Southwest compared to Samsara

tedkaufman

tedkaufman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can anyone who has played with both cues offer an objective comparison of Southwest and Samsara cues? I'm not interested in what they look like. I only want to know about relative stiffness, feel and playability.
 
Southwests are generally stiffer. All comes down to the shaft taper. Samasara I think uses a "traditional" pro-taper. Southwest parabolic?

Sorry, not much help.

Regards,

Doug
 
Both are very fine cues.

If you are a serious buyer, why not call both to find out what would best suit your needs? I have spoke with the guys at Samsara when I ordered my 314 custom ring shaft, and they were very helpful.
 
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I hit some balls with a Samsara and this particular one, at least, hit way too stiff. At the time I was playing with a Southwest and, even though the Southwest was on the stiff side - even for a Southwest, it wasn't nearly as stiff hitting as that Samsara. I'm not sure if all of their cues hit like that or if that one was unique but I didn't care for the hit at all.
 
Jimmy M. said:
I hit some balls with a Samsara and this particular one, at least, hit way too stiff. At the time I was playing with a Southwest and, even though the Southwest was on the stiff side - even for a Southwest, it wasn't nearly as stiff hitting as that Samsara. I'm not sure if all of their cues hit like that or if that one was unique but I didn't care for the hit at all.
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I had a Samsara once and I found the shaft to hit too stiff.
The butt had a soft feel though.
Unlike SW which has stiff shafts but the butt still felt solid.
 
tedkaufman said:
Can anyone who has played with both cues offer an objective comparison of Southwest and Samsara cues? I'm not interested in what they look like. I only want to know about relative stiffness, feel and playability.
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Personally, I have tried both and I think Samsara is more consistent regarding the playability. Southwest plays quite differently from one cue to another, and in my limited experience, I have tried some that hit quite a bit "less sweet" than others.
I think stiffness wise they are more or less the same with Samsara may be a bit stiffer. But you can have them custom you a taper you like I am sure.
Samsara cores their forearm, while Southwest does not. Most Samsara cue use the unilock pin, while Southwest feature the brass pin. But with Samsasa I believe you can have them build you another pin. I dont think that is possible with Southwest.
In my experience, I find the Samsara I have tried to be more front balanced than the Southwest I have tried, by may be half an inch or so. I think you can change the weight in a Samsara but I could be wrong. I am sure you can also custom the balance point.
I think Samsara is a better buy for the money, I like the fact that it offers more option, and that I can talk to the cue maker, and get a cue I want in a much lesser time frame than a Southwest. On the used market, a Southwest is always going to be the best, but you already know that.
Richard
 
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The Samsara cue I had (briefly) was also a bit too stiff feeling for my liking. I played with an old Kers/SW for a few years and the SW doesn't feel as rigid. The feedback was just not there for me with the Samsara. I traded it for a nice Josey and the guy that traded with me also promptly traded the Samsara. Not trying to bash Samsaras, they are just not for me.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I have two Southwest cues, but they have become so valuable I feel very uncomfortable playing in bars with them. I even break with my Southwest because I don't want to put it down to break with another cue.

So I've been contemplating something else that offers similar feel and playability. The Samsara "Bar Cue" seems a great alternative. After hearing your responses and receiving an email from Jim of Samsara, I think I'll try one.
 
If you are a player, you can play with both! I have a Samsara and two Southwests. I can run tables with each cue. But I like southwest better.
 
A couple of years ago I had three brand new versions:
1) - Southwest - alves with cocobola points
2) - Samsara - curly maple with 6up, 6dwn, purpleheart points, radial pin
3) - Capone - birdseye w/6 ebony points, radial pin

I let several top area players, including pros, hit with each one. Each cue had the same Moori M tip. Pretty much every single player put the Capone 1st, SW 2nd, Sam 3rd, just in regards to "hit" and "feel" from running only a few balls. To me...the SW had a very loud tink which even several players noticed playing near me. It was consistant with both shafts. Very accurate on long shots, but a bit stiff for finese. Very fat 13mm. The Samsara had a very stout taper which grew fat quickly, was stiff but much quieter. The Capone lacked the fit & finish of the other two (they were perfect) and had some issues along the leather edges. The Capone taper seemed thinner/better to me and so the cue was more fit for my style. That being said...I don't think a player could go wrong with any of them...especially since you can always have the shafts retapered to your liking and change tips. I will say though that I had a very early solid birdseye SW w/no points that had the satin finish. The cue was used for many years on tour by Kelly Oyama. When Wesley provides her with a new 6 point, I snatched up her old one. It had the yellow micarta ferrule and was simply the best hitting cue I've seen. The forearm was a bit off especially during change of seasons, sometimes it seemed straighter than it was. Still owned by my friend, the cue continues to play as well as anything you can buy.
 
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