Review of Renfro's Accu-Rack

CreeDo

CreeDo

Fargo Rating 597
Silver Member
Renfro, being a good guy, shipped out a batch of Accu-racks to me so I could test 'em out.

I should mention up front, he and I have some disagreements about how a tight rack works. If I understand him correctly, he believes the magic rack is flawed because it leans balls into each other. He says this 'loads' the rack and causes it to break differently than a rack where the balls are touching without leaning. Feel free to jump in Renfro, if I'm misunderstanding.

To me, frozen is frozen, and the balls react the same whether they lean or not. So we've agreed to disagree. In any case, the Accu-racks are his solution to this (perceived) problem.

------------------------------------------------

Design & Construction
First, the irrelevant stuff ;)

The material is half-paper, half-fabric. Sort of like a microfiber towel or Tyvek. I think it's a little tougher than a dollar bill. Softer than a magic rack, but not so soft it feels like cloth.

Looks-wise... I gotta be blunt... they're pretty ugly. For some reason instead of a simple triangle or diamond shape, they're shaped like a spider. Every ball falls on one of the legs. They are a bright, "cleaning-product" shade of blue, with a white fiber pattern. Not as understated as the magic rack.

mXFur.jpg


I think he should call it the Racktopus. That one's on the house, Renfro.
It looks like Accu-rack is already taken anyway.

One thing I like is the lightweight carrying tube. However the rubber cap can be a pain in the ass to put back on. I also like that if the racks pick up a little curl, they smooth out more easily... whereas a curl or bend in the MBR is pretty much permanent.

------------------------------------------------

Yeah but does it work?

These things do exactly what they're supposed to. Everything freezes up, and the wing ball goes right in. I tested these playing 8b, 9b, and 10b on both a barbox and 9-footer. The rack did its job on both types of table, using somewhat beat and irregular balls.

Renfo had said that due to the 'loading' effect of the magic rack, the wing ball was too easy, you could hit the break poorly and it was still automatic. I'm here to tell you, it's just as automatic with the accu-rack. You can break from different spots, with different speeds, and even hit the wrong side of the head ball, and it still goes.

I did notice one odd difference - I couldn't get the 1 ball to hit as low with the accu-rack. With the MBR I can soft break and have it hit the rail below the side.

You do need to fuss with the balls a little more to get them to fall into place. If the goal was to make a rack that doesn't "lean" the balls into each other quite as much, he's succeeded. With the MBR, if you gently tap a ball, it rocks a little then falls back into its divot. With this, it usually comes out of the divot.

In 8b and 10b, the results were also good... plenty of spread. But I suck at those breaks so I might not be the best test subject. I seldom make the 2nd row balls even with a perfect rack. But they always headed towards the side and the money ball doesn't move, except occasionally to travel upwards an inch or two.

One complaint... because of all those fat 'spider legs' it was more difficult to remove the rack after the break, especially in 8 ball. To me, the MBR's design makes so much more sense... only the balls on the outside are held in place, and they "corral" the rest into place. It uses much less surface area, which means less chance you'll be forced to keep it on the table. I think the acc-rack also affects a slow rolling ball more easily, but wouldn't swear to it. You're gonna get that if you use any template.

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The Verdict

I'm a big fan of racking templates. They truly get balls frozen, with zero gaps. With a traditional rack, you have to fight to get the same results, and you might never get a perfect rack if the cloth has divots or the balls are worn.

So I'd recommend this rack over, say, a Delta-13 or any other traditional triangle.

But the real question is, do these have any advantage over the Magic Ball Rack, their direct competitor?

Honestly, I don't think so. It depends on whether you buy into this "loaded rack" theory. For me the bottom line is... it takes a bit less work to get the balls locked in place with the MBR. The MBR is less likely to get trapped under a ball, and might affect a rolling ball a little less. And it doesn't look like Swiffer Nazca art. Still, I think this rack does what Renfro set out to do... it's not a straight clone of the magic rack, it has some differences and it's possible someone will prefer it because of these differences.
 
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Great comprehensive and easy-to-read/-understand review

CreeDo:

Excellent, excellent review. The Nazca art comment got a chuckle out of me. ;)

I'm not a fan of racking templates *at all* -- but only because of the games I play -- 14.1 and One Pocket. With "smash the rack" (power break) games like 8-/9-/10-ball, I would agree that some kind of racking template would be superior over a standard wooden or metal rack. The problem though -- if one considers it a problem, even -- is that a racking template makes the rack so perfect, so as to be PREDICTABLE, as long as you -- the breaker -- actually hit it the way you think you're hitting it.

Some purists may argue that racking templates have "ruined" the variability of the rack, via removing the device that introduced the variability itself -- the rack triangle, and human hands to push the balls together.

I'm kind of on the fence about this, but I do see the point -- to remove, as much as possible, arguments between competitors over racking (e.g. slug-racking, pattern-/wired-/fix-racking, etc.).

I've already tried the Magic Rack, and I'd welcome the opportunity to try Renfro's Accu-Rack system one day, to compare.

Great job with the review!
-Sean
 
CreeDo said:
Renfro, being a good guy, shipped out a batch of Accu-racks to me so I could test 'em out.

I should mention up front, he and I have some disagreements about how a tight rack works. If I understand him correctly, he believes the magic rack is flawed because it leans balls into each other. He says this 'loads' the rack and causes it to break differently than a rack where the balls are touching without leaning. Feel free to jump in Renfro, if I'm misunderstanding.

To me, frozen is frozen, and the balls react the same whether they lean or not. So we've agreed to disagree. In any case, the Accu-racks are his solution to this (perceived) problem.

------------------------------------------------

Design & Construction
First, the irrelevant stuff ;)

The material is half-paper, half-fabric. Sort of like a microfiber towel or Tyvek. I think it's a little tougher than a dollar bill. Softer than a magic rack, but not so soft it feels like cloth.

Looks-wise... I gotta be blunt... they're pretty ugly. For some reason instead of a simple triangle or diamond shape, they're shaped like a spider. Every ball falls on one of the legs. They are a bright, "cleaning-product" shade of blue, with a white fiber pattern. Not as understated as the magic rack.

mXFur.jpg


I think he should call it the Racktopus. That one's on the house, Renfro.
It looks like Accu-rack is already taken anyway.

One thing I like is the lightweight carrying tube. However the rubber cap can be a pain in the ass to put back on. I also like that if the racks pick up a little curl, they smooth out more easily... whereas a curl or bend in the MBR is pretty much permanent.

------------------------------------------------

Yeah but does it work?

These things do exactly what they're supposed to. Everything freezes up, and the wing ball goes right in. I tested these playing 8b, 9b, and 10b on both a barbox and 9-footer. The rack did its job on both types of table, using somewhat beat and irregular balls.

Renfo had said that due to the 'loading' effect of the magic rack, the wing ball was too easy, you could hit the break poorly and it was still automatic. I'm here to tell you, it's just as automatic with the accu-rack. You can break from different spots, with different speeds, and even hit the wrong side of the head ball, and it still goes.

I did notice one odd difference - I couldn't get the 1 ball to hit as low with the accu-rack. With the MBR I can soft break and have it hit the rail below the side.

You do need to fuss with the balls a little more to get them to fall into place. If the goal was to make a rack that doesn't "lean" the balls into each other quite as much, he's succeeded. With the MBR, if you gently tap a ball, it rocks a little then falls back into its divot. With this, it usually comes out of the divot.

In 8b and 10b, the results were also good... plenty of spread. But I suck at those breaks so I might not be the best test subject. I seldom make the 2nd row balls even with a perfect rack. But they always headed towards the side and the money ball doesn't move, except occasionally to travel upwards an inch or two.

One complaint... because of all those fat 'spider legs' it was more difficult to remove the rack after the break, especially in 8 ball. To me, the MBR's design makes so much more sense... only the balls on the outside are held in place, and they "corral" the rest into place. It uses much less surface area, which means less chance you'll be forced to keep it on the table. I think the acc-rack also affects a slow rolling ball more easily, but wouldn't swear to it. You're gonna get that if you use any template.

------------------------------------------------

The Verdict

I'm a big fan of racking templates. They truly get balls frozen, with zero gaps. With a traditional rack, you have to fight to get the same results, and you might never get a perfect rack if the cloth has divots or the balls are worn.

So I'd recommend this rack over, say, a Delta-13 or any other traditional triangle.

But the real question is, do these have any advantage over the Magic Ball Rack, their direct competitor?

Honestly, I don't think so. It depends on whether you buy into this "loaded rack" theory. For me the bottom line is... it takes a bit less work to get the balls locked in place with the MBR. The MBR is less likely to get trapped under a ball, and might affect a rolling ball a little less. And it doesn't look like Swiffer Nazca art. Still, I think this rack does what Renfro set out to do... it's not a straight clone of the magic rack, it has some differences and it's possible someone will prefer it because of these differences.
Click to expand...

nice review
i recently bought a pair
and have tried it out
my impression is as you stated
the racks work well to give you a frozen rack
to its advantage to the magic rack is its ability to be rolled up and easier to take with you into the pool hall
also if it creases you can steam out the crease(havent had a chance to verify that)
 
CreeDo said:
The Verdict


But the real question is, do these have any advantage over the Magic Ball Rack, their direct competitor?

Honestly, I don't think so.
Click to expand...

No, they really do. In some of the tournaments we had with the Magic Rack, an older worn ball set absolutely could not be racked tight with a Magic Rack -there were gaps everywhere. I joked it was the "Magic Slug" - with Renfro's rack you can rack any old balls tight.

This is a huge advantage in my opinion in tournaments where house balls are being used.
 
TATE said:
No, they really do. In some of the tournaments we had with the Magic Rack, an older worn ball set absolutely could not be racked tight with a Magic Rack -there were gaps everywhere. I joked it was the "Magic Slug" - with Renfro's rack you can rack any old balls tight.

This is a huge advantage in my opinion in tournaments where house balls are being used.
Click to expand...

I like the fact that Renfro's design allows you to push -- with your finger -- the actual arm of the cloth itself (to bunch it up) and snug the smaller ball against the rack. You absolutely CANNOT do that with the Magic Rack, because of its much-stiffer acetate plastic design.

This is a great point -- and advantage -- of the Accu-Rack over the Magic Rack.

-Sean
 
I have been using my 8 ball rack daily on my home table for the last week and have had consistancy in my break (as long as I hit what I am aiming for) and for the first time in a long time, I am able to rack with the head ball centered on the foot spot! I have yet to use the 9 & 10 ball racks, but have only had the set for a week now. With all the balls touching, it is truly a solid rack. Thumbs up so far for me!
 
sfleinen said:
I like the fact that Renfro's design allows you to push -- with your finger -- the actual arm of the cloth itself (to bunch it up) and snug the smaller ball against the rack. You absolutely CANNOT do that with the Magic Rack, because of its much-stiffer acetate plastic design.

This is a great point -- and advantage -- of the Accu-Rack over the Magic Rack.

-Sean
Click to expand...

When I saw the Accu-Rack I didn't like the large footprint, but I'm thinking it would be worth it to have the adjustment ability.

Right now if I go to play in a pool room on one table, I usually bring the Magic Rack and a set of Centennials. Some players don't like it when you bring your own. Last time I didn't and couldn't get a tight rack for the life of me - plus the pool room had a mis-matched set and a replacement cue ball.

I like the Magic Rack, but to tell you the truth, it's a wired rack. Once it's set and you get the speed down, playing with clean balls in a dry room, it's just too easy to pocket the corner ball.

The Accu-Rack looks like it will get a decent but not perfectly frozen rack, so it's probably more challenging to pocket the corner ball.
 
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Pidge said:
How can balls lean into each other when they are spherical? :S
Click to expand...

You orient the numbers on the top, with a slight angle into an adjacent ball. After all, the pigment used in the numbers is heavier than the rest of the ball's makeup. :p

J/K.

Like you, I think "lean" is kind of a misnomer when we're talking about spheres, but I can't think of a better term. Rocked onto? Perched on the edge of, and the adjacent ball holding it up?

That's a difficult one.
-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
You orient the numbers on the top, with a slight angle into an adjacent ball. After all, the pigment used in the numbers is heavier than the rest of the ball's makeup. :p

J/K.

Like you, I think "lean" is kind of a misnomer when we're talking about spheres, but I can't think of a better term. Rocked onto? Perched on the edge of, and the adjacent ball holding it up?

That's a difficult one.
-Sean
Click to expand...
Lol

They're just forced together like with any racking mechanism that stays on the table when you break.

I believe this is the only way to get a frozen rack everytime. I've played against people who think its an unfair advantage to use a magic rack...but isn't a rack meant to be 100% frozen? I do think the position you rack from will change due to being able to make a wing ball 90% of the time with a frozen rack, a few inches forwards or backwards would do.
 
I, too, have a test set. I'm not nearly the player that CreeDo is, and I don't have any previous experience with the Magic Rack. Also, I haven't spent as much time with them as I would like.... There, those are the disclaimers. :p

I thought they were fairly easy to use, and of course it got quicker the more i used them. The balls used were very old, and the cloth on the tables not great, either. The rack worked well.

I'm not one to speak to the corner ball going every time, in my person experience, but I did get the best player in our area to try it, and he remarked that it went everytime, at least the few times that he got to try it.

If I remember correctly, part of renfro's discussion about the product was that the material used would make it easier to play "over", and that there would be less skid than the Magic Rack. That's what I really wanted to try and test out. He indicated draw shots shouldn't be affected by the rack, as well. This is important since it is bigger, and probably more important with the 8-ball version.

I wanted to really test it out more than I have before commenting, but since the thread was here, I figured I could add what little I have to offer so far. I do like the carry tube, since I wondered how I would carry the Magic Rack around were I to get one.
 
Hey dub, good to hear you got to check 'em out as well. Sounds like it's working fine for you too. Let me know how it works when balls roll over it.

I've used so much magic rack that if I see a ball rolling towards it, I kind of can tell if the ball is going to get diverted, slowed down, or just carry right across it. It seemed to me that higher speed balls that I expected to move across the rack without issue... got diverted unexpectedly with the accu-rack. It would be nice to get a second opinion to know if it's my imagination or not.

I don't consider it a serious strike against it, these things are meant to be removed and usually can be.

Tate makes a very good point - seems like you can cinch balls together even when one of them is a little small. I had a problem ball or two last night and with a little manipulation I got them to freeze. With the MBR, if a ball wants to sit away from his friends, you're pretty much forced to swap it with another ball.

I would make this a selling point when advertising the rack.

PS: dub, I just carry them in their original ziploc bag. Don't like curling them. It's no more awkward than carrying a sheet of paper with you into the pool hall I guess.
 
Here's my review of the Accu-Racks:

The carrying case: Some will find it nice that it has it's own case, some will find it bothersome. A nice thing about it not fitting in a pool case pocket is that it actually makes it harder to forget your rack at the pool room. You see the case for it, you remember to grab your rack.

While the case does as advertised, the lid needs some redesign on it. It stays on nicely, but is a total pain to put on. Need to find some way to get the lid back on easier with less aggravation.

The 9 ball rack: Works very well to freeze the balls together. Brought it to a tournament that had old balls, and one guy wanted to use his magic rack instead. We tried it, and the balls wouldn't come close to freezing. Then tried the Accu-Rack, and the balls all froze. Pretty impressive there.

Drawbacks: Out of 20 breaks, I made the wing ball 15 times. Same as the magic rack, essentially. The wing ball going is a function of the diamond pattern of the balls more so than what rack is used if the balls are all tight. Some find that to be a drawback, I personally don't. The wing ball is supposed to go on a tight rack when the rack is hit properly.

Out of 20 racks, the 9 stayed on the rack 14 times. Again, similar to magic rack, but with the magic rack, you can still remove the rack. With Accu-Rack, you have to touch the 9 to remove the rack. Really no biggy if you know how to keep the 9 in place and slide the rack out from under it. But some find it a big no-no to touch the balls after the break. (no different than cleaning something off a ball in play) Out of about 40 or so racks, only had more than one ball on the rack at any time after the break 3 times.

10 ball rack: About the same results as the 9 ball rack. However, as standing to rack the balls, the bottom right ball would never freeze initially. Easy to fix by just moving the "finger" of the rack over a little, but shouldn't have to do that with a new rack. Didn't matter what ball I put there, I would still have to move the rack. That tells me that the design, or laser cutting, of that arm is a hair off.

8 ball rack: 10 breaks from the "D", and ten from the side hitting the second ball in the rack. Hitting the head ball head on, had a ball stay on the rack 3 times. 2 of those times, it was more than one ball, so the rack could not be removed. Hitting the second ball back and from the side rail, a ball or more would end up on the rack almost everytime. Did get good spreads using it.

Leaving rack on table: For 9 ball, and a little less so for 10 ball, it's really not that big a deal in the majority of racks. Shooting a ball off the rack is better than shooting a ball off the magic rack. The ball does react more "naturally". However, same as with magic rack, a ball moving slowly will change course when hitting the rack. So, you still want to remove it after the break. The 8 ball rack, well, you have a lot more "arms" there to alter the path of balls. So again, you really want to remove it. Going slow, a ball will change course several times as it hits the arms and "divots" in the arms. You really have to remove it playing 8 ball, but often times can't. Like magic rack, it's best for 9 ball or 10 ball. For me, the balls altering course hitting the rack outweighs the looser rack with a triangle rack playing 8 ball. For 14.1, I wouldn't recommend anything right now but the traditional triangle racks that are removed before the break.

Overall: I found it to be a very good rack for 9 and 10 ball. Has some advantages as noted over the magic rack, and some disadvantages. Both are far greater than traditional racks. Big advantage over magic rack is the ability to freeze every rack, no matter what balls are used. That's a big plus in my book. Biggest disadvantage from the magic rack is the inability to remove the rack that has a ball on it without touching the ball.

It does take a small learning curve to rack them without knocking them off the rack. Just requires a gentle touch. Which, I find to actually be a good thing. Often when racking, you just lost, and many find it a release to throw the balls in the wooden rack to relieve pent up energy. With this rack, (and the magic rack, but not as much so), you are required to calm down the "proper" way and be gentle to rack the balls. Find it to be a good stress reliever and has the side benefit of calming you down.

Traditional rack vs. Accu-Rack/Magic Rack... traditional rack won't be used by me unless I have to.

Accu-Rack vs Magic Rack.... Like them both, but tend to lean towards Accu-Rack. Biggest downfall to me is having to have the carrying case lugged along. Magic rack I can just stick in the pouch on my case.

AR/MR vs. Slug Dr..... never used the Slug Dr., so I can't compare them.
 
I will second Neil's excellent write up. I purchased the nine/ten combo and used them the other night. I love using them. Been using the magic rack, and this is a superior product in my view. The magic racks ate eat up and wrinkled, and different sized balls pose a problem. These polyester racks are very smooth, roll up and store easily. Well worth the $20 for the combo in my view.
 
I'm glad to see some other reviews besides mine from a few days ago.

I agree it is a good product.
 
Here is Dr9Ball's Review (thanks Rufus) as well... wanted everything together so I can answer questions and thank everyone who has reviewed and provided feedback on the product..... I know that there are a few more reviews supposed to be posted this weekend so I will hold all responses until then.....

Thanks again to everyone who has taken their time to give me valid feedback and opinions :thumbup:

dr9ball said:
I have had the opporutnity to play with a demo version of a new product that is coming to market in the near future. The Accu-Rack by Outsville.

Like the Magic Rack this is a template rack that the balls sit on while you're breaking. Unlike the Magic Rack the interior balls do not sit lower than the exterior balls. I believe this helps prevent the loading on the 9 ball that can happen with the Magic Rack. As the video mentions the rack is made of polyester instead of plastic and it's more flexible and harder to crease.

http://youtu.be/Wv6OQbXdRaI

I have had a few weeks to try these out. There are 3 racks one for 9-ball one for 10-ball and one for 8-ball.

I was impressed with the 9 and 10 ball racks but I believe the 8 ball rack could benefit from a couple of design changes. I believe adding more material to the back end of the 8 ball rack would help with reducing the curl I noticed during my evaluation.

After a couple of weeks, the 8 ball rack developed a curl where the ends curl up towards the center when placed on the table blue side up and i've been using the plastic sleeve to roll them up with blue pointing up and on the inside of the roll.

I mention this because the balls no longer rack as easily as they once did and i've had a few balls roll off of the rack while placing others. I was able to push them together for the breaks though.

The 8 ball rack has developed a little tear in one of the arms, it's not bad but I wonder if this is common?

The racks are also becoming fairly dirty which will give me an opportunity to try washing one of them.

I have been getting stellar breaks with the 9 and 10 ball racks. 16 out of 20 racks I made more than one ball with the 9 ball rack. 12-20 with the 10 ball break I've made at least one ball on the break.

The 8 ball rack is a bit tougher and it has yielded a consistent 2nd ball break that forces the balls to the same side I was breaking from.

I tried washing the 8 ball rack in the upper rack of my dishwasher and while it did not fall apart, the rack is now misshapen, perhaps from the drying feature of the dish washer. Even with the steam iron I have not been able to restore it to it's original shape and orientation.

My biggest concern is how long the racks will last. The light blue polyester attracts dirt from the table and as I mentioned the 8 ball rack developed a small tear though the 9 and 10 ball racks have no tears.

Another feature that I find useful is the taper the small holes have on the rack. They provide a better rack than the competitors, even with different sized balls (i.e. a mixed set of varying stages of wear).

I can not recommend the Accu-Rack for use in 14.1 nor One-Pocket as a slow rolling ball can be thrown off course if it strikes the Accu-Rack.

Overall it's a good competitor to the Magic Rack. For me the biggest plus of the Accu-Rack is that you don't have to worry about creasing it when you put it in your case. The plastic sleeve and roll up tube container fits nicely in the long pocket of your cue case.

I know there are others who may have received demo copies of the Accu-Rack and would like to compare notes on their experiences with the Accu-Rack.

Disclaimer: I am not selling this product only reviewing it.
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Am I the only one that is bothered that these template racks deflect ball path direction? :confused:

We spend so much attention getting accurately-honed slates, perfect joints, a level table, and a low nap cloth, and then lay down a plastic template on the playing field.

I guess it's a trade off between tightness and path purity, but I prefer the traditional problems of traditional racks.

Good review for those who like templates, but for me, I don't want a template rack used in a game I am playing. JMO.

Cheers! :cool:
 
Months ago i offered to help Renfro. I would have offered a fair and well written review and took it to the many places i play to get him exposure and other opinions. He didn't even answer me PM so needless to say I will not buy one. Customer service is big imo
 
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