Viking Viking Billiard Cues Review

Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

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kid-kansas
Clearwater, KS

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My stick is still straight after all these years!!!

Love Billiards, noticing the details, Impressed with this product, Brand Loyal, Married

Pros

only aged wood, hand fitted butt joints, French LePro Tips, Standard 58, Long Lasting

DEC

2007

If you ever walked into a billiard parlor then you have seen the wall racks with cue sticks on them, or perhaps you know someone with their own table. Most house sticks are one piece and crooked, or the tips are shot. Any serious billiard player owns their own stick and each reflects the personality of the owner. You can buy sticks that range from $10 into the Thousands depending on what your willing to spend. I bought my first stick when I was 18 years old and I still use it to this day!

About Viking

Viking has been around since the early 60's when founder Gordon Hart hand made 2 piece pool cues in the basement of his poolroom in Stoughton, Wisconsin. Viking Cue Mfg. was incorporated in 1965 and Viking Cues were used by many top pros.

Viking still believes in quality and it shows to this day, they assemble the butt sections by hand thus insuring a straight cue stick for the consumer. They also cure their wood for 12 to 18 months in a climate controlled atmosphere to ensure a straight product. The French LePro tip is standard on all models and the ferrules are a proprietary piece made by Viking.

All cues are made the same from the least expensive to the most expensive. They will even custom design a cue according to your specifications, of course that would be expensive. Viking cues are a piece of art without having to custom make one.

My experience

As I said I bought my first cue stick when I was 18 and I play with that very same stick today. For the past 33 years I have broke with it (the braking of the balls at the start of the game) and used it as my regular stick as well. If you ever watched a professional player they always use a different stick for the break and the play. I just recently (in the past 2 years) bought a stick just for breaking.

My Viking still has the original tip and ferrule on it, and it still plays excellent. I have been blessed to win many tournaments over the years and each one was with my Viking. The Irish linen wrap is still bright purple and has no snags or tears in it. The finish is still clear and shiny just as when it was new. I bought the pro model at the time and I paid $125 for it from a billiard store in Forestville, Maryland.

The store is no longer there but my Viking cue lives on and is as good as a new one. I have dropped it a few times but it is none the worse for it. I keep my stick in a padded cue case to protect it from bumps and to also protect it from humidity. I have friends with their own sticks and they have replaced the tips on them several times. They are amazed mine is still all original. The good thing about Viking is that they put the same care and quality into all their cues as well as the same materials. Weights range from 18 to 21 oz. and either 12mm or 13mm diameters on the shafts, these are the standard cues they have.

Bottom Line

For a long lasting quality cue you just can't beat Viking. There are many other companies out there, but for the range of prices Viking has them beat. How many times have you bought something and it was worthless within 5 years? My Viking is still going strong after 33 years of steady use. Viking also has a lifetime warranty on the shaft and butt and with your original reciept they will fix or replace them. So if it warps you are covered, if you beat a guy with it and crack it your on your own however....lol

When a company puts the same material and quality into their entire product line that tells me they are confident in what they produce. Sure you can customize a stick to your likes, but Viking has such a variety that you don't have to. It goes to show you that the small guy with an idea can grow to a worldwide recognizable name. If you are in the market for a personal cue stick then give Viking a try! Then just maybe in 33 years you can say that your stick is still straight after all these years!!!