I've always liked the feel of the black dot. It hits solid, and feels like a club. If's fairly low squirt, but everybody has to remember, if you hit off center and hard. all shafts....even the best LD shaft is going to produce some squirt. All that being said, I've been playing w/ a Z2. There's no question in my mind that the Z2 spins the cue ball better than the black dot. Problem for me is, my stroke. It's not straight and I brush up or across the back of the cue ball. I get so much swerve w/ a Z2, I really just can't control it. Aim, stroke a long shot...I know my aim was good...and I miss the shot because of swerve. Bridge over a ball jacked up and I don't have a prayer of making a longish shot. All this is definitely not the shafts fault. With the black dot, I can hit hard, reasonably away from center cue ball, sometimes adjust for squirt, feel a solid hit, and pocket the ball. Not as lively a shaft, but a controllable and predictable shaft. Remember...most of the mistakes are my stroke (elbow drop, not straight through the cue ball, etc). All this being said, I just got and received an Ultimate weapon shaft from Meucci. Lowest squirt shaft I've ever played with, medium crisp hit, and solid...no whippiness like the Z2. From now on, I'm breaking w/ my black dot and playing w/ my UW.