So many tips, so hard to decide on which one to try!

S

salam4

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Idea: at the BCA nationals or any open tournament there should be a booth with a basic consistent cue and a variety of different types of tips on that cue so users can hit with 10-12 different brands of tips and learn the differences between them and which ones they prefer.

My Problem: In my 10 years of being a pool player I’ve only tried a couple brands of tips. Mainly the brand of tip that I use is LePro but I feel like it’s a 50/50 shot on if its going to be a good LePro tip or not. If it’s a good LePro tip it does an awesome job of grabbing onto the cueball. The Moori tip I tried (I think it was a Medium) felt really hard and didn’t feel like it was grabbing onto the cue ball as much as the leather lepro tips (I was always afraid to miscue and didn’t have as much confidence in the spin). I don’t know if this was the difference between layered vs. leather or if the Moori was just harder than other tips I’ve used.

What tips have worked for you and what are your recommendations that I should try. I definitely know I do not like hard tips. I’ve heard that I should try a Kamui tip. Which hardness do you recommend and should I go with the standard or black series.
 
The trick is to try a few,figure out the ones you don't like and why, and gifure out the ones you do like and why. Then make up your own mind.

I cannot see how your escapade with dozens of shafts with dozens of tips would add value to the tip seller.
 
Well I think they would be able to get their product in the hands of pool players to see if they like the tip or not (same thing cue manufactures do). I've been playing for 10 years and have probably tried 3-4 brands of tips just because I don't want to risk trying a new one (I don't install my own tips and it's a pain for me to get a new one installed). I probably will never try sniper tips, tiger, or any of the other brands just because I've found 1 that works ok and don't want to spend the money and effort to try a new one. Recently i've been getting poor LePro tips so I decided now I will try a Kamui black super soft just based on recommendations which is going to cost me $30 (without ever trying one!)

MitchAlsup said:
The trick is to try a few,figure out the ones you don't like and why, and gifure out the ones you do like and why. Then make up your own mind.

I cannot see how your escapade with dozens of shafts with dozens of tips would add value to the tip seller.
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I like ultraskins. I played with moori before switching and cant tell the difference between the two. Plus for the price you cant go wrong.
 
There are so many good quality tips out there. Rather than rack my brains out, I leave that to my neighborhood cue repair guy. In the course of a year, he'll put on hundreds of tips and see how they perform. So I tell him my budget and what I'm looking to get out, and rely on his knowledge and experience. I get back a nicely installed tip, and he even cleans and polish the cue shaft for me.
 
Learn how to change tips yourself. That saves lots of money and you can try lots of different tips. I personally have narrowed it down to two that I use all the time now: Kamui brown S and G-2 H. I don't go by how hard or soft they're rated, but how they play, sound and feel... so I've tried all the hardnesses of Kamui and G-2 and many others, and this is what I like.:D
 
I've not yet found the perfect cue tip. The layered tips are consistent but limited. A new leather tip is great for spinning the cue ball but soon get hard and mushrooms and needs to be changed.

My friend swears by Elkmaster.
 
lemonade said:
I like ultraskins. I played with moori before switching and cant tell the difference between the two. Plus for the price you cant go wrong.
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I have played a lot of different tips over the years. I really like the Ultraskin mediums. I just ordered 10 of them.
 
I've tried a few over the years, I'm one of those guys that'll spend 50 bucks on a hamburger if it tastes good, but I won't spend 50 cents extra on what I feel is a gimmick.

This includes spending thousands on a cue, hundreds on a shaft, or twenties on a tip.

I settled in with LePros for quite a few years until they became inconsistent in quality. I switched to Triangles and liked them a lot. The last few I bought seemed extra hard, so I decided to try an economy laminated tip.

I bought some Tiger Emeralds, I think about 3 bucks each. These are the best tips I've ever used. Not only how they play, but consistency throughout their life as well as ease of shaping after I install them. You can't go wrong trying these things. Very very good!
 
tip

cut the triangle in half (or sand to about half) install and play like a beast imo
 
Vivian Villarreal, Rodney Morris, Joe Blackburn, Steve Lomax, etc.. have said that the Black Heart Premium Tips are the best playing tips in the world right now.

In fact, I am sending 2 more Black Heart tips to Barry Szamboti to be put on for Rodney's cue.
 
Tips

I think you'll find Kamui's too hard for your liking, even the Super Softs. G2's are great tips also, and are softer than Kamui's, might be more suited to your preferences...

Personal Tip Preferences :

-Kamui Black Hard (Black mediums are great too, especially after I smash them into a hard :thumbup:)
-G2's
-Onyx-Ltd
-Kamui Original
-Zan's
 
If you can put on tips yourself you could try making your own milkduds. Its easy. Just soak an elkmaster in milk for 24 hours and press it in a vice. Dirt cheap and excellent. You can also try this with a lepro. Thats my favourite at the moment.

If you are prepared to spend a bit more, try a sniper tip. Consistent throughout its lifespan with 95% at the performance of the most expensive tips in my humble estimation.

If you don't care about price at all, I recommend kamui black soft, or mori m.
 
They are all crap. You don't need one and it is just another trick to get more money out of you.

It is an add-on sale item. Don't fall for the trick.
 
I went and got the Kamui black super soft installed on my cue yesterday so we'll see how it works! I am very curious to try a sniper and few others.

Straightpool_99 said:
If you can put on tips yourself you could try making your own milkduds. Its easy. Just soak an elkmaster in milk for 24 hours and press it in a vice. Dirt cheap and excellent. You can also try this with a lepro. Thats my favourite at the moment.

If you are prepared to spend a bit more, try a sniper tip. Consistent throughout its lifespan with 95% at the performance of the most expensive tips in my humble estimation.

If you don't care about price at all, I recommend kamui black soft, or mori m.
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Ok i had used LePro tips for YEARS and i mean YEARS . Mine were crushed ina vise for me to get them all packed up. Now each tip from the time its installed feels the same. And in a tip that is really the main thing you should look for is that it reacts the same all the time and you feel comfortable knowing how its goign to react each time.

That being said i recently gave some EMERALD tips a try and the seem to feel just like a crushed LePro right out of the box. And they are fairly cheap.

Also ask the guy installing your tips to cut alittle more of the tip off when he installs it because this can help the mooshy feel a new big fat tip has.

hope this helps but remember in the end its not what everyone else likes its what you can reproduce shots with everytime for YOU.
 
Ultra Skin Tips Mediums!!!

Best I have seen! Even better than first generation moori's in my opinion! Better Feel and density of leather! Even density on each spot on the tip, based entirely on how it feels hitting balls! No hard spots on the tip NO WHERE!!! No big compression spots and glazing of hard spots on edge of tips! All in All! OUTSTANDING!!!

Just my opinion!

KD
 
salam4 said:
I went and got the Kamui black super soft installed on my cue yesterday so we'll see how it works! I am very curious to try a sniper and few others.
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as someone already wrote, a good solution is to learn to replace your tips yourself , then you'll be able to test yourself for much cheaper. It isn't rocket science, you can do it very well with patience .
You could buy some Ultraskins and try the different hardness . try S , the new VS , and M if you feel them too soft. (here I play now with the S for pool & M for 3 cushions . i'll try the VS asap . before that i was playing with other layered tips. IMHO Ultraskin are excellent for the price. )
 
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salam4 said:
I went and got the Kamui black super soft installed on my cue yesterday so we'll see how it works! I am very curious to try a sniper and few others.
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I truly hope you like it, and personally feel the Kamui Blacks are the best tip on the market...

But, they play pretty hard, even the Super Soft (especially over a little time), and you mentioned that you do not like a hard tip....

There are a few things you need to be aware of with a Kamui Black:

- First: You HAVE to give it some time to get used to. They play much different than ANY other tip. You'll quickly see exactly what im talking about, and especially if your playing on a good table with good cloth, tighter pockets and clean balls (wont be as noticeable on a mud table with buckets, but you'll still be able to see it)
- Second: I rarely advise a lower handicapped player to use a Kamui Black (I of course have absolutely no idea what your speed is, im just saying this to put it out there). They usually havent developed a good stroke yet, and cant handle them. They tend to miscue MUCH more than with another tip, and quickly blame the tip (its not the tip...:rolleyes:). Even good players find themselves miscuing more when getting used to them.... Which leads me to #3
- Third: This applies whenever your using ANY english on whitey; Use about HALF of what you normally would use to get the same desired results (For example: If you have a shot you would normally use a full tip of english, try using half a tip. Half tip shot, use a quarter tip. Etc..).
- Lastly: Get used to scuffing your tip on a regular basis. They will glaze over very quickly, and you'll again, start to miscue because it isnt holding chalk well. Depending on how you play, you'll probably need to scuff it at least every other time you play.. This is why Kamui came out with their Gator Grip (as well as to sell you something else). You can get back to good chalk adhesion without taking a tip layer off every other day with a williard, or making mince meat out of it with a tip pic..

They do not mushroom very much, but you WILL need to have your tip guy trim up the sides for you and reburnish it after a good 400-500 balls hit (he should offer to do this for free by the way. It literally takes 2 minutes, and is good business to offer it..)

Good luck with you new tip, and let us know your thoughts on it after you've given it some time..:thumbup:
 
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