Topic: generics?

[philfromflorida]

can someone tell me if a Carrom Signature Black Marble Foosball Table is like a generic tornado?

if so:
how close is the play?
and is it worth the value difference vs a used tornado?

also playcraft torino vs garlando?

durability is the least of my concerns

and if not TY anyhow

[bbtuna]

nothing remotely close in play or design in either case

by the used Tornado...I have worked through dozens of these now since I have been on the board and there is simply no reason NOT to buy a used Tornado

how much are you planning to spend?  how much could you spend?
are you a tournament player or have any interest in that direction?
how often do you play and how do you plan to use the table?

[philfromflorida]

well its kinda like this...
at my buddy's house where i started playing foosball ~ a year ago he's got one of those Budweiser harvard tables with hard balls, on crooked tiles. So every body plays give n go(not like they know anything else).

like a week later i bought my own crap harvard table(naaa... i really cant complain... she's been good to me), but its the blue and red robots with tornado balls its a world easier to pin on then the budweiser table. so i learned the basics of "slow foosball" at home, then slowly incorporated that into my given go game.

then mabe 6months ago i got acquainted with my local(1hr) foosers(imo rated: awsome rookies) at a bar, which of course is tornado. ive been out to play with them idk ~20times since , we had only 1 local draw out of my times there but fortunately i got the lucky pleasure of landing the strongest draw, so i won my 1st draw. then mabe 2months ago i played my 1st local tourny where my luck had come to bit me in the rear! didnt matter who my partner was, 1st draw is against tom yore . so needless to say... we get smoked down. all in all i did id say Good. i blocked ~50% or just a little more of his shots(which is prolly target % for PM's). on my 2nd draw some amazing chick with a blazing fast pull which cut my up quicker then tom did lol. but happen to win the loser bracket for our money back.

so yes i do plan on becoming a tournament player and i do understand that most of tournament play will be on a tornado. so i should be most fluent with the tornado. which is why i was searching for a used coin opp for myself, although im kinda tempted to get a 3rd type table for my house so i can be familiar with 3 types of tables(tornado, garlando,and bonzini). i don't want to be bound to tornado!  but before im abe to shell out  $850ish for my own, my friends had agreed to split a table 3ways for where we all play at. like i said earlier its all give n go there, so i figure a garlando would be the most comparable official table to his harvard and it has to have ramps(his demands)!

so in time im looking for 2 tables. while looking around came across these tables which seemed to be knock offs and if i can save a few hundred bucks with both tables(separately) and have new products i wouldnt be bashful to pick these up so long as the play was remotely close. but with ur feed back id now say ill get the used name brand ones

ty for ur interest and rely

[PatRyan]

Philfromflorida,

You are not going to find a "knockoff" of an ITSF Garlando model table.  At least I have not seen one on any website I have looked at.  The Carrom table you are looking at is not a bad starter table.  It is more like a Tornado from WAY BACK (and I mean way back to like 1970's, before the change to the foot of the player figure).  The Carrom retails for about $550.  With a little luck, you could find a good used coin-op Tornado for about $600, and have a much better table.  AND, you can buy a kit to make the Tornado a 1-man goalie table, with ramps, and keep your buds happy as well.  The ITSF Garlando and Bonzini tables will be expensive, like in the neighborhood of 1800 each (maybe a little more).  And It is near impossible to find a decent used one.

Pat Ryan