Wood vs carbon fiber shafts for top pros - I went through the Fargo top 100 to see who uses what

K

kingwang

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You can see the entire list in this spreadsheet here.

Some takeaways
  • Of the top 100, 46 players use wood, 53 use carbon fiber, and 1 uses fiberglass (Skylar Woodward)
  • Wood is way more popular than CF in Asia. For example, 8/10 Taiwanese pros and 20/30 Filipino pros on the list use wood
  • Carbon fiber is way more popular than wood in Europe. For example, the 5/6 of the Polish pros on the list use carbon fiber
 
Interesting. After 5 years away I am stunned to find the CF so big. People scoffed at it before. I'm really a sort of collector and sort of historian and occasional player now. I'm definitely interested and might try one at some point soon once I figure a few things out.
 
Carbon is a power and spin monster. It does raise a person's game and I can't deny this. Wood plays with more precision and input from the shooter. I can play very similar with both but you have to put more effort with wood in my opinion.

I put both to the test with a local player and when he plays with wood the shape and setups look a bit more natural and pretty to the eyes. Gave him the carbon and he has a tendency to stun shots, lay up on shots and just spinning the rock. It almost goes against physics. That's how I describe how both play.

When you know you can do certain things with a CF shaft then you do it. With wood you know its limitations and you play to it. A bit more input. I think its a lot more fun with wood and each cue shoots differently versus the same CF shafts from various manufacturers.
 
Last edited:
billiards_watch said:
Carbon is a power and spin monster. It does raise a person's game and I can't deny this.

Wood plays with more precision and input from the shooter.

I can play very similar with both but you have to put more effort with wood in my opinion.
Click to expand...
If you learned on wall cues the effort is in switching.
 
straightline said:
If you learned on wall cues the effort is in switching.
Click to expand...
I tried and I don't like it. I shot a good hour with a CF by Mezz. I shoot at a fast pace so I think I was pocketing 500+ balls. I throw 5 to 6 balls out there and run it out, rinse and repeat. I think my routine is enough for me to gauge it.

I've played a few sets with it and in competition it performed well. I have an expensive cue coming and I can put the cost of the shafts towards the cue. Its probably cost and it doesn't really improve my game.
 
billiards_watch said:
I tried and I don't like it. I shot a good hour with a CF by Mezz. I shoot at a fast pace so I think I was pocketing 500+ balls. I throw 5 to 6 balls out there and run it out, rinse and repeat. I think my routine is enough for me to gauge it.

I've played a few sets with it and in competition it performed well. I have an expensive cue coming and I can put the cost of the shafts towards the cue. Its probably cost and it doesn't really improve my game.
Click to expand...
Without the conditions specced out, no argument. I will say CF would allow me to maybe bang more/harder; spinning long shots etc... mmMMaybe. Haven't tried.
 
straightline said:
Without the conditions specced out, no argument. I will say CF would allow me to maybe bang more/harder; spinning long shots etc... mmMMaybe. Haven't tried.
Click to expand...
It does do all of that. While I don't like it for reasons mentioned above but I still think everyone should try it. Pool is about execution and creativity. The CF shafts definitely can help in the creativity department.
 
billiards_watch said:
It does do all of that. While I don't like it for reasons mentioned above but I still think everyone should try it. Pool is about execution and creativity. The CF shafts definitely can help in the creativity department.
Click to expand...
Top 2 reasons I don't have one are the price and then stark black doesn't go with anything - not prettily anyway. And then all the anti deflection...
 
From my short experience with CF shafts, it doesn't bring much improvement in performance compared to low-deflection wood shafts like the Predator shafts. It might just all be in our heads... If there is a difference, then it is so small that most players should and can compensate for it.

Its only real advantage is its durability, and if you are not a travelling pro player, then it's not that big of a deal.

The idea that you can just throw a cue in your car and leave it there with no worry is nice, but we are not there yet, as a wooden butt may warp as well, and the leather tip could get damaged as well. A full synthetic, high-quality cue is not out there yet.

As for low maintenance, I find the CF shaft picks up dirt faster and needs more cleaning during play (makes us spend money on wipes). It also pretty much requires wearing gloves (more money spent), which I can get used to but am really not a big fan of. Maybe if your pool hall is very highly maintained, it's different, but most are not.

I do believe that synthetic shafts (and butts and tips) are the future, and I am doing the switch myself now returning to the game, although it really out of curiosity.

I think that CF shafts should start to be an option or maybe the only option for custom cues as well, and cue design should take the black/grey shaft into consideration, although a full high-quality synthetic cue will put most cue makers out of business, as we won't need them for the playability or the fine craftsmanship; maybe they'll stick around as pieces of art for collectors only. I do appreciate a beautiful cue, but I don't see myself buying any custom cues ever again.
 
I’ve tried several different brands of CF shafts. Most were 12.4 & 12.5mm shafts. Only 2 had white ferrules and the other 2 didn’t. I know if I purchased a CF shaft, I would want a small white ferrule to help my aiming. I didn’t care for
the CF feel or the sound of its hit that seemed dull and unresponsive versus wood but without question it has less deflection. Less deflection I suppose is a good thing and so I bought a Kielwood shaft instead since I like the feel of
a glossy smooth wood shaft in my closed bridge. It has less defection than any of my cues’ original maple shafts but a little more than a CF shaft. I consider it the perfect compromise and wished all my cues had heavier weight KW shafts.
 
straightline said:
Top 2 reasons I don't have one are the price and then stark black doesn't go with anything - not prettily anyway
Click to expand...

Tickle colored CF shafts.jpg


Tickle Cue Repair has more than "stark black".
They include stark red, pink, yellow, and white.

See https://www.facebook.com/Ticklescuerepair/
 
kingwang said:
You can see the entire list in this spreadsheet here.

Some takeaways
  • Of the top 100, 46 players use wood, 53 use carbon fiber, and 1 uses fiberglass (Skylar Woodward)
  • Wood is way more popular than CF in Asia. For example, 8/10 Taiwanese pros and 20/30 Filipino pros on the list use wood
  • Carbon fiber is way more popular than wood in Europe. For example, the 5/6 of the Polish pros on the list use carbon fiber
Click to expand...
Sky's shaft is wood with a glass overlay.
 
Surprised there is still that much wood in the top 100.

Wonder how many of those are low deflection wood vs standard…would guess largely LD?

I don’t think there is much performance difference from a modern wood LD shaft vs carbon. But there is a big difference between either of those and standard wood shafts.
 
slide13 said:
Surprised there is still that much wood in the top 100.

Wonder how many of those are low deflection wood vs standard…would guess largely LD?

I don’t think there is much performance difference from a modern wood LD shaft vs carbon. But there is a big difference between either of those and standard wood shafts.
Click to expand...
Paid to use.

I would use anything if someone paid me to.
 
kingwang said:
My impression that it was the other way around, where they're paid to use CF since those are the higher margin products. I remember there were a lot of rumors that Filler wanted to stick with his Z shaft but was forced to use a Revo.
Click to expand...
He liked the taper better on the Z. Pred made him Revo's with same taper to make him happy.
 
kingwang said:
My impression that it was the other way around, where they're paid to use CF since those are the higher margin products. I remember there were a lot of rumors that Filler wanted to stick with his Z shaft but was forced to use a Revo.
Click to expand...

it's definitely the other way around. kaci wants to play with his old 314-2. many mezz players want to play with the wood shafts too. i think ruslan, wojciech plays with wx700 wood shafts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top