KBS Max 85 Steel Shaft Review – Specs, Flex, Weight

The KBS Max 85 Steel was designed to be a lightweight shaft and is marketed towards mid and high handicappers.

That’s all well and good; but your average golfer will still have no idea about the subtle nuances that really determine a shaft’s value.

Most of us were unfamiliar with the lighter weight KBS shafts. KBS shafts are known for their beefy, stout steel shafts that are designed for powerful swingers.

But this unfamiliarity made this test session especially intriguing. We didn’t know what to expect from a KBS shaft that weighs just 85 grams…

KBS Max 85 Steel Shaft Overview

The first thing you have to know about this shaft is that it is a combination shaft.

That means that it can be trimmed to three different flexes; regular, stiff or extra stiff. The choice is yours.

Just keep in mind that if you buy this shaft used, you will have a very hard time determining exactly what flex it has been trimmed to.

Usually, you can determine the flex if you can measure the distance between the tip and the graphics at the baseline of the shaft.

But even this can be a task that is over the heads of most golfers. In any case, we had the KBS Max 85 Steel trimmed to regular flex as it would appeal to most of our testing party.

The feel of this shaft is responsive – as you can imagine an 85g shaft being. But in true KBS fashion, there is a definite stability behind the activity.

While the KBS Max 85 Steel is certainly active, you never get a “whippy” feel from it.

The bend point is in the middle of the shaft for the most part. On some strikes, our testers were saying they could feel it in the mid/low grip section.

In any case, while the KBS Max 85 Steel certainly loads up, it recovers very well. Or at least, it seems to. Our testers were getting optimal angles of attack very easily with this shaft.

They were able to achieve that shallow angle of attack that makes for improved distance and spin. Squaring up at impact was no problem either. The KBS Max 85 Steel recoils very quickly and very stably.

The KBS Max 85 Steel feels smooth for the most part. On mis-hits, you can feel a little bit of a jolt in your forearms; but it’s nothing outrageous.

When you pure the ball, you are rewarded with a very smooth feel at impact and straight flight.

Why is the KBS Max 85 Steel So Popular?

We would contend that it isn’t wildly popular.

The KBS Max 85 Steel is actually one of KBS’s more obscure shafts. However, those who game this shaft say that it provides classic KBS feel in a shaft that is more accessible to mid and high handicappers.