Factors that affect the cost are the material the cue is made of, wrap types, and size. If you are above average height and need a longer cue, you may pay more. Professional cues can cost $500 or more, but a cue like this is not necessary for a casual player.
It’s not that one-piece cues can’t be taken somewhere, but it will be inconvenient to take a nearly five-foot stick in your car with you. A potential disadvantage of a one-piece cue is that they are more prone to warp over time.
You can still buy a two-piece cue for home use if you find one that fits you well, but it isn’t necessary. A benefit of two-piece cues is that if the shaft begins to warp, you can buy a new shaft and retain the butt of the cue.
Most of the cue’s weight is in the butt end because the butt is thicker than the shaft. If you test the cue and it feels too heavy in your back hand then opt for a lighter cue. Short people tend to want a lighter cue because a heavier one will cause them to lower the butt and raise the cue’s tip during the shot. This results in not connecting solidly with the ball. Some players prefer a heavier cue for breaking and a lighter cue for skill shots.
If you tend to have sweaty hands when you shoot pool, you want a grip rather than bare wood or fiberglass. Your best options are Irish linen or leather which are both good for absorption. Rubber grips are also available but you want to make sure that the rubber is of high quality and feels smooth and dry without any stickiness. Rubber wraps might deteriorate faster than leather or linen wraps. This is not something you can choose just by looking at it. You need to hold the cue in your hand and choose a wrap that feels best to you.
Most pool cues are manufactured to a high standard, so it’s unlikely that you’ll find a new cue that is crooked, but it is still good to check. It is sometimes recommended to roll the cue along a flat surface to see if it rolls smoothly, but this is not always a valid test as you can’t tell for sure if the surface is perfectly flat.
Soft tips tend to misshape and wear out faster, so if you do not want to keep an eye on them and perform more frequent maintenance, don’t get a soft tip. Hard tips are more prone to glance off of the cue ball when you strike it off-center. If you typically shoot more toward the outside of the ball, a hard tip is not your best option.
If the store does not have tables set up or they won’t let you practice, ask what the return policy is so that you can play a game or two with the cue before you make a final decision. You won’t be able to tell if a cue is right for you unless you play with it.
Higher end cues will make more of a soft pop sound when they hit the ball and this corresponds to less vibration running through the stick into your hand. Vibration affects the smoothness of your shot, so you want to find a stick with low vibration.
