Recently, I sold my Brunswick Centennial set. They were loved for many years. They held up great, played great, and were still very eye catching. My rationale for purchasing a new set was simply that after 20 years of play, and while they were still great, I have read all the information about the newer resins, tighter tolerances, deeper colors, staying cleaner, and so forth, and so I decided that after all these years I would purchase a new "Go To" classic set.
For me, there were only 3 real choices:
Brand New Centennials
Aramith Tournament Duramith
Predator Arcos II
After 20 years, first, I decided not to buy another set of Centennials just to have something different. I had decided on the Tournament set because they were a little less cost than the Arcos II set, and I had heard many great reviews about them. I was about to make the purchase with the recent GREAT DEAL on Wayfair.com. Then, as I was scrolling across the big auction site, I happened to see a set of Arcos II balls, new and still in the shrink wrap, for $249.00. Well, that pretty much sealed the deal! I ordered immediately!
There have been quite a few threads here recently about the composition, and quality of the Arcos II set compared to the Duramiths. After reading everything I could find, and contacting Predator directly myself, ultimately, both Predator and Aramith tell a different story, and it's up to each person to decide who to believe. Many feel the Arcos II set is just a Super Aramith Pro set with different graphics. Predator claims otherwise. For me, even if that is the case, for the price I paid, that would be fine with me. The new Arcos II set arrived and here are some findings:
1.) While I do not have a high end scale, my electronic postal scale hit 170 grams, 16 consecutive times! All the balls are perfectly matched for weight. (Honestly, I never weighted the Centennials, but there was not an expectation back then of this level of consistency.)
2.) Beautiful finish and colors. The Centennials were also very vibrant and beautiful, even after 20 years as well, so here I don't see an advantage.
3.) Roundness and Diameter... I do not own the tools to measure this, but here is what is impressive; I own and have owned in the past, many different sets from the highest to the lowest price point. These rack PERFECTLY! Not with a little work, but EVERY TIME-EVERY BALL touching. The weight, size, roundness of these balls is more perfect than I have yet experienced. SUPER tight rack with ease EVERY time! Again, I keep comparing to the Centennials because they were previously my highest end set, and they also racked well, but these are simply, noticeably better.
4.) The cue ball is AMAZING. After several hours of play, I gentle wiped down with a damp cloth and it looks new and untouched. Better than any ball I have used.
5.) Reactivity: The liveliness of these balls is remarkable. I have no way to objectively measure this, but these balls JUMP apart from the rack and spread with vigor. Every shot is also VERY consistent with regard to power and reactivity to the level of energy in the cue stick.
6.) Style! These meet every need. The colors are classic with the exception of the brown replacing the burgundy in the Centennials. The numbers are in the white and NOT in the stripes just like the Centennials which, to me at least, gives them that elegant and classic look. The points around the numbers on the balls also are reminiscent of the classic look. The "Predator" cat logo on the other side brings modern style. They look absolutely great.
Are these better than a Brand New Set of Centennials or a Brand New Set of Tournament Duramith? I have no idea. Are these the best balls I have personally ever played with? Absolutely.
Having now played with these, even having NOT played with a set of Duramith's or New Centennials, I would gladly pay the full price even though it is a little more money. Even if these may be a tiny bit less fabulous from a technology perspective versus the Duramiths, (which can only be a matter of faith whether you listen to the people at Predator or the people at Aramith who both answer differently without actually answering the question at all) the visual beauty of this set puts them across the finish line first in my book. I just could not be more pleased.
Here are the beautiful Centenials I let go...
and of course, here are the Arcos II balls by Predator.
For me, there were only 3 real choices:
Brand New Centennials
Aramith Tournament Duramith
Predator Arcos II
After 20 years, first, I decided not to buy another set of Centennials just to have something different. I had decided on the Tournament set because they were a little less cost than the Arcos II set, and I had heard many great reviews about them. I was about to make the purchase with the recent GREAT DEAL on Wayfair.com. Then, as I was scrolling across the big auction site, I happened to see a set of Arcos II balls, new and still in the shrink wrap, for $249.00. Well, that pretty much sealed the deal! I ordered immediately!
There have been quite a few threads here recently about the composition, and quality of the Arcos II set compared to the Duramiths. After reading everything I could find, and contacting Predator directly myself, ultimately, both Predator and Aramith tell a different story, and it's up to each person to decide who to believe. Many feel the Arcos II set is just a Super Aramith Pro set with different graphics. Predator claims otherwise. For me, even if that is the case, for the price I paid, that would be fine with me. The new Arcos II set arrived and here are some findings:
1.) While I do not have a high end scale, my electronic postal scale hit 170 grams, 16 consecutive times! All the balls are perfectly matched for weight. (Honestly, I never weighted the Centennials, but there was not an expectation back then of this level of consistency.)
2.) Beautiful finish and colors. The Centennials were also very vibrant and beautiful, even after 20 years as well, so here I don't see an advantage.
3.) Roundness and Diameter... I do not own the tools to measure this, but here is what is impressive; I own and have owned in the past, many different sets from the highest to the lowest price point. These rack PERFECTLY! Not with a little work, but EVERY TIME-EVERY BALL touching. The weight, size, roundness of these balls is more perfect than I have yet experienced. SUPER tight rack with ease EVERY time! Again, I keep comparing to the Centennials because they were previously my highest end set, and they also racked well, but these are simply, noticeably better.
4.) The cue ball is AMAZING. After several hours of play, I gentle wiped down with a damp cloth and it looks new and untouched. Better than any ball I have used.
5.) Reactivity: The liveliness of these balls is remarkable. I have no way to objectively measure this, but these balls JUMP apart from the rack and spread with vigor. Every shot is also VERY consistent with regard to power and reactivity to the level of energy in the cue stick.
6.) Style! These meet every need. The colors are classic with the exception of the brown replacing the burgundy in the Centennials. The numbers are in the white and NOT in the stripes just like the Centennials which, to me at least, gives them that elegant and classic look. The points around the numbers on the balls also are reminiscent of the classic look. The "Predator" cat logo on the other side brings modern style. They look absolutely great.
Are these better than a Brand New Set of Centennials or a Brand New Set of Tournament Duramith? I have no idea. Are these the best balls I have personally ever played with? Absolutely.
Having now played with these, even having NOT played with a set of Duramith's or New Centennials, I would gladly pay the full price even though it is a little more money. Even if these may be a tiny bit less fabulous from a technology perspective versus the Duramiths, (which can only be a matter of faith whether you listen to the people at Predator or the people at Aramith who both answer differently without actually answering the question at all) the visual beauty of this set puts them across the finish line first in my book. I just could not be more pleased.
Here are the beautiful Centenials I let go...
and of course, here are the Arcos II balls by Predator.
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if all played exactly the same at the same price, now having actually played withthe Arcos balls, I would still choose them because I really Like the looks. They look classic like Centennials but the Predator Logo adds some modern fun. If I could afford all 3 main sets, Arcos, Tournament and Centennial, I would enjoy all 3 I'm sure but the Arcos II set would be on my table most of the time. Poop ball and all. 