u/OnePoolCueAintEnough

I say $100 or so because the delivered price was $145. Also, I hesitated even sharing this because I don't think it's readily available here in the U.S. I bought this one from a guy I know on Facebook who moves a lot of billiards equipment. If you do come across one, however, for cheap, you should totally consider it.

Now, I don't know a damn thing about the brand. I believe I was told it's part of the Peri Cues family, but I could be making that up. I bought it simply because I trust the guy who sold it to me and because I like how it looks. After I got it, I also discovered I like how it performs. It's a solid breaker that has one of the better phenolic tips I've experienced. The tip is so good that I may not bother to change it, which is something I normally do with phenolic. It seems to jump well too, though I am a total novice with jumping. Weight is under 19oz.

This cue isn't magic -you need a good technique - but it will deliver quite well for the price. I'll include a photo in the comments.

These are the only two playing cues I have that can survive time in Hell without warping. Movie time with a buddy is coming up and they'll be at least 2hrs in a car at 100° outside, so yeah, the fancier stuff stayed home today!

Fortunately, they both play well and the all black one did an ok job as a breaker today, with an Evo jump cue shaft on it.

If you live where extreme temps happen, I feel it's a good idea to have a simple, all-carbon setup, just in case you can't always bring your cues into climate controlled areas.

Monday I played for 12hrs and I used two shafts mounted on two different cues. Only once, for about 20 minutes, did I swap the shafts from one cue to the other.

A little background. The Cuedesg shaft came with a full cue, bought off Amazon. My first venture into carbon fiber. The butt didn't last, developing a noise I couldn't fix, so I got rid of it. The shaft, however, proved very nice, especially after a tip change, and played well on every butt I tried it on. That I still have it years later, even after owning a Cuetec Cynergy, says a lot I think. The Jacoby I just recently bought.

Conclusions? In a nutshell, there's not a whole lot of difference between them, and I'm not truly surprised by that based on what limited experience I've had with carbon fiber I've owned. The Jacoby does offer a more solid hit and just feels more polished overall, but I can't discern much of a difference in how they play. Any differences perceived are probably due to the Cuedesg being 11.8mm & the Jacoby being 12.3.

I don't go crazy with spin, so deflection means little to me, but I did do some side spin shots aiming for a specific spot on an 8ft table. I hit the same spot with either shaft without feeling I needed to adjust my aim.

Keeping in mind that I haven't tried every shaft on my personal cues (no Revo, Whyte Carbon, Becue, Bull Carbon, etc), I'm much less convinced that CF shafts over $400 bring any real benefit over some well-made less expensive options. That being said, some cheap shafts are garbage, so research and/or hands-on experience is still highly recommended. There's only so much that can be done with carbon fiber, however, and I just don't see how any differences in that regard warrant hundreds of dollars difference in pricing.

I already own this cue, so I'm not seeking buying advice. I'm just curious about this brand as I don't really see it sold here in the U.S. is it a sub-brand of Peri? Is it well regarded as a budget jump/break cue? I'm personally pretty impressed by it. I paid $145 shipped.

I bought it from a buddy on Facebook who has sold me some other things and does me right. He told me it breaks & jumps very well and my brief experience with it supports his opinion strongly. I think my Raven break cue is a little better, but this smacks the rack nicely. Even with the stock phenolic tip, which I was certain I would need to replace. I'm not seeing a need at the moment, however, to replace it.

Being from the same family, these shafts are more alike than different, but there are a couple of differences, from my perspective.

I feel like the PureX is just a little more stiff & solid, which I like, on the hit. The difference is marginal and might just be in my head. The counter take could be that the Lucasi feels just a little more lively, offers more feedback. Again, so marginal that I could be simply looking for some kind of difference.

There's a bit more difference in regard to tip size - the PureX is 12mm & the Lucasi 12.5. Despite the supposed forgiveness of the larger size, I feel I was a little more accurate with the smaller tip. I do prefer smaller tips and I am much more used to the PureX, however, so not really a helpful opinion. Deflection, something I don't pay attention to, seems less on the PureX. Probably due to smaller tip size and/or my familiarity with that shaft.

Speaking of tips, as far as I know both tips are the same.

Last thing, and this is pure preference, I really like darker shafts on most cues. The PureX looks really good to me on this cue, helping to give the cue a more vintage or antique look, but without making it look older. I like that.

My choice here would be the PureX. A little cheaper &, to my mind, a little better playing. Throw in the appearance and it's a unanimous winner for me. I'll be keeping both, though, as the primary & secondary shafts for this cue. Plus, the Lucasi does play well on my other cues, so a definite keeper.

I haven't put them all together like this before. It throws a little different light on things, at least to me. As you can tell from the labels, all of them see some occasional table time, but just a little over half are used pretty frequently. You can also easily tell that I prefer wood to carbon fiber. It just provides a better shooting experience for my, both in feel & accuracy. The recent Jacoby Black V4 is the only CF shaft that sees consistent use.

I think this has something to do with why I don't obsess over or discuss deflection. It's clearly going to be quite variable in this group.

I thought I was done with CF. I definitely thought I was done with expensive CF (anything over $300), but a Facebook buddy made me a reasonable deal on a Jacoby Black V4, so I caved and bought it. Three things influenced the decision - a temptation to pair my new Cuelees with CF for an all black aesthetic, I discovered my GV Custom really likes carbon fiber, so wanted something of quality for it and I have heard a lot of very good feedback about this shaft from all over the Internet.

I've owned a few CF shafts, including a Cuetec Cynergy & a Rhino and I've tried several others. I've gotta say this just might be the best CF I've personally used! Fantastically solid hit, no unpleasant noises and very good cue ball control. I can't tell you about deflection because I don't fixate on it like the industry expects us all to. I either shoot good with a shaft or I don't - with this one I do! I just haven't figured out if it's better than my Cuelees CT-2 carbon cored shaft yet, but I only got it today. It definitely plays superbly on my GV Custom.

One thing I don't know is what tip is on it. I was only told it's a special tip that's like a combination between a Tiger Everest & a Zan. If you can tell from the photo, that would be awesome.

Anyway, color me impressed by the Black V4. I'm happy to have it in the bag, even if I'm likely to mostly stick with wood.

It wasn't asked from a Only Buy American asshole point of view. He was genuinely curious, having had little experience in the matter, so I gave some thought to the matter.

Twice now I have bought a cue from Cuelees, a premium Chinese cue maker. In both cases I liked the design and what was offered for the money. Upon having both cues in hand, I was extremely impressed with the build quality. In both cases they were closest to being flawless out of my entire collecting. This photo highlights two examples of seam work, one from Cuelees (right) & one from a prominent American custom cue maker. A pretty stark difference, in my opinion, and one that leaves me feeling no guilt for indulging in the Chinese offering. I work hard for my money & do my job well. I'm greatly impressed by those who do the same, even if they're not fellow countrymen.

Now, I understand this is not indicative of all American cue craft. The highly reputed, elite American cue makers have earned those reputations and can easily offer similar quality...but it won't be for the same price. As something of a volume guy (see my name), I tend to lean into the Bang for the Buck category and Chinese, or Asian, cues can certainly scratch an itch with nice, good playing, cues.

Cuelees Phantom Sword 1

I agonized a bit over what cue to get for my 60th; how much to spend, etc. I had several on the shortlist, with the most expensive being around $1,600. Despite it being something of a milestone birthday, I reigned myself in and went with an under $1,000 choice.

When I first became aware of Cuelees this time last year, this was the original model I considered. It's always been in the back of my mind since. I like the style and the color scheme meshes with my tastes very well, so I pulled the trigger. I think this is the one.

It's beautiful in a way that pops, but without looking too flashy. The fit & finish are excellent and it plays so very well. I currently use the Cuelees CT 2 shaft on it, but might go carbon fiber here for an all black aesthetic.

I previously had the Tyrant 2 and really liked it, but I started feeling like this cue or its cousins - the Jade Dragons - were more my style, so I sold it (butt only). I still have the Cuelees CT 2 shaft and I expect it will play just fine on this cue. I'm looking forward to this!!

It's used (pretty well used, if I'm honest, but 100% straight) & a discontinued series, but I really like it. Standard sneaky petes bore me - I want them to stand out in some way (which negates the sneaky, I know) and I think this one brings that in a subtle, but classy way.

So far, I'm impressed with it as is, but I'm considering either a Mezz Ignite shaft (if I can find a deal) or a custom dark roasted Ash or Maple shaft. I'll figure that out as I spend more time with it. Could be I'll end up completely happy with the stock shaft.

I've heard several in this community praise & talk about their Mezz cues. Any recommendations on shaft upgrades or 3rd party shafts will certainly be welcome!

I recently bought the first cue (M020 bocote) for a friend. It impressed me so much that I decided to buy a Schmelke for myself - the CC112 8-point. This one, unfortunately, has not impressed.

It had the potential to impress. It looks ok, especially the forearm, but the rosewood is quite dull and a little grayish. I could live with it, however, especially since I was going to have an elephant pattern embossed leather wrap installed. It even feels like it could be at good a player as the bocote cue...if not for the noise. The hit is a little odd, as well. Not sure what's wrong here, but I've decided to send it back and get a refund. I wanted to just exchange it, but I think I'm just going to stop with cheaper cues for now and start saving for another Cuelees.

While this cue turned out to be a dud, the other cue is fantastic and customer service excellent, so don't shy away from Schmelke if you're interested in them.

I like cues that are different from what everybody else has, plus I like trying to support the Little Guy. That led me to take a chance on GV Custom Cues out of Italy. This guy makes stunning cues from exotic woods. At the time of purchase I was told this cue was perfect. Clearly, it isn't. It has 8 metal rings in it and I can feel every one of them, as well as hear some of them as you can tell here. It's a beautiful cue and plays very well, but I expected a lot better than this for the price paid ($1,200). The matching joint protectors were garbage too and I've not received new ones despite promises from the maker that he would send me new ones. If I can't get joint protectors, there's absolutely no chance I'll get this outlet issue fixed.

Again, he make beautiful cues and mine DOES play well, but given sub-par fit & finish, with a reluctance to address any issues despite a promise or a lifetime warranty, I would avoid this maker. I also recommend buying expensive cues from makers in your region so issue can be better addressed, or from well established foreign brands that have local distributors. Don't take a chance on the Little Guy that's thousands of miles away, unless his reputation is stellar.