Carbon Fiber Pool Cue Shaft

                There has been a total industry shake up with the carbon fiber pool cue shaft. The search for low deflection seems to kick in with the OB shafts and Lucasi shafts. Meucci went out and created a robot to simulate the shot and studied the affects on the cue ball. There have been test runs on carbon fiber pool cue shafts in the past. They just did not get it down right or the costs. The market might not have been ready for the $500 to $600 cue shafts ether. This was not until the dawn of the age of technology after the internet came out. Suddenly people are pouring their knowledge out there where no one spoke of their techniques before. These days it is a way to get ahead. Well after tons of money being spent Predator comes out with the Revo shaft and the race is on. Who will build the best carbon fiber pool cue shaft?

                Since I write about pool cues and the related equipment, I need to play with a lot of stuff out there. I tried many different flavors of carbon shafts. I will attempt to discuss my take on them. There are so many to choose from now adays it is hard to keep up. I have mom and pop cue makers getting machine shops to make them and slap a brand name on them.  One I never heard of before was the Beecue brand. I was at the Space City event ran by Kim White Knewsome in December of 2019. I had the luck of having our booth right beside my coach Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant.  He had this Jacoby pool cue with a Beecue carbon fiber pool cue shaft on it. I was using the Meucci carbon fiber shaft at the time, and I was happy with it. I had it planted on a Two Feather Anaszi by Viking Cues.  That cue shot firm and solid. I have been chasing the old schon hitting cue since Clarke left the company. I could buy a used one. However, one I must use a lot of equipment out there to know how they hit. Second eventually those old cues will need a lot of repair.

Anyway, I picked up this Jacoby pool cue Hillbilly had for sale. I hit with it a few times. Man, when I hit with this thing it felt like an old Clarke era Schon. Nice firm hit. I could shoot a shot from the far end of the table and stop the cue ball after knocking in a ball hanging in the pocket. I mean stop it dead in its tracks. The shot felt solid and like it was part of my arm. You could fell that whole hit in the cue as it was a one piece. Perfectly balanced and just a dream to shoot with. It did have a four-inch extension on it. Taking that off will soften the hit a bit, so I keep it on. I prefer the fell of the hit with it on. That is just me. It also keeps me from using the bridge a lot of times. This can be an advantage if you are in a bar in a tourney and there is not a bridge in the house.

I kept shooting with this thing and loved it so much I did not bother seeing if I could get it through my contacts. I just slapped my money on the table and took that bad boy home! It is my go too cue now. I sold the Viking on eBay. I do that a lot with equipment I test out. Give someone a hardly used product for a good deal. Anyway, let us move on. The longevity is in question by some out there. We will not know the answer to that for a long time. They just came out and as compared to other products out there for decades. I think it will be some time before we see the defect rate. I did hear some having issues with tips flying off after a break on the Revo shafts. I personally use Break Rush break cue by Predator Cues. I have never had this issue happen. I wrote on the blog that they should contact Predator. That is a manufacturer defect that they will cover. In a tournament however, that could be a problem. Which is why I recommend bringing along a tip repair kit with quick drying glue. I personally buy a professional glue used by carpenters that work in the cue manufacturing industry. The glue seals within 15 seconds or 3 seconds with this additive. Basically, you could wait five minutes to be sure and be good to go.

Are carbon fiber pool cue shafts better? Well I can say that after shooting with them for a while now that yes, they are. This is my opinion of course. This is after playing tons of pool in various bars and pool halls in multiple states. The deflection is on point. I can hit towards the middle diamond on the far end from the middle diamond on my end. It hits the middle diamond and back to me right about on the diamond in front of me. That is impressive to me. Of course, the pool table must be in good shape too. If the table is messed up, then the shot will be off. Not because of the cue shaft, but because the table should be repaired. Pool tables are not always cared for by their pool halls or bar owners. I am sure I do not have to convince you of that. I was upgrading to a Diamond pool table in my home. I sold the previous 7-footer that was there. I played a lot of league then. A potential buyer asked if he could just carry it out. I hung up the phone on him. MORON! Stick to the Valley tables in your favorite pub sir. Anyway, the other thing I would comment on is I am one of those players that I do like a white tip on the end. A Kamui Clear would even do the job well enough. Just black all the way down does throw me off. This is not the case with all players. This is a personal issue with some of us to be honest.

                Well there you have it. This is my take thus far on the carbon fiber shafts. There are some haters out there and that will happen. I think overall the players in the sport do love them. The issues is cost for many of them. There isn’t much playroom there. Most shafts have at most $40 profit to them. Carbon fiber shafts as much as they cost are not a lot better. They are as expensive to buy for retailers as they are for players. However, as Atlantic Records finally realized dealing with Led Zeppelin’s demands on the take a small percentage of a good deal is better than no deal at all. We tip our hats to Jimmy Page. Well played sir well played. Perhaps some manufacture spinning those carbon fiber shafts for cue makers is doing the same thing Jimmy did to the record companies in the 70s.