Jump cue questions/recommendations

randomNameHere

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Hi there, 1st post so I’m hoping you folks can help me out a bit and this is in the correct section.

I’m what I would consider an intermediate player, certainly not great and have no disillusions of greatness, I play in a league where I’m fairly competitive night in night out but by no means dominate and I play for fun with some friends/teammates about once a week.

I am looking at picking up a jump cue and have a few questions:
1. What are the differences between the shorter two piece jump cues and longer three piece cues? Does one play a certain shot better than the other or suit a certain stroke style better (underhand or overhand)?
2. Is there really much of a difference in terms of ease of use/effectiveness or is it more personal preference when looking at which jump cue is best for a particular player?
3. Does weight really matter or again is it personal preference?
4. Any recommendations of cues I should check out?

I have had the opportunity to try two different jump cues and I am trying to narrow down my choices. One friend has a Poison VX JMP and the other a Poison VX BRK (Jump/Break) and I prefer and seem to get better results with the dedicated VX JMP cue, but I’m not sure why exactly.

I currently play my jump shots using the underhand stroke but realize that the overhand probably has its merits in certain situations and would like to develop that shot as well, but practice time is tough without my own cue to work with. I jump far more consistently when I have more space (3 balls +) between the cue ball and ball to be jumped than less space, so getting the ball up quicker is also something I need to work on.

I was planning on sticking to the major brands/manufacturers that my local billiards store carries (which I believe is most major ones). I like trying to support them when I can, they support and sponsor the local league and small tournaments in the area and if I can buy from them I will. However if I can get a significantly better product or the same product at a greatly reduced price online or elsewhere then I certainly will.

Any help or input would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to reading and learning lots here.
 
Steve Lomax makes some of the best custom jump cues out there. There are many others to choose from as well.
 
Wanted to add that a guy I know here locally has a Lucasi j/b and it plays very well. Several others use the PureX j/b cues and they're nice as well. All are farily affordable for 'production' type j/b cues.
 
I use the summer, winter and all season tire analogy. Depending on climate and driving ability some people can get by with all seasons, while others may prefer dedicated tired. Same with cues.
 
you will get a lot of subjective reports from players who enjoy certain jumpers but if you do a search on here you will see that hands down, the two jumpers that come out on top are the Lomax (number 1) and Jacoby (number 2) dedicated jump cues. And I think with good reason.

With that said, there are some pretty good ones that are on the much less expensive end of the spectrum, as well.

You mentioned that you might consider a poison vx jump/break and I would stay away from those due to a problem I recently found out about after watching my friends shaft collar blow out due to a bad pin design which apparently has not been addressed by poison. Basically, it's a way-too-short pin (mini radial) for a wood to wood joint.

GL

best,
brian kc
 
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I also have a j&j jump break that breaks well but actually jumps almost as good as my jacoby and that set me back a wopping 60 bucks
 
Thanks for the info so far guys, I appreciate it. I am only looking at dedicated jump cues for now, I don't care for break cues with the phelonic tip, for the time being a bar cue is good enough for me. I do have a question though, what is the purpose of the three-piece jump cues like the Jacoby extended or Predator Air 2? When assembled to their shorter length they are about the same length as the Poison VX JMP but can get six inches longer. When would one need the additional length?
 
9ft tables, bar boxes. There are times I could use a longer one. Depends on how you hold your cue for the stroke.
 
I'm fine with Lucasi L-2000JC, also I tried Mezz AIRSHOOTER, which is 3 time more pricey than Lucasi, it isn't 3 times better than Lucasi.
 
I know I'm being bias

I really like my stinger by McDermott. Its a jump / break cue. I've had a smaller 2 piece jumper but this stick breaks really well and I jump alot easier than I did with my smaller dedicated jumper. I've also had a tad pole jumper and the stinger is imo a better jumper and stiff breaker to boot(I also use the underhand dart throwing style on close to obstacle ball
 
I use the black fiberglass Cuetec jump cue. I consider it to be one of the best bargains in pool. It offers a more control than I was previously accustomed. Instead of just hoping to hit the OB, I am aiming to make the ball. The minor downside is that since it is a dedicated jump, it takes up one of the shaft slots in my case. But that is compensated by allowing me to use an extra hard leather tip on my break cue, which I prefer over phenolic.
 
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