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Playing with low-grade accessories will mar your pool game, and that’s a no-brainer. The quality of the cue, the table, the chalk, and the felt are central to your performance as a pool player.
Also, it’s crucial to have access to the best billiard balls. When you use a cheaper pool ball, its roll, roundness, and consistency will hamper the way you play the game and your progress.
While you could find it difficult to always play with premium billiard balls that are of tournament grade, some brands sell more affordable balls that are specifically made for amateur and semi-pro settings.
In this review of the best billiard balls, we offer you some options to go for when you’re on a budget and also a handful of pricier units.
Top 8 Billiard Balls – Our Top Picks
Aramith Tournament Billiard Pool Ball Set 2 1/4″
These are, no doubt, the best pool balls on the market.
You’ll see this set across all-major tournaments. Also, it’s the number one choice among professional pool players and buffs.
These balls are special for many reasons.
First, Aramith is a brand that’s widely known around the world for producing billiard balls of the highest quality.
And this particular product is a textbook example of the superb quality Aramith pool balls offer.
It’s a top-of-the-line set, which is designed using 100% pure phenolic resin. This makes the balls highly impact-resistant and long-lasting.
This set is equipped with the 4th-gen Duramith tech that brings about a perfectly round shaped ball, reducing ball burn spots and significantly enhancing the lifespan of the felt.
Also, the manufacturing process is improved, making the balls extremely resistant to chipping or scratches.
Thus, both the vitrified outer layer and the core of the balls hold the shine and luster for much longer.
Each ball in the set is perfectly homogeneous and precisely calibrated per the regulations regarding weight and size.
The design of these balls is further improved to provide you with an optimal and consistent rebound. This lets you exhibit better control over your shots.
The manufacturer says that the set will easily last for more than forty (40) years in a residential setting.
In the same vein, Aramith claims the set will last longer than any other by more than 8 times.
This shows the company places solid confidence about what the balls offer.
Pros
- Regarded as the best billiard balls on the market
- Long-lasting and durable design
- Unique bright color that has over-sized numbers
- Utilized in more than 85 percent tournaments across the globe
- Retains its shine over time
Cons
- Pricey
Summing up
While the price of this model could be on the high side, if you take the performance and longevity into account, you’d see the high price is well-justified.
If you seek the very best-quality billiard ball set and can afford the high cost, these balls from Aramith are your ideal choice.
Iszy Billiards Regular Art Number Style
Iszy Billiards has built a name for itself as the go-to brand for well-balanced billiard balls at a pocket-friendly price.
In the set, there are 16 regulation 2.25” diameter billiard balls, which are made of polyester resin.
While the polyester resin is a commonly used material in designing billiard balls, it doesn’t give them high impact resistance over time.
The Art Number Style boxed balls are light. However, the weight may not be consistent from one boxed set to the other.
On the bright side, the quality of the paint is decent with a nice polish to it.
Pros
- Regulation size
- Features cue ball
- Chip-resistant paint
Cons
- Weight is not consistent
Summing up
If you’re looking for a well-balanced pool ball, we recommend checking this product out.
Aramith Premium Belgian Pool and Billiard Ball Set
The Aramith Premium is also one of the best billiard balls in the industry. This set has a great value set and delivers impeccable performance.
Retailing at an affordable price, the unit is manufactured from 100 percent pure phenolic resin. It provides you with remarkable playability while being impressively scratch and impact resistant.
The pool ball set is the perfect choice for recreational players that are shopping for an inexpensive option. Also, it’s recommended for serious players on a budget.
By getting this set, you’ll be compromising a bit on the quality. However, as regards performance, you’ll only spot a faint difference between this model and the tournament-grade set.
The ball is subjected to the same vitrification procedure, resulting in a high-density vitrified surface. Thus, in this set, the individual balls have uniform size, weight, and consistency.
The company calls this Vitrotech technology.
In addition to this, the shiny and smooth outer surface helps in maximizing the cloth’s life of your table and makes the occurrence of ball burn spots less likely.
Thus, this allows you to save more cost.
Pros
- Extremely durable
- Gives great value
- Ideal for all skill levels
Cons
- A bit pricey
Summing up
These billiard balls are built to last: They’ll last longer than any polyester or average set by 5 times.
Yves Empire USA Deluxe
The Yves Empire USA Deluxe is slightly lightweight in comparison to other sets in the same price segment but is longer-lasting.
They’re among the best billiard balls you’ll find around for your daily grinds. They’ve consistent balance across the board, allowing you to enjoy a hitch-free play style.
Apart from these, all the balls in this set have regulation size, in addition to the cue ball.
Pros
- Standard (regulation) size
- Top-quality resin
- Affordable pricing
- Durable design
Cons
- Weight isn’t consistent
Summing up
If you’re keen about something to practice with every day, this maker designs billiard balls, which don’t chip easily and which roll off seamlessly, even when they’re on lower-quality felt.
Super Aramith Pro Pool and Billiard Ball Set
The Super Pro Pool set is yet another product from Aramith, which is one of the big names in this industry.
The set is a bit lower in quality than the top-of-the-line Tournament edition. But it’s perfect for anyone that’s seeking a high-quality pool table ball set, which is affordable.
It’s even cheaper than the tournament set while providing you with similar performance.
Further, the tournament edition balls are manufactured with the aid of newer Duramith technology. This brings about longer-lasting and more fault-tolerant balls.
While playing with these balls leads to a slight compromise on the quality and performance of your game; overall, they strictly follow professional standards.
Also, this set is used in the majority of local and national leagues.
As usual, these balls from Aramith are perfectly round, and their size and weight are uniform.
Plus, the balls roll true. They deliver great rebounding and control. Also, their looks are premium, and they’re as quite durable and resistant chipping or scratching.
Pros
- More affordable than the tournament edition
- Extremely durable build
- Used in the majority of both local and national leagues
Cons
- Quality is a bit lower than the tournament-grade edition
Summing up
The Super Pro set from Aramith is an excellent and affordable alternative to the tournament edition balls, which are expensive.
Aramith Stone Collection Pool and Billiard Ball Set
Check out the Aramith Stone Collection Pool Set if you want a pool ball set, with tremendous performance and appealing looks.
It’s a 16 ball regulation set that sports an attractive granite finish. This gives it a more upscale look to accompany your pool table.
When it comes to performance and quality, the balls can be compared with the Aramith Belgian Premium set, which is reviewed above.
Like any set from this brand, these balls roll true and have precise weight and hardness.
Each of the balls is designed using pure phenolic resin. This implies that the balls are entirely of the same color and aren’t painted from the top, unlike what we’ve in the cheaper brands.
In this set, you’ll find that the balls are perfectly round. They come with a high-luster finish, too.
Also, they’re remarkably brighter, carrying over-sized numbers on them. Due to the friction-resistant roll, you won’t notice any ball burn spots. Additionally, they will make your pool table felt last longer.
They’re also long-lasting. These balls, according to the maker, can play perfectly even after 40,000 hits and last longer than the majority of other brands by 5 times.
Pros
- Durable build
- High-luster and scratch-resistant
- Attractive and stylish design
- Top-quality balls, offering equal performance as the Aramith Premium
Cons
- Cost is slightly on the high side
Summing up
If you’re a home and/or recreational user, this set is ideal for you. They’re an attractive and durable Billiard ball set with robust performance.
Viper Billiard Master
These are also among the best billiard balls you can find around. The Viper Billiard Master Billiard Balls measure 2.25 inches in diameter. Also, they’re well-balanced.
Their polish quality is superb. However, sometimes, you could spot visual inconsistencies.
Also, the font utilized for the numbers in some boxed sets could be a bit crooked.
Pros
- The quality of the polish is high
- Regulation size
- Weight and balance are consistent
Cons
- Font quality is not consistent
Summing up
Built with uniform weight, consistent size, and smooth finish, this set is among the best options to go for when on a budget.
Aramith Continental 2 1/4″ Billiard Regulation Pool Ball Set
Apart from being one of the best billiard balls on the market, this Continental set is also the most economical set in the Aramith series of pool balls.
They’re ideal for casual and recreational players.
Since they’re from the world-renowned brand, Aramith, we’re quite sure their quality won’t be compromised.
The balls play a lot better than those cheaper options you see on the market.
Following Aramith’s tradition, these balls are crafted from phenolic resin. Also, they’re designed according to the regulations.
Thus, you can anticipate smooth ball roll and high durability.
However, the lower price also implies that a handful of high-end features will be missing. The resin quality is only decent, nothing extraordinary.
Also, the stripes & the numbers are painted from the top, and the surface isn’t scratch-resistant.
Furthermore, the balls in this set don’t rebound quite well. If you want to get an upgrade over the stock balls that came with your home pool table, it’d seem like a primary upgrade.
However, if you’re seeking to practice or to play competitively, you’re better off with the premium model instead.
Pros
- Great value
- Moderate performance
- Ideal for use as practice balls
- Perfect for all skill level
Cons
- Balls are painted from the top (with silk-screening) instead of inlaid
- There’s a color mismatch, particularly on the stripe balls
Summing up
The balls are among the best entry-level billiard balls that go for less than $50. Not only do they play decent but also provide excellent value.
Buying Guide for the Best Billiard Balls
Billiard balls often measure 2.25 inches in diameter — the standard regulation size.
But the size may not be as essential as the calibration and weight uniformity.
This is because when the weight of a set of billiard balls is consistent, it makes sure both players start off on equal ground.
Also, the durability is crucial, though not that important in the long run.
We’ve a lot of inexpensive billiard ball sets, which deliver just about the same performance as tournament-grade balls, but their downside is that they’re not as durable as the latter.
Additionally, the smoother the polish of the ball is, the better your strikes will be as well.
Many pool tables offer low-quality felt.
For this reason, the more you can squeeze out of your ball to make up for the loss of precision and speed, the better for your game.
Wrapping up
When shopping on the market for the best billiard balls to use with your pool table, you can check out the models we’ve reviewed above. They’re suitable for casual and serious players alike.
Also, you’ll find that a handful of them are affordable and still manage to deliver tremendous performance and high durability.