New 'dope' for Predator junkies...... the 'Centro'

think of it as a guessing game....
Relax, it's just an internet forum
NO shit??? This is an internet forum???? Wow, thanks for that update. With that vast storehouse of knowledge you should be able to tell us what pro has one already. ;) I doubt any pro picks this as his player unless 'strong-armed' by Pred hq the same way they did when Revo's came out. They'll bribe/pay/induce some staff player into using one to push sales.
 
Just a few shots here and there. I ordered the cue in my avatar in 2017, right before carbon became ubiquitous. Since I had just spent so much money and time on the build project, I kind of committed myself to just staying the course with this set up. I do have a carbon fiber break shaft that I use daily though. I'm all for carbon. It's just that I don't care that much either way. I'm sure I'll migrate to carbon fiber eventually, just because it doesn't warp or ding. But i've never even hit more than a few shots with a low deflection shaft either.
I was the same for a good while, fan of regular maple shafts.

Got a carbon one or 3 and it was about a day to adapt...not that I really play/ played a lot of pool since I joined the carbon side.

That said, I just got a deal on a longoni s30 shaft. It is spliced maple and hornbeam and I'd say it has more oomph behind it than the (carbon longoni) Luna Nera. I think s30 likely to supplant the Luna neraS as #1.
Screenshot_20250506-113834.jpg
 
It’s just the C8 that’s been available in Asia since like 2019, with a different name.
Gotta give it up for their marketing team tho.
 
looks like the predator C8 shaft that was launched for the China heyball domestic market
Yes, it does. I have had a C8 shaft for a few years now, and they play great. Have to get used to the stiff taper. In the C8, there is an approx. 7" carbon fiber tube in the ferrule end of the shaft. LD and very consistent. Has the best sound of any shaft I own. Tony Robles has had one for a while as well, and swears by them
Edit - just checked the specs on the Centro, which has a 12.4 mm diameter. C8 has 12.9 and the taper thickens pretty quickly, like a SW or an Olney shaft.
 
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Yes, it does. I have had a C8 shaft for a few years now, and they play great. Have to get used to the stiff taper. In the C8, there is an approx. 7" carbon fiber tube in the ferrule end of the shaft. LD and very consistent. Has the best sound of any shaft I own. Tony Robles has had one for a while as well, and swears by them
Edit - just checked the specs on the Centro, which has a 12.4 mm diameter. C8 has 12.9 and the taper thickens pretty quickly, like a SW or an Olney shaft.
That C8 shaft is almost identical in specs to the old Mezz HybridPro 1st version. The cf tube stiffens it in the right areas. I had to sell my Mezz and i still miss it. best shaft ever made, for me anyway.
 
Wood exterior, carbon fiber interior (the amount varies) shafts:
Predator Centro and C8​
Mezz EX Pro​
McDermott G-Core​
McDermott I-Series (i-Pro, i-Pro Slim, i-1, i-2, i-3)​
Pure X FUZE​
Lucasi FUZE​
Bear RB-1​
Fury LC series, Fury ST2 Hybrid series, Fury Merlin,​
CueLees CT-1 & CT-2,​
OB Cues Fusion (no longer available)​
Predator BK3 Sport Break cue's BK3CF shaft (not available on Predator website)​
Cuetec R360 (no longer available)​
JFlowers SMO-W (edited to include this --- See post #39 - #40 https://jflowerscues.com/product/smo-wood-shaft-low-deflection/ )​

Carbon fiber exterior and wood interior (the amount varies):
Meucci Carbon Pro​
Konllen KL-HH (break-cue butt)​

The Predator BK3 BK3CF wood/CF shaft available in England at https://www.pro9.co.uk/html/theproshop/main.php?P=product&pid=PredBK3S :

Predator BK3 cue.jpg
 
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Wood exterior, carbon fiber interior (the amount varies) shafts:
Predator Centro and C8​
Mezz EX Pro​
McDermott G-Core​
McDermott I-Series (i-Pro, i-Pro Slim, i-1, i-2, i-3)​
Pure X FUZE​
Lucasi FUZE​
Bear RB-1​
Fury LC series, Fury ST2 Hybrid series, Fury Merlin,​
CueLees CT-1 & CT-2,​
OB Cues Fusion (no longer available)​
Predator BK3 Sport Break cue's BK3CF shaft (not available on Predator website)​
Cuetec R360 (no longer available)​

Carbon fiber exterior and wood interior (the amount varies):
Meucci Carbon Pro​
Konllen KL-HH (break-cue butt)​

The Predator BK3 BK3CF wood/CF shaft available in England at https://www.pro9.co.uk/html/theproshop/main.php?P=product&pid=PredBK3S :

View attachment 823479
This break shaft gets a thumbs down from me... I broke my friends and had to replace it a while back... The insert makes it 'stiffer', but places stress in the joint area. Wasn't even giving it 100% I don't think it was really suitable for a break cue (or that it is some revolutionary, or technical science...).
 
I think my McDermott G-cores are built like that too.
WHAT IT DOES
Stabilizes the entire shaft for absolute control & predictability
Generates more spin while hitting closer to center cue ball ---> :ROFLMAO:
Increased accuracy at low & high speeds ---> :ROFLMAO:

----
I can't wait for McDermott's technology to advance to the point where you can hit center ball and get more backspin than any other shaft on the market.
 
Yes, it does. I have had a C8 shaft for a few years now, and they play great. Have to get used to the stiff taper. In the C8, there is an approx. 7" carbon fiber tube in the ferrule end of the shaft. LD and very consistent. Has the best sound of any shaft I own. Tony Robles has had one for a while as well, and swears by them
Edit - just checked the specs on the Centro, which has a 12.4 mm diameter. C8 has 12.9 and the taper thickens pretty quickly, like a SW or an Olney shaft.
Sounds like C8 shaft is suitable for Heyball also. Many of the top Chinese players I assume are using something similar with a stiff taper.
 
From what I understand, the C8 is 12.9mm while the Centro is 12.4mm.
Don’t know about the taper though.
So same technology but different shaft. Just like the Revo has 3 versions with different tapers and tip diameters.
 
From what I understand, the C8 is 12.9mm while the Centro is 12.4mm.
Don’t know about the taper though.
So same technology but different shaft. Just like the Revo has 3 versions with different tapers and tip diameters.

I have had a C8 shaft for a few years now, and they play great. Have to get used to the stiff taper. In the C8, there is an approx. 7" carbon fiber tube in the ferrule end of the shaft. LD and very consistent. Has the best sound of any shaft I own. Tony Robles has had one for a while as well, and swears by them
Edit - just checked the specs on the Centro, which has a 12.4 mm diameter. C8 has 12.9 and the taper thickens pretty quickly, like a SW or an Olney shaft.
Centro has pro taper while C8 has conical taper:
Centro has pro taper.jpg
 
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From what I understand, the C8 is 12.9mm while the Centro is 12.4mm.
Don’t know about the taper though.
So same technology but different shaft. Just like the Revo has 3 versions with different tapers and tip diameters.
Many c8 I see here in China are between 11.8 and 12.2. Seen some 12.4 and 12.6. Never seen a 12.9.
 
Everything I see online is 12.9


And here

And here
Live in China, and I can't find one that's 12.9 - Every seller I find on Xianyu, or WeChat is the same as I mentioned before. How interesting.
 
WHAT IT DOES
Stabilizes the entire shaft for absolute control & predictability

Let us postulate a bench rest rifle that shoots in the zeros (group size less than 0.100")
and the owner can shoot said rifle said groups "in the zeros" 9 or of 10 tries (5+ shot groups) !!

And then you hand the rifle to a shooter, and he shoots a 0.95" group.

Would you consider this absolute control ?? and absolute predictability ??

{{It is the indian not the arrow}}
 
I'm sure you could get pool cues out of this stuff. It's gorgeous too.
 
Don’t know if this is new but JFlowers also have a cored shaft. Full carbon on the inside, maple on the outside.
S.M.O Wood
 
JFlowers also have a cored shaft. Full carbon on the inside, maple on the outside.
S.M.O Wood
Pro taper to 15.5" length where shaft diameter increases from 12.5 to 13.0mm
Shaft is weight-adjustable.
Carbon fiber tube runs the length of the shaft. One of few company figures that shows where the carbon fiber is in the wood/CF shaft.

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