How has predator/ob1 improvied your game?

M

maxeypad2007

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So despite all the hype I'm considering trying out possibly both of these technologies. With many of the top pros using these technologies despite sponsorship I have to wonder if there really is something to it afterall.

I have a few questions for those of you using predator or ob1.

1. How would you rank your level of play on a scale of 1-10 with ten being SVB/efren or you can post your APA/BCA ranking as well.

2. When did you start using low deflection shafts and how good were you then...how much improvement did you see over say three months?

3. Which technology are you using, 314-2, z2 or ob1?
 
maxeypad2007 said:
So despite all the hype I'm considering trying out possibly both of these technologies. With many of the top pros using these technologies despite sponsorship I have to wonder if there really is something to it afterall.

I have a few questions for those of you using predator or ob1.

1. How would you rank your level of play on a scale of 1-10 with ten being SVB/efren or you can post your APA/BCA ranking as well.

2. When did you start using low deflection shafts and how good were you then...how much improvement did you see over say three months?

3. Which technology are you using, 314-2, z2 or ob1?
Click to expand...

1. 6-7
2. About 1 year ago. No improvement in shot making ability at all.
3. 314 (1st) and OB1 (have two).

I would love to say I've improved because of the money invested, but it just hasn't happened, yet.

JED
 
Current APA Skill Level is a 7

Started using an OB1 about a year ago but had tried the original predator 314 quite a few times.

I now own a 314-2 (came with a cue i bought) and 2 OB1's.

I like to think that the OB1 has definitely increased my game but there has been many factors to consider. When i purchased the OB1 i was obsessing about pool and still am. When i bought it, with it came this drive to get better so i think that helped. Since owning it though i have used my schon back and forth and i really dont see a difference in my shot making. Maybe a certain level of spin but thats about it. Then again i might be too "new" to notice.

Charlie
 
I'm a 2, but the Predator shaft undeniably improved my game (I guess I must've been about a .5 before that).
 
I tried both, neither improved my shot making ability markedly, although the ob made me miss a lot more for a month. Then I sold it.

If you are just starting to play, using one of them would help. Once your game has advanced ( I have been playing for about 20 years), swapping to a radically different shaft would just mess with you, and you will drop a level of play, and end up at your old level of play in a few weeks, but I don't think you will improve the game just by a shaft swap. The only thing that I have seen that will end up in improving one's skill is breaking down bad fundamentals and aim, rebuilding from the ground up, and practacing a ton. Then you will go down in level while you re-learn, reach your old level, and go past it eventually.

For my skill, I rotate around a B.. sometimes high, sometimes low (if I'm being silly, focused I'm a high B). For comparison, my brother in law is a 9 in 9-ball APA, and we can play about even, he end up ahead in the long run.
 
I first started to use the low def shaft about 3 years ago. My game did improve. I was shooting longer shots straighter, and using spin much better.

I started out with 314 shafts, then on to 314^2 shafts, now i'm using ob-1 shafts and i really feel like they are part of my arm. Love them.

thanks,
 
I have no clue what my rating would be. I recently scored well into the "Pro" level on a Billiards Digest ranking game called 99 Ball but it is an "all offense" game and therefore a flawed ranking system.

I can hang with the 7 ball against players under the level of touring pro and "feared roadies."

I use a 314-1 and 2 for several years and my game has improved considerably BUT I have also taken lessons from top instructors and champion touring pros so it is impossible to tell what led to my improvement.

The THEORY is that since L/D shafts are known to reduce the variable associated with squirt, that they are fundamentally superior to traditional shafts.

There is much to be said for that theory. BUT there are SO many variables in the process of improving our games that I think it is impossible to assign a "slam dunk" to the benefits of L/D.

Where I came down was the notion that they can't HURT (I think) and MIGHT help...so why not use them?

But at the end of the day, the trick is to be able to command the travel of the CB...AFTER OB impact with such precision that "shotmaking" is reduced in importance and with it, the benefits of L/D shafts.

If someone could inject me with Efren's table generalship and CB control after OB impact, I would PROMISE to play with house cues for the rest of my life!!

(-:

Regards,
Jim
 
My level would be 7.5-8 and getting better. I use a 314 and the shaft made a huge different for me. I can't make a shot with english using a regular shaft. The feel is a little harder hit than my old falcon shaft, but that was minor. I jumped a notch with this shaft and 2 notches when I got my contacts.
 
I've been using a Predator 314-2 shaft for the past year. Before that, I had a Joss shaft. Using the 314-2, I can move the cue ball around the table with much less effort than it took with the Joss shaft.

My overall game, including shot-making and cue ball placement skills have improved tremendously over the past year. However, I credit that more to a lot of hard work and practice rather than due to the Predator shaft.
 
I had a predator cue back in early '07, The shaft ended up being a dud (awful) and the cue itself is now in a few pieces (oops).
I think some of the 314's feel good, but you really need to get a good one, and I don't feel that the good ones are easy to come by.

I had read all of the OB-1 reviews on AZ and even though I really don't play pool anymore I figured I'd spend a few dollars and try it out.
To be honest, I might only have a few days of play in the shaft since I got it (2-3 months ago). From the little play I did get out of it my opinion was that it had a hit that I very much liked the feel of, like a soft hit that felt solid (if that makes any sense). I felt like I got more action out of it too, nothing insane, and maybe it was just the feel of it, but it sure did feel that way.
I sure couldn't make a ball with the thing, but in all honesty I didn't give it enough practice and I hadn't been playing at all around the time of trying it out.


If I ever get the desire to play pool again I'll try to give the OB-1 some play and really see what I can do with it. As for now my only opinion on it is that it feels really good, but I can't make a ball with it, and we'll see how it goes from there.

As for recommendations, I'd choose OB-1 over 314. I don't feel that either shaft (or any particular shaft for that matter) is going to magically make you play any better, but I do feel that you can play more consistently with a shaft that you think has a hit that feels better, and the OB-1's feel is very nice.

As for me, I will give the OB another shot, but the Ted Harris shaft is still #1 in my case.
 
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psychological aspect of it all....

I think people put way too much interest in trying to find some magical equipment that they "think" will help their game. In all honesty, any good player can hit with any cue or shaft for a short period of time and make the adjustments to play just as well. This is the reason many hustlers used to play off the wall and play on foreign equipment they had never played on before.

I have a predator 314 and an OB-1 but have recently went back to the standard shaft as it seems like a more natural feel/hit. Once you start experiementing then you start trying to overcompensate and adjust and then you are more confused than ever. Best thing to do it get one shaft and stick with it. Every time the greatest and latest thing comes out it's best just to leave it alone and leave it to those people who overthink and overrate equipment to try and figure it all out, meanwhile you will be playing with what you are used to while their game is dropping down.
 
I have a predator 4k4. I started with the Z shaft. Couldn't hit it. Switched to the 314-2, much better for my game. Played for 2 years with it, and was very happy. Now I play with a Keith Josey custom cue, and I can't believe the difference in my game. I can't play with the predator any more, the hit is too dull. I didn't realize what I was missing in terms of the feedback I get from the firmer hit. The big ass radial pin screwing right into the wood gives me a much better feel. I have not noticed any difference in deflection either. My game has improved, along with my bankroll, in the 3 weeks since I got it.:D
 
maxeypad2007 said:
So despite all the hype I'm considering trying out possibly both of these technologies. With many of the top pros using these technologies despite sponsorship I have to wonder if there really is something to it afterall.

I have a few questions for those of you using predator or ob1.

1. How would you rank your level of play on a scale of 1-10 with ten being SVB/efren or you can post your APA/BCA ranking as well.

2. When did you start using low deflection shafts and how good were you then...how much improvement did you see over say three months?

3. Which technology are you using, 314-2, z2 or ob1?
Click to expand...
I have logged a couple of years with both 314 and ob-1 and I must say that they have improved my game. Although my Lane Simons custom made cue along with my Kamui Medium Soft tip has improved my game by leaps and bounds.
 
Honestly?

Honestly.........it hasn't made me better or worse! It just changed the way I play the game!

It is a low deflection shaft meaning I don't have to adjust as much to apply English. Some people will see this as improvement cause they might make more shots when not having to adjust as much. (I understand that, and in that since it might have helped some.)

The thing that helped my game the most was instruction from great instructors, and practicing my drills faithfully!

The more I practice and harder I practice the better I get!

Wierd huh? LMAO:rolleyes:
 
I used to use them. For everything they add to your game, they also take something away. Preds and OB-1s jump like a white guy, and you lose certain touch shots, like the stun-run-through, or the 2 ball length draw shot.

I also discovered that I was playing way too much juice with the shafts because of not having to compensate. Look around next time you're at the pool hall. The biggest "juice monkeys" are using aftermarket shafts. I discovered that the stock shaft and less english = more consistency. So, the LD shafts have impacted my game in a positive way because (A) I don't use them, and (B) they made me conscious of the fact that most players juice the ball way too much.
 
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