What are the advantages of carbon fiber (CF) or graphite shafts like the Predator Revo and Cuetec Cynergy?
The following videos covers this topic in detail:
For more info, see: “The Carbon Fiber Shaft Craze” (BD, December, 2019).
Advantages of a carbon-fiber (AKA graphite) shaft include:
- It is smooth and has very little friction, especially with an open bridge.
- It stays cleaner than a wood shaft, which can be difficult to keep sealed, clean, and smooth (with no scratches or dings).
- It is easy and safe to clean with a damp towel.
- It doesn’t warp even under humidity and temperature extremes (so you can leave it in the trunk of your car in any weather).
- It doesn’t scratch easily.
- It doesn’t ding when you hit balls, bang up against furniture, or drop it on a hard and dirty floor.
- It doesn’t have any wood grain that might be visually distracting.
Many carbon-fiber (CF) shafts also have low CB deflection, so see also: advantages of LD shafts. But as shown in the video above, not all CF shaft have the same amount of CB deflection. One potential disadvantage of a CF shaft is the greater lateral stiffness could possibly limit the maximum amount of spin possible (close to the miscue limit) since the tip doesn’t flex away from the CB as much and returns more quickly, which could result in a double hit with extreme spin shots. An example of this can be seen in a super-slow-motion video comparing a wood LD shaft to a CF shaft (a cuttlefishcues prototype CF shaft, circa 2008).
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