but practicing with the BreakRAK is easy. A beanbag behind the one ball will not simulate the effect of a real rack, which the BreakRAK does - especially the newest version. It will leave tracks on your cloth, because as noted above all breaking does and this is repetitive breaking, but this is only an aesthetic problem.

Bottom line: A good break is imperative for an excellent 8- or 9-ball game, and the BreakRAK is the most effective way to practice the break.
 
Cornerman said:
I'm not sure you're right here. Tightening the bunjee chords should have little affect on the cueball jumping back. The Break Rak should weigh as much as 9 balls, so the jumping back would should be equivalent to hitting a dead solid rack. That of course might be the biggest issue, as normally, you wouldn't get that kind of rack.

The contact time must be pretty short. I would think the cueball is long gone before the rack springs back. Maybe Charley has a slo-mo video of this. Tightening the bunjees might actually add false weight to the Break Rak.

Fred
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I never checked any of the specs on weight and don't know how it compares to a rack of nine balls. I don't think the cueball action I got was a result of the rack springing back and hitting the ball twice or anything like that. And I agree the ball is gone before the rack springs back. I don't know the physics involved, but there was an obvious difference for me and all the pool players that I saw try it. The cue ball came off much further than it does off any normal rack of balls, no matter how tight the rack. I don't think this detracted very much from its usefulness. As I stated earlier, you can still see when you hit it square and also see if the cueball is spinning afterward. If you can hit it with little spin and in the face, you can assume that the cueball will end up where you want it with a normal rack.
 
Godfather said:
....The cue ball came off much further than it does off any normal rack of balls....
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Just wanted to point out that the latest upgrade of the BreakRAK has largely solved the problem of extra springiness off the rack. Which version was this?
 
Yeah, it was the first one. I heard they came out with another one, but didn't know what improvements they made. That's good to hear they solved that problem. I agree that this is probably the most effective way to work on the break. You can just get so many more reps in for the time spent. You still need to take the time to learn how the balls respond as well as the individual table you may be playing on, but as far as the stroke, there's no better way.
 
Cornerman said:
The weight of the rack is important.

Fred
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You can make the bean bag any weight you want. If it works it is a lot easier to carry and also cheaper.
 
TheBook said:
You can make the bean bag any weight you want. If it works it is a lot easier to carry and also cheaper.
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Yeah, but I think the purpose of the break rak is to save you that trip of going down table to setup the balls again. The the 1 ball and a bean bag you have have to keep spotting it over and over again. With the break rak all you have to do is just keep breaking and setting the cue ball back up.
 
Icon of Sin said:
Yeah, but I think the purpose of the break rak is to save you that trip of going down table to setup the balls again. The the 1 ball and a bean bag you have have to keep spotting it over and over again. With the break rak all you have to do is just keep breaking and setting the cue ball back up.
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Do you not have to put your BreakRak back on the spot after each break as well? I've been trying one out a friend lent me and I find the head ball moves off the spot a few inches with each break. Doesn't take more than a second or 2 to move it back into place, but it still has to be done each break.

Or does this just mean I don't have it set up right?
 
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If it's set up properly, no, the one ball should not move off the spot. Try adjusting the bunjee cords and see if that helps. Either too loose OR too tight can affect the consistency of the one ball after impact, so experiment a little until you figure out what works. :)
 
Its a great product, very useful and Charley also does a book called the great break shot...I highly reccommend you pick one up when you buy the breakrak
 
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