Predator Vs. Stinger

[Thelucasilord]

Honestly, this spawned out of pure curiosity. Just wanted to know how you guys felt on the subject. keep in mind, this is for jump cues.

[Thelucasilord]

Oh, and every aspect of both cues into consideration

[skor]

The stinger is a jump/break combo cue unlike the predator that has two separate cues for jumping and breaking so these is nothing to compare....

A dedicated tool will always be better then an "all in one" tool :!:

[skor]

Some cue reviews that I posted on the old forum....

Stinger Jump/Break cue review

I got to use the stinger for the last week (a friend got one) and I wanted to share my thoughts about it (if you don't mind....)

Breaking - I've only used it to break 9ball racks, I've tried different speed to see how it performs.
I think that it breaks just as well as any other Phenolic tiped (or tip-ferrule combo) cue.

Jumping - It jumps very well, similar to the Jumster but if I compare it to the Mezz Air-Shooter then it gives less control.

I like - the taper of the shaft is longer and more flexible then most break cues, I like this type of taper beter, it gives me more control over the break which is not a bad idea with a phenolic tip.

I did not like -the diameter at the joint it's a bit too thin for me.
I also didn't like the fact that the finish covers the whole shaft.... (Is that his big secret for keeping the shaft clean????) it becomes sticky really fast and combine it with thr thin diameter at the joint and it feels like a Cuetec.....

Bottom line, I don't think that it's worth $400

:( :evil: :( too bad... I had high hopes for it.... :( :evil: :(


Predator BK2 review

Well I have it for a bit over a week and I had only 3 sessions with it so this review is just a partial review, I still need to play with it more to have a full opinion about it but so far it is looking good.... 8)

O.K so the first thing that I've noticed is that the ferrule is different then the old one, it looks like it's made out of some kind of a linen based composite material and it looks more durable then the old ferrule did.

The second thing I've noticed is that the face of the joint on both the butt and the shaft are solid phenolic and not just sleeves like on the old BK and I guess that for this reason they also got rid of the gap at the joint, see pictures below for the differences of the joint.






You can also see that my photography has gotten much better.... 8O

The cue feels very good, the weight is 17.9oz and the balance point is at about 18.75 inches from the butt (19 inches if I include the bumper...) which I like because I don't like the butt-heavy Break cues that are more common these days and it's not too forward balanced like the Mezz was.

Another thing that I really like about it is that the shaft is much more flexible then all the other break cues I've tried, this something that I have mentioned before that I was looking in a break cue. I'm not sure but I think that it's even more flexible then the old BK shaft (it's been a while since I sold it....)

While with the old BK I had to aim a bit lower then I usually do, with the BK2 I need to aim a bit higher, I think that this has to do with the shape of the tip, this one is a bit more rounded (and it won't be loosing it shape any time soon), which I like.

I think that the most significant benefit is that even if I miss the center of the CB and I get tons of spin on it, it still hit the 1ball closer to it's center and by that the CB doesn't fly off the table as often as it did with a regular shaft with a phenolic tip.
And of cuorse, the flexibility of the shaft gives me a better control of the break shot, It feels as if the tip stays on the CB for a split of a second longer then a regular phenolic tiped shaft would.

Needless to say that I can get a nice break with little effort.

So far I can honestly say that it's the best break cue I ever tried, now I just need to make sure that it is not just a first impression.... :?


Here is a close-up on the tip from 2 angles

[skor]

You can find some more reviews and info on the old seyberts forum:
http://www.seyberts.com/old_phpBB2/index.php

Sorry but I haven't had the chance to use the predator jump so I have no review for it and no opinion for now, I just know that I want to try it....

[Thelucasilord]

its all good. im just curious as to what people think.

[Thelucasilord]

btw. what type of tip was that? great pics too

[skor]

This is the phenolic tip that comes on the Predator BK2 by default

[Thelucasilord]

ah. ok. gottcha

[wai]

i tried my friend's brand new Predator Air and i would say it is easier to jump on a 'long range jump' but not so easy on a 'close range jump'.... anyway, thats just my opinion ;)