The Bowling Store Ball Reviews
Bob's Bag:
Bob is primarily a tournament bowler who competes in tournaments on house and sport patterns. His current arsenal is comprised of the balls listed below from strongest to weakest in overall hook potential This list will be updated as changes are made to the arsenal.
Hammer Envy Tour
The Envy Tour is a first ball out of the bag piece and that is exactly how Bob uses this ball. It has a strong, smooth, early ball motion used when the shinier balls struggle with oil. A control piece with a lower diff asymmetrical core providing a very predictable and useful ball reaction.
From Hammer: The Hammer Envy Tour was developed to add a stronger and more responsive cover to the Obsession Tour core, creating that same unique shape, just more of it. Bowlers will love the solid black color and the dark purple logos that don’t show as the ball travels down the lane, and the extra mid-lane and recovery will make this a popular ball for everyone.
Hammer Envy Tour ™ BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Global 900 Eternity
The Global 900 Eternity is a clean pearl asymmetrical ball that is a great ball for house shots and medium volume sport shots. The ball is perfect as a middle of the bag ball in the 2-3 slots as it is a strong cover that is clean but still digs in the oil. Bob would highly recommend for anyone looking for a strong pearl asymmetrical ball. Bob keeps the ball lightly polished or lane shined, using it when a condition requires something that is clean but picks up in the midlane.
From SPI: The Epoch Asymmetric Core is an ALL NEW design that was inspired from the original Break Core that was used in so many previous Global releases. We have lowered the intermediate differential on the core compared to the Break Core to prevent the ball from losing energy too quickly or “lock up” as some asymmetric pieces tend to do. The S84 Response Pearl Reactive Cover is back with a vengeance. Due to the increased microscopic pore sizes, this cover will be clean through the front part of the lane like a pearl should be, but also dig into the oil whereas other pearl covers tend to struggle with.
GLOBAL ETERNITY BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Roto Grip Duo
The Roto Grip Duo is a pearl symmetrical reactive that slots perfectly in Bob's bag below the Eternity and above the Phaze V. Bob uses this ball often on typical house shots early to late in blocks dependent upon the condition and lane surface. It, the Eternity, and Blackout are a perfect 1-2-3 combination in the middle of the bag for the majority of lane conditions. This is a great ball when playing the lanes straighter as it holds its line well and comes off the spot nicely. Additionally 5% of sales of this ball are donated to Big Brothers / Big Sisters organization.
From SPI: Dynamic power to the core, the symmetrical Mentor™ Core was built to produce plenty of positive motion. From its mushroom/bulb shape structure to the heavy density flip puck on bottom, (to give it extra giddy up) this part was constructed to deliver added forgiveness in the back part of the midlane and down lane where you need and want it most. To be perfectly honest, this latest addition to the HP3 family of cores was erected and developed from the inspiration of the Madcap™ Core numbers (DareDevil™ Series) from yesteryear. This coverstock technology is a banger regarding performance in the pearlized category . Featuring a 100% nanoparticle load dispersed evenly throughout, this pearlized concoction provides traction and response to friction while maintaining its surface profile over a longer period of time to ensure you get maximum performance each and every time. For the record, the pearl version of MicroTrax displaces oil at the highest rate of any of the pearl covers we offer today. Basically, as our token of our appreciation and thanks to you, we gift you added forgiveness on those not-so-great shots off your hand. Built for Medium to Medium/Heavy Conditions
ROTO GRIP DUO BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Storm Virtual Energy Blackout
The Storm VEB is a clean pearl asymmetrical ball that can be a great ball for high friction house shots and anytime you are moving in as transition occurs. Bob would highly recommend for anyone looking for a strong pearl asymmetrical ball as it may be his favorite ball at the time of this review. Bob keeps the ball lightly polished or lane shined, using it when a condition to get the ball easily down lane and recovery is not in question. Strong and continuous through the pins with a high usefulness in tournaments mid to late block as you move in to open up the lanes and the Eternity is no longer the play.
From SPI: Defined Energy, This shape can power through just about anything. “HD” is short for high density, which lowers the RG and raises the differential of the weight block. A higher differential translates to more flare potential, so every time the ball makes a rotation it exposes a fresh portion of coverstock material to the oil.When we joined R2S™ with NeX™ in the lab, the results exceeded our expectations. In our testing, we discovered that the NeX foundation produced a similar backend and entry angle numbers because the chemical porosity of R2S is slightly more compact than NeX. We left nothing to chance with this one. Thus, ReX a.k.a. “Reactor Extreme” was born.
VEB BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Storm Phase V
The Phase V is a clean pearl symmetrical ball that is a great ball for house shots and medium volume sport shots. The Phase V is extremely clean and reacts strong to friction. The ball is great for anyone that needs a ball to get the ball down the lane and come off the spot hard on medium to dry conditions with a very strong and smooth reaction. We would recommend for anyone who bowls typically on house shots or sport shots. Bob keeps the ball polished, using it as it was designed, typically when a condition requires something that is clean and responds later to friction and less quickly than the Duo and Eternity. This ball comes factory polished which is great for some bowlers while others like to knock off the shine just a bit to tame the reaction slightly making it more controllable.
PHASE V ™ BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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BALLS - Retired from Arsenal
Storm Super Nova - Retired/Discontinued
The Super Nova is a top of the bag strong asymetrical ball with large flare potential. Suitable for early in the block on longer patterns or patterns with high amount of oil. On typical house shots this typically would favor a higher speed bowler where it may not be ideal for slower speed bowlers.
SUPER NOVA ™ BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Roto Grip UFO - Retired & Discontinued
The UFO is a the top of the bag asymmetrical ball that is designed to be used on longer and/or higher volume patterns when a ball that will really dig into the lane is required. Bob uses the ball at box finish 2000 matte. The UFO takes well to cover changes so it taken down further in grit or polished when additional length is desired. If you are looking for a very strong hooking ball for patterns with more volume or if you are speed dominant and prefer strong asymmetric the UFO is a great choice.
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Roto Grip Idol - Discontinued
The Idol is a strong symmetrical ball that can be a top of the bag ball for a high rev bowler or a strong 2 ball for most bowlers. The Idol is strong, early, arcing, continuous ball that is ideal for medium to heavy oil. It is favored by many top PBA bowlers of all styles from Norm Duke (one hander, lower rev, legend) to Anthony Simonsen (2 hander, high rev, legend to be) to Bob (one hander, med rev, legend in his own mind) as their go to ball for tougher tournament conditions. Bob uses the ball at box finish 2000 matte and is another ball that takes surface adjustment extremely well. If you are looking for a strong hooking ball that starts really making its move early in the midlane with a very smooth arcing ball shape for patterns with medium to high volume the Idol is a great choice.
IDOL™ BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Motiv Forge Fire - Retired/Discontinued
The Forge Fire is a low rg/high differential symmetrical piece that fits in the middle of the bag best used for medium-heavy oil patterns when you need to create angle, but cannot “ball down” into truly skid/flip bowling balls. Bob typically uses this at box finish when his Idol is just too strong for the condition and is burning up early or the Idol Pearl/Phase III are too clean pushing too far down the lane.
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Storm Phase III - Retired/Discontinued
The Phase III is a strong hybrid symmetrical ball that is a great ball for house shots and medium volume sport shots. The Phase III is extremely clean and reacts fast to friction. The ball is great for anyone that needs a ball to come off the spot hard on medium to dry conditions. We would recommend for anyone who bowls typically on house shots looking to create some area. Bob keeps the ball polished, using it as it was designed, typically when a condition requires something quicker to friction than the balls listed above but needs to get through the front part of the lane. This ball comes factory polished which is great for some bowlers while others like to knock off the shine just a bit to tame the reaction slightly making it more controllable.
PHASE III™ BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Roto Grip Idol Pearl - Retired/Discontinued
The Idol Pearl is a strong pearl symmetrical ball that is a great pearl ball for both tournament and house shots. The Idol Pearl is clean, arcing, continuous ball that is ideal for medium to dry. It is favored by many top PBA bowlers of all styles from Norm Duke (one hander, lower rev, legend) to Belmo (2 hander, high rev, legend to be) to Bob (one hander, med rev, legend in his own mind) as a favorite ball when bowling on high friction lanes or late in tournament blocks. Bob keeps the ball polished, using it as it was designed, typically when a shot requires something slower to friction than the Phase III but get through the heads just as well. Some bowlers will knock off the factory finish with a 3000-4000 abralon to even out the reaction slightly making the ball shape a bit more rounded.
IDOL PEARL™ BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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Roto Grip Hustle HSB - Retired/Discontinued
The Hustle HSB is at the bottom of Bob's bag and will typically be used on shorter patterns, drier conditions or very high friction lanes. Bob uses this ball polished when he needs to get less reaction than the Idol Pearl for lanes that are toasty or when he needs a ball to play a shorter pattern straighter. The Hustle HSB has symmetrical core with a lower differential and polished hybrid coverstock allowing it to get down the lane on drier conditions retaining energy for the backend of the lane. Higher rev bowlers may have this ball higher up in the middle of the bag with balls like the Storm Electrify or Urethane in this slot.
HUSTLE™ HSB BOWLING BALL TECHNICAL / SPECS
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