Scorpion gift - advice?

D

Dolios

New member
I'm a "decent beginner" whose friends just gave me a Scorpion NT05
http://www.pooldawg.com/product-0/scorpion-pool-cues-nt05-scorpion-nt05-po-51607.html
as my first cue. I'm fully aware that cues with fiberglass coated shafts don't have the greatest reputations, and I'm afraid it'll get tacky after a while. Most of the things I've read giving purchasing advice in this price range have recommended getting a McDermott, Viking, Lucasi, etc. - not a Cuetec or Scorpion, so I figure this cue might not be the most cue for the price.

Would I be better off exchanging the Scorpion for a similarly priced cue from one of the above brands (or any others...please make recommendations)? Right now it's still covered under a 30 day return policy (I haven't chalked it). Or should I just use it?
Another option is for me to add in some money and get a low end Joss (JOS01 or something along those lines).
I'm pretty sure my friends wouldn't mind, so that shouldn't be an issue.

On another note - I've never had a cue of my own before, so I don't have much to compare with, but this one sure does look nice...
 
Dolios said:
I'm a "decent beginner" whose friends just gave me a Scorpion NT05
http://www.pooldawg.com/product-0/scorpion-pool-cues-nt05-scorpion-nt05-po-51607.html
as my first cue. I'm fully aware that cues with fiberglass coated shafts don't have the greatest reputations, and I'm afraid it'll get tacky after a while. Most of the things I've read giving purchasing advice in this price range have recommended getting a McDermott, Viking, Lucasi, etc. - not a Cuetec or Scorpion, so I figure this cue might not be the most cue for the price.

Would I be better off exchanging the Scorpion for a similarly priced cue from one of the above brands (or any others...please make recommendations)? Right now it's still covered under a 30 day return policy (I haven't chalked it). Or should I just use it?
Another option is for me to add in some money and get a low end Joss (JOS01 or something along those lines).
I'm pretty sure my friends wouldn't mind, so that shouldn't be an issue.

On another note - I've never had a cue of my own before, so I don't have much to compare with, but this one sure does look nice...
Click to expand...


Dolios, much of this is for you to decide. Yes, most competitive pool-players do not use fiberglass cues but that doesn't necessarily make them a bad option. They are, for the most part, as advertised. They don't warp or ding which make them an ideal first-cue. Anyone who can remember their first cue will tell you how much they banged it up and ended up getting a new one anyway.

The way I see it, if you keep this cue or not, you're going to end up getting something else later, if pool is your fancy. You might as well keep your expenses to a minimum until you KNOW which cue you need to have.
 
Dolios said:
I'm a "decent beginner" whose friends just gave me a Scorpion NT05
http://www.pooldawg.com/product-0/scorpion-pool-cues-nt05-scorpion-nt05-po-51607.html
as my first cue. I'm fully aware that cues with fiberglass coated shafts don't have the greatest reputations, and I'm afraid it'll get tacky after a while. Most of the things I've read giving purchasing advice in this price range have recommended getting a McDermott, Viking, Lucasi, etc. - not a Cuetec or Scorpion, so I figure this cue might not be the most cue for the price.

Would I be better off exchanging the Scorpion for a similarly priced cue from one of the above brands (or any others...please make recommendations)? Right now it's still covered under a 30 day return policy (I haven't chalked it). Or should I just use it?
Another option is for me to add in some money and get a low end Joss (JOS01 or something along those lines).
I'm pretty sure my friends wouldn't mind, so that shouldn't be an issue.

On another note - I've never had a cue of my own before, so I don't have much to compare with, but this one sure does look nice...
Click to expand...

BTW, welcome to azb forum. ;)
 
my advice.......get new friends



























im jokinggggggggggg lol. well if it wouldnt hurt their feelins id probably trade it for one of the others you mentioned. Problem is you really havent shot with enough of them to know what you like yet....try some peoples out and see what you think
 
Dolios said:
Another option is for me to add in some money and get a low end Joss (JOS01 or something along those lines).
Click to expand...

I've been very pleased with the quality of my JOS01. The piece of maple they used for the forearm is every bit as beautiful as the one on the website, the finish is excellent, and the balance suits me. The hit was very solid and felt very sweet, but I found the 13.25 mm tip to be a bit big for my tastes, and the deflection was pretty noticeable, so I ended up getting a predator shaft for it. Once all was said and done, I don't think I could have gotten a functionally better cue no matter how much I shelled out, and I only paid $200 + an unused 314 shaft from ebay ($160, I think).

Anyway, I don't know how much "add in some money" means, but that's the route I'd go if I were you. Just treat it nice, and you might find it's the last cue you'll ever really need.

-Andrew
 
Dolios said:
I'm a "decent beginner" whose friends just gave me a Scorpion NT05
http://www.pooldawg.com/product-0/scorpion-pool-cues-nt05-scorpion-nt05-po-51607.html
as my first cue. I'm fully aware that cues with fiberglass coated shafts don't have the greatest reputations, and I'm afraid it'll get tacky after a while. .
Click to expand...

I don't know anything about this cue. If it doesn't feel tacky now, how does it feel? It may not get tacky like the early Cuetec fiberglass-clad cues.

Fred
 
If it were me, I'd just use it anyway. You're friends gave it to you out of generosity, and I think you'd hurt their feelings a little bit. I say use it until you find another cue that you really like considering you don't really know what you like.
 
Friends

Well if you use it then they will be glad they got you that cue. If you don't use it and get rid of it they might have hurt feelings, even if they don't tell you.

I would use the cue and later if you want another cue, then you can use the Scorpion as a break cue. I know a lot of people that have done this with their old cue. That way you can figure out if you like the cue, and you can use other peoples cues to figure out what you like.

Just a thought, but you do what you got to do!
 
Dolios said:
I'm a "decent beginner" whose friends just gave me a Scorpion NT05
http://www.pooldawg.com/product-0/scorpion-pool-cues-nt05-scorpion-nt05-po-51607.html
as my first cue. I'm fully aware that cues with fiberglass coated shafts don't have the greatest reputations, and I'm afraid it'll get tacky after a while. Most of the things I've read giving purchasing advice in this price range have recommended getting a McDermott, Viking, Lucasi, etc. - not a Cuetec or Scorpion, so I figure this cue might not be the most cue for the price.

Would I be better off exchanging the Scorpion for a similarly priced cue from one of the above brands (or any others...please make recommendations)? Right now it's still covered under a 30 day return policy (I haven't chalked it). Or should I just use it?
Another option is for me to add in some money and get a low end Joss (JOS01 or something along those lines).
I'm pretty sure my friends wouldn't mind, so that shouldn't be an issue.

On another note - I've never had a cue of my own before, so I don't have much to compare with, but this one sure does look nice...
Click to expand...
From one "decent beginner" to another...my first and only cue is also a Scorpion. When I just picked up this game over 2 years ago, I wanted a cheap cue to call my own...so I ended up buying the cheapest Scorpion they had...about $65 or so.

I bought this cue before I knew anything about equipment (heck, i still don't know anything about equipment...lol). I was so disappointed after hitting my first ball with the fiberglass shaft. Such a stiff hit.

Though, there are obvious benefits to the fiberglass shaft. You don't have to worry about dings, warps, etc. Sometimes, I'd just leave it in my car on hot summer or cold winter days...the shaft to this date is still straight as an arrow.

I've gotten used to the hit, but I've been promising myself for over a year that I would upgrade to something more "reputable". Never had the chance to do that yet...hehe.

For a first cue, a Scorpion isn't horrible if you're not totally hardcore pool. But if you are hardcore, I would probably exchange it for a maple-shaft cue...especially since your model is priced at $175.

jsp <~~ Not that hardcore...yet. ;)
 
it's not a horrible cue for a beginner, however if you have the option, have the tip changed to something a little softer. I had a customer buy one and it hit like crap. I put a different tip on it and he was much happier with it. That way at least it will be tolerable until you decide if you want a different cue.
 
Thanks for all the replies!
I'm still not positive what I'm going to end up doing, but I've already spoken with my friends so for the purposes of this question I guess that factor can be taken out of consideration - I'm still considering keeping the Scorpion.

The main reason I was thinking about exchanging is because the Scorpion is valued at $175 - not really chump change, and if there are considerably better cues for the same price I think it would be somewhat of a shame to have this opportunity go to waste and end up having to buy another cue later on.

Basically - (sorry to repeat a ton of other posts) if you had a $175 Scorpion that you could exchange for a similarly priced cue (considering I can cover for some extra, to make the total around 200), what would you do?

Again, some options I'm considering are a low end Joss (around 200), Falcon, or a McDermott or Viking, etc...

I realize that trying out a bunch of cues is ideal but I might not be able to that...
I hit with the Scorpion (without chalk though) and it felt pretty distinctly different from a one piece cue (and a McDermott I've played with as well) - it was much stiffer (if i'm identifying stiffness properly) - the impact with the cue ball was pretty sharp, although I think I could get used to it.

Thanks for all the replies so far.
 
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