KBS C-Taper Lite Review

[Armypilot84]

I noticed that there have not been a lot of reviews yet on the new KBS C Taper Lites. I know this is mainly attributed to them being brand new, and crazy expensive. I recently put them on my irons and will be playing my first round with them this weekend.

 

A little back story on this saga: I have been playing Adams CB2's, with KBS Tour 90 shafts (R Flex), for the past 4 years. I absolutely loved the clubs, but I overhauled my swing this summer and have become a much better ball striker, and picked up a lot of club head speed. The result: I could no longer feel the club head in my swing and my good shots were just ballooning way up in the air on me. I was losing a ton of distance. So a couple months ago I made the decision to finally get a set of Mizuno's, that I have always wanted. I got a great deal on a barely used combo set of MP53 and 63's. The only catch was that they came with Dynamic Gold S300's in them, and I am no fan heavy shafts. So...I purchased a set of KBS Tour R+ off of the bay and they arrived around the same time as the new Mizzy's. I had every intention of switching out the shafts. That is until I took the Mizzy's out for a round, just for the heck of it. I ended up shooting the best round of my life, and flushing nearly every iron shot. My mind at that point told me to save money and just send the KBS's back, I was money with the DG's right? Well...That honeymoon did not last long. The next couple rounds I played with the clubs are what I expected from the beginning, they just felt crazy heavy, and I just couldn't get them up in the air. And to make matters worse my elbows were throbbing at the end of each round. (I guess I just had no expectations with the first round I played with them, and we all know that is often when we play our best golf).

 

So, earlier this week I decided to get some new shafts for the Mizzy's. My choices were narrowed down to the KBS Tour R+ (again) or perhaps the brand new C Taper Lites. I really liked how the Tour's were over $100 cheaper than the C Taper Lites, but I just couldn't get over how good the Lites looked. Since I am a club diva, I decided to pay the extra money and get what I really wanted: the C Taper Lites. I am picking them up from my club maker tomorrow night, and will be playing my first round with them on Sunday. I will keep this thread going through my first couple rounds to let you guys know what I think about them. I'm hoping they feel as good as they look.

[HiSpeed48]

I look forward to reading your review!

Btw, what flex did you choose? And what's your swingspeed? Thanks

[TMBob]

Interested in the results...keeps us posted

[sompin2do]

Looking forward to this as I also game CB2's with a plan to change to CMB's after a big tournament in early October. Have demoed the C Taper stiff and decided that won't be my choice and was considering the jump to Recoils as I've heard good things about relief for elbow pain but those are a significant $$ difference. Not sure if the C Taper Lite will move into contention or not but will check them out.

[Txstcatman]

I had the chance to review the Lites for another site. It was pretty thorough, IMO, but I'll give you a run down of what I felt in my game when comparing them to KBS Tours.

I played the Tours in Stiff. I absolutely loved the feel when I tried them in my current set of irons at a demo day. Got fit for lie and length and placed my order. I really do like the way Tours feel. In ordering the C-Taper Lites, I didn't want to stray too far from my Tours in terms of weight, so I ordered the X-Stiff, based on input from one of KBS' staff members. He suggested going up a flex from the Tours because of the ball flight characteristics as well as to decrease spin a little bit. Going from Stiff to Stiff, he said, would likely yield high flight with more spin, based on the KBS shaft profile chart. I wanted to get the high ball flight, just not so much of the spin since I tend to play a fade that can turn ugly in Texas winds.

For all intents and purposes, the X in the Lites played just like my Tours in Stiff, save for the spin. I found that I did see a bit less spin on many shots, and that I could hit a more controlled fade that wouldn't get lost on me. Hit a great shot yesterday in fact: 6 iron to about 160y onto the green that rolled out a little towards the hole. Normally, with the height and spin of the Tours, I'd have found myself closer to my pitch mark rather than the hole.

I absolutely love the way the shafts look too! I purchased a set of original Nike Pro Combo heads that I'm going to send off for black oxide treatment to combine with these shafts. I think the matte finish would look a lot better with a darker iron head.

[dlamb83]

[quote name='Txstcatman' timestamp='1377795922' post='7766079']
I had the chance to review the Lites for another site. It was pretty thorough, IMO, but I'll give you a run down of what I felt in my game when comparing them to KBS Tours.

I played the Tours in Stiff. I absolutely loved the feel when I tried them in my current set of irons at a demo day. Got fit for lie and length and placed my order. I really do like the way Tours feel. In ordering the C-Taper Lites, I didn't want to stray too far from my Tours in terms of weight, so I ordered the X-Stiff, based on input from one of KBS' staff members. He suggested going up a flex from the Tours because of the ball flight characteristics as well as to decrease spin a little bit. Going from Stiff to Stiff, he said, would likely yield high flight with more spin, based on the KBS shaft profile chart. I wanted to get the high ball flight, just not so much of the spin since I tend to play a fade that can turn ugly in Texas winds.

For all intents and purposes, the X in the Lites played just like my Tours in Stiff, save for the spin. I found that I did see a bit less spin on many shots, and that I could hit a more controlled fade that wouldn't get lost on me. Hit a great shot yesterday in fact: 6 iron to about 160y onto the green that rolled out a little towards the hole. Normally, with the height and spin of the Tours, I'd have found myself closer to my pitch mark rather than the hole.

I absolutely love the way the shafts look too! I purchased a set of original Nike Pro Combo heads that I'm going to send off for black oxide treatment to combine with these shafts. I think the matte finish would look a lot better with a darker iron head.
[/quote]


Thanks for posting. Sorry to thread jack. I posted asking if anyone had,or if kbs reccomended hard stepping the lites to help flight. I had some tours,but they just launched and launched. Hit any bit of wind and just stop. I also prefer lighter shafts,and was told to look into them. I was worried when I heard to go up a flex in the lites. To me,X,isn't my game. How is ball spin with shots onto the green? I know you said roll out a bit,but was wondering if these can be spun back if needed. The less spin is good for distance I have found,but not so much stopping or spin back ability.

[Armypilot84]

[quote name='HiSpeed48' timestamp='1377793847' post='7765849']
I look forward to reading your review!

Btw, what flex did you choose? And what's your swingspeed? Thanks
[/quote]

I ended up going with the Stiff Flex, because it matched up with the weight of the R+ in the Tours.

[Txstcatman]

[quote name='dlamb83' timestamp='1377796680' post='7766165']

Thanks for posting. Sorry to thread jack. I posted asking if anyone had,or if kbs reccomended hard stepping the lites to help flight. I had some tours,but they just launched and launched. Hit any bit of wind and just stop. I also prefer lighter shafts,and was told to look into them. I was worried when I heard to go up a flex in the lites. To me,X,isn't my game. How is ball spin with shots onto the green? I know you said roll out a bit,but was wondering if these can be spun back if needed. The less spin is good for distance I have found,but not so much stopping or spin back ability.
[/quote]

Funny thing. My mid and long irons experienced a bit more roll out, someyhing I'm ok with. I tend to short side myself on the longer clubs. With 7-P I found the ball got up just fine and would land and either stop or moved forward or back a few inches. Overall I really liked the performance. I'm normally not an X guy either, but have a quick transition. My swing works well with these.

As an aside, you can definitely fell the difference between Lites and Tours just from waggling the club. To me it seemed a little easier to feel the club head.

[Armypilot84]

Ok. So I played my first round with these today. I will start off by saying that I cannot committ to giving these a full out review as I had just a terrible ball striking day with my irons. It didn't matter what shaft I had today; I wasn't going to be able to hit the ball well. I have unfortunately developed a very steep angle of attack that I was getting away with when I had my old irons. When your playing something pretty close to a blade you wont get away with that. Especially the MP63, which IMO favors a sweeping swing.

Anyway. You guys just want to hear about the shafts. Well they look fantastic on my Mizzy's. (I'll include a picture on a seperate post.). My first impression is when you waggle them they definitely feel light but do feel stiff. You can definitely feel the club head. On first feel of hitting the ball I can definitely say that these FEEL much closer to the C Tapers than the KBS Tours. Now they are not nearly as boardy as the C Tapers, but they lack that tip flex feel that a lot of people love, and hate, about the Tours. Launch wise; these do exactly what KBS says they will do: launch height is between the Tour 90 and Tour (closer to the Tour IMO.) On the few good shots today I thought these felt very smooth I didnt have to have a quick transition to load them. I think this is why I struggled at points today because I adjusted my swing to be very hard down with the couple rounds I played with the DG S300's. I think these will be much better for my natural swing plane which is pretty flat. I also felt that I was picking up 5-8 yards in distance with these. The ball flight was pretty boring. Seemed to get up quick and level off, almost like a PX.

This is the best I can give you guys right now. I know its not really going to help you make your mind up about these, but it's a start. I will hopefully be able to give these more of a grade when I get my swing straightened out.

[SwooshLT]

Any updates?

[KarstenK]

I just put a Ctaper Lite into an i20 6 iron yesterday to replace the KBS Tour that was in it. I plan on getting on a flightscope with it on Friday. Curious to see the differences.

[TMBob]

[quote name='1big_whipper' timestamp='1391025373' post='8559507']
I just put a Ctaper Lite into an i20 6 iron yesterday to replace the KBS Tour that was in it. I plan on getting on a flightscope with it on Friday. Curious to see the differences.
[/quote]

Please post your findings.....play .370 Tours right now and wanted to go to C Taper Lite's.

What is your driver swing speed and far do you hit your 6 iron for reference.

[DandyDon]

I am looking at new irons and am definitely considering this shaft (KBS online shaft selector chose this one for me and I love the looks)...
It sounds like these shafts play a little softer than a traditional stiff flex, does everyone agree with that?

[TMBob]

[quote name='DandyDon' timestamp='1391050328' post='8562182']
I am looking at new irons and am definitely considering this shaft (KBS online shaft selector chose this one for me and I love the looks)...
It sounds like these shafts play a little softer than a traditional stiff flex, does everyone agree with that?
[/quote]

Love to know also.....but for me the KBS On Line fitting suggested R flex and if I changed one question (Tempo Question from med to fast) they suggested Stiff flex. What's sorta funny is I have read many times the KIm suggest as stiff as shaft as you can that you feel comfortable with, yet they suggest R for me. (6 iron 154-165 was checked and driver speed 91-100 was checked)

What did they suggest for you?

[10of14]

If your 6-iron is flying 154-165 and based on your driver SS, I'd say that the KBS Tour R is about right. My numbers for both of those are a bit higher and longer and my irons (I just sold) had KBS Tour R+ which felt perfect too me. I might go that route again for my new irons, but I'm thinking of hard-stepping the R+ once to get them around 5.5 or a bit higher. My testing is tomorrow, so we'll see.

[jay65]

[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1391106766' post='8566048']
[quote name='DandyDon' timestamp='1391050328' post='8562182']
I am looking at new irons and am definitely considering this shaft (KBS online shaft selector chose this one for me and I love the looks)...
It sounds like these shafts play a little softer than a traditional stiff flex, does everyone agree with that?
[/quote]

Love to know also.....but for me the KBS On Line fitting suggested R flex and if I changed one question (Tempo Question from med to fast) they suggested Stiff flex. What's sorta funny is I have read many times the KIm suggest as stiff as shaft as you can that you feel comfortable with, yet they suggest R for me. (6 iron 154-165 was checked and driver speed 91-100 was checked)

What did they suggest for you?
[/quote]

It will be very much dependent upon your tempo, strength of transition and release. Just for reference, though not sure if it helps you any. My SS is around the 88-90mph with a 6 iron, and I have the C Taper Lites in an X Flex, and they work just fine for me. Mainly because my tempo is on the quicker side of average, my transition is quite hard and my release is very late. If I'd had an average tempo, transition, and release then I could have gotten away with the S Flex or S Flex hard steppedX1.

I'm not sure if that's much use to you though.

[TMBob]

[quote name='jay65' timestamp='1391109470' post='8566308']
[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1391106766' post='8566048']
[quote name='DandyDon' timestamp='1391050328' post='8562182']
I am looking at new irons and am definitely considering this shaft (KBS online shaft selector chose this one for me and I love the looks)...
It sounds like these shafts play a little softer than a traditional stiff flex, does everyone agree with that?
[/quote]

Love to know also.....but for me the KBS On Line fitting suggested R flex and if I changed one question (Tempo Question from med to fast) they suggested Stiff flex. What's sorta funny is I have read many times the KIm suggest as stiff as shaft as you can that you feel comfortable with, yet they suggest R for me. (6 iron 154-165 was checked and driver speed 91-100 was checked)

What did they suggest for you?
[/quote]

It will be very much dependent upon your tempo, strength of transition and release. Just for reference, though not sure if it helps you any. My SS is around the 88-90mph with a 6 iron, and I have the C Taper Lites in an X Flex, and they work just fine for me. Mainly because my tempo is on the quicker side of average, my transition is quite hard and my release is very late. If I'd had an average tempo, transition, and release then I could have gotten away with the S Flex or S Flex hard steppedX1.

I'm not sure if that's much use to you though.
[/quote]

Got it....play and have played the Tours since they came out in stiff but my current set is .370 tip (which I think is softer then the .355tip) and the S is just fine with all of them.

On the tempo question it is a sorta tough on me because I think that I am bit quick yet I am told that I am pretty smooth often. So on the site, moderate = R flex and quick = S flex. So in between might be the ticket for me....SS x1 stiff or R HS x2

This is why I am waiting to hear more info on how they play or if Howard ever puts a FM on them like the C taper and tours

[KarstenK]

[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1391046153' post='8561714']
[quote name='1big_whipper' timestamp='1391025373' post='8559507']
I just put a Ctaper Lite into an i20 6 iron yesterday to replace the KBS Tour that was in it. I plan on getting on a flightscope with it on Friday. Curious to see the differences.
[/quote]

Please post your findings.....play .370 Tours right now and wanted to go to C Taper Lite's.

What is your driver swing speed and far do you hit your 6 iron for reference.
[/quote]

My driver swing speed is about 98-101 and my 6 iron is my 160's club. I have played KBS Tour stiff for the last two years, but I am not getting any younger and these now feel a little too heavy and stiff. I am deciding between a set of AP2 in KBS Tour R+ and my i20's in the CTaper Lite stiff.

[TMBob]

[quote name='1big_whipper' timestamp='1391121548' post='8567542']
[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1391046153' post='8561714']
[quote name='1big_whipper' timestamp='1391025373' post='8559507']
I just put a Ctaper Lite into an i20 6 iron yesterday to replace the KBS Tour that was in it. I plan on getting on a flightscope with it on Friday. Curious to see the differences.
[/quote]

Please post your findings.....play .370 Tours right now and wanted to go to C Taper Lite's.

What is your driver swing speed and far do you hit your 6 iron for reference.
[/quote]



My driver swing speed is about 98-101 and my 6 iron is my 160's club. I have played KBS Tour stiff for the last two years, but I am not getting any younger and these now feel a little too heavy and stiff. I am deciding between a set of AP2 in KBS Tour R+ and my i20's in the CTaper Lite stiff.
[/quote]

Pretty much me in a nut shell also....since I have some Burner 2.0's that are string lofted, I was looking more at the C taper Lite's since I pretty much know the ball flight with my current set of 2.0's with .370 KBS Tours....a touch more height with stronger lofts should balance out for me.

[KarstenK]

Well I hit the 6 iron i20 with the CTaper Lite tonight and it is pretty much what people have described. I saw a couple extra yards, slightly less spin, and slightly higher launch over KBS Tours. Dispersion was also just a little bit better once I deleted a couple poor shots from the averages. I describe the feel as good, sort of like if you took a PX and gave it better feel. A KBS Tour has a little bit of kick that I can't feel in the CTL. My 6i ss was 83. It's nice, but I need a bit more time to decide if I like them enough to keep.

[TMBob]

[quote name='KarstenK' timestamp='1391225118' post='8575900']
Well I hit the 6 iron i20 with the CTaper Lite tonight and it is pretty much what people have described. I saw a couple extra yards, slightly less spin, and slightly higher launch over KBS Tours. Dispersion was also just a little bit better once I deleted a couple poor shots from the averages. I describe the feel as good, sort of like if you took a PX and gave it better feel. A KBS Tour has a little bit of kick that I can't feel in the CTL. My 6i ss was 83. It's nice, but I need a bit more time to decide if I like them enough to keep.
[/quote]

Thanks,

Interested if you built the club yourself and if so, how did the weighting come out....SW wise and dead weight compared to the KBS Tour version?

[KarstenK]

[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1391227165' post='8576068']
[quote name='KarstenK' timestamp='1391225118' post='8575900']
Well I hit the 6 iron i20 with the CTaper Lite tonight and it is pretty much what people have described. I saw a couple extra yards, slightly less spin, and slightly higher launch over KBS Tours. Dispersion was also just a little bit better once I deleted a couple poor shots from the averages. I describe the feel as good, sort of like if you took a PX and gave it better feel. A KBS Tour has a little bit of kick that I can't feel in the CTL. My 6i ss was 83. It's nice, but I need a bit more time to decide if I like them enough to keep.
[/quote]

Thanks,

Interested if you built the club yourself and if so, how did the weighting come out....SW wise and dead weight compared to the KBS Tour version?
[/quote]

I do most club building myself, anything too advanced I have a buddy that's a top 100 fitter handle it, aka the guy with the flightscope. Anyway, the club weight dropped about 9 grams and the sw came out about a point and a half lower. I think I might try softstepping one and see how that goes. They are a little stiffer than I expected. I went back to the KBS online fitting tool and depending on my transition type it recommends CTL in an R about half the time.

[Armypilot84]

Here is a more extensive write up I did on these a couple weeks ago. I hope it helps.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/951947-kbs-c-taper-lite-write-up/

[rfarrell51]

Anyone know where these fall in as far as frequncy? 5.0, 5.5, 6.0. Where would the R and S fit?

[Aviador Naval]

[quote name='rfarrell51' timestamp='1398458369' post='9171119']
Anyone know where these fall in as far as frequncy? 5.0, 5.5, 6.0. Where would the R and S fit?
[/quote]

I don't know where they fall for frequency but can offer some comparables for you.

I have a 6i swingspeed of around 84 with moderate transition which puts me between R and S in most shafts. Shafts I have gotten along with well include Modus3 120 Stiff (which actually has a frequency distribution virtually identical to DG R300), PX 5.0, and PXi 5.5. I can handle DG S300 but don't like the weight.

I have the C-Taper Lite Stiff and LOVE them.

[boycer]

I just got my i25 irons with lite regular flex in the mail today. Currently gaming g25s with cfs stiff. Hope to hit them soon and will give some feed back.