I thought this might be of value to some people trying to find the right tip.
I have played with a Kamui Black Soft for some time now. About 6 months or maybe a little less ago I switched to a smaller diameter shaft (went from 314-2 to OB Classic Pro...12.75mm to 11.75mm). I played with the Everest tip that came on it for a while, and loved the feel of the shaft. I then put on a Kamui Black Soft. Turns out, this tip no longer felt like it did on my 12.75mm shaft. When I used english, because of the flexibility of the tip, I could *feel* the tip flexing. I do *not* like that feeling. So I trimmed it down some and compressed the hell out of it. Eventually I got it how I liked it. But why go through all that work? I probably should have just used a medium or something.
So today I tried putting on a Original (Brown) Soft clear. I trimmed the tip to about medium height. I *really* like this tip. Here are the differences as I experienced them:
1) Brown was a *hair* harder than the black...but really tiny difference if any.
2) Brown was much less "flexible" than black. When I used left and right english, I did not get the sensation of the tip flexing.
3) Brown spins the ball a tiny bit less than black overall. Still, I did not get the feeling of giving up any spin. I just feel like the spin I get is more linear...the same amount of additional force gives the same amount of additional spin...as opposed to the black, which seems like its more progressive...as if at a certain point a little more force gives a LOT more spin. This shows up on draw shots for me. I feel like my draw distances are easier to control with the brown.
4) I don't much like the look of the brown. It seems to not burnish up quite so nicely. Also, it seems to collect chalk between the layers on the edge, which I don't like the look of. The brown tip sits on a black pad, which then sits on a clear pad. This looks kinda weird. Plus, on my OB, I have a black carbon fiber pad then a white ferrule. You end up with a pretty busy looking sandwich of layers. Overall the black just looks nicer. However, I should point out that I did not notice or care about any of these things while I was actually shooting a ball. Only when looking at my cue from the side. So I am willing to not care if it doesn't effect my shooting.
5) The brown holds chalk *awesome*. Obviously it's only been an hour of shooting so any tip will. I am curious to see how it holds up maintenance-wise.
My assessment is that if you have a pretty good, strong stroke, and don't really need that extra grip from the tip to get the spin you want, the brown may be a better choice. I would think most pro's would actually do better with the brown than the black. For what its worth, I am considered an "A" player in my area. I like to play for slightly fuller than average hits and punch the ball to the rail, using just a bit of english to get the angles I like. I prefer stroking the ball a bit more firmly to rolling it, but I definitely roll the ball a lot with english off rails for position too. So far this tip felt good for that style.
Hope this helps,
KMRUNOUT
I have played with a Kamui Black Soft for some time now. About 6 months or maybe a little less ago I switched to a smaller diameter shaft (went from 314-2 to OB Classic Pro...12.75mm to 11.75mm). I played with the Everest tip that came on it for a while, and loved the feel of the shaft. I then put on a Kamui Black Soft. Turns out, this tip no longer felt like it did on my 12.75mm shaft. When I used english, because of the flexibility of the tip, I could *feel* the tip flexing. I do *not* like that feeling. So I trimmed it down some and compressed the hell out of it. Eventually I got it how I liked it. But why go through all that work? I probably should have just used a medium or something.
So today I tried putting on a Original (Brown) Soft clear. I trimmed the tip to about medium height. I *really* like this tip. Here are the differences as I experienced them:
1) Brown was a *hair* harder than the black...but really tiny difference if any.
2) Brown was much less "flexible" than black. When I used left and right english, I did not get the sensation of the tip flexing.
3) Brown spins the ball a tiny bit less than black overall. Still, I did not get the feeling of giving up any spin. I just feel like the spin I get is more linear...the same amount of additional force gives the same amount of additional spin...as opposed to the black, which seems like its more progressive...as if at a certain point a little more force gives a LOT more spin. This shows up on draw shots for me. I feel like my draw distances are easier to control with the brown.
4) I don't much like the look of the brown. It seems to not burnish up quite so nicely. Also, it seems to collect chalk between the layers on the edge, which I don't like the look of. The brown tip sits on a black pad, which then sits on a clear pad. This looks kinda weird. Plus, on my OB, I have a black carbon fiber pad then a white ferrule. You end up with a pretty busy looking sandwich of layers. Overall the black just looks nicer. However, I should point out that I did not notice or care about any of these things while I was actually shooting a ball. Only when looking at my cue from the side. So I am willing to not care if it doesn't effect my shooting.
5) The brown holds chalk *awesome*. Obviously it's only been an hour of shooting so any tip will. I am curious to see how it holds up maintenance-wise.
My assessment is that if you have a pretty good, strong stroke, and don't really need that extra grip from the tip to get the spin you want, the brown may be a better choice. I would think most pro's would actually do better with the brown than the black. For what its worth, I am considered an "A" player in my area. I like to play for slightly fuller than average hits and punch the ball to the rail, using just a bit of english to get the angles I like. I prefer stroking the ball a bit more firmly to rolling it, but I definitely roll the ball a lot with english off rails for position too. So far this tip felt good for that style.
Hope this helps,
KMRUNOUT
