Avant is built around Mezz's Dual Loading System, a two-piece butt that takes weight bolts in both the butt and forearm so you can adjust weight and balance independently. We stock it as a complete cue with the WX-Sigma shaft already fitted, in wrap and no-wrap versions.
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Avant comes from Miki Co., Ltd., the Japanese manufacturer behind every Mezz cue. Mezz built Avant around its Dual Loading System, a two-piece butt that takes weight bolts in both the butt and the forearm in 0.25 oz steps across eight available bolts, letting a player adjust overall weight and front-to-back balance independently instead of as one combined setting. Every Avant butt also ships standard with Mezz's X-bumper, sized for the brand's own screw-on extensions. As with the rest of the brand, Miki Co. builds the cue in Japan while a separate company, Mezz USA, handles US sales, marketing and warranty claims.
DLS is the reason Avant plays differently from a fixed-weight cue. Because the weight bolts sit in both the butt and the forearm rather than just one end, you can add or remove weight at either point without automatically shifting the balance point, then fine-tune balance separately. It's a level of after-purchase adjustability most one-piece cues don't offer.
Both Avant models we carry pair the DLS butt with Mezz's WX-Sigma shaft on a straight pro taper, the same low-deflection shaft used across several other Mezz playing-cue series. Mezz also sells that WX-Sigma shaft as a standalone spare for players who want a backup, built on a United, Wavy or Wavy 2 pin to match whichever Mezz butt it needs to fit, in the same 29 inch or 30 inch lengths, Pro Slim Taper, Kamui Original S tip and XJ Powerplate ferrule Avant ships with.
Both Avant butts we carry use a composite wood forearm and butt sleeve rather than natural timber, which helps keep the Dual Loading System's weight-bolt channels stable over time. Mezz sets a colored Dragon Juma inlay into the sleeve as the visual marker between colorways; Juma is a dense synthetic material cue makers favor for inlay work because it takes a sharp, consistent color and polish that natural material can vary on.
Mezz also builds a Wavy 2 joint version of the Avant butt alongside the original United joint version. Both Avant cues we carry use the United joint, so if you already own Wavy or Wavy 2 shafts from another Mezz cue, neither will thread onto either Avant butt we stock.
The X-bumper on every Avant butt is sized specifically for Mezz's own screw-on extensions, and each butt ships with a hex key for the weight bolts and a joint protector included. A wrapless Avant butt alone weighs about 15 ounces before a shaft or weight bolts are added, part of why owners describe the complete cue as light before anyone starts loading the DLS channels.
Our glossary covers inlay materials, bumpers and joint protectors if you want the fuller explanation.
We currently carry two Avant configurations: the ZZAVW at about $510, which has a wrap, and the ZZAVN at about $550, without a wrap, both built on the DLS butt with the WX-Sigma shaft. That's a narrower setup than Mezz USA's own online store, which sells Avant butts separately from the shaft, starting around $695 for a wrapless butt and climbing well beyond that for the newer AVT-24 butt on its own, with weight bolts and a shaft added separately. What we stock are complete, ready-to-play Avant cues at a lower combined price than building one from separate parts through the manufacturer's own site. Mezz's own site prices the newer AVT-24 butt at $1,780, more than three times either Avant price we carry, and separately sells an 8-bolt weight-bolt set for its original wrapless Avant butts as an extra $50 add-on, since the bolts needed to actually load the Dual Loading System are not included with the butt by default.
Both Avant cues we carry pair the DLS butt with the WX-Sigma shaft. Wrap is the main difference between them.
The ZZAVW comes in black with an orange dragon Juma ring on the butt plate, a black collar with a silver ring, and a linen wrap over the DLS butt. It ships with the X-bumper standard, a joint protector, and the weight-changeable bolt system. It is out of stock at the moment, priced at about $510 when it returns.
The ZZAVN uses the same DLS butt and WX-Sigma shaft as the ZZAVW, in black or blue, without a wrap. It comes in three variations and is out of stock at the moment, priced from about $550. Mezz USA's own Avant collection also lists a Violet wrapless butt and the newer AVT-24 butt in Blue, Orange and Black, none of which we currently carry.
The real decision inside Avant is wrap versus no wrap. The ZZAVW's linen wrap gives a more traditional grip texture and a bit more cushioning against a sweaty hand. The ZZAVN skips the wrap entirely, closer to how Mezz ships several of its break and jump cues, which means less material for a player who prefers gripping bare composite wood or adding a grip treatment of their own later. Neither choice changes the DLS mechanics, the joint, or the shaft, so it comes down to hand feel rather than performance.
Both Avant cues in our catalog use Mezz's United joint and a classic wood WX-Sigma shaft. One comes with a linen wrap and the other is wrapless, so wrap preference is really the deciding factor between the two. If you outgrow the stock shaft, our shafts category covers replacement options across the brands we carry.
Avant suits a player who wants to keep adjusting their setup after the purchase rather than settle on one fixed weight and balance at the register. The DLS butt is built for exactly that kind of ongoing tinkering, in a way a standard one-piece weighted cue isn't. Beyond the adjustability, it carries the same United joint and WX-Sigma shaft combination Mezz uses across its lineup, so it's a reasonable middle-price entry point into that shaft-and-joint feel. AZBilliards owners note that the United joint runs tight on a brand-new cue, needing real effort on the final turns before it seats and breaks in, which lines up with the same joint's reputation for not loosening with age later on.
A detailed AZBilliards review of the Wavy 2 version of Avant found the Dual Loading System works as advertised but with a narrower range than expected: with the stock bolts installed in both the butt and forearm, the balance point barely moves, and only loading weight at the back shifts it meaningfully rearward because the forearm is partly hollow. The same reviewer found the joint tight enough on delivery that it took real effort to seat, with no looseness afterward, and described the complete cue as solid and full-sounding on center hits with only a slight edge-hit tink, less than a typical carbon shaft.
That same owner eventually moved on from the cue, citing personal preference rather than a defect: the Wavy 2 pin did not fit as tightly with his other Wavy shafts as he wanted, and he never got fully comfortable with the wrapless grip. Other posters in the same thread point to the DLS customization and light complete weight as the main draw, particularly for a second, travel-friendly cue.
That consistency comment is not unique to Avant owners. A cue repair technician who says he handles a fair share of Mezz and Exceed cues each year has told AZBilliards forum members that no other production brand matches Mezz for fit and finish, a reputation the Avant's tight DLS joint and clean butt-to-shaft tolerances fit into.
A separate, longer AZBilliards discussion comparing Mezz to lower-priced custom cues rates Mezz's overall quality as equal to Schon and says Mezz cues hold their resale value well against other production cues, a point that applies to Avant as much as to any other current Mezz model.
Avant carries the same published warranty terms as the rest of the current Mezz lineup: Mezz USA states one year against manufacturing defects from purchase, plus a 14-day satisfaction or replacement window on cues bought directly from Mezz USA. Miki Co. in Japan separately lists a longer non-transferable limited lifetime warranty for the original owner on its own site, manufacturer language published apart from Mezz USA's US terms.
Because Avant ships as a complete cue here rather than the butt-only format Mezz sells directly, there is no separate shaft decision to make at checkout the way there would be buying direct and pairing a butt with a shaft yourself. That also means no separate shipping charge or wait for a second package to arrive before the cue is playable.
See the rest of our current Mezz playing and break cues in Mezz pool cues, or compare against other manufacturers in our general pool cues category.
DLS is a two-piece butt that takes weight bolts in both the butt and forearm in 0.25 oz steps, letting you adjust weight and balance independently. It ships standard with Mezz's X-bumper.
We carry both options: the ZZAVW with a linen wrap and the ZZAVN without one. Both use the same DLS butt and WX-Sigma shaft.
Mezz USA sells Avant butts separately starting around $695, with shaft and weight bolts added on. We stock complete Avant cues with the WX-Sigma shaft already fitted.
Mezz USA states a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects from the purchase date, plus a 14-day window on orders placed directly with Mezz USA. Miki Co. in Japan separately lists a longer lifetime warranty on its own site.
Mezz lists the wrapless butt alone at about 15 ounces before a shaft or weight bolts are added. Complete weight depends on which bolts and shaft you pair with it.
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