ASKA Short Pool Cue Set Review: The Fix for a Room That Fights Back
Four two-piece Canadian maple cues at 36, 42, 48 and 52 inches, colour coded by length, with weight dropping as the cue gets shorter. Buy them if a wall, a post or a radiator leaves you cueing one-handed on a third of the table. Do not buy them as your only cues, because a full length cue is better everywhere it fits and short cues are a specific tool for specific shots.
Four cues at 36, 42, 48 and 52 inches, each a different colour, for the shots a full length cue cannot take.
ASKA Short Pool Cue Set of 4, Mixed Length Wrapless Billiard Cue Sticks, 36, 42, 48 and 52 in
~$130
Four wrapless two-piece maple cues in four lengths and four colours, with weight scaled to length and 13 mm leather tips.
Check price on AmazonSpecifications
| Cues | 4, at 36, 42, 48 and 52 inches |
|---|---|
| Weights | 12.5 oz at 36 in, 13.5 oz at 42 in, 14 oz at 48 in, 19 oz at 52 in |
| Colours | Blue, brown, green and red, one per length |
| Shaft and butt | Canadian hard rock maple |
| Tip | 13 mm glued-on leather |
| Ferrule | ABS |
| Joint | 5/16 x 18 |
| Handle | Wrapless bare maple |
| Construction | Two-piece, each cue breaks down |
Specifications above come from ASKA's published specifications. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.
What it does well
- Weight scaled to length is the detail that makes these usable. A short cue at full weight is nose-heavy exactly where the shortness was supposed to help.
- Colour coding per length means nobody picks up the wrong cue twice, which sounds trivial and is the difference between the set being used and being ignored.
- Four lengths rather than one covers the range of awkward situations a real room produces, from a wall two feet away to a support post in the middle of the shot.
- Wrapless maple handles nothing to peel or fray, and they wipe clean, which matters on cues that guests use.
- Two-piece construction, so they store in a rack rather than leaning in a corner.
Where it falls short
- They are worse than a full length cue everywhere a full length cue fits. Shorter cues give less control over the cue ball and less feel, and that is physics rather than build quality.
- Thirteen millimetre glued-on tips are entry level. They work and they are not what a serious player uses.
- Nineteen ounces at 52 inches is on the heavy side for that length, which some players will find unbalanced.
- A set of four cues occupies rack space, and a room that needed short cues is usually a room that is short of space generally.
- They do not solve the underlying problem. If most shots are cramped, the table is too big for the room and a smaller table is the better answer.
What owners report
Owner reports on short cue sets are practical and consistent: people in awkward rooms describe them as the difference between playing properly and improvising, and people who bought them as their main cues find them unsatisfying. That split is exactly what the product is for. Comments on build quality at this price are reasonable rather than enthusiastic, which is fair for a four cue set at this money.
The prior question is whether the table fits at all. Our room size calculator converts cue length into required clearance, and what size pool table fits my room runs it the other way. If the room is short on every side, a smaller table beats a set of short cues, and our 7 ft versus 8 ft comparison covers that decision.
If you are shopping for cues generally rather than for a space problem, our one-piece versus two-piece comparison is the more relevant read, and a single good cue will do more for your game than four short ones.
Who it suits
- Rooms with a wall, a post, a radiator or a staircase intruding on one side of the table.
- Basements and garages where the table only just fits.
- Households where guests play and nobody wants to explain why a shot is impossible.
Who should skip it
- Rooms with full clearance, where a good full length cue is better in every way.
- Serious players, who want a single cue with a proper tip and shaft rather than a set of four compromises.
- Rooms so tight that a smaller table is the real answer.
Alternatives worth considering
ASKA 52 in Short Pool Cue Stick, Brown Canadian Maple, 13 mm Tip
~$60
If only one side of the room is tight, one 52 inch cue solves it for less than half the price of the set. Most rooms only have one awkward side.
Check price on AmazonJoshmar Pool Cue Stick 58 in, 2-Piece Canadian Maple, 19 oz, 13 mm Tip
~$49
A standard 58 inch two-piece cue, which is what you should be playing with everywhere the room allows. Buy this first and add a short cue for the one wall that causes trouble.
Check price on AmazonViper Fat Cat Oak 6 Cue 2-Piece Wall Cue Rack
~$28
Four extra cues need storing, and cues left leaning in a corner warp. A wall rack costs less than one cue and keeps them straight, which is the whole reason cues warp in the first place.
Check price on AmazonKeep reading
- One-piece vs two-piece pool cue
- Wall cue rack vs floor rack
- 7 ft vs 8 ft pool table
- Pool table room size calculator
- What size pool table fits my room
- GoSports 7 ft pool table review
- Best pool cues
- Best pool tables for small rooms
This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Frequently asked questions
What length pool cue do I need for a small room?
Work it out from the clearance rather than guessing. A standard cue is 58 inches and needs roughly that much room behind the ball plus the backswing. Our room size calculator takes your room dimensions and tells you which cue length works, and a 48 or 52 inch cue often turns an impossible room into a playable one.
Do short pool cues play worse?
Yes, in the sense that a shorter cue gives less control and less feel than a full length one. That is unavoidable physics. They play far better than trying to make a full length shot with no room behind you, which is the real comparison. Use full length everywhere it fits and short cues only where it does not.
Why do the cues get lighter as they get shorter?
Because a short cue carrying full weight is nose-heavy. Weight in a cue is distributed along its length, and cutting the length without cutting the weight puts the balance point in the wrong place. Scaling the weight down keeps the balance usable, which is a detail cheap short cues often miss.
Would a smaller table be better than short cues?
If most shots are cramped, yes. Short cues are a fix for one awkward side. A room that is tight on every side is a room where a 7 ft table should have been a smaller one, and a table that plays properly is worth more than a table that is technically bigger.
How should I store extra cues?
In a rack, on a wall or floor stand, so they stay vertical. Cues left leaning against a wall or lying flat in a warm room will warp, and a warped cue is finished. A basic wall rack costs less than a single cue.
Measuring your own room before anything is delivered? The Game Room Layout Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.
How we work: we compare published manufacturer dimensions, the governing playing standards for each game, and reviews from owners who live with the equipment. We do not test games in person, and we say so on every page. Clearance figures here are researched guidance for planning a room, not professional advice: measure your own space, and have a slate table delivered, assembled and levelled by an installer rather than moving it yourself.