The Report

Hierovision

Hierovision

Dios mio, man.
Silver Member
I ordered a Varney Hustler about a month ago with a 314-2 shaft (with the Varney mod) with a sniper tip. He had one in the works already that he had planned to sell on the boards, so I got lucky in that I only had to wait a month :) I got it yesterday afternoon and went straight to Obelisk Billiard Club in Newport News.

First little negative tidbit I noticed was at the base of the points I could see a slight glue line on the horizontal. I compared it to the house cues (not sure what kind they were, but definitely good quality) and the house cues didn't show this. The points themselves, however, are extremely even and if they vary at all I couldn't tell... and I have 20/10 :)

Second negative tidbit was the color of the butt wood. My J/B came with an extremely nice looking butt piece so maybe I was a little biased, but the Alves wood of my Hustler is darker in some areas and doesn't have the same luster or "chatoyance"(:cool: ) as my J/B cue. I'll have pics of it later tonight.

Now on to the playability ;)

The first thing I'd like to talk about is the "ping". I have NEVER ever ever heard such a beautiful sound out of any cue I've been in the presence of as the sound my cue makes on a confident stroke. It's not a loud ping, it's almost sharp and soft at the same time... It's nearly impossible to describe really. The sniper tip and saber-t ferrule are an astronomical improvement over my other cues (had a viking with a z-shaft-everest tip, as well as a few others).

I let the cue do the work and it REALLY outperformed my expectations. I could do things I only HOPED I could do with my viking and still maintain accuracy (the z-shaft on the viking was extraordinarily unforgiving :( ). It's going to take some getting used to, but I'll be happy for it in the end.

Also something I wanted to mention: the cue is long. It's got to be 59 or 60". I didn't ask for this, but it's a good 1-1/2 or 2 inches longer than my J/B. This isn't really positive or negative, since I'm more or less used to the viking-pred combo I used to have that was 59", but I was kind of hoping it would be 58" so I could get used to a standard length. I'm only 68" tall, so I definitely don't need a longer cue.

The Bottom Line: I got more cue than I paid for, figuratively and literally lol. Definitely worth more than every penny, especially considering the 314-2 :)
EDIT: Varney is going to shorten it for me to 57" Customer service eh? hehe :D

That's all for now, I'll get some pics up later.

Ohh... I just want to mention that my break is getting noticed by the house players :) That would be thanks to Colin Colenso and Varney, equally :D
 
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Hierovision said:
Also something I wanted to mention: the cue is long. It's got to be 59 or 60". I didn't ask for this, but it's a good 1-1/2 or 2 inches longer than my J/B. This isn't really positive or negative, since I'm more or less used to the viking-pred combo I used to have that was 59", but I was kind of hoping it would be 58" so I could get used to a standard length. I'm only 68" tall, so I definitely don't need a longer cue.
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Hey Zack,

You might want to check your playing cue against other playing cues instead of against your jump/break. I know that Kevin makes his jump/breaks shorter than usual (mine is around 57"). He says that the shorter length reduces deflection. Anyway, The cue may be long, but you may just have a little bit shorter jump/break cue.

Mike
 
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Mike Templeton said:
Hey Zach,

You might want to check your playing cue against other playing cues instead of against your jump/break. I know that Kevin makes his jump/breaks shorter than usual (mine is around 56"). He says that the shorter length reduces deflection. Anyway, The cue may be long, but you may just have a little bit shorter jump/break cue.

Mike
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My j/b was only about 1/2 an inch or less shorter than my viking, which is standard 58" with the regular shaft I believe, so it's at least 59". I'll measure it when I get home :)
 
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Hierovision said:
My j/b was only about 1/2 an inch or less shorter than my viking, which is standard 58" with the regular shaft I believe, so it's at least 59". I'll measure it when I get home :)
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Unless someone stretched it during shipping...its 58".;)
 
Also - I definitely need a wrap on this thing. I never noticed before because I only used my break cue to break... and never spent enough time on it to notice... but my grip hand sweats enough to bother me. Tiger's getting some work in a couple months :)
 
Hierovision said:
Also - I definitely need a wrap on this thing. I never noticed before because I only used my break cue to break... and never spent enough time on it to notice... but my grip hand sweats enough to bother me. Tiger's getting some work in a couple months :)
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That's what towels are for! Lol. I went to WallyWorld and picked up a package of the smaller dish towels in microfiber for a couple of bucks. I have gotten to where I wipe my hands off after every drink I take, and every time I come off the table, whether I need it or not. I use the other towel to wipe down the cue. Of course, as my confidence level has built, the amount of sweating my grip hand does has gone down to next to nothing.:D I really prefer a nude cue.:eek:

Lisa
 
I'll try that. My wife hates when I use the dish towels though :( lol. I'll have to buy some microfiber ones :D
 
Hierovision said:
I'll try that. My wife hates when I use the dish towels though :( lol. I'll have to buy some microfiber ones :D
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Even some of the smaller bath handtowels will work....they fold up nice and small to fit into your case pockets. I also carry a jewelers cotton flannel polishing cloth. It's terrific for polishing up your cue after play! Because they are all smaller than your average sized golf-type towel, the roll/fold up nicely to fit into case pockets without taking up a bunch of room.

Also, if you find that the cue is slippin' in your grip hand, Murray Tucker recommends Mr Zog's Sex Wax. Surfers use this stuff on their boards to keep them from sliding off the top. A thinly applied layer in the grip area will keep the cue from slip-slidin' away.:D

Anymore, I just find a wrap too distracting. Oh, and as to the wife....I keep all my towels in a drawer I keep all my pool-related necessities in, and I keep them separate from the rest of the towels heading for the wash. :)

Lisa
 
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Glad to hear you like your Varney. As to the comment about the glue line at the base of the points, I have seen this on many house cues. Nothing against Mr. Varney, but this would have been out of his control other than maybe not being as picky about which cues he selects to convert. If they are his spliced cues, I might have a little issue, but on a sneaky, this would be OK. Also, in many cases, if a wrap were installed, it would cover the horizontal at the base of the points anyway, so you wouldn't have noticed it.

Glad to hear about the "ping". Music to my ears as well when a cue sounds as good as it hits. I am one of those who believes that the resonance of a cue is a big thing.

P.S. I would have measured the cue to be exact before posting that it is atypical. This might have saved you a little face if you measure it and it is indeed 58" as Mr. Varney has pointed out.
 
I was going by feel alone when I said it was atypical as far as length... it just feels long. I think for this cue it needs to be shorter than standard for me to feel right with it. Also,
cuenut said:
but on a sneaky, this would be OK.
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is exactly right, which is why I'm going to get a tiger stacked wrap :D
I'll use the towel until then... and even after then for the shaft.
 
Pics!:
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Since I have had a few inquiries concerning the microfiber towels, I wanted to add this as a cautionary warning.

The microfiber towels are great for removing grit and grime from your cues, because the fibers are soft. I have been told to DO NOT use fabric softener on these towels when you toss them in the wash!!!! It is my understanding that the fabric softener will break down the fibers in such a way that once the towel is dry again, the fibers will no longer be soft and gentle on your cues finish, but may well scratch it!

I don't use fabric softener anyways, as it is not exactly enviromentally friendly...but I thought I would pass this warning along.

As an alternate, if it makes you more comfortable, take an old cotton flannel shirt and cut it up into like 6" x 6" squares or larger to your taste. Flannel is nice and soft and should not scratch the cue's finish, but it may leave a bit of lint behind.

Lisa
 
I'll be sure to avoid the fabric softener then, thanks for the advice :)
Varney I'll send the cue back tomorrow... I need it for tonight's match, I'll just choke up a little more ;)
 
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I just wanted to talk about last night.
I shot with this cue for 7 hours last night on a barbox and it felt absolutely awesome having people stare at my matching player/breaker lol. One of my teammates picked up my playing cue and just said "wow". He's been shooting with cuetec for several years and just picking the cue up he felt an improvement. The balance on the cue is perfect (for me, and my teammate apparently) and the feedback is just absolutely phenomenal on this cue.

When I'm putting it together it starts to get harder and harder to screw it in as I get closer to the joint. It feels like someone somehow got a 314 shaft onto a house cue :p

Also regarding the break cue: I haven't graduated to the open-hand bridge for the powerbreak yet, but my breaks are drawing more and more comments. I sank 5 balls twice and 4 balls once last night. They didn't have any pattern to them... balls just flew all around the table until, inevitably, some of them were potted :D haha.
 
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