I have been playing with predator products for maybe a year now and I think they play great however I am noticing issues with the ferrule. First with a Z-2. The first ferrule cracked and I had it replaced free of charge and then the replacement ferrule later showed a small hairline crack. I hen bought a 314-2 and now this ferrule shows a small hairline crack. has anyone else had the same problem or is it just bad luck?
Predator ferrules cracking
- Thread starter koston08
- Start date
They are thin and soft.
See them crack at the bottom a few times.
See them crack at the bottom a few times.
koston08 said:
I am a billiards retailer, and I can say for certain they are having a great deal of trouble since the new shafts were first put into production. One of the new features was a ferrule made differently than the ones used on the old Predator shafts. I have had to replace a large number in the last year.
Craig
they are trying to ride the line... they need low end mass. the lower the better.. and as a result have made the ferrule thinner and weaker...and now you have reached the dividing line in quality..
Do you want to own and learn a solid higher deflection shaft that you can play with for 10 years.. or are you willing to pay more for a product that will break down at some point for a short term (1-2 years) minor increase in accuracy?
the question becomes... Is the increased accuracy worth $100 per year?
or is it better to get higher quality wood..with its own personality... and and let it become part of your game for the long term?..
it is not cost effective to play with predator shafts if you have to replace and repair them often (once every 2 years is WAY too much IMO)
for my money a longer lasting product brings more consistency to my game
and I don't have to keep fixing the thing..
pretty soon they will start selling 314"s by the six-pack...they are a disposable product and they are expensive... I'd rather keep my shaft...
Do you want to own and learn a solid higher deflection shaft that you can play with for 10 years.. or are you willing to pay more for a product that will break down at some point for a short term (1-2 years) minor increase in accuracy?
the question becomes... Is the increased accuracy worth $100 per year?
or is it better to get higher quality wood..with its own personality... and and let it become part of your game for the long term?..
it is not cost effective to play with predator shafts if you have to replace and repair them often (once every 2 years is WAY too much IMO)
for my money a longer lasting product brings more consistency to my game
and I don't have to keep fixing the thing..
pretty soon they will start selling 314"s by the six-pack...they are a disposable product and they are expensive... I'd rather keep my shaft...
softshot said:
I don't play with Predator equipment, but from what I know, Predator warrants the ferrule for life, so the cost is not really that high. You have to take it to your dealer for repair, and he should take care of the rest. A second shaft for the repair time is standard equipment for most players.
Regards,
Detlev
WesleyW said:You will have lifetime warranty on the ferrule, so you are not saving $100 per year.
And the second, after playing 2 years, you need to change your tip. By cracking the ferrule, you get a free tip also
new ferrule... new tip... =3 to 6 to 10,12 weeks without your shaft... thus learning a new one.. then going back..
I dunno... I see consistency issues. the more things you change the more you have to compensate for.. I know my shaft and my ferrule will never break from playing pool.. ever..
Laminated shafts utilize low quality lumber to produce a short term solution to aim..while producing a long term problem with consistency..if you are constantly changing shafts you will never truely learn any of them..
they claim they are all the same...wood is a natural product....none are the same..
if they want to sell these things make them disposable.. and they have... then sell them cheap ...which they have not...
what you pay for what you get is simply not worth it in my eyes...
Detlev Rackow said:
I had a minor ding in my 314/2 I used a time honored practice to remove the ding.... I prefer my shafts to be as smooth as possible and fixing dings is general maintenance as far as I'm concerned...
after "repairing" the ding the shaft was useless it delaminated and felt like an extruded shamrock..
so...so you can't fix it yourself.. it takes months for them to do it.. and costs tons more money that a high quality solid wood shaft....
where is the advantage?
WesleyW said:You will have lifetime warranty on the ferrule, so you are not saving $100 per year.
And the second, after playing 2 years, you need to change your tip. By cracking the ferrule, you get a free tip also
just to add
my shaft has a lifetime guarantee against warpage.. predator doesn't.. free tips for life are included in my purchase price...they say it won't warp and we will put tips on it forever....
predator says...we know the ferrules weak.. we did it on purpose... if you warp your screwed.. we won't back that up because we use the cheapest lumber we can find,,,,if the shaft you bought sucks.. buy another one...
low quality wood never makes a great cue.. ever
I would love to see the final shaft per shaft cost.. base manufacture cost..vs. selling price... for Mcdermott, Schon, Joss....vs.. Predator,OB1
the LD guys are making alot more money selling disposable products... its like a bic costing more than a zippo... it makes no sense...
I am a authorized repair shop and I havn't seen too many of the second generation shafts with cracked ferrules. The first gen yes, but not the new ones. Most people get scratches in the ferrule and think that it is a hairline crack. I see more of those than actual cracks.
Predator has helped my game tremendously. Yes, the shafts are expensive, but so is losing. Everytime I have ever had a problem with any Predator product I have sent it back to their shop in Florida and they made it right at no cost to me.
IMO - All of the same type of Predaotr shafts play almost exactly the same. At least close enough that you can't tell the difference. So, if you buy two shafts you have nothing to worry about. If you experience problems with a shaft simply send it in for free repair or replacement while you play with your other shaft. Then you have the best of both worlds: The lowest deflection shaft on the market, plus consistency and excellent customer service.
IMO - All of the same type of Predaotr shafts play almost exactly the same. At least close enough that you can't tell the difference. So, if you buy two shafts you have nothing to worry about. If you experience problems with a shaft simply send it in for free repair or replacement while you play with your other shaft. Then you have the best of both worlds: The lowest deflection shaft on the market, plus consistency and excellent customer service.
I had a 314-2 and a piece of the ferrule actually broke off...lol
It played just fine, so I shot with it 1 or 2 times until I could get a new shaft. Once I got the new shaft, I sent the broken onf off and had a NEW shaft in about 12 days (time between I sent the broken one out and got the replacement).
As much as I liked my Predator, I sold my Predator cue because of the hassle of having to send the shaft(s) out should they need to be repaired.
It played just fine, so I shot with it 1 or 2 times until I could get a new shaft. Once I got the new shaft, I sent the broken onf off and had a NEW shaft in about 12 days (time between I sent the broken one out and got the replacement).
As much as I liked my Predator, I sold my Predator cue because of the hassle of having to send the shaft(s) out should they need to be repaired.
ratcues said:
Hello Ryan, I am located in Washington State, and I have seen a very large number. I know what you mean about scratches, the material is very soft, but I use a 10x power loop, because it is hard to tell. Most I have seen appear to be cracking from the bottom-up, and if not cracked they are separating or pushing down into the shaft.
Have a nice day Ryan!!