Kamui Cue Tip vs Predator Victory, Tiger, Moori, Zan
Kamui, Predator Victory, Tiger, Moori, Zan and UltraSkin all make layered pigskin tips, and at the same measured hardness they play closer to each other than the arguments suggest. The real differences are how hard each brand's labels run, how the tip is built at the base, where it's made and what it costs. Le Pro, Triangle and Elk Master are the single-layer classics, still cheap and still on plenty of good cues.
Below, each brand gets an honest profile, then the head-to-heads people actually search (Victory vs Kamui, Moori vs Kamui, Zan vs Kamui, Sniper vs Kamui) and how to avoid buying a fake.
The brands at a glance
| Brand | Build | Made in | Hardness options | Price tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamui | Layered pigskin | Japan | Super soft to hard, Original and Black versions | Premium |
| Predator Victory | 8 layers | Japan | Soft, medium, hard | Premium |
| Tiger (Sniper, Onyx, Everest, Emerald) | Laminated; Sniper is boar hide | USA | One grade per model, plus break and jump tips | Mid to premium |
| Moori | 8 layers pigskin | Japan | Soft, medium, hard | Mid to premium |
| Zan | Layered Japanese pigskin, 8 or 9 layers depending on the retailer | Japan (leather) | Plus S/M/H; Premium Soft, Hybrid Max, Grip Hard, Boost | Premium |
| UltraSkin | 8 layers pigskin, resin bonded | Not stated | Very soft, soft, medium, hard, Heavy Hitter, Pro | Budget layered |
| Le Pro, Triangle, Elk Master (Tweeten) | Single layer | USA | One grade each | Budget |
At billiard retailers, the premium Japanese tips run roughly $19 to $33 each, budget layered tips about $6 to $14, and single-layer tips a dollar or two each in packs. Our best pool cue tips guide has the full hardness chart and what to buy for each situation.
Kamui cue tips: Original, Black and Clear
Kamui is the name most players mean when they say premium tip. The company builds its tips from just two materials, laminated pigskin and adhesive, and says its quality control is built around low variation from tip to tip. The tips come in grades from super soft to hard; measured charts include SS, S, MS, M and H.
Original vs Black
Kamui describes the two as different playing characters. Original has more rebound and is meant for accurate shooting: the cue ball comes off with more speed. Black limits cue ball speed and is pitched at cue ball control. That's Kamui's own description. Physics tests on tip hardness show spin comes from where you hit the cue ball, so read Black as a softer, slower-feeling hit rather than a spin upgrade.
Clear
Kamui Clear adds a clear polycarbonate base. Kamui says it stops glue from soaking into the bottom layer (which can change a tip's hardness during installation), and the base is flat, so it needs no sanding before gluing. The point is a tip that plays the same after every retip. If you're paying for Kamui, Clear is the version we'd pick, since installation is where premium tips most often go wrong.
Kamui also sells a Control Break SAI tip for break cues and an Athlete line. And it's the most counterfeited name, so see the section on fakes below.
Predator Victory
Predator's own tip, made in Japan with eight layers, in soft, medium and hard. It comes in yellow so you can see the contact point when you sight down the cue, and Predator says it was developed and tested with its pro team. Predator calls medium its most popular grade.
Victory runs firm for its label: PoolDawg's ratings put Victory soft at 75.3 and medium at 79.8, both near the top of their grade. If a Kamui or Moori medium felt mushy to you, a Victory medium is the natural next try. You'll find it on Predator shafts, and it fits any 14mm-or-smaller shaft once trimmed.
Tiger: Sniper, Onyx, Everest and Emerald
Tiger Products makes its tips in the USA and sells each model at one hardness instead of S/M/H grades. On the 14mm durometer readings Dr. Dave's site reproduces, the four mainstream models sit close together: Everest 75.7, Emerald 76.0, Onyx 76.4, Sniper 77.8.
- Sniper is Tiger's best-known tip. It's boar hide that Tiger tans underground, without chemicals, for up to a year, and it has a black layer near the base that warns you it's time to retip. Tiger calls it soft-medium.
- Onyx uses the same boar hide as the Sniper, darkened to a medium density.
- Everest is a long-time factory tip. PoolDawg wrote in 2013 that standard tips on Predator, McDermott, Viking and several other cues were essentially Tiger Everests; current cues may differ.
- Tiger also sells signature tips (Eagle Eye for Jayson Shaw, Nitro for Darren Appleton) and hard laminated break and jump tips.
Moori
Moori is one of the first layered tip makers. PoolDawg says Hideo Moori originally made the tips by hand at his home outside Tokyo before production moved to a factory. They're eight layers of pigskin in soft, medium and hard, rated 72.8, 75.5 and 84.4 by PoolDawg, so a Moori medium is one of the softer mediums on the market. Cue Components also sells its own eight-layer Moori-style tip made in-house; it isn't the Japanese Moori, so read the listing.
Zan
Zan makes layered tips from Japanese pigskin in two families. Zan Plus comes in soft, medium and hard. Zan Premium has named grades: Premium Soft, Hybrid Max (a medium contact layer over a harder core), Grip Hard and Boost, an extra-hard. Retailers disagree on layer counts (eight or nine). Zan's soft is the softest grade in our chart at 66.3, and its hard is among the firmest at 87.4, so Zan covers the widest range of any brand here.
UltraSkin
UltraSkin is the value layered tip: 14mm, eight layers of pigskin bonded with proprietary resins, sold at billiard supply shops for a fraction of a Kamui. The range runs very soft, soft, medium, hard and Heavy Hitter, plus a Pro grade, in black or ivory. The black medium on Amazon is rated 72.1, which is soft for a medium. We couldn't find an official maker page or where it's produced, so we can't say more about origin. For players who retip often or keep several shafts tipped, it's the easiest layered tip to justify.
Le Pro, Triangle and Elk Master
All three are single-layer tips made by Tweeten in the USA, and they've been on more cues than any premium name. Le Pro is the standard; Tweeten's listing rates it Medium Hard 78, though independent readings range from the mid 70s to the high 80s, which tells you how much single-layer tips vary. Triangle is the other common factory tip and usually reads harder. Elk Master is the soft one, around 67 on the chart, and compresses as it's played.
Their weakness is variation from one tip to the next, plus mushrooming as they compress. The upside is price: a 12-pack costs less than one premium tip.
Predator Victory vs Kamui
The most searched matchup. At the same label, Victory is the firmer tip: medium 79.8 vs 78.7 for Kamui Black medium, soft 75.3 vs 72.3. Both are Japanese, layered and consistent. Pick Victory if you like a firmer, livelier hit or you play a Predator shaft and want the matching tip. Pick Kamui Clear if installation consistency matters most or you want a softer feel. Expect roughly similar prices.
Moori vs Kamui, Zan vs Kamui, Sniper vs Kamui
| Matchup | Measured difference (medium) | Choose the first if | Choose Kamui if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moori vs Kamui | 75.5 vs 78.7 | You want a softer medium, a slightly lower price | You want the Clear base and the most consistent installs |
| Zan vs Kamui | 77.8 vs 78.7 | You want the Hybrid Max or an extra-soft or extra-hard grade | You want the more widely stocked tip |
| Tiger Sniper vs Kamui | 77.8 vs 78.7 | You want a US-made tip with a built-in wear indicator | You want soft-to-hard options in one brand |
Readings are from one set of 14mm measurements reproduced on Dr. Dave Alciatore's site, Kamui figures for the Black line. A point or two is within normal batch variation, so the mediums from these brands are close enough that feel and price should decide.
Counterfeit tips and where to buy
Premium tips are small and easy to fake, and Kamui has a Real or Fake page on its site and an authorized installer program for that reason. Buy from billiard retailers, the maker's own store or a cue shop that installs the tip for you. Be wary of marketplace sellers with prices far below what billiard shops charge, and compare the packaging with the maker's photos. A fake that plays inconsistently will cost more in retips than you saved.
How to pick a brand
- Decide hardness first. If you're unsure, a medium; our soft vs hard guide explains what changes.
- Adjust for how the brand's labels run: Moori, UltraSkin and Zan mediums lean soft; Victory and Kamui mediums lean firm.
- Pick layered unless you retip often and like single-layer feel.
- Buy where you'll get a genuine tip, and have it installed flush and centered.
A brand won't fix a stroke. If you're chasing draw or English, read the best cue tips for draw and English before buying a third premium tip.
Sources
- Kamui: Original vs Black and how the tips are made
- Kamui: Clear tip construction
- Predator: Victory tip
- Tiger Products
- PoolDawg: Moori tip specifications
- PoolDawg: tips by hardness and factory tips (2013)
- Atlas Supplies: Zan tip grades
- Cue Components: UltraSkin specifications
- Dr. Dave Alciatore: tip hardness comparison chart
Our picks
Links open the current selection and price on Amazon so you can compare real reviews before buying.
Kamui Clear Black Soft Layered Tip, 13mm
Kamui's softer, controlled hitThe Black version Kamui pitches for cue ball control, on the Clear base that keeps glue out of the bottom layer and needs no sanding. Installers like it because it plays the same retip after retip. Buy a genuine one: this listing is sold as one tip.
Amazon price: $30.90 as of 12:21 PM EDT. Price and availability can change; Amazon’s price at purchase applies.
Check price on Amazon
Kamui Clear Original Hard Laminated Cue Tip
Kamui's firm, lively hitKamui's Original character, which the company describes as higher rebound for accurate shooting, in a hard grade with the same flat Clear base. A good pick if you want a tip that holds its shape for a long time and you keep it scuffed.
Amazon price: $26.00 as of 12:49 PM EDT. Price and availability can change; Amazon’s price at purchase applies.
Check price on Amazon
Tiger Sniper Laminated Cue Tip
US-made mediumBoar hide tanned underground for up to a year, made in the USA, with a black layer that tells you when to retip. It measures right among the Japanese mediums for a lower price than most of them.
Amazon price: $24.00 as of 12:49 PM EDT. Price and availability can change; Amazon’s price at purchase applies.
Check price on Amazon
UltraSkin Black Layered Cue Tip (Medium)
Value layered tipEight layers of black pigskin rated Medium 72.1, 14mm, with a bottom indicator for gluing the right side. If you retip often, this is how you stay on layered tips without paying premium prices each time.
Amazon price: $12.95 as of 12:49 PM EDT. Price and availability can change; Amazon’s price at purchase applies.
Check price on Amazon
Tweeten Le Pro Cue Tips, 13 mm, 12-Pack
Single-layer standardMade in the USA by Tweeten and rated Medium Hard 78. Twelve tips for less than one premium tip, so you can afford to toss the occasional dud.
Check price on AmazonFrequently asked questions
Which cue tip brand is best?
No single brand wins at every hardness. Kamui Clear is the most consistent to install, Predator Victory and Tiger Sniper are reliable firmer mediums, Moori and Zan offer softer-running grades, and UltraSkin is the best value layered tip. Pick the hardness first, then the brand.
What is the difference between Kamui Original and Kamui Black?
Kamui says Original has more rebound for accurate shooting and Black holds back cue ball speed for control. In one set of forum durometer readings, Black grades measured a few points harder than the same Original grade, but the main difference is the feel of the hit.
Is the Predator Victory tip better than Kamui?
Neither is better across the board. Victory runs a bit firmer at the same label (medium about 79.8 vs 78.7 for Kamui Black) and comes in yellow. Kamui Clear is easier to install consistently and offers more grades.
Are UltraSkin tips good?
Yes for the money. They're 14mm, eight layers of pigskin with resin bonding, in grades from very soft to Heavy Hitter. The medium runs soft, around 72 on the listing.
What is Kamui Clear?
A Kamui tip with a clear polycarbonate base. Kamui says the base stops glue from soaking into the leather and is flat, so the tip needs no sanding and plays the same after each retip.
Moori vs Kamui: which is softer?
At the medium grade, Moori. PoolDawg rates Moori medium 75.5; the same set of measurements reads Kamui Black medium at 78.7.
Where are Tiger tips made?
In the USA. The Sniper is boar hide tanned underground for up to a year at Tiger's factory.
How do I avoid counterfeit Kamui tips?
Buy from billiard retailers, Kamui's own store or authorized installers, and check Kamui's Real or Fake page. Be wary of marketplace prices far below what billiard shops charge.
Are expensive tips worth it over Le Pro?
For a cue you play every week, usually yes, because layered tips hold their shape and vary less. Le Pro and Triangle still play well if you shape them more often and don't mind the odd dud.
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