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.
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.