Pro Chux review

[Boundless]

Today, after 8 days since ordering, I finally got my 2 white oak pro chux in the mail.  I'm glad to say it was worth the wait.  I messed with them for over 3 straight hours outside today.

First off, these are the standard ones being sold at www.blacknbluevideo.com .  Octagonal, 12 in., corded.  You might want to do a search for pro chux here if you haven't heard of them yet, as they are a little different than, ahem, "dinosaur chucks"

These things are pretty skinny, but not too much - their weight is sufficient, though still on the light side.  They could definitely be used as a martial arts weapon.

Both are very well balanced - no issues there.

Now for swinging.  Right away, it felt right doing passes, bounces..all the real basics.  They go where you want, no guesswork - Lee wasn't kidding there; the shorter cord makes them much more accurate.

The problem area is in doing hand/wrist rolls.  It takes a lot of getting used to; you have to move your hand out of the way faster and, as has been said a million times, keep your hands closer to the middle than the top, like near the pins.

Even still, it took me over an hour to feel confident doing rolls.  By the end of my long session, though, I felt I was on my way, and that I definitely could do them as well as on my practice chucks given a few more hours of practice. 

I'm not good at throws yet, but I did a little and I think they'd be great for them; the shorter rope makes them spin straight instead of wobble.

One concern I have is making these things look/feel like chux as I use them, not batons; they just don't feel as mighty as regulars do.


Overall, I'm very satisfied so far with these - the accuracy and speed of pro chux are amazing.  Well worth the money - I have a feeling I'm going to be buying a set of these in ebony or another more exotic wood eventually.

Feel free to ask questions...and I hope this helps.

[rctrue]

Great review man. Thanks for writing it. I thought the same thing about the weight when I first got them so I added one layer of electrical tape. It made all the difference until I got used to them. The exotic Prochux are amazing, the different woods allow for different weights, plus they look incredible I have a pair of exotic hardwood Padauks that I consider prized possessions.

[Boundless]

Yea, I'm considering tape - not just for weight but for added grip; they're kinda slippery. 

Also, I've got great cord (550 parachute stuff) that I'd like to put on them at some point - how do you do that on these, with the pins so far back?  Or do you just not do that?

Thanks

[Rellizate]

I would just leave it if I were you. You'd have to take hammer the pins out, then take out the old cord, then cut the new cord to the exact length needed, then thread all 4 cords back in for the correct distance, and then hammer the pin back through, while making sure that it did actually connect with the 4 cords, not miss them. Way too much trouble than it's worth.

[ninjarob]

i had the same problems with wrist rolls when i switched to a shorter chain on my chux (nicked the idea from pro chux though i've never actualy used a pair) one other thing it helps with is contact doing contact moves is soooo much easyer with the shorter chain. i definatly agree with what lee was saying  about the accuracy improving loads

personaly i recon the thing that makes pro chux diffrent is 90% the shorter chain/cord i recon you can get the same effect by changeing the cord lenght on any pair of chux?

what you reckon rellizate is it just the chain makeing the diffrence or is there something else about them to?

[Rellizate]

I'd say it only works with chucks with like the prochux with the weight at a precise point, or chucks with end momentum like heavily tapered chucks, and firechucks. I've actually got both prochux and firechucks with a short chain (like yours), and I actually find your ones easier to do wristrolls due to the firechucks having way more end momentum. Wrist rolls are harder with prochux than they are with shortchained firechucks. So, in conclusion, the balancing point has to be at least at the point that they are on the prochux, but the futher down the handle, the better they work as prochux. But after saying this, i'm talking only about prochux. Other short chained chucks may not have quite the same consistancy with other things - such as aerials - I know your firechucks aren't quite as good.

[Miggy]

How sturdy are they? How long will they last? Is the cord durable? thanks.

[Rellizate]

They are medium-sturdy I say. They are quite think so I guess they would break faster than other, thicker, chucks. Also they're octagonal, so when (if) you hit stuff, it puts more strain on a certain bit of the baton. The cord is excellent however, can't see it braking before the sticks do. I say - train over grass (or carpet) and they'll last you a good long time.

[Boundless]

Update:

I still love my prochux.

One thing though is still the hand/wrist rolls.  I'll do maybe 6 or 7 and then the free chuck will want to go off to the side.  Anyone with prochux know if this is my error or the chux's?

I put some electrical tape on one (didn't cover it yet) and the grip is SO much better.  I only had black; I'm going to go to buy some colored tape soon and do both of them up.

Also..the tape should help a small problem I've noticed: near the top of the chux, where they would hit each other during closings, etc., they were starting to get scratched a bit; keep in mind I've been using these for hours a day since I have nothing better to do right now.

[internet sensei]

i had the same problems with wrist rolls when i switched to a shorter chain on my chux (nicked the idea from pro chux though i've never actualy used a pair) one other thing it helps with is contact doing contact moves is soooo much easyer with the shorter chain. i definatly agree with what lee was saying  about the accuracy improving loads

personaly i recon the thing that makes pro chux diffrent is 90% the shorter chain/cord i recon you can get the same effect by changeing the cord lenght on any pair of chux?

what you reckon rellizate is it just the chain makeing the diffrence or is there something else about them to?

No, you would not get the same effect with any Chucks, if that were the case,I  wouldn't have to work my ass off, cutting the wood to specs, weighing them and then finding the exact balance point for each pair I make. But, I could see how You might think that.

[Rellizate]

Well if you don't have the same effect with any chucks, what makes rob's short-chained firechux special?

[Boundless]

Update

So I've had these guys for a while and have been chucking a LOT.  I've put tennis racquet tape on them (yellow and black) and they are SO much better once you can get a good grip.  Make sure you wind the tape from top (near the cord) to bottom, as the tape you have to apply at the end is much better being at the bottom away from your hand.

I'm now able to do about 50 wrist rolls in each hand without stopping - so I know it wasn't the chuck, just my technique that hurt me on rolls.

I think more than anything, prochux are perfect for certain STYLES of chucking (remember the model T vs. Ferrari thing?) - namely precision passes, throws, etc. - but their light weight and short cord keeps them from being able to build a momentum that suits more roll-based styles and techniques that dino chucks are better at doing (but pretty much any of those things CAN be done on prochux.  Don't get me wrong there).

I strongly urge people to have a pair of prochux, AND a pair of dino chucks.  Otherwise you're going to have a hard time discovering the full potential of the sport - as I feel prochux have moved things forward..but not in a way that makes dino's irrelevant; in fact, I just ordered a custom pair of dino's.