Jaared Arosemena
Recently I had the honor and privilege of speaking with a gentleman by the name of Joel Garrison who reached out to me to write a review on a brand-new tip company named ON Tips, specifically their "Cyborg Playing Tips", and their "Cell Bk Break/Jump Tips". Mr. Garrison reached out to me one evening because he had seen my explanation and description of a certain LD shaft that I had been discussing with another player. Since Mr. Garrison's company is relatively new to us here in the United States, he wanted me to do an honest evaluation of his company's tips. I thanked him, and told him I would be more than happy to give an honest, and comprehensive review. He then sent me a series of six different tips for review.
1. Ssupra - (Super Soft) - HR 55.5
2. Black - (Soft) - HR 57.5
3. Black - (Medium) - HR 60
4. Slow - (Medium) - HR 65.5
5. Quick - (Med Hard) - HR 67
6. Cell Bk -(Break/Jump) - HR 89
First, let's start with the Cyborg Playing Tips. Cyborg Tips are a premium 9 layered laminated tip. When inspecting each playing tip with a jewelers loop, I found that the layers were uniform and even. That is the very first sign of a well made tip.
And now, performance.
Let me start off by saying that the very first thing that I noticed about all of the playing tips was the fact that they all hit softer than what I expected. It's very deceiving. The hardness rating on all of the tips are accurate but they feel much softer as they have a much softer hit. Also notable is that all of these playing tips hold chalk better than any playing tip that I have ever used. I was absolutely astounded by how well the chalk adhered to the tip. Now, for those who know me, it is known that I use and prefer Kamui Chalk .98 and 1.21. However, I did not want that to influence the outcome of my testing of these tips. So I decided to use a myriad of different chalks. The chalks that I used were....
1. Kamui .98
2. Kamui 1.21
3. Outsville "Blue Mako" Pro Chalk
4. Predator 1080 Chalk
5. Magic Chalk
6. Triangle Chalk
7. Master Chalk
Most "Premium" chalks are designed to stay on the tip longer. However what truly amazed me was the fact that chalks like Master and Triangle adhered to the tip much longer than any other tip that I've used in the past. Also worth mentioning is the grip of these Cyborg Tips. I can honestly say that these tips grip the cue ball better than any other tip I have ever used. This really caught my attention, and therefore, I wanted to try something a little bit different regarding testing the "grip ability" of these playing tips. I decided to try some extreme spin shots with these tips un-chalked. I was able to put two tips of spin in either direction on the cue ball without miscueing. Obviously, this really impressed me. I tried this numerous times without a miscue.
As many of you know, (or may not know), laminated layered tips are not supposed to be burnished on the sides during installation. Why, you may ask? Because whenever you burnish the sides of a layered tip, it actually makes the tip play "harder". However, for these tips, since they play softer than most other tips, I do recommend that you burnish the sides and burnish them well. This, for me, gave the tip a more "honest" feel.
Also another thing that impressed me about these playing tips, was the fact that they are incredibly "accurate". When I say accurate, I'm specifically talking about the deflection of the tip. Now many of you might say, "Jaared, what are you talking about in regards to deflection of a tip?" Well, deflection is not only caused by the shaft of your cue. It also depends on the hardness and the consistency of your playing tip as that is where "deflection" actually begins. Since my game incorporates a lot of "spin" on a myriad of different shots, this was incredibly important to me. I noticed right away that I did not have to compensate for the tip deflection as much with these tips as I had with other tips in the past. These playing tips are incredibly true and accurate, more so than any others that I have used. The one playing tip that impressed me the most, was their "Quick" model. For me, it had the perfect marriage of crisp snap to the hit, grip ability, accuracy, and trueness. Another result that caught my attention over time with using these playing tips, was the fact that they did not glaze over. I found myself only roughing the tip up slightly only once during my trials (out of habit). For many of you that may know me, I have always sung the praises of Kamui Black Tips (and still do). However, I must say without any shadow of doubt, these Cyborg Playing Tips are a hair better in consistency and durability (as long as you keep them burnished). Every playing tip on the market needs some form of maintenance, and Cyborg Tips are no different. With the softer levels, I noticed I had to trim a little bit of mushrooming every now and again until the tip settled. However, that happens with most every tip on the market made today. It's just the nature of the beast, and something we as players are used to. However I will say that if you keep the sides burnished, and burnished well, these tips really hold their shape well. The overall consistency of these tips held true throughout the duration of my trials.
So, after hitting over 2000 balls with each tip, here are my overall grades.
1. Ssupra (Super Soft) - B-
2. Black (Soft) - B+
3. Black (Medium) - B+
4. Slow (Medium) - B+
5. Quick (Med Hard) - A+
Now, the Cell Bk Break/Jump Tip - Review.
This break tip was the first tip that I installed and tried for the ON Tips trials. The one thing that I noticed right away with this break tip was how well the chalk adhered to it. My break tip arrived preformed to a "dime" radius, which I flattened out slightly. I wanted to test the control of this break tip because it's not a hard leather with phenolic resin embedded tip. So I broke three racks without chalking, then I performed a 10 foot draw shot without chalking. I was absolutely amazed that I didn't miscue! The only thing that bothered me slightly with this tip (at first) was the fact that (don't laugh now) these break tips actually "glow in the dark". No, I'm not kidding...they really DO glow in the dark. they come in four different "fluorescent" colors. Blue, Yellow, Red, and "glow in the dark" Green (like you remember when you were a kid). I truly thought at first that this feature of this break tip would be distracting. However, it wasn't distracting at all. When you're down on your break shot underneath the table lights, you don't notice it at all. It's only when you put the cue in your cue holder resting that you notice that it's glowing. This fascinated me...so I decided to ask Mr. Garrison exactly why they decided to make the break tip glow-in-the-dark. He told me something that made absolutely perfect sense. How many times have you, as a player, in a dimly lit pool room, picked up your playing cue instead of your break cue to break with...especially those who have a matching custom set of Playing Cues and Breaking Cues? Well, with this break tip, it actually solves the problem...as you can now visibly "see" which cue is your break cue! Now, don't worry. This tip only slightly glows in the dark and will not "light up the room". Even though this break tip has a softer Hardness Rating at just under 90, don't let that fool you. The actual COR transfer of power is incredible, and will effortlessly break the pack nicely!
My grade for this Cell Bk Break/Jump Tip is a solid "A", and is a great option for anyone looking for a great break/jump tip.
In conclusion, ON Tips is off to a great start with their Cyborg Tips and their Cell Bk Break/Jump Tips. I highly recommend them to any serious playing looking to improve their game. The future Is here, with ON Tips.
ON Tips "Cyborg Playing Tips" and "Cell Bk Break/Jump Tips" will have their United States debut at this year's Super Billiards Expo. You can find them at Joe Blackburn's/Steve Lomax's Cue Service Booth as Joe is the exclusive distributor at the SBE. Also, look for "Team Cyborg" Vs. "Team Cyborg" at the Billiards Education Foundation booth at the SBE.
