Aramith® brand phenolic billiard balls. An industry standard for decades and the best-in-class product for all cue-sport games worldwide.
Did you ever wonder about the pool balls on your table? Aramith has been producing phenolic balls for pool for over fifty years. Currently, Aramith billiard balls account for 80% of the global market for billiard balls. Recently, some other phenolic balls have entered the U.S. market and some misleading rumors have been circulated in the industry. Here are some facts that you will find interesting.
Aramith®. The True Belgian Billiard Balls
1) Resin content
As you know, “competitors" claim their resin is made of 85% phenolic, so they admit it's a blend.
The Aramith® balls (not just the Super Aramith Pro, but also the Premium and Premier sets) are made of over 98 % of pure genuine phenolic resin, the balance being the color (dyes or pigments) and additives.
2) Weight tolerance
“Competitors” also claim that their specification is 169.5 +/- 0.5 grams. We have several sets at the factory in Belgium and not one set meet these specifications. Not only do they not weigh 169.5 grams on average (the mean is actually around 168.5 or 169g), but the variation is far bigger than 1 gram, in some cases bigger than 2g within one set, and we have another set that has over 2.5g within the set and we do not think that we have received the worst sets for testing.
Aramith® has never claimed false specs. We are well within official specifications for all sets, and regarding the Super Aramith® Pro, the Centennial® and the Tournament sets, we sort all balls within each set to have less than +/- 1.5 g total tolerance.
3) Quality
Because the “competitors” admit that their resin is a blend, their "phenolic” statement can be misleading. Even within pure phenolic resins there are different grades and qualities. We have discovered that there are bubbles in the “competitors” balls as it is shown in the attached picture.
As you know, “competitors" claim their resin is made of 85% phenolic, so they admit it's a blend.
The Aramith® balls (not just the Super Aramith Pro, but also the Premium and Premier sets) are made of over 98 % of pure genuine phenolic resin, the balance being the color (dyes or pigments) and additives.
2) Weight tolerance
“Competitors” also claim that their specification is 169.5 +/- 0.5 grams. We have several sets at the factory in Belgium and not one set meet these specifications. Not only do they not weigh 169.5 grams on average (the mean is actually around 168.5 or 169g), but the variation is far bigger than 1 gram, in some cases bigger than 2g within one set, and we have another set that has over 2.5g within the set and we do not think that we have received the worst sets for testing.
Aramith® has never claimed false specs. We are well within official specifications for all sets, and regarding the Super Aramith® Pro, the Centennial® and the Tournament sets, we sort all balls within each set to have less than +/- 1.5 g total tolerance.
3) Quality
Because the “competitors” admit that their resin is a blend, their "phenolic” statement can be misleading. Even within pure phenolic resins there are different grades and qualities. We have discovered that there are bubbles in the “competitors” balls as it is shown in the attached picture.
We will now talk about Aramith®resin to differentiate from the other so-called "phenolic".
The intrinsic quality of the "competitors" set is near the Aramith®Premier set when there are no bubbles. However, they imitate the look of the superior quality Super Aramith®Pro in order to try to increase their perceived value which just confuses the customer. Because they have imitated the look of the Super Aramith®Pro balls, they sell their balls at a price over 80% more expensive than the Aramith®Premier set, which is actually the equivalent quality. It's just like selling a car that looks like the high-end Mercedes or Cadillac, and asking for a price slightly lower than the genuine article.
The intrinsic quality of the "competitors" set is near the Aramith®Premier set when there are no bubbles. However, they imitate the look of the superior quality Super Aramith®Pro in order to try to increase their perceived value which just confuses the customer. Because they have imitated the look of the Super Aramith®Pro balls, they sell their balls at a price over 80% more expensive than the Aramith®Premier set, which is actually the equivalent quality. It's just like selling a car that looks like the high-end Mercedes or Cadillac, and asking for a price slightly lower than the genuine article.
You are better off buying the superior Aramith® PREMIUM set for 40% less than the “competitors” set, and you’ll have a better set of balls.
4) Duramith™
The Duramith™ technology has been developed by Aramith® many years of R&D, in order to optimize and enhance the Aramith® resin quality, and more specifically its molecular crosslinking, leading to an extended life time. It is presently used only with the Tournament™ pool set (and the purple logo Magnetic cue ball). We guarantee that nobody else has this technology.
5) Environment
Quality also means respecting the environment. Throughout our process we use complex equipment to comply with and even exceed European environmental standards and laws which are the world's most demanding. Our facility is regularly monitored with audits performed by regulatory authorities.
4) Duramith™
The Duramith™ technology has been developed by Aramith® many years of R&D, in order to optimize and enhance the Aramith® resin quality, and more specifically its molecular crosslinking, leading to an extended life time. It is presently used only with the Tournament™ pool set (and the purple logo Magnetic cue ball). We guarantee that nobody else has this technology.
5) Environment
Quality also means respecting the environment. Throughout our process we use complex equipment to comply with and even exceed European environmental standards and laws which are the world's most demanding. Our facility is regularly monitored with audits performed by regulatory authorities.
Aramith®... THAT’S HOW I ROLL
