I'm always looking for a bit of a change, here's the most recent...
I generally play with wrapless cues. I have very dry hands which makes playing with linen or leather wrapped cues way too slippery for me. Over the last few years I've played with a few different sneaky pete butts (production and custom) and a few different tech shafts: 314-2, OB-1, X-Shaft , Z2). I really liked OB-1's construction, but the hit just wasn't my style so I stuck mostly with the 314-2 which I play fine with.
I was poking around at a local shop and noticed the poison line. I didn't like them aesthetically but I did try stroking with one the VX's with the rubber grip. I liked the grip more or less (I would have preferred it a little more tacky). I didn't like the build quality all that much though. The glue lines in the grip area were a little sloppy plus I didn't necessarily want to adjust back to a normally deflecting shaft.
This got me looking at the Lucasi Hybrids. The original ones IMO were kind of hideous looking. Aside from that though, the rubber grip area was a little too far back on the cue. They came out with a new series recently that doesn't have that high tech look at all, just a plain jane with a rubber wrap. The bonus here is that they come with a pie-spliced low deflection shaft (so no need to buy one after market assuming you like the hit). I picked one of these up from Joe Nielsen for a really good price (without accessories):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310083613372
If anyone is curious about these, here are some of my observations:
So far so good, I like it a lot. It's definitely an excellent cue for the money. I'll have to wait and see how well the rubber wrap holds up over time and whether it keeps it's tackiness.
Serge
I generally play with wrapless cues. I have very dry hands which makes playing with linen or leather wrapped cues way too slippery for me. Over the last few years I've played with a few different sneaky pete butts (production and custom) and a few different tech shafts: 314-2, OB-1, X-Shaft , Z2). I really liked OB-1's construction, but the hit just wasn't my style so I stuck mostly with the 314-2 which I play fine with.
I was poking around at a local shop and noticed the poison line. I didn't like them aesthetically but I did try stroking with one the VX's with the rubber grip. I liked the grip more or less (I would have preferred it a little more tacky). I didn't like the build quality all that much though. The glue lines in the grip area were a little sloppy plus I didn't necessarily want to adjust back to a normally deflecting shaft.
This got me looking at the Lucasi Hybrids. The original ones IMO were kind of hideous looking. Aside from that though, the rubber grip area was a little too far back on the cue. They came out with a new series recently that doesn't have that high tech look at all, just a plain jane with a rubber wrap. The bonus here is that they come with a pie-spliced low deflection shaft (so no need to buy one after market assuming you like the hit). I picked one of these up from Joe Nielsen for a really good price (without accessories):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310083613372
If anyone is curious about these, here are some of my observations:
- Build quality is very good. The finish is perfect. No visible glue lines on the rubber wrap at all.
- The wrap is very tacky. If you have a tubed case where the tubes are a little snug, you might have some trouble sliding it in. On the flip side, you can have a really loose grip without losing the cue.
- I'm not sure what the ferrule material is, but it's staying very clean so far.
- I like the shaft a lot. It hits very solid and is indeed low deflection. It took me all of about five minutes to adjust to it from a 314-2. The hit is similar but not the same. I like the taper on the lucasi better. The other noticable difference is that it has a longer ferrule than the 314-2. The interesting thing for me is that I found it much easier to adjust to this shaft than I did adjusting to the OB-1 (coming from the same 314-2).
So far so good, I like it a lot. It's definitely an excellent cue for the money. I'll have to wait and see how well the rubber wrap holds up over time and whether it keeps it's tackiness.
Serge
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