KBS C-Taper discussion

[clarkgriswold]

I Couldn’t find a thread on these so feel free to merge if there is. Recently had some cancellations at a demo day so i took advantage of the open slot. I cant say if i have ever tried these shafts before, not sure why. But they felt great. Historically I am an absurdly high spin player, largely due to poor mechanics and aggressive swing transitions, and it costs me significant distance.

In the last few years i have gone from X100, then to PX 6.5 which helped a lot, and solved that leaky fade. I want to swing a slightly lighter shaft as i get older, but its usually a recipe for disaster for me. The px 6.5 were slightly lighter and better performing overall. They have served me well, so i assumed i would end up in those again.

I take a while to warm up, so my initial swings are usually nothing like on the course, but since we had plenty of time I tested several combos of shafts from px, to s300, and and nippon modus, in every thing from stiff to X.
Everything was pretty similar with PX 6.5 still performing the best, until one last test.

KBS c-Taper 130x. This shaft seems like an anomaly to me. Its a hefty shaft, but for whatever reason, it actually felt lighter and smoother for me to swing. Immediately my dispersion got better, shots had better distance and flight, ball and swing speed went up. Most importantly finally tamed my spin, consistently. I get that these are a band-aid for much larger swing issues, for me, but getting a 7i down into the 6500-6800rpm is a big deal, considering some of the other shafts were getting as high as 9-10k rpm.

Its hard to explain but these just felt easier to swing, smoother, easier to shallow out, and easier to locate the center. Which is the exact opposite of what I expected. So…..they are in route.

 

[nicklongdrive]

What's your rough 7 iron swing speed? I tend to be 97-101 mph on course and C-Tapers are one of those shafts that do work for my aggressive swing. They transition and flex in a way that is more "comfortable" than my PX 7.0. However, when I am making better contact and plane is much better these sturdy shafts really do not do it for me. I have played with a lot of different combinations, and these are my favorite of the HIGH spin band-aid shafts, feel better than PX LS in my opinion. And for ZX5 you definitely shouldn't be breaching 7k rpm on a 7i if you want decent launch characteristics.

I think it comes down to if you're going to fix your swing then I would hold off. I have gotten significantly flatter and I am actually looking to get into DG 120 X100 to get out of the "rebar feeling" shaft segment and regain some spin.

 

[cm24]

They’re not the rebar that people think! They are deceptively nice. They are amazing for knocking down flight and spin. They can handle aggressive transitions with ease and make it feel so good in the process! I loved my C-Tapers and would not mind getting another set!

 

[Templet0n]

C tapers don’t have a lot of fans. It is interesting that you like the feel and I don’t know of many people that say they “feel good”.

All that being said, if you load hard and can deal with how heavy they feel, I am not sure there is a shaft out there better at doing what they do.

they are not for me though. I can’t stand them.

 

[McLovin]

C tapers don’t have a lot of fans. It is interesting that you like the feel and I don’t know if many people that say they “feel good”.

mall that being said, if you load hard and can deal with how heavy they feel, I am not sure there is a shaft out there better at doing what they do.

they are not for me though. I can’t stand them.

 

[clarkgriswold]

Im not saying it makes much sense, but to me they felt great and not as stiff as the px 6.5. Maybe the weight was more distributed, but i felt like shaft loaded but was under control, whereas the px 6.5 felt stiffer and is one single connection. Both good. Just KBS better and better results. I could be regretting it by July, but who here keeps irons that long anyway.

 

[Templet0n]

Im not saying it makes much sense, but to me they felt great and not as stiff as the px 6.5. Maybe the weight was more distributed, but i felt like shaft loaded but was under control, whereas the px 6.5 felt stiffer and is one single connection. Both good. Just KBS better and better results. I could be regretting it by July, but who here keeps irons that long anyway.

That’s probably because the px is more butt stiff and the c taper is more butt soft then gets extremely stiff from there.

 

[Kmench]

So I’ve played the 130X shafts once before and moved away from them. It’s crazy funny that I’m going back to them though. I ordered my next set with the 120S installed. Yes they feel better than the 120 X100 and everything else in that category to me. They also had the tightest dispersion and ball speed. So win, win, win for me.

 

[Browndog]

I’ve played many different KBS shafts over the years. Currently playing the $-Taper 120g S which I really like. I have a set of irons that have the Black C-Taper 125g S+ shafts in them and have played a few rounds with that set. What I found with the C-Taper is that the ball flight is a little lower for me than the $-Taper. Otherwise very playable.

 

[OldandStiff]

These are my favorite shafts to talk about.

They're real good at what they do and it does make sense you think they feel nice with what you came from. Like others have alluded to, they work as a band aid and if that gets you having more fun out there that's great. Anyone who knows or talks to me often knows I have serious reservations about long term use if you ever plan on playing anything else. Or getting better. And eventually everyone wants to go one or the other. I played them when I started playing again, and it only helps to color my feelings about them. Everyone either loves them or hates them. One guess which one I am.

 

[DNice26]

These are my favorite shafts to talk about.

They're real good at what they do and it does make sense you think they feel nice with what you came from. Like others have alluded to, they work as a band aid and if that gets you having more fun out there that's great. Anyone who knows or talks to me often knows I have serious reservations about long term use if you ever plan on playing anything else. Or getting better. And eventually everyone wants to go one or the other. I played them when I started playing again, and it only helps to color my feelings about them. Everyone either loves them or hates them. One guess which one I am.

 

[OldandStiff]

You probably still have a set squirreled away in a closet that you're just waiting to pull out after I die.

 

[DNice26]

You probably still have a set squirreled away in a closet that you're just waiting to pull out after I die.

 

[Jman]

Been fit to them 5 times, won’t play them. They play stiff to flex and are BRUTAL on joints every single time I’ve played them over the years.

 

[clarkgriswold]

I did talk about that quite a bit with a few friends saying that ill never be able to hit normal shafts after this because everything else will feel to loose and light. Maybe, but then again these “feel” easier than the prior ones, so who knows. One day graphite might get there, but not anytime soon at any reasonable price. So ill ride these out for a while and see how it goes, since to quote a friend when discussing the new shafts.

“Dude swings like a barbarian”

still laughing, but sadly, accurate.

These are my favorite shafts to talk about.

They're real good at what they do and it does make sense you think they feel nice with what you came from. Like others have alluded to, they work as a band aid and if that gets you having more fun out there that's great. Anyone who knows or talks to me often knows I have serious reservations about long term use if you ever plan on playing anything else. Or getting better. And eventually everyone wants to go one or the other. I played them when I started playing again, and it only helps to color my feelings about them. Everyone either loves them or hates them. One guess which one I am.

 

[nicklongdrive]

These are my favorite shafts to talk about.

They're real good at what they do and it does make sense you think they feel nice with what you came from. Like others have alluded to, they work as a band aid and if that gets you having more fun out there that's great. Anyone who knows or talks to me often knows I have serious reservations about long term use if you ever plan on playing anything else. Or getting better. And eventually everyone wants to go one or the other. I played them when I started playing again, and it only helps to color my feelings about them. Everyone either loves them or hates them. One guess which one I am.

This.

I came from C-Taper Lites and my fitter tried getting me up to the normal C-Tapers but it's the most band-aid shaft and you have to swing hard to use them. Further promoting the barbarian like bad mechanics. The biggest thing is the lack of feeling like you can promote good tempo or just general control. If you don't load them hard then they will suck and if you do as an amateur, you're masking something, lol. Coming from the classic 7.8k spin on 7i player from the 'ol arms-y swing, I wouldn't recommend them.

 

[clarkgriswold]

Worst case, it becomes an excuse to get new ferrules if i have to swap them. But time will tell.

 

[Templet0n]

Digging up an old thread that I commented in because for some reason these are on my mind. lol!!!!

 

[BuffaloPlunger]

I played the C Taper lites for a while and I loved them. Never played the tours but I do think I have the swing for them