Review of the OB-1 and OB-2 shafts

G

GDC

GlenC
Silver Member
I've read a lot of mixed reviews on the OB shafts and I wanted to post my own review these products. I am 40 years old and have been a pool addict since I was 19. I've been playing with the OB-1 for about 2 years and recently I've been using an OB-2 quite a bit. I have read a lot of reviews from people stating that they are dead and have no feel. I definitely do not share that opinion and I think a lot of that has to do with the rest of the equipment that I am matching up with the OB shafts. First of all, I am using the OBs on a wrapless, stiff-hitting, steel jointed Schon. A dampened OB is a perfect compliment for that ... LOTS of feel while dampening the unwanted metal vibrations. I played with an OB-1 on a McDermott with a non-metal joint and it felt significantly softer than on my Schon and I did not care for it.

Second, my personal opinion on the Everest tip that comes on OB shafts is that they are very spongy when they are brand-new when the tip is still thick. I believe that might be a cause for some of the negative reviews of the OB shafts --- the dead feel opinions may be more related to the tip condition rather than the shaft. They play much better over time after they compress and thin down. I'm surprised that with many shaft reviews, people neglect to mention their tip setup which makes a huge difference in the feel of the stick. I am now playing with a very firm Kamui Black medium tip and I have it cut down halfway shaped to a dime. Let me tell you ... that combination on an OB-2 on my Schon is truly devastating.

As far as the difference between the OB-1 and OB-2 ... I like them both, but slightly prefer the OB-2. I have the same tip setup on both so it is not really that hard to switch between them. They both have a very SOLID hit. The OB-2 is definitely a bit stiffer. It does not feel as thin as you might think being an 11.75mm. I do believe the boys at OB have perfected the taper with the OB-2. It feels fairly stiff but not hard, lots of precise action with the smaller tip ... but yet it does not feel thin in your fingers ... just right. With the higher action, I feel like you can hit closer to center without having to load up on the cue ball to move it around ... and because of that, your odds of missing decrease.

So before you judge the OBs, I would recommend you try them with varying equipment combinations. If any of you are in North Atlanta, I have 9' of Simonis 860 at my house :). You are welcome to stop by and try my combination ... I can't imagine anything better.
 
I wanted to write my own review, but your's is pretty much my opinion also. This is a great shaft with one minus, Everest tip. I changed to KBMed also, this is my favorite tip. Can't wait to try it !!!
 
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Yep, that is exactly how I feel about my OB-1. I also have the KB Medium and after it settled down, I really like it. I use the KB Soft on my Helmstetter.

When I purchased the OB-1 I went ahead and bought the Joss butt to go with it. It has the steel joint and it matched the shaft...

Took me a while to get re-used to aiming, but I really like it. Easy to move the CB around with easy/soft shots.
 
Same here. I can say I tested quite some shafts, from Pechauers to 314, Z², 314², Mezz Hybrid Pro II. And I can only say that I'm sticking with the OB1 shaft. Most people call the OB1 a low deflection shaft. To me, I notice the lower deflection, but it still feels like I'm playing with a full maple shaft. I love the feeling. I used to play with the 314² on an IKON series and I ended up selling it quickly because it felt "dead" and I feel that the 314² handles deflection way different from OB1 shaft. I ended up forcing more shots than with the OB1.
Anyways, overall, OB1's my favorite and I did suffer with the spongy tip too, dunno how come. The seller even told me mine came with a talisman tip on it... hmmm strange. It didn't hit as good until I changed tip. I'm currently using a tiger soft and it works really good.
 
not a fan

I haven't owned an OB shaft, I have a Predator Z2 and I love it. What I can say for sure is that I was never impressed with the OB shafts and I loved the Z2 shaft from the first time I tried it. I guess I could try harder with the OB shaft but I'm just too satisfied with my Predator.
 
Colomblanco said:
I haven't owned an OB shaft, I have a Predator Z2 and I love it. What I can say for sure is that I was never impressed with the OB shafts and I loved the Z2 shaft from the first time I tried it. I guess I could try harder with the OB shaft but I'm just too satisfied with my Predator.
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Colomblanco

You should try the new OB Classic Pro.

It was designed specifically for players with your tastes.
 
I have both shafts for my Schuler, I upgraded to the Z2 in the fall of 09 and like it alot, Then I won an ob2 from Big truck and was pretty set on selling it to fund another cue, Well my dad wanted it so I sold it to him and I'm very glad that I did becuase it gave me the opertunity to try it out and was very Impressed, I'm a lower class player but I have been playing my whole life (40) and they both have there place, I think the deflection os lower on the Z2 but as far as feel and touch the Ob2 wins. Just my .02 Todd
 
just got a OB1, after playing with it I went home and cut the tip off.
Not sure what I'm going to put on it yet? Thinking Tiger tho, Like how it hits on my custom.. If anyone cares, I'll post what I put on and how if feels after..
 
dbl or nothing? said:
just got a OB1, after playing with it I went home and cut the tip off.
Not sure what I'm going to put on it yet? Thinking Tiger tho, Like how it hits on my custom.. If anyone cares, I'll post what I put on and how if feels after..
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It comes with a Tiger Everest
 
Just my opinion,but I've played with over 40 types of tips and at the end of the day the best tip I've ever played with is a compressed elkmaster.I know the tips are real soft but compressing it in a vice first makes the magic happen.You'll never miscue again unless you never chalk,you'll pay next to nothing for a box of them,and pros like Corey Deuel really like them.As far as OB shafts and Predator.My experience is that with Predator you sacrifice feel for stiffness and with OB you sacrifice a bit of stiffness for lots of feel.Both shafts play great,but try the compressed elkmaster and tell me what you think.Thanks Scott:)
 
chuckpilegis said:
It comes with a Tiger Everest
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Dont know? I must of got an old one? was looking at other obs and the tips looked/felt good.. Basicly i could push my tip over, if I grabbed the shaft and pushed with my thumb... Ended up putting a Kumui black(soft) feels more like a hard med.. played with the combo for about 12-15 hours and its real nice...thinking the tips will make it on my other player shafts.. but I find the ob gets real sticky after about 15 mins of play, my other shafts dont, and I dont think my hands really sweat that much.?.?. My other shafts dont get like that.. let you know if I find a fix for that... besides whipping it down after every game..
 
I have a first generation predator 314 with the long ferrule. i am looking at a Z2 or one of the new OB classic pros without the sound dampening foam and plastic ferrule. Anybody know how these compare?
Kuipdog
 
I have been using an OB1 shaft (Radial) for a week solid. It has its benefits, and for a mass produced product, it is fantastic. But after playing with a solid Maple shaft for 3.5 years, basing my game around improving my stroke...the need to 'upgrade' to a LD Shaft is pointless. I have changed back to my maple shaft last night, and everything just felt right.

Its a Great Product non the less, just not to my taste :)
 
Monkey-Boy said:
I have been using an OB1 shaft (Radial) for a week solid. It has its benefits, and for a mass produced product, it is fantastic. But after playing with a solid Maple shaft for 3.5 years, basing my game around improving my stroke...the need to 'upgrade' to a LD Shaft is pointless. I have changed back to my maple shaft last night, and everything just felt right.

Its a Great Product non the less, just not to my taste :)
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Well, it turns out I am more used to the OB1 than I initially thought. I felt quite comfortable with it last night when I was playing.

I have decided to stick with it...I have put my Maple shafts away in the house and wont be going back to them again. I am determined to get used it it fully.

It also seems that my stroke is just as good as it was before, and that I was just having a bad night when playing.
 
I can comfortably say that after 2 weeks of playing 10-15 hours per week (work commitments forced the lack of hours), I am now 95% comfortable with all shots with the OB1 shaft. The only shots I am still getting used to is the stop with english shot to come off the rail (I hope you understand here :P). I seem to be putting too much english on at the moment. But it will be sorted by the end of this week :). I also know I can rely on the shaft alot more than a Maple when having an 'off' day to still get postition on the next ball :thumbup:

So for me, it would have taken 3 weeks to fully get used to this shaft...for me personally, a well worth investment.
 
Mcdermott I2

I have found the Mcdermott I2 to be the best LD shaft on the market. The control, construction and consistency is amazing. By far the best one out there right now. I have played ob1 & ob2 I find them both to be spongy and they tend to split and splinter. I have tried tip changes to get rid of the sponge like hit with no help its the way the shaft is made that causes this issue. The pie shape cut pieces used to maintain radial consistency is what causes the spliting and splintering. I have since sold both my ob shafts off and will never again buy their products. The warranty Mcdermott offers on the I series shafts is second to none in the market place another big plus when investing 200 dollars on a LD shaft. Do the research on these shafts the stats don't lie.
 
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Poolhalljunkie1 said:
I have found the Mcdermott I2 to be the best LD shaft on the market. The control, construction and consistency is amazing. By far the best one out there right now. I have played ob1 & ob2 I find them both to be spongy and they tend to split and splinter. I have tried tip changes to get rid of the sponge like hit with no help its the way the shaft is made that causes this issue. The pie shape cut pieces used to maintain radial consistency is what causes the spliting and splintering. I have since sold both my ob shafts off and will never again buy their products. The warranty Mcdermott offers on the I series shafts is second to none in the market place another big plus when investing 200 dollars on a LD shaft. Do the research on these shafts the stats don't lie.
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Poolhalljunkie

Sorry you didn't care for our shafts.

I do have to say that we stand behind our products 100%. If you had an issue and just went to our website or called, you would have seen that we offer a lifetime warranty as well. Our shafts are not cut into "PIE" shaped pieces, and we have to replace very few shafts, but are happy to do so when something goes wrong that can't be fixed.

I hope you consider giving us another try some time in the future. If so, call me and we can work something out.
 
RBC said:
Poolhalljunkie

Sorry you didn't care for our shafts.

I do have to say that we stand behind our products 100%. If you had an issue and just went to our website or called, you would have seen that we offer a lifetime warranty as well. Our shafts are not cut into "PIE" shaped pieces, and we have to replace very few shafts, but are happy to do so when something goes wrong that can't be fixed.

I hope you consider giving us another try some time in the future. If so, call me and we can work something out.
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No I didn't care for your shafts nor do most players I shoot with. Actually you have a pretty bad reputation among the common player for the reasons Ive already stated. Not cut into "pie" shapes you say then what do you call laying slivers on top of each other and glueing them together. Then taking 6 of these pieces laying them out like PIE pieces and glueing AGAIN and turning it down to a shaft. If you look at the end result it does look like pie shape pieces. IMHO OB shafts are not worth the money. Your warranty does not even compare to the Mcderrmott I series shafts unless you have changed something since I last owned your products. I did call about the problems I was having and told that was do to abuse. I do not abuse my cues and shafts. In fact I take very good care of my cues and shafts. You did not stand by your product. I have heard similar stories of poor customer service. You had your chance to keep my bussiness and work something out your company failed. If you would like to redeem yourself then feel free to send me another otherwise you have lost a customer.
 
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