Hello everyone,
I just restarted playing again after years off the game. gave away my old maple cue centuries ago so I bought some new cues for me and my son after he found it enjoyable. so here is my review on some cues. just remember that I'm not that capable of buying custom end cues nor willing to invest on expensive stuff. so I went canvassing everywhere for a good one. cheapest I could find cost more than I'm willing to spend for atleast decent quality.
so I ended up on TEMU. yep, that TEMU and I know, don't shoot the messenger. so I bought 2 cues. one is a CUEMALL brand and the other one is an unnamed cue stick with a predator logo on it . color of the butt is white with some blue points. 3rd cue was bought from a local owner cheaper than the brand new, CRICAL-01 I believe is the model. I like the CF/inlay aesthetic of the cue that why I bought it and another reason which I will point out later.
1. the CUE MALL - cue looks nice for my personal taste. butt construct is mediocre like any typical cheap wood butt. it's pilot joint. shaft has gloss finish and feels or sounds hollow. cue tip is a black phenolic and have to changed it with an Ultraskin Very Soft tip. in fairness, the cue hits straight. the description says it's carbon fiber but I feel that it's fiberglass graphite composite. not bad, but nothing special other than the cue has more action due to the tip. learning curve took a bit of time for me to adjust to the cue. balance if forward heavy imo.
2. the Predator K/O - cue looks nice for my taste. butt construct is similar to the cue mall. pilot joint. shaft has matte finish and denser than the cue mall. cue tip came with the rainbow colored layered tip. again, have to replace the cue tip with an Ultraskin Soft tip. cue hits straight and draws good. my impression is the shaft could a a cheaper carbon fiber. impression, cue is a better hit imo, I get more chances of break and running. balance is slightly heavy on the butt or good balance for me.
3. Crical CL01 - cue is beautiful for my taste. came with a butt extension. love the CF graphics on the butt sleeve and looks premium. butt construct is better than the previous and filled nicely. not sure if the inner materials is made of wood that is painted black or pure carbon fiber. too bad it's radial joint. shaft is matte finish and felt fatter as far as the taper comparison with the other two. it is obviously denser that the other two shafts. the shaft might have some filling in it like the other higher end CF shafts are. it came with a soft shaft, previous owner claimed the tip might or hits like a kamui. cue hits straight and has very good action on the CB, draws very well so I'm keeping the tip for now. it's a bit of a learning curve to get adjusted to the cue before I was able to get used to it. balance is very nice like similar to the #2 cue or neutral weight. I felt the cue is way better adding the butt extension although annoying since I kept banging it due to how long it is. the hit is very solid and gives that typical "ting" sound when you hit the CB in a certain way or apply a certain english. never miscued so far.
this is just an initial review. I would put an update after I put it against the #1 cue.
I just restarted playing again after years off the game. gave away my old maple cue centuries ago so I bought some new cues for me and my son after he found it enjoyable. so here is my review on some cues. just remember that I'm not that capable of buying custom end cues nor willing to invest on expensive stuff. so I went canvassing everywhere for a good one. cheapest I could find cost more than I'm willing to spend for atleast decent quality.
so I ended up on TEMU. yep, that TEMU and I know, don't shoot the messenger. so I bought 2 cues. one is a CUEMALL brand and the other one is an unnamed cue stick with a predator logo on it . color of the butt is white with some blue points. 3rd cue was bought from a local owner cheaper than the brand new, CRICAL-01 I believe is the model. I like the CF/inlay aesthetic of the cue that why I bought it and another reason which I will point out later.
1. the CUE MALL - cue looks nice for my personal taste. butt construct is mediocre like any typical cheap wood butt. it's pilot joint. shaft has gloss finish and feels or sounds hollow. cue tip is a black phenolic and have to changed it with an Ultraskin Very Soft tip. in fairness, the cue hits straight. the description says it's carbon fiber but I feel that it's fiberglass graphite composite. not bad, but nothing special other than the cue has more action due to the tip. learning curve took a bit of time for me to adjust to the cue. balance if forward heavy imo.
2. the Predator K/O - cue looks nice for my taste. butt construct is similar to the cue mall. pilot joint. shaft has matte finish and denser than the cue mall. cue tip came with the rainbow colored layered tip. again, have to replace the cue tip with an Ultraskin Soft tip. cue hits straight and draws good. my impression is the shaft could a a cheaper carbon fiber. impression, cue is a better hit imo, I get more chances of break and running. balance is slightly heavy on the butt or good balance for me.
3. Crical CL01 - cue is beautiful for my taste. came with a butt extension. love the CF graphics on the butt sleeve and looks premium. butt construct is better than the previous and filled nicely. not sure if the inner materials is made of wood that is painted black or pure carbon fiber. too bad it's radial joint. shaft is matte finish and felt fatter as far as the taper comparison with the other two. it is obviously denser that the other two shafts. the shaft might have some filling in it like the other higher end CF shafts are. it came with a soft shaft, previous owner claimed the tip might or hits like a kamui. cue hits straight and has very good action on the CB, draws very well so I'm keeping the tip for now. it's a bit of a learning curve to get adjusted to the cue before I was able to get used to it. balance is very nice like similar to the #2 cue or neutral weight. I felt the cue is way better adding the butt extension although annoying since I kept banging it due to how long it is. the hit is very solid and gives that typical "ting" sound when you hit the CB in a certain way or apply a certain english. never miscued so far.
this is just an initial review. I would put an update after I put it against the #1 cue.