Ki-Tech soft vs UltraSkin medium

Ultra skin tips

Huzz said:
Got my new BD SS 360-2 shaft awhile back and it came installed with an ultraskin medium tip. I have loved the shaft to this point but the tip not so much as it seemed to mushroom quickly and gloss over even faster. I do miss cue more often than i can remember so i decided to make a change. I just had a ki- tech soft installed but have not had chance to play with it. So my question is this, what adjustments in my game may i have to make with these two tips particularly from medium to soft and for those that are using ki-tech tips do u like them and did u start with soft and have to move to medium at all because i did purchase a medium tip as well just in case?
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I once had a Meucci black dot shaft that the only tip that didn't miscue all the time was a Moori soft.

Regardless the shaft delaminated and my next cue was a solid maple and I loved it.
Once again I could choose any tip I wanted and my miscues % went down.

You just got this cue, you haven't tried out any other tips and you may run into troubles with other tips miscueing too.

I also owned a old cue tec that I couldn't get much draw with either and the tip hunt started on that cue too.
Once again I sold that cue too.

Anyway sometimes its the tip, but some shafts just haven't been what I liked either.

My point is I have install 10 or 15 Ultra skin tips over the last year in a half.
without any complaints.

Straight up if I had a problem with ultra skin tips I would call tom hay up and say hey check this out.
Least give him the chance to see what he thinks............................

Just kick these thoughts around and try out a few tips and see what your personal preference is.

One other thought is you could trim off a couple layers and see if that helps too.
The real thick tips don't seem to work that well for me.

Ps replace your cube of chalk too, I don't know much about chalk but its easy and cheap to replace and its one possible problem eliminated.

Good luck in your search
 
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Ultraskin Tips for me

I have been using Ultraskins for about a year. Love them.

I recently got a new cue. I had forgotten I asked for Kamuii Black SS. But no biggie I kept using it. But honestly I like the Ultraskin soft much better.

If you have problems call Tom Hays! He stands firmly behind his product!

Ken
 
I have been using UltraSkins for almost a year now and have had no issues with miscuing, nor have I had one single complaint about miscuing from anyone else I have installed one for. IMHO these tips are the best bang for the buck out there.

For league players on barboxes, many miscues aren't caused by the tip or the stroke, but by the bar cue ball that probably hasn't been cleaned or wiped down in years.
 
I'm glad somebody brought this thread up again. I have some additional insight since my last comment.

Yes, it is true that the Ki-Tech tip gave me less miscues. After awhile, though, I decided that I just didn't care for the hit as much. So, figuring that I may have just gotten a bad tip, I cut off the KT and put on a new US Pro soft. Immediately I was satisfied with the hit, and the CB action was great with my stroke. And guess what? No miscues.

Until after about a week I started to get miscues again. I examined the tip surface and it appeared to be glazed over and chalk just was not sticking well, especially in the 1/4" or so in the center. So I used my Gator Grip tool and restored it and it played perfect again. Then it started to glaze again after a day or so, and the miscues started again.

I made up my mind that it was just worth it to keep the tip I liked to play with, buy to pay attention and keep the surface fresh, even if that ultimately meant wearing out the tip prematurely. I mean, they are so ridiculously reasonable in price, at least to us AZers, and I have it down to 15-20 minutes to do the whole job by hand.

Then I made a discovery that I think is at the root of the problem, at least in my case. With all these new technical chalks out there, I've gotten a bit lazy about chalking. Using Kamui or Magic chalk, I bought into the idea that you could shoot a whole rack without miscuing, so I got even lazier. Then one day a light bulb went on over my head.

Maybe a thin layer of chalk provides a cushion against glazing in addition to providing friction to avoid miscuing.

By only chalking every 6-10 strokes or so, I was pounding the mostly bare leather directly against the hard CB. I still got enough friction from the chalk that was imbedded into the leather, but once the glazing began, it got harder to get the chalk to replenish the surface and the miscues began to occur.

OK... I'll admit that this may sound a little crazy (after all, I haven't had my morning whiskey yet) but so far it been a few weeks of religiously applying Blue Diamond before every shot and no more glazing, hence, no more miscues. Crazy or not, I'm going with it.
 
Ron Swanson said:
Chalking reduces miscues. Who knew?
Click to expand...

Yeah, whoda thunk, eh?

Actually, I was just taking the advice of the tech chalk users and makers, saying not to use it every shot (and thus justifying the exorbitant retail price, perhaps?)

Anyway, I'm back to using Blue Diamond before every stroke. It just feels right, and once again, all is well in the world... or at least in my basement.
 
SloppyPockets,

What you mentioned about the center glazing over happens with layered tips. I have noticed the with the Kamui SS I have now. The layers are glued together and the center is the last area of the top layer to get wore down. My thought is the leftover glue can/is causing the glazed spot. I can also understand your theory about the non-chalking causing glaze as well. I have also become use to not chalking each shot...especially after using Magic chalk. I tend to chalk every 3-4 shots or when I have to use more extreme English on a shot. The tip does become shiny after not chalking for a while

I haven't tried the KT's yet and have been playing religiously with the UltraSkins for the past 2 years. Only reason for the Kamui now is because it was installed on my new cue. Thought I'd give them a try since someone else paid for them :-)
 
I have not used either an Ultraskin or a Ki tech tip so this is a little off topic. Anyone with glazing issues should get a gator grip type tool. All tips I have used glaze over to some extent. This type of tool will completely roughen the tip without scuffing away the tip. I use it every 4 or 5 racks or so and find it absolutely irreplaceable. My tips are lasting noticeably longer since I started using it as well. I know the Kamui version is overpriced, but I would pay gladly pay it again if I had to. There are also knockoffs available that look comparable. Just thought Id throw that in there.
 
SloppyPockets we now have a Medium Soft that would likely be closer to the hit you are looking for.. Just a heads up for when you need to replace your current tip... Am a proponent for using what works best for an individual....
 
hi i was sent a sample pack of ultra skins from cuejo's cue,i installed a soft,with a slight tapper to allow for mushroom break in,then after about 25-30 racks. all i had was a minor scrap around the tip at very light glazing the tip,to deal with.the tip has been on my regular maple shaft. i call century shaft.very old and very stable,and very tight ring cut.very stiff to say the least.and in the past i preferred hard hard tips.one has to hit with clean stroke or with 12.32 mm tip. miss cues can happen. i had re dress the ultra skin tip 3 times over 6 months of play. i have 4.5x9 and play every day as well as league.i love these tips the soft did harden up fast at least for me. i found the my tip was very responsive to my play. after it was well broke i had to flatten the dome ,was getting to much spin,.i would highly recommend ultra skins to say they are better then others,well the price is cerntianly better .all tips in my experience of playing pool is all tips mushroom ,and they all glaze over,no exceptions yet.carry a small peace of 180 grit you can then easy sand the dome glaze in pool room.regards Taylor Custom Cues
 
The very first statement made by the OP was an untruth. Layered tips do not mushroom.
They may develop a slight flair if they are abused, or left too tall when installed, but they will not mushroom.
Ultraskin tips are premium tips and no other description should be considered.
 
I think the people at Outsville are very respectable and would guess they make a very good product and/or line of products.

I think the same goes for Madman, guys got heart.

You don't hear me saying don't chalk or chalk less or never glaze or need slight maintenance or if if you hit heavy my VS will never Mushroom.

I don't want the whole market and greatly appreciate the repeat biz I do get for UltraSkins.

Use what suits you best. I plan to be around a long long time. Just keep putting that Little ball in that big, big pocket and be happy. :smile:
 
I agree with Tom... "use what suits you best".

I think one should try as many choices as possible and stay with what works best for him/her. One thing I've learned about pool equipments (brands of cues, brands of shafts, type of taper, diameter of shafts, weights, tips) is that you really have to personally try it to know for sure, in the end... other people opinions really don't matter, because you are the one who plays the game.

If you don't have the luxury to try many different options, then you just practice as much as you can, after putting enough table time, you can play with anything (well... almost anything).
 
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Absolutely use what works for you... I would never tell anyone to cut a perfectly good tip off that is working for them just to try something new... New can be tried when the old one is worn all the way out and you have some time to mess around or when you buy a new cue or shaft and need to get it dialed into what your brain is hardwired to expect..... Find a tip that makes the cueball do what you see in your mind as far as spin and cueball travel.. IF your tip is CROSSING you up and whitey isn't doing what is expected THEN maybe you need a different tip....

I will likely disagree what worn out is tho... Tips change from use and due to climate changes over time... While many players will and do use a tip for a year or more the tip they are playing with most likely was not what they bought.... Pay attention to the gradual changes and there won't be as much of a break in period when you change out... Cheap investment to playing your highest level ALL the time...

And once again Tramp yes they will mushroom... the have no choice when the leather flattens... I can take whatever tip you want me to down and put it on my smallest press... If I press a layered tip it will measure larger around than it did before I pressed it... The amount of change will basically be determined by the thickness of the layers and how hard the tip was to start... Thanks to the glue layers it is to a minimum on thin layered tips but it is still there...
 
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