Ever since Moori introduced the first layered tip back in the early ‘90’s, there have been many new companies spring up and enter the layered tip market.  The problem is, while many of them have offered a better price, few of them have been able to compete with Moori in quality.

One company that has, however, is Kamui.  With both their brown and their black tips, Kamui has not only taken over the number one spot as the world’s most desired tip, they have somehow been able to do it at a higher price.  And in today’s sorry economy, commanding a higher price on any product, no matter how good it may be, is no small feat.

But even though Moori and Kamui have enjoyed long runs as the world’s premiere tips, it is inevitable that someone else will eventually come up with a product that is just as good, if not better, and will do so at a lower price. It is inevitable because that is simply the nature of competition — sooner or later, everyone gets topped.

And in the case of layered tips, that time has apparently arrived.

The Ultra Skin tip has been out for a while now, but I didn’t put any in my stock until a customer of mine specifically asked for them.  Once I got them in, and installed one for that particular customer, he was so impressed with it that he immediately started telling his friends about it.  That soon led to another installation, and then another, and then another.  And all of the feedback I’ve received from the new users has been the same: they say the Ultra Skin is responsive, it grabs the cue ball well, and it holds its shape well.

The way I usually judge the quality of a layered tip is by how well it machines during installation.  If the tip will not cut evenly, or if it does not crown easily, or (especially) if it delaminates, then I do not consider it to be that great.  My feeling is that if the tip will give you problems like that while it’s on the lathe, then it will probably give you problems later on.

The only two layered tips that have consistently shown good machining properties are Moori and Kamui.  That is, up until now.  So far, the Ultra Skin has demonstrated the same fine machining qualities as Moori and Kamui.  And after noticing this, and then after hearing the great reports from my customers, I decided to give the Ultra Skin a try for myself.

Now I’m happy to report that the Ultra Skin is just as good as my customers have been saying it is.  It performs as well as it machines; and at this point, I really can’t tell the difference between it and the Kamui Black that I was using for the past year.

Now here’s the really good part: the installed price on Ultra Skin is roughly 40% less than that of Moori or Kamui.  And in today’s economy, that’s a very welcome feature!