KBS $-Taper

[MJisGOAT]

Update - KBS Tour $ Taper ($500 upgrade) lost out to KBS Tour S ($340 upgrade). Iron to iron, trajectory about the same, similar feel, but KBS Tour S was 5yds longer, at half the price per shaft. Yesterday, Par 3 playing 177yds uphill; $ taper landed on the front apron, Tour Stiff landed on the green. What ever performance $ Taper allegedly offers, wasn't enough to merit $500 upgrade.

 

So why the switch from PX?

[Pepperturbo]

Update - KBS Tour $ Taper ($500 upgrade) lost out to KBS Tour S ($340 upgrade). Iron to iron, trajectory about the same, similar feel, but KBS Tour S was 5yds longer, at half the price per shaft. Yesterday, Par 3 playing 177yds uphill; $ taper landed on the front apron, Tour Stiff landed on the green. What ever performance $ Taper allegedly offers, wasn't enough to merit $500 upgrade.

 

So why the switch from PX?

 

Had an affair with PX 6.0 and PX Flighted 6.0 since "06". Now in my late 60's, PX 6.0 is feeling stout and there's some yardage loss on mid-irons. It seems time to step down to either S or R+. Not giving up totally on PX. Will be testing PX 5.5 as well.

 

Update: Put PX Flighted 6.0 in 2i. Like stiffer butt section than PX 6.0. Broke down and bought more KBS $-Taper and KBS Tour, both in 'S'. Might end up with half and half. Jury is still out.

[baudi]

Now after 6 weeks of testing I am pretty sure I will change the ctaper into the $taper.

Very steady, excellent trajectory.

The best part is that the weight of the shaft is 117gr. (not 120) which leads to 25-30 less points on the MOI scale.

I will go to 2730 for the $taper where I played 2760 for the ctaper at 38'' for a 6 iron std weight head.

[FirePro]

Glad to hear some positive feedback, I am waiting impatiently for mine to arrive

[Pepperturbo]

Now after 6 weeks of testing I am pretty sure I will change the ctaper into the $taper.

Very steady, excellent trajectory.

The best part is that the weight of the shaft is 117gr. (not 120) which leads to 25-30 less points on the MOI scale.

I will go to 2730 for the $taper where I played 2760 for the ctaper at 38'' for a 6 iron std weight head.

 

Where did you come up with that weight 117gr? KBS says R+ is 115gr and S is 120gr.

[baudi]

Before I install any part in a club I weigh every part. Installed, the shaft weighs ±111-112 gr.

[Rdarling18]

I had one of these in s+ flex put into a Taylormade 3 UDI and i love it! i got it in the black pvd finish, which is pretty sweet looking. As for on the course what they advertise is pretty spot on it feels a tad bit smoother than the C-Tapers that i play in the rest of my set but launches a tad bit higher. My goal with them was to actually bring the flight down from the stock C-Taper lite because, (i know this sounds nutty) i was actually launching my 3 iron higher than my 7 with the stock shaft and i'm very happy with the result. I will say that i gained a tad bit of distance due to the more piercing flight but it still has a remarkably smooth feel. I used to kind of wonder sometimes whether i could keep my 3 iron low on certain shots and now i don't have to. If i want to hit it low i can and if i want to hit a more flighted shot i can do that too. Dispersion does also seem to be pretty good on the club for me. I only started golf a few years ago and only got serious about it about a year ago but, this is probably my favorite shaft that i have hit for irons. I do think this is a good fit for me, but it would be hard for me not to recommend these to someone. However they are a bit more costly than other KBS at least when i ordered ( a week after there release.) But it's not enough of a cost to think i wouldn't spend the money for them.

 

I would also add that some people had questions on where these fit into the KBS line. Obviously testing yourself is great, but if you want a tad bit higher launch, spin and, smoother feel than the C-Taper then these fit the bill. For me the KBS tour felt great but, i launched and spun them too high. So the KBS Tour ballooned on me. The C-Taper works great for me but, every now in then in extremely firm conditions i get a tad bit worried about holding a green with anything stronger than a 6 iron. I think if i put these in the whole set i wouldn't be giving much up, but i would be gaining just that little bit extra spin. Dispersion wise i think they are very similar. I don't have enough experience with the Tour-V to compare it to that.

[FirePro]

Installed and ready for testing

 

 

 

[MK7Golf21]

Thought they got rid of 360 label?

[bobcat]

Not a fan of how the KBS labels look on those lovely black shafts...You may want to consider removal of those KBS labels. In my very humble opinion, going 'all black' would look much better!

 

:golfer:

[FirePro]

Thought they got rid of 360 label?

I thought they did as well, possibly the company I got them from ordered them from someone that still stalked the old

Not a fan of how the KBS labels look on those lovely black shafts...You may want to consider removal of those KBS labels. In my very humble opinion, going 'all black' would look much better!

 

:golfer:

I agree but its not going to bother me all that much. I would be more worried about damaging the coating if I tried to remove the labels not your typical peal off label but printed on

[bobcat]

Thought they got rid of 360 label?

I thought they did as well, possibly the company I got them from ordered them from someone that still stalked the old

Not a fan of how the KBS labels look on those lovely black shafts...You may want to consider removal of those KBS labels. In my very humble opinion, going 'all black' would look much better!

 

:golfer:

I agree but its not going to bother me all that much. I would be more worried about damaging the coating if I tried to remove the labels not your typical peal off label but printed on

 

I read/heard somewhere that KBS has gone back to using conventional labels on all the $-Tapers now due to some kind of production issue with the 360* 'permanent' cured shaft decals that were used in the early production. Perhaps someone else can confirm this...

 

If indeed you have the 'permanent decal' then I agree that removing those would be risky...

[FirePro]

wamp wamp!

 

im not to concerned but yes the all black would have been slick.

 

So far so good after one range session. the $-Taper X launched a tad higher and spun slightly more if not equal to my previous C-Taper S+

 

Liked the feel of the C-Tapers but the more I hit the $-Tapers the more I liked the smoother feel

[baudi]

imho ctaper is a more 'direct' kind of feel -not boardy-

Whereas $-taper has a bending aspect i cannot put my finger on. Set up my irons yesterday. Very impressive.

MOI value dropped severely compared to the ctaper.

[FirePro]

I would agree the C-Tapers were not boardy, I liked the feel of the C-Tapers because I felt I knew where the head was at all times. For the $-Tapers I would say as far as feel they are smooth but not sloppy if that makes sense.

[Pepperturbo]

Before I install any part in a club I weigh every part. Installed, the shaft weighs ±111-112 gr.

 

That suggests the 115gram R+ is less too. 120 grams to 111-112 is a big drop in weight.

[baudi]

please keep in mind: i wrote "installed" I play +1/2 " for my irons.

I measured the raw weight @118-119.

[FirePro]

Thought I would bump the thread and mention I have a few round with these shafts now and I am more than happy with performance and feel and am contemplating replacing my wedge shafts with these as well. anyone else put a set together?

[doublehans]

What do these feel most like? Do the feel like the Tour, just with less spin, or sthg different....

[MPG]

I have a set of these in my MB2's and absolutely love them. I am always fit into the KBS Tours but I got tired of them and needed a change. KBS Tours produce a very high ballflight which is not a bad thing but I wanted something that is lower but with the same feel. This shaft fits that perfectly. When they were shipped I received 3 shafts that had the label cured and 4 without. I called KBS and they are shipping me 4 new ones without. KBS is moving away from the cured label and back to the sticker version but sending the shafts blank and leaving it up to the customer to apply or not. I love the black shaft with my Black MB2.

 

Now, the shafts are terrific for me. They have the feel of the KBS Tours but a flatter trajectory but still enough spin to hit and stop. I play on very firm greens and have not had any problems. I realize this next statement belongs in a new topic but I also installed the KBS hybrid prototype shaft and it is outstanding as well. Same feel and nice high ball flight with my hybrid or utility iron.

[FirePro]

What do these feel most like? Do the feel like the Tour, just with less spin, or sthg different....

As MPG mentioned they feel like the KBS Tour but with a flatter trajectory as the Tours seemed to balloon on me. Spin for me seems spot on, I don't rip the ball back with the short irons more of a one hop and stop and with the long irons they seem to have a steep decent angle so very little roll out when they hit the greens.

 

MPG I wish I was able to get the non 360 label but beggars can't be choosers. I don't really see the labels anyways when swinging but still the all black would look slick when pulling the club from the bag

[Pepperturbo]

What do these feel most like? Do the feel like the Tour, just with less spin, or sthg different....

 

KBS $ Taper 'stiff' tips feel stiffer than KBS Tour 'stiff'. They don't feel like Tour shaft, least to me. The difference is in the tip section.

 

Been playing KBS $ Taper for awhile now, as well as KBS Tour. I am use to butt stiff PX & PX flighted 6.0 shafts, having played them since 2007. They work with my hitter swing. Typically, PX allows two distances or swings with each club, normal distance and hard for a bit more distance. I could play most holes with hard punch shots and when I needed extra, put a full shoulder turn, hard swing on the ball.

 

Yesterday, the whole front felt like a struggle. Not sure if it was the lack of warm up bucket on the range or I struggled hitting my normal hard punch shots. Never had that with either PX shaft. Long about 10th hole I decided to make a full shoulder turn and swing hard on every shot .. finished 18 with 2 birdies and 1 over. I was happy about my finish but not sure how I feel about KBS $ Taper or Tour. I want to play golf, not experiment and practice with new golf equipment...grr. :beach:

[FirePro]

See where as I feel I have more control over punch shots now but then again I was coming from C-Tapers

[Pepperturbo]

Played this past weekend a few times. Looks like $ Taper and Tour are growing on me. What I did find is KBS Tour S+ profile is more conducive to my typical punch shot and tempo, and less left. The answer maybe $ Taper is Stiff +. What I found interesting is the difference between "S" and "S+" weight is only 5 grams. Maybe the 5 grams pushes up the bend on the shaft, don't know.

[mtg]

These shafts could have been really popular with a more realistic price point in the $30-$35 range. Same thing with the new KBS hybrid shaft.

 

I agree. Unless they truly are that prohibitively expensive to produce I think KBS made a mistake pricing these where they did. Here we are 8 months or so after release and there is absolutely no buzz on these shafts. Had a chance to swing them for the first time today, just a couple shots, but they're solid. Much better balance than the Tour, but definitely closer to that shaft than C-taper. I'm a PX guy and this would be one of the few shafts that might be able to knock out the gamers, but given how much I like PX and the expense of these I doubt they'll end up getting the audition they deserve.

[Jagpilotohio]

I completely agree on the price assessment and I have since day one.

 

Absolutely moronic from a marketing and sales standpoint to make these by far the most expensive steel shaft on the market.

 

Its just Destroying their market potential. I’m relatively certain I would like them but I’m not even going to bother to try them at this price.

 

It’s really not an issue of being able to afford them. I just find it immensely irritating.

 

If you’re going to be 50%+ higher than everyone else you better tell me why and have me believe it.

[ian-500]

I have a set on their way with TM P730/P770 combo. Can't wait.

[Pepperturbo]

As excited as I was about potentially settling on $ Taper or KBS S+, in the end, both KBS shaft models were too erratic. So in the spirit of not fixing what works, I've gone back to Project X.

[Billy__Baroo]

Just got fit yesterday and after hitting just about every head/shaft combo we could, I came away with a set of AP2's with S Tapers. I had been playing x100's for the past 2 seasons and PX for about 4 seasons before that, and these S Tapers make me feel like I've been truly missing out! The feel in these is just something different. I felt like I could really load the shaft well, but it was still incredibly stable, and the numbers I was getting were just about perfect (for myself anyway). It came down to Nippon 130's and the S Tapers, but there was something about the feel through impact of the S Tapers that I just kept coming back to. As far as cost goes, it was a $240 uncharge for 7 shafts, so ~$35/each, which I was happy to pay. It's still cold as hell here in Minnesota, so I'm a ways away from getting out and hitting them outside, but I'm giddy to say the least!

[phatchrisrules]

I completely agree on the price assessment and I have since day one.

 

Absolutely moronic from a marketing and sales standpoint to make these by far the most expensive steel shaft on the market.

 

Its just Destroying their market potential. I’m relatively certain I would like them but I’m not even going to bother to try them at this price.

 

It’s really not an issue of being able to afford them. I just find it immensely irritating.

 

If you’re going to be 50%+ higher than everyone else you better tell me why and have me believe it.

 

Free in Cobra and Callaway though, not a big upcharge in the other guys ($25 CAD in TM so likely only $15 for you guys, and $35 through Titleist).