hclopez13
Member
Good evening folks.
I recently ordered a Rhino Eclipse 2 "Noir" cue, with a 11.8 carbon shaft. I was looking forward to posting a full review, but unfortunately I will not be able to. I will however give my first impressions of the cue and the reasons why I could not review it.
I needed a cue that was not too expensive as a backup and for casual play. Rhino seemed like the answer for my needs.
First, Rhino is currently marketing the cue for $441 with a free 8" extension, which is not bad at all for a cue with a carbon fiber shaft. Overall, the cue looks fantastic. The composite butt has 6 points with notched diamond shapes, stitch rings and a nice lizard print wrap. It comes with joint protectors. When put together, it seems well balanced, solid and has a feeling of quality to it. I did notice that the butt seems to be a hollow tube, which makes sense being composite for ease of manufacturing. Cosmetically, I found no flaws. I can't comment on hit and feedback as I did not play with it. It took around 15 days to receive the cue via UPS.
A lot of folks have great things to say about Rhino and their shafts. There is no question that they are a good option for players on a budget looking for a good looking cue with a carbon fiber shaft that won't break the bank.
Now, the bad with the one I received:
I have a habit of doing my due dilligence and inspecting what I buy with my hard earned money. I currently have Meucci building me a Hi-Pro 1 with a Carbon Pro shaft, and for sure I'll be inspecting it very meticulously. I don't mind minor cosmetic flaws, but the machining and details that matter for play need to be right. I mentioned the Rhino cue came with an extension. The extension itself comes with an extension adapter buttcap that replaces the standard one that comes with the cue. Naturally, after seeing that the cue looked great, I proceeded to switch the buttcaps to take it to the table and try the extension. First, I had an awful time removing the buttcap. Upon removal, I noticed the threads were deformed. I tried to install the extension adapter buttcap and it will not screw in. Long story short, the threads on the butt were not machined to spec, the factory bumper was forced into place at the factory, cross threaded, and the out of spec threads do not allow the use of the extension. I could not even screw back the standard buttcap into the cue butt without cross threading it and going in crooked. How did they install it and got away with it? Who knows. I just put the piece back in the box with the cue.
I have contacted Rhino customer service for a refund since I lost confidence in their QC. We'll see what they say.
Moral of the story: do your due dilligence when buying a new piece of equipment, even if it's a bargain. Expecting a company to sell you a product that works as intended and is well made is not unreasonable.
Eddie
I recently ordered a Rhino Eclipse 2 "Noir" cue, with a 11.8 carbon shaft. I was looking forward to posting a full review, but unfortunately I will not be able to. I will however give my first impressions of the cue and the reasons why I could not review it.
I needed a cue that was not too expensive as a backup and for casual play. Rhino seemed like the answer for my needs.
First, Rhino is currently marketing the cue for $441 with a free 8" extension, which is not bad at all for a cue with a carbon fiber shaft. Overall, the cue looks fantastic. The composite butt has 6 points with notched diamond shapes, stitch rings and a nice lizard print wrap. It comes with joint protectors. When put together, it seems well balanced, solid and has a feeling of quality to it. I did notice that the butt seems to be a hollow tube, which makes sense being composite for ease of manufacturing. Cosmetically, I found no flaws. I can't comment on hit and feedback as I did not play with it. It took around 15 days to receive the cue via UPS.
A lot of folks have great things to say about Rhino and their shafts. There is no question that they are a good option for players on a budget looking for a good looking cue with a carbon fiber shaft that won't break the bank.
Now, the bad with the one I received:
I have a habit of doing my due dilligence and inspecting what I buy with my hard earned money. I currently have Meucci building me a Hi-Pro 1 with a Carbon Pro shaft, and for sure I'll be inspecting it very meticulously. I don't mind minor cosmetic flaws, but the machining and details that matter for play need to be right. I mentioned the Rhino cue came with an extension. The extension itself comes with an extension adapter buttcap that replaces the standard one that comes with the cue. Naturally, after seeing that the cue looked great, I proceeded to switch the buttcaps to take it to the table and try the extension. First, I had an awful time removing the buttcap. Upon removal, I noticed the threads were deformed. I tried to install the extension adapter buttcap and it will not screw in. Long story short, the threads on the butt were not machined to spec, the factory bumper was forced into place at the factory, cross threaded, and the out of spec threads do not allow the use of the extension. I could not even screw back the standard buttcap into the cue butt without cross threading it and going in crooked. How did they install it and got away with it? Who knows. I just put the piece back in the box with the cue.
I have contacted Rhino customer service for a refund since I lost confidence in their QC. We'll see what they say.
Moral of the story: do your due dilligence when buying a new piece of equipment, even if it's a bargain. Expecting a company to sell you a product that works as intended and is well made is not unreasonable.
Eddie
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