I recovered this from the old blog so I figured I’d repost it. Plus, I do need to review pool cues and billiards products every now and again to make the blog title even be remotely accurate. I’ll add to this list as I get more information about different tips.

Wondering about the whole pool cue tip thing? Here’s what you need to know. Tips come with different densities. Tip density effects mushrooming. Get a soft cue tip like an Elk Master and you’ll be shaping the thing all the time. Get a hard tip like a Water Buffalo and you won’t need to shape it much, but its a bitch to scuff.

From what I can tell, the big advantage to a soft tip over a hard tip is control. If you use a soft tip, you should be able to get more english on the ball. If you’re a duffer like me though, you’ll probably want to go with a nice medium tip that will give you equal levels of control and durability. My Predator shaft has a Tiger Everest tip, which seems to work just fine.

As for different animal skins, I have no idea. Leather, pigskin, boar (wait… isn’t that just fancy talk for wild pig?), buffalo. There seems to be a tip for every tasty critter, but damned if I can tell the difference between playing with a leather tip or a pig tip. Just for you, my one and only loyal reader, I ganked the tip densities from Terry Macioge’s book “How To Tip A Pool Cue“:

Soft (Density = 60-65)
Elk Master – 60.1
Royal Oak – 66.5
Blue Knights – 61.2
Silver King – 60.3
Chandivert Eureka – 64.4
Porper Ram – 64.1
Stratos – 65.8
Tiger Laminated – 65.3
Moori – 63.8
Talisman – 64.3

Medium (Density = 66-75)
Tiger Sniper – 66.9
Kamui Soft – 69.9
Kamui Medium Soft – 71.3
Kamui Medium – 75.0
Chandivert Super Royal – 75.8
Porper Ram – 75.1
Tsunami – 75.8
Tiger Everest – 75.1
Tiger Laminated – 74.5
Moori - 74.2
Talisman – 73.9

Medium Hard (Density = 76-80)
Le Pro – 78.2
Triumph – 76.9
Chandivert Champion – 74.2
Chandivert Crown – 77.1
Chandivert Comprime – 78.7
Tiger Dynamite – 77.2
Wild Boar – 77.8
Talisman Pro – 77.0
Porper Majestic – 77.4

Hard (Density = 81-85)
Kamui Hard – 81.9
Sumo – 82.0
Triangle – 81.4
Tsunami – 82.4
Stratos – 81.1
Tiger Laminated – 81.0
Stingray – 83.5
Chandivert Rocky – 82.1
Moori - 82.7
Talisman – 81.4

Extra Hard (Density = 86+)
Talisman – 86.1
Stratos – 87.3
Tiger Jump/Break