Anyone tried the 'Defy' shaft?
McDermott Carbon Fiber shaft
- Thread starter John oleson
- Start date
Just received a Defy Shaft on Nov 19th
The shaft hits great!
Smooth without using a billiard glove
Silent Hit...Zero Noise or Vibration
Extremely Low Deflection
Lots of Juice
Several Players tested the Defy 12.5mm last night
Everyone is definitely pleased with the Defy Shaft...
Navigator Automatic Soft Tip.
Shafts are 29"
Included was a Felt Shaft Sleeve, Defy Logo (Adhesive Patch) and a small bottle of Ultra Glide Shaft Conditioner
PariahZero
Member
I’m liking my Defy shaft. It plays well, glides in my hand nicely. I like the feel of the hit, but that’s always subjective. I feel a solid hit.
It hasn’t improved my game any more than a hypercar would make me a better driver.
My thoughts are more about the sound/feel of the cue:
The largest logo on the cue is the SMACWRAP logo, which actually says quite a bit about how important they feel it is to the cue.
SMACWRAP is a brand of vibration dampener. It’s used in Aerospace for vibration deadening. MCDermott uses it on the Defy shaft.
Why use it? If you have a car door (thin sheet metal), and knock on it, it sounds like sheet metal. If you throw a layer of vibration dampener onto the inside of the panel, it absorbs the vibrations in the metal, and knocking on the door now sounds like knocking on concrete.
Car audio guys love it because it removes the “inside a tin can” sound from a car, and the car sounds more like a theatre than a car. A lot of the vibration noises are gone. Raindrops on the car’s roof are suddenly silent. It’s cool, if somewhat pricey.
SMACWRAP does the same thing to the Defy shaft: it absorbs the vibrations made upon impact with the cue ball. I intend to mic up my table so I can post a good sound comparison so you can hear for yourself, but it’s a noticeable sound difference vs maple.
I’ve heard other carbon shafts reviewed on YouTube. Unlike every other carbon shaft I’ve heard, there is no high pitched “ping” or hollow sound when hitting the cue ball with the Defy shaft.
If you took that sound of a maple hit, and filtered out the high pitch part of the sound, that’s roughly what the Defy sounds like. The sound is unusual, but not irritating.
It hasn’t improved my game any more than a hypercar would make me a better driver.
My thoughts are more about the sound/feel of the cue:
The largest logo on the cue is the SMACWRAP logo, which actually says quite a bit about how important they feel it is to the cue.
SMACWRAP is a brand of vibration dampener. It’s used in Aerospace for vibration deadening. MCDermott uses it on the Defy shaft.
Why use it? If you have a car door (thin sheet metal), and knock on it, it sounds like sheet metal. If you throw a layer of vibration dampener onto the inside of the panel, it absorbs the vibrations in the metal, and knocking on the door now sounds like knocking on concrete.
Car audio guys love it because it removes the “inside a tin can” sound from a car, and the car sounds more like a theatre than a car. A lot of the vibration noises are gone. Raindrops on the car’s roof are suddenly silent. It’s cool, if somewhat pricey.
SMACWRAP does the same thing to the Defy shaft: it absorbs the vibrations made upon impact with the cue ball. I intend to mic up my table so I can post a good sound comparison so you can hear for yourself, but it’s a noticeable sound difference vs maple.
I’ve heard other carbon shafts reviewed on YouTube. Unlike every other carbon shaft I’ve heard, there is no high pitched “ping” or hollow sound when hitting the cue ball with the Defy shaft.
If you took that sound of a maple hit, and filtered out the high pitch part of the sound, that’s roughly what the Defy sounds like. The sound is unusual, but not irritating.
How much are they?
PariahZero
Member
PariahZero
Member
Doesn’t surprise me. The vibration dampening is likely either love it or hate it for everyone.
Yeah, to me it just felt dead when I hit with it. Probably the vibration dampening.
Zero feedback. Like a giant pillow was under the tip.
crazy8legs
Registered
I've seen them for $355.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
PariahZero
Member
It’s a property that’s got to be intentional. Otherwise, why add the SMACwrap, whose whole purpose is to dampen all vibrations?
... dampening cue vibration is polarizing. Love it or hate it, and fortunately, there’s no wrong answer.
I’d describe the feedback of the Defy like feeling a surface with a shovel vs feeling the surface with a buzzing 2-cycle string trimmer. The Shovel (Defy) doesn’t buzz; the weed whacker buzzing numbs my hands and makes it harder to feel anything.
Maybe my hands are just sensitive to vibration? I dunno, but I’m glad there are different options for everybody.