Today is the first day in the life of Kamui Chalk in the USA and I have been honored to receive the first cube for review purposes:
The chalk cube was individually hermetically sealed in a foil package, with what looks like a retail hang tag...
The paper label on the cube seems to be an early prototype of what would be available in production runs because it wasn't aligned very straight, nor was it very tight, but of course that wouldn't have anything to do with how the chalk plays...
I shot a few racks with this new Kamui chalk, and I can absolutely report that even this great product can not make up for a lack of practice! But with this chalk I get the feeling that I want to spend more time with it, and more time at the table means better pool, and isn't that what it's all about?
The price of the chalk is still unknown at this time, but price to me is not an issue, especially for something that is so integral to every shot. Master chalk is around 25 cents a cube. Blue Diamond is around 3 bucks a cube. Either way, the cost per use is almost negligible, so if you are serious about your game, why would you not use the best chalk, regardless of price?
Even at 5 bucks a cube I would still choose Kamui chalk. I rate it 5-star!
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The chalk cube was individually hermetically sealed in a foil package, with what looks like a retail hang tag...
The paper label on the cube seems to be an early prototype of what would be available in production runs because it wasn't aligned very straight, nor was it very tight, but of course that wouldn't have anything to do with how the chalk plays...
The first impression I had was that the color was a very pale blue, quite different from the dark blue I have been used to. But as you can see from the photo below, after the first brush with the cue tip, the color changes to a darker, but still light, blue. The second impression was that the chalk seemed to be inconsistent in composition because there appeared spots, flecks, etc in the surface of the chalk. I was surprised again when I actually chalked my cue to find that the consistency is almost powder-like in smoothness. Very impressive feel to it.
My third first impression (?) was that the cube seemed a bit small, so I compared it with Master and Blue Diamond, and sure enough, there's a bit less of it.
But chalk isn't about quantity, it's all about quality, so the real test is how it plays... To test it properly, I used my Ulti-mate tip tool to remove all of the Blue Diamond chalk from my tip (Kamui soft), and then lightly rechalked with the new Kamui chalk. The photo below doesn't seem to do it justice photographically, but the feel of the chalk as it is being applied is something completely different for me. It's amazingly smooth, almost silky, almost powdery. The feel is calming, and you can't have enough calm when you need to make a tricky shot to win the game/match/money!
The price of the chalk is still unknown at this time, but price to me is not an issue, especially for something that is so integral to every shot. Master chalk is around 25 cents a cube. Blue Diamond is around 3 bucks a cube. Either way, the cost per use is almost negligible, so if you are serious about your game, why would you not use the best chalk, regardless of price?
Even at 5 bucks a cube I would still choose Kamui chalk. I rate it 5-star!
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18 comments:
Hey Mikie!
Thanks for the review on the chalk. Very interesting indeed. I'm curious to see where they are going with chalk advancement, and if a new trend will develope out of this.
I personally can't tell the difference in playability between Master and Blue Diamond, but I wouldn't chalk a house cue with Silver Cup. I may have to put this new Kamui chalk through the abuse test to see if they are truly on to something.
Thanks again for the review!
Louis U
Yo, Louie...
Come on up to the Fun House, and let's shoot some pool. You can test some Kamui chalk in the real world!
Mikie
Great to read about a new product. It looks like I've got another chalk to hunt down and try myself. I wonder if the smaller size will cause fumbles. I once saw a teammate drop a cube on a cushion which bounced off the nose to another cushion then about 20 inches to hit the cue ball for a foul!
Now at 25 $ how do you feel about it ?
I'm still getting to learn about it by using it, and since i'm shooting only a little bit of pool recently, it's taking some time...
But on balance, it's good stuff, and I don't mind paying for superior product. After all, it's not that much money in the Grand Scheme of Things, and it IS my pool game we're talking about!
:)
I ordered one, can't wait to try it. I kind of lose stuff, so I have to be careful not to leave it in the pool hall :)
at 25 bucks a pop, you will probably break your habit of losing stuff after the first couple of cubes!
:)
I think 'Kamui' chalks are $25 per cube.
I am a newbie to Billiards. Love to play it on my Billiards Pool Tables & love to learn more by reading blogs one like this. I seriously liked this post. Thanks for information on Chalk.
Yea I wouldn't worry about 5 dollars a cube but they want 30 dollars a cube for this chalk! Highway robbery! You can get it from Japan for 25 but shipping still makes it right around 30. I cant see paying 30 dollars for a piece of chalk. I dont even pay that for a kamui leather tip... blue diamond is the way to go!
Is it still worth it for $30.00 ?
Yes, it is worth it to me!
Mikie, I paid $30, used it for a couple days, then gladly paid another $30 for a backup cube. I want every possible advantage and want to eliminate as many variables as possible. With Kamui chalk, I don't worry about miscues any more. I chalk up once, run a rack of 9 ball, then chalk up again. Freedom!
How does it fit in pocket bullet chalk holders???
I think there is an assumption being made here that the Kamui chalk is actually, "better" than other chalk simply because one person mentioned the chalk felt "silky" and had a "calming" affect. Before I spend 120x the normal price of chalk (Masters) I would prefer there to be scientific proof that this chalk 1) Is actually better than the others based on scientific data, and 2) The margin of betterment is so great that it makes a proven difference in the game. Until such evidence is presented, I'm using the .$25 Masters chalk like most of the pros do. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me! Don't get me wrong, if you want to pay $30 for chalk you have every right to do so. All I'm saying is why do it if no scientific data has been provided showing it's actually better.
A lot of Bla Bla Bla! the world first class players use Triangle Green! go there and beat the using kamui!
The magic chalk is a twice much better and seven imes much cheaper than this kamui chalk !
1.Magic chalk
2.Blue Diamond
3.OB chalk
...and in place of 999 (price/quality): kamui chalk
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