Well, I've had my new X Breaker break cue for about 2 weeks now, and I feel I must post my review.
First of all, let me just say that Richard was a great pleasure to deal with. I highly respect his attitude-he is a scientist, and experimenter, and has an open mind. I can't stand those holier-than-thou cue makers who think they have all the anwers and if you question anything they do they expose their insecurities and get all upset. Richard is exactly the opposite. I would confidently buy another product from him in a heartbeat.
Another very important thing to note is the partnership with Samsara cues. Maybe I am a little biased here, but I think Samsara makes a fantastic cue. I have played with one for about 8 years, and just got a new one from them about a month ago (which I LOVE). Absolutely top quality workmanship.
Look at this:
So about the X-Breaker:
Build quality/workmanship: 9.5 out of 10. The only reason I can't give 10 out of 10 is because I haven't seen everything, and I know there are cues out there with more complex designs that are also done very well. The finish is excellent. Almost looks invisible, like it is just a nice glossy piece of wood. All joints are perfect, fit tight. This cue is the most solid hitting cue I have ever felt. It really feels like one piece. I know a lot of people say that, but I mean it literally feels like it is one solid thing. I really like the white phenolic pieces. The wood is unbelievable. Tons of grain. Very striking-just what I wanted.
Joint: 10 out of 10. This is one of the best joints I've ever seen. It is a 5/16 14 piloted joint. The face of the piloted part is flat. This touches up against the wood on the butt end. When you tighten it that last little bit, you feel the slight compression of the piloted part pressing up against the wood on the face of the butt joint. It reallys gives an incredibly solid, one piece feel. Also, this joint has the least flex of any I've tried.
Shaft: 8 out of 10. This rating deserves an *, because I personally find a thin shaft more comfortable. My tastes are changing however, and perhaps tomorrow this would get a 9 out of 10. Seriously. The shaft is VERY fat (must be almost 14 mm). It is sort of a straight taper. the overall feel is extremely rigid. I'm sure this adds to the cues feeling of solidness and power. The other reason I didn't give a 10 rating is because of the weight of the shaft. The shaft is very heavy (4.75 oz.). This creates a very front heavy cue, because the whole thing only weighs 17.8 oz. Again, as I hit this cue more and more, I am starting to like this feeling, so this rating will change I'm sure.
Tip: 10 out of 10. This is the defining feature of the X-Breaker--the Xtreme tip. This is some kind of material that looks almost translucent. It looks a little like phenolic, maybe most like G10 epoxy, but it is not either of these. It is supposedly way harder than phenolic. I have no reason to doubt this, because I feel like this cue adds a LOT of speed to my break. Keep in mind I have hit my other phenolic tip break cue on radar at 26 mph. I swear this hits the ball harder. What is really amazing is that even when you absolutely crush the rack, the cueball behaves nicely. it doesn't really want to jump, and spins very little. I have a high percentage of breaks that I hit at max power in which the cue ball just sticks in place in the center of the table. It is really uncanny, because this is without question the most amazing jump cue I have ever used. I can clear a full ball with a full cue from about 8 inches fairly easily. If you can back off to about 90% power, the control is unreal. I still have to try this out on a bar box, but I've tried it extensively on 8' and 9' tables, and it performs VERY well. One strange thing is that the end of the tip is concave. It looks like there is a little dimple in the center of the tip. I'm not sure if this is a manufacturing thing or part of the design. Either way, it sure works well!!
Overall quality: 9.5 out of 10. I think this is a superb cue. I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who likes cues, and particularly to anyone really interested in the break. It is really beautiful. The finish is excellent, the materials and workmanship are excellent. Also, compared to what is out there, this seems like a very good value for what you get.
Overall performance: 9.5 out of 10. For anyone "into" the break, this cue is really a must have. One thing I didn't mention so far is that aside from all of the "technology" and talk about how solid the cue feels and how hard it hits the ball, the most important fact is that it MAKES BALLS!! For some reason, even when I hit the rack bad, I just make more balls on the break with this cue. This cue would be ideal for the person who wants a little more power in their break, or the person who breaks hard but lacks control and jumps off the table a lot. This cue really tames the cueball and at the same time ADDS power. Because I am tall, have a long strok and huge follow through, and am used to a heavier break cue, it took me a while to warm up to this cue. I LOVED the look and feel of the cue right out of the shipping package. At first glance, I immediately realized that this was a quality item. However, I couldn't really hit it very well until I practiced for a couple of hours and focused on the new feel. Now I am glad I did, because this looks like the next evolution in my break.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
By the way, did I mention that Richard is a great guy? The pictures I posted here were actually sent to me by him *before* I bought the cue. Just so I could see what it looks like. Who does that? What other company gives you that kind of personal treatment?
Sorry for the long post.
KMRUNOUT
First of all, let me just say that Richard was a great pleasure to deal with. I highly respect his attitude-he is a scientist, and experimenter, and has an open mind. I can't stand those holier-than-thou cue makers who think they have all the anwers and if you question anything they do they expose their insecurities and get all upset. Richard is exactly the opposite. I would confidently buy another product from him in a heartbeat.
Another very important thing to note is the partnership with Samsara cues. Maybe I am a little biased here, but I think Samsara makes a fantastic cue. I have played with one for about 8 years, and just got a new one from them about a month ago (which I LOVE). Absolutely top quality workmanship.
Look at this:
So about the X-Breaker:
Build quality/workmanship: 9.5 out of 10. The only reason I can't give 10 out of 10 is because I haven't seen everything, and I know there are cues out there with more complex designs that are also done very well. The finish is excellent. Almost looks invisible, like it is just a nice glossy piece of wood. All joints are perfect, fit tight. This cue is the most solid hitting cue I have ever felt. It really feels like one piece. I know a lot of people say that, but I mean it literally feels like it is one solid thing. I really like the white phenolic pieces. The wood is unbelievable. Tons of grain. Very striking-just what I wanted.
Joint: 10 out of 10. This is one of the best joints I've ever seen. It is a 5/16 14 piloted joint. The face of the piloted part is flat. This touches up against the wood on the butt end. When you tighten it that last little bit, you feel the slight compression of the piloted part pressing up against the wood on the face of the butt joint. It reallys gives an incredibly solid, one piece feel. Also, this joint has the least flex of any I've tried.
Shaft: 8 out of 10. This rating deserves an *, because I personally find a thin shaft more comfortable. My tastes are changing however, and perhaps tomorrow this would get a 9 out of 10. Seriously. The shaft is VERY fat (must be almost 14 mm). It is sort of a straight taper. the overall feel is extremely rigid. I'm sure this adds to the cues feeling of solidness and power. The other reason I didn't give a 10 rating is because of the weight of the shaft. The shaft is very heavy (4.75 oz.). This creates a very front heavy cue, because the whole thing only weighs 17.8 oz. Again, as I hit this cue more and more, I am starting to like this feeling, so this rating will change I'm sure.
Tip: 10 out of 10. This is the defining feature of the X-Breaker--the Xtreme tip. This is some kind of material that looks almost translucent. It looks a little like phenolic, maybe most like G10 epoxy, but it is not either of these. It is supposedly way harder than phenolic. I have no reason to doubt this, because I feel like this cue adds a LOT of speed to my break. Keep in mind I have hit my other phenolic tip break cue on radar at 26 mph. I swear this hits the ball harder. What is really amazing is that even when you absolutely crush the rack, the cueball behaves nicely. it doesn't really want to jump, and spins very little. I have a high percentage of breaks that I hit at max power in which the cue ball just sticks in place in the center of the table. It is really uncanny, because this is without question the most amazing jump cue I have ever used. I can clear a full ball with a full cue from about 8 inches fairly easily. If you can back off to about 90% power, the control is unreal. I still have to try this out on a bar box, but I've tried it extensively on 8' and 9' tables, and it performs VERY well. One strange thing is that the end of the tip is concave. It looks like there is a little dimple in the center of the tip. I'm not sure if this is a manufacturing thing or part of the design. Either way, it sure works well!!
Overall quality: 9.5 out of 10. I think this is a superb cue. I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who likes cues, and particularly to anyone really interested in the break. It is really beautiful. The finish is excellent, the materials and workmanship are excellent. Also, compared to what is out there, this seems like a very good value for what you get.
Overall performance: 9.5 out of 10. For anyone "into" the break, this cue is really a must have. One thing I didn't mention so far is that aside from all of the "technology" and talk about how solid the cue feels and how hard it hits the ball, the most important fact is that it MAKES BALLS!! For some reason, even when I hit the rack bad, I just make more balls on the break with this cue. This cue would be ideal for the person who wants a little more power in their break, or the person who breaks hard but lacks control and jumps off the table a lot. This cue really tames the cueball and at the same time ADDS power. Because I am tall, have a long strok and huge follow through, and am used to a heavier break cue, it took me a while to warm up to this cue. I LOVED the look and feel of the cue right out of the shipping package. At first glance, I immediately realized that this was a quality item. However, I couldn't really hit it very well until I practiced for a couple of hours and focused on the new feel. Now I am glad I did, because this looks like the next evolution in my break.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
By the way, did I mention that Richard is a great guy? The pictures I posted here were actually sent to me by him *before* I bought the cue. Just so I could see what it looks like. Who does that? What other company gives you that kind of personal treatment?
Sorry for the long post.
KMRUNOUT
