Pool Cue Review | Rhino Billiards RETRO Series

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  • Опубліковано 28 вер 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 43

  • @HereAfterBilliards
    @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому +3

    Update:
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    Follow this link :
    rhino-billiards.com?dt_id=1890801
    Then at checkout in the "Discount Code or Gift Card" box use my channel code : HEREAFTER_BILLIARDS
    Anything I earn just gets dumped back into this channel to improve the viewing experience. Thanks everyone👌

  • @briangauthier5802
    @briangauthier5802 Місяць тому +4

    So I bit the bullet and ordered a Retro (pale moon ebony wrapless) which came arrived yesterday. Shipping was super quick. Not too much and been done to protect the cue for shipping, but I guess enough was done as it arrived in great condition. I can't tell yet whether its what I call new cue syndrome (the effect you shoot lights out the first time you play with a new cue then suddenly you are back to your regular self) but I am very happy with the cue. It seems to get way more action on the CB than I am used to. Thanks again for the excellent review!

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      Congratulations man! I received my cues in the same manner that you did as well. In my first video I mentioned that I was a little weary that they were coming in such thin boxes however there was that smaller bubble wrap that was protecting it. I'm used to cues coming in bigger boxes with that big bubble wrap engulfing the cue. However the trip from Vietnam didn't damage them so I was greatful.
      Now that you have the cue I'd like to offer you a mission... Should you choose to accept it...
      THE TIP
      I played with the factory 'Time Crystal' for just about a month. Before the review I was even breaking from the side to test if it would mushroom. No mushrooming occurred and I continued to get the juice you're finding right now. But as of this comment, through the last week I've started to miss cue a little on extreme juice shots. So for the first time this week I shaped the tip. At summer league I played a soft extreme inside safety and the cue ball miscued again off of the tip. So it took my pick tool and dug in along the outer edges.
      Now I'm not one to assume that a factory tip will last forever or even compete with brands that specialize in the tip market, however this is my first non-pigskin tip. Rhino doesn't say synthetic but Bulletproof for example doesn't shy away from the name.
      Your mission is to track the duration of how long you hit with the tip and see how long it hits well for you. Mine up until today offered great contact for most of the cue ball but it got dicy once you got to the extremities for extreme juice.
      In my older age I decided about a year ago that I was going to experiment more with tips so as of this morning the Time Crystal is coming off and I'll be trying a Taom Pro Soft for the first time.
      That's it man... easy. I know you'll have as good of an experience as I am with the Rhino. It's a great cue. Hits great! 👌

  • @luissantiago1832
    @luissantiago1832 26 днів тому +1

    Thank you for the video and review!

  • @Jahoyd
    @Jahoyd 26 днів тому +1

    May I ask what Extension you demoed that works for the Rhino Retro butt? Thanks in advance. Great video! Cheers.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  26 днів тому

      I took my JFlowers extension ready butt out of my Dante 2 and it screwed in. So I use my JFlowers 6 inch extension and it works like a charm. Ironically enough the Rhino doesn't thread into the JFlowers Cue. 👍 Hopefully Rhino starts shipping their Cues with extension ready butt stoppers

  • @beggin4mercy
    @beggin4mercy 11 днів тому +1

    can you purchase the time crystal tip separately

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  10 днів тому

      You can but I wouldn't. Just go with a brand name you trust after the factory tip stops performing. I did just that not to long ago. Now I have a Taom Pro Soft on the Rhino shaft

  • @darrensmedick1523
    @darrensmedick1523 Місяць тому +2

    I watched your review just after ordering the Pale Moon Ebony with the Lizard wrap and points. It arrived yesterday and I played my first match with it tonight ... I must say I was very impressed with the feel and look of this cue!! Need a little more time with the tip to get used to it, but it seems pretty reactive. My only minor thing is I thought the pale moon ebony would be a lighter color overall , instead I feel like it almost looks metallic but it is still a very nice looking and shooting cue . Thank you for your in Depth review!

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому +1

      Cheers man. A little update on the tip. Rhino never said the tip was synthetic. They said it wasn't pig skin. So in my mind what else could it be but synthetic? Anyway around the one month mark I started seeing that when I shot extreme juice shots I would miscue. Now I took that tip through the ringer before my review...even breaking with it. Getting action from the tip was never the problem. When I started miscuing I finally roughed it up and eventually took my tip tool to it. The problem persisted. I ended up tapping out and putting a Taom Pro soft on the other day.
      Final verdict is the Time Crystal Tip may actually be better than the Bulletproof synthetics bacause it gets more action...but the technology isn't perfected. Glad you like the cue. Love the Retro

  • @finesse2.048
    @finesse2.048 Місяць тому +3

    Man I am a fan of your reviews. I find myself watching it like a tv series. Great feedback. Thank you for the details. I’ve been debating on J Flowers vs Eclipse/Retro.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      Thanks for the huge compliment. If you follow my channel you know I'm an affiliate at both companies and I'm a huge supporter of them. I believe pool equipment should have a high price to quality ratio. Both these companies offer this. In my opinion as of right now I wouldn't recommend the Eclipse or The Komet Breaker from Rhino. I would however recommend any of the Retro Series. They really are quite good (I'm still shooting with my Retro). Their carbon fiber joint configuration selection is way better than JFlowers as well if you're looking to just add to an existing butt.
      As for Jflowers, they've been in the game a couple years longer than Rhino so they have a larger selection of cues for you to choose from (at different price ranges as well) but I'm not a fan of how busy their designs are. I have a Dante 2 cue that I love. Right now where JFlowers has Rhino beat is their Jump Cue as Rhino doesn't have one (but is on the way) and their Break Cue (it's a sledgehammer and its amazing!).
      It really just comes down to preference and taste. They all hit great. Don't be afraid to look into other brands also. There's a lot of competition out there. It's getting competitive which is a good thing for us consumers. If you do decide to choose JFlowers or Rhino please remember to use my affiliate links. They're in my bio at the top of this UA-cam page. They help my little pool channel out👌
      Thanks again for the awesome feedback!

  • @JohnBowl14690
    @JohnBowl14690 Місяць тому +1

    I currently shoot with the Rhino 12.8 connected to a Konllen (Jflowers) butt. I do not like the Rhino Nebula butt. It's bumpy, unattractive, and slightly more butt heavy. I don't know about the Retro and perhaps the Retro resolves all those issues. The Rhino shaft is very good and I choose it over my Cynergy. However, I just shot with my Cynergy the other day and there are things I miss about that stick. Conclusion: There is no perfect stick.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      I've never touched a Nebula but it does look like they have the same thing going on that they have in the Komet BREAKER. It's a 3D printed grip and I know what you're talking about. I don't like it myself. Their new Retro is something very different.
      As for there not being the perfect stick...youre right about that👌😂

  • @justicebourdon2283
    @justicebourdon2283 Місяць тому +2

    Loved the review! Went ahead and ordered their cue. Definitely glad to hear these great results! 🎱

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому +1

      You won't be dissipointed. They've done a great job with this one.

    • @Dugnew
      @Dugnew Місяць тому +1

      ⁠I suggest you try for yourself,but get the blue soft,not the red medium.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      @@Dugnew I'll think about it. Just spoke to my friend and he tried both the red and the blue. Right now he had the red and black layered pigskin Bulletproof on his cue. He like that one better than either of the synthetics but it's mushrooming already

  • @NSSB75
    @NSSB75 Місяць тому +1

    Great and informative video as always. Good job my friend. Do you prefere the Rhino cue over your JFlowers Dante? The radial pin gives you a better feedback in the butt of your cue, because of the large pin size in combination with the tight fitting. Even my Mezz with a tight united joint, does not transfer the feedback as good as a wavy or radial pin. THX and best wishes. Thomas

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому +2

      That's a really tough question. I'll say this...right now I'm enjoying playing with the Rhino Retro. That's not to say that I don't love my Dante 2 with the SMO shaft...but the feel of the Retro combined with the joint and this interesting new tip they have has intrigued me. It's all a journey really...and taste 👍There's no right answer. The only quantitative thing we can absolutely measure is price and durability. Rhino is priced right and I guess we'll have to wait on the durability. But for right now I'm loving it.

  • @briangauthier5802
    @briangauthier5802 Місяць тому +1

    This video was great. Coming back to pool after being away for a while. Always loved big 3/8 x 10 joints and a good stiff hit. Looks like they are not as popular these days. I found my favorite player has quite a wobble in it now. Always had weakness for buying cues. Considered a Predator Aspire (looks, price point, LD shaft, brand power?) but the small radial pin makes me nervous as well as the fact that Predator doesn't use it in any other cue. Saw the Rhino advert on FB. I was like wow price is great. Looks nice (I love wrapless cues). I don't care much about traditional materials (had cuetec back in the day, but the sticky shaft turned out to be a no go). Anyway, rambling post. Thanks for the great review. The Rhino may be right for me.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      I'm glad you're back. Playing pool is good for the soul 👍. As for the Rhino I really don't think you can go wrong here as the price point to quality is almost unbeatable. If you're a wrapless guy these Retro Cues should be right up your alley. They really do look great...and play great as well.

  • @Dugnew
    @Dugnew Місяць тому +1

    Speaking of synthetic tips,you really need to be trying the new bulletproof recoil synthetic playing tip.I absolutely love mine,and I’ve installed a few of them now,and everyone seems to really like them.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому +1

      That's interesting. I've spoken to only one friend about that tip and their feedback was they weren't a fan of it. They felt they couldn't get the amount of sauce they were accustomed to. I'm glad you're digging it

  • @markslates2154
    @markslates2154 Місяць тому +1

    Great review! It is clear that Rhino is listening to your feedback and incorporating improvements. I thoroughly enjoy playing with my Rhino. Thanks for the review.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому +1

      Thanks Mark. I'm really pleased with Rhinos progression in the billiards world. I see big things for them!

  • @CuemanBilliards
    @CuemanBilliards Місяць тому +1

    I absolutely loved your review. Fantastic work my friend. 😊

  • @snuuker892
    @snuuker892 Місяць тому +1

    Great video and I agree on joint tightness. Have a Huebler I picked up in the mid 70's that had the white joint collars that would crack if you broke with them. Never broke with mine! Local cue maker mentioned that the joint material on those cues was from old cue balls!

  • @miketaylor7023
    @miketaylor7023 Місяць тому +1

    A higher percentage of times but especially with radial type pins or the Mezz wavy in particular , or even a metal joint that squeaks or is tight in general but not always you should take a fresh paper towel ,fold it 4 times and wet it with rubbing alcohol. Then I place it in a dry paper towel and squeeze it. Then i wash my hands in cold water and dry them on another ptowel and keep that to keep hands from drying and cracking.the skin. then i take the moistened ptowel w rub alcohol and use all 8 sides by twisting the clean corners and cleaning the threads real good. Alot of times black stuff will come out. From there I'll manuever the edges and sides by folding the ptowel over to keep clean sides and retwist the ptowel to continue as many times as it takes until the bore threads are clean and sterile. Then I 'll take a fresh side of ptowel and clean the pin real good. Always switching sides to not rub the dirt back in. Then in many but not all cases depending on circumstances, I might break out some carnuba cue wax . I use chem pack with the brown lid. And rub some on the pin threads . Keep fresh ptowel w rub alcohol ready to clean edges of cue and shaft handy! Then twist slowly on the mezz pin or any wood to wood pin that is too tight. Unless the pin is a mini radial. Then you might want it to be tighter because the threads are too short possibly. The mezz wavy pin was too tight. The newer wavy 2 pin is slightly thinner and the shaft threads are phenolic on this later itineration. The original wavy the threads were tighter than a young european girl in the 80s in franfurt. So you twist the shaft down until it catches sometimes. Then stop and back the shaft out a little. Don't force it! If it keeps catching back the pin off and apply a little at a time of carnuba ,then keep rethreading it. After a bit of that where you have to apply carnuba the threads will loosen up to however tight or loose you want. But if it's too loose your shaft can come loose easier. you just want to leave a thin invisible film of carnuba round to coat the pin and shaft threads. then i take a jewelers screwdriver and gently ever so lightly clean any remaining carnuba out of the bore hole and pin areas like the top of the pin with no threads and bore hole on shaft using rub alcohol with fresh ptowel sides. So as not to rub dirt or carnuba back in or over the surfaces. I clean the bore hole real good and even dip the rub alc into the hole edges to sterilize and clean all surfaces around the joints. Most guys don't understand that they need to clean the joint sections of their cue. You'll either develop the knowledge or make tons of mistakes and maybe never learn things. We all have to be told everything we learn minus a little we might engineer at various rates of time in the learning process.

  • @Danks-vz5xz
    @Danks-vz5xz Місяць тому +1

    The mezz united and wavy joints are the "bees knees". I've had a mezz cue with the united joint for 20 years and it fits the same as when I bought it.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      Yeah as I found out speaking with James from Hooked Billiards, the Mezz is the one cue maker that hasn't compromised on a stiff joint. My problem with Mezz however isn't their quality...it's the proprietary nature at which they do business. Even now the Wavy 2 joint isn't even compatible with their own shafts that are Wavy 1 equipped. If I was a Mezz owner I'd be choked.

  • @Danks-vz5xz
    @Danks-vz5xz Місяць тому +1

    Could you do a review of the new bulletproof recoil tip? It's a synthetic playing tip.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      I'm going to be honest and say the chances of me trying one is low. I have a close friend who tried both varieties of synthetic from them and he wasn't happy with the amount of juice he lost and if ever he had to do any extreme English a miscue was highly probable. I really trust his opinion as a lot of our beliefs are aligned.

  • @johngies4024
    @johngies4024 Місяць тому +1

    I think they need to offer different shaft diameters as well.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому

      They'll do that but at an extra cost I believe. However I'm not sure the shaft that you'll get will be an undersized thread like the one that comes with the cue. You could reach out to them. They're very responsive.

  • @LittleTimmyPool
    @LittleTimmyPool Місяць тому +1

    Great review! Enjoy your content 👍

  • @rickyhonerkamp2526
    @rickyhonerkamp2526 Місяць тому

    An hour of my life, I will never get back. Nothing about the hit, the sound, the deflection, or the action. I feel like I wasted my time on a review of overlays.

    • @HereAfterBilliards
      @HereAfterBilliards  Місяць тому +1

      Well in that case I humbly apologize for wasting your time. A few things. I like to speak to things that others may not pick up on. I said at the beginning of the video that I would go over the boring stuff and get it out of the way. I said it hits great. You get plenty of action from the cue and the Time Crystal tip...however it is a synthetic tip and feels slightly different than pig skin. Hard to describe. More action certainly the the synthetic Bulletproof tips. After a month I've taken that tip off and gone with a Taom Pro Soft. LOTS OF ACTION. FEELS GREAT.
      As for deflection I'll never do that silly test as there's too many factors that go into a stroke and hit to give an accurate comparison. I'll tell you what my gut says. Is it a low deflection shaft? Absolutely. Is there less deflection than a SMO, Ignite, Revo or Cynergy? No. Those are top end shafts that are very low deflection. Different foams and internal dampeners are used in their production. But what are we really talking about here? We're talking mm's. This shaft is a low deflection shaft that plays similar to a lot of carbon fiber brands out there. I'm not going to assume to tell you what you'll like of dislike when it comes to the amount of deflection in a cue. That's all on you.
      Again I'm sorry for wasting your time.