BallReviews
Equipment Boards => Storm => Topic started by: LoganS on July 02, 2012, 05:30:03 PM
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Why does everyone sweat Storm bowling balls?? What makes them so popular? Is it the smell? It seems like everywhere I go, I see more Storm equipment than any other brand. WHY?
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Maybe they just crank out more balls than any other single brand? Or are they are better at building brand awareness through advertising?
One company has to be tops in sales. Look at sports shoes, is Nike really any better than the other leading brands? Or just better at advertising?
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What makes Storm so special? That can only be answered by "you", everyone will swear about "their" brand of choice. Have you thrown any to form your own opinion.
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They are popular. They give people the "stand left, throw right, flip hard on the backend" reaction they want. They're very good balls from top to bottom. Most of theyre better balls are in the mid-price point, which makes it affordable to have multiple balls compared to 1 high performance ball from another company. Their mid price equipment is probably the best on the market and can contend against most companies high performance balls. Their high performance equipment is very smartly put together and usable on THS. They do a great job of marketing and sponsorship which sells their equipment. Their ball finishing system is copied by all the other major ball companies
And all of this from someone who doesnt own a storm ball. Lol! Just being real.
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I agree with righty 100%! I just think they're lines are put together so well it makes going from ball to ball really easy. Usually the trend is a solid..hybrid..then a Pearl (in no particular order). They seem to keep it simple and go with what works. I personally live the thunder and tropical line. Pretty much all I use on ths. I bowl leagues in two houses and one plays quite a bit dryer than the other. I take the tropicals there and use my roads in the tighter house. They market really well and it doesn't hurt all the success they have had on tour in recent years. Oh..and they smell good ;). I'm biased though I'm a storm and roto guy all the way but I'm not blind. Other companies make great equipment as well. Storm Inc. Is just my choice.
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Marketing and advertising.
Better incentives then the other companies, therefore more people throwing them on TV.
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Always been a Columbia guy. First Storm was a NANO. Didn't like it. A lot of over under reaction. Worked with it a while, rolled a 795 last summer. It is a good ball, but I had to get the drill right for me. Was looking for a replacement for my C300 Outburst. Triied the Storm Modern Marvel. Second game out of the box was a 300. It became an instan favorite. I am not in the habit of smelling my balls a lot, so the fragrance dosen't mean much to me. The NANO is a very hard flip and the Marvel is a strong arch. I use a lot of different brands. I believe Marketing and price point have a lot to do with it. Also they have a lot of big name pros using it, so I think they must give them a lot of incentives.
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No offense Storm has not been in any other market until now. So all they could do was focus on bowling balls. Now they are in the shoe business. I think they will start going down little by little by focusing on the shoe part. Take Ebonite and AMF and brunswick. They are all working with Bowling alleys pinsetters and ball returns and even in the computers, but recently they turned their attention to their ball line. Back in the day when i started everyone was throwing Ebonite and a little Brunswick because they were ahead of everyone in ball motion now that is Storm and everyone is trying to catch up.
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Actually Storm is kind of in the shoe business. Dexter is making their shoes for them and doing a bunch of the sales and marketing. I can't believe Storm is putting much of their resources in shoes.
There have been large ups and downs in the bowling ball business over the years. At times Ebonite, Columbia, and Brunswick were on top so I wouldn't read too much into Storm's current position as one of the best selling brands right now.
Since bowling balls are a very established business and there is really not much 'new' you can do it is really a matter of execution in order to do well. Right now Storm seems to be doing a good job in many areas of the business; sales, marketing, and product development. It doesn't hurt that a large percentage of national and international bowlers are throwing their equipment.
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I think they are more conservative with ideas with a "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach, while improving on winning and proven products. Imo have they really made a flop in the past few years? I'm really trying to think of one..
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I personally liked it, but the Invasion can be considered a flop.
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what draws me to storm is how they stick with cores and covers that are proven to work and be versatile. there's not as much trial and error with their balls, you pretty much know what to expect when you drill one. they have so many more balls on the market than other brands, but I like how there's a solid, hybrid, and pearl in each line. it's easy to come up with an arsenal that fits your game, regardless of your style. storm keeps it simple more than any other company, and the scents are just an extra bonus.
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Agreed with the ease of piecing together an arsenal with their product line.
Also from a pro shop's perspective they (in my opinion) have the longest shelf life of any company out there. Rarely do you see balls getting discontinued within a year of their release date. Alot of the time you have balls in the product line for years before being replaced ie: Hyroad, Virtual Gravity, etc.
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Is this a hate on storm thread???
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It goes back to the beginnings of the company. It was run by bowlers, and they put a lot of guys on staff over the years to both get the message out, and get feedback on equipment. They grew up in the resin era, and although Columbia and Track originally had better resin balls in the early mid 90s, Storm had some great break throughs with the Bolt, and El Nino that caught them a lot of the market by 2000. Storm was further helped by Columbia and Brunswick business decisions. Columbia basically bet the company on the epoxy ball which was a failure, and probably ultimately lead to their demise.
Brunswick went another direction with technology at the same time they opted to move to Mexico. The Furys Wilds, and C System balls were not as good as the infernos and Zones they replaced. Whether it was design, or quality control, who knows, but it made the decision for a lot of people to go another direction easy at the time.
Ebonite has always suffered from the perception that their shells don't hold up without meticulous maintenance beyond what a lot of bowlers are willing to invest.
At the end of the day, Storm makes very good equipment, and nobody is better to their bowlers than Storm.
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Imo not much
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Little difference in one company to the next for the most part. I see very little Storm equipment where I live. The shops here are owned by the same person who has gone all EBI brands, but will order any thing else. Mostly Hammer and Track sell of the four, EBI and Columbia don'tt sell nearly as well.
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I like storm/roto cause it fits my game. That's what makes Storm special...
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The best way to judge who is making the best stuff at a given time is to see what the NON-staffers (free agents) are using on the PBA Tour. They are choosing what they think is the best equipment that will help them make the most money. Storm & Roto have dominated with free agents in recent years.
One caution: This is on PBA shots and doesn't mean they may work best on your local miniature golf condition.
I'd also agree that ball technology is pretty much plateau'd as a general statement. Don't expect to see any more gigantic breakthroughs in my lifetime ... although one can't ever predict the future.
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While were at it what would you like to see from storm in the near future? I've already stated I love the tropical and thunder lines. I would love to see a new heat with a solid r2s cover on it. Then a new road with the fe2 core and Pearl reactor cover from the heat line. I believe those 2 combinations would really round out those 2 lines. I mean what else would you really need.
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The best way to judge who is making the best stuff at a given time is to see what the NON-staffers (free agents) are using on the PBA Tour. They are choosing what they think is the best equipment that will help them make the most money. Storm & Roto have dominated with free agents in recent years.
One caution: This is on PBA shots and doesn't mean they may work best on your local miniature golf condition.
I'd also agree that ball technology is pretty much plateau'd as a general statement. Don't expect to see any more gigantic breakthroughs in my lifetime ... although one can't ever predict the future.
Well said Riggs
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While were at it what would you like to see from storm in the near future? I've already stated I love the tropical and thunder lines. I would love to see a new heat with a solid r2s cover on it. Then a new road with the fe2 core and Pearl reactor cover from the heat line. I believe those 2 combinations would really round out those 2 lines. I mean what else would you really need.
Been there, done that.
The Furious had the R2S cover and "Heat" core.
The Thunder Struck pearl was basically a Victory core with the Reactor cover. The puck and the ball were reversed(the puck is now on the bottom, and the ball towards the top of the Victories while it was opposite of the Thunder Struck balls) , but the over all numbers were almost identical in 15lb balls. 16lbs have lower rg's with the Victory core but similar diffs. Probalby isn't a bad thing anyway, considering you would want something that was "cleaner" through the lane. The shape of motion on the lane was very close to each other as well.
You may be able to find those balls on the internet.
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From day one when Storm was HSP they have had the attitude of putting the bowler first. I think they are about the only company to have a stand like that. I personally don't use Storm, long story. They have always put out great equipment. The only ball that I have heard mixed results was the La Nina.
I have seen others say they stick with what works and make small tweaks to it. That is one thing they do. Very rarely will you see a big drastic change in direction from them. By having the reaction stay close to the same helps their followers know what to expect. I give them credit for sticking to their guns on this.
Storm has had a long run on top. Just like any run this to will come to an end. All companies have had their days at the top and their days on the bottom. I remember Track being on top with the Heat years ago. Brunswick with the Inferno line and the Zone line back in the day when that came out. Columbia, Hammer, and Ebonite have all had their days. It will change soon on who is on top. Question is who will knock them off the top of the mountain?
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I think they are more popular because most of the pros throw them. I have tried many Storm balls and they don't work well for my game. I've had better luck with 900 Global they seem to match up better for me.
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Everything about Storm makes them special!!
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I think with Storm, they have come up with time tested and proven products. Plus, they tend to have virtually all of the bases covered when it comes to arsenal building.
For me personally, the Storm products tend to be a little too flippy on the backend and with the exception of the Hy-Road, they haven't fit me the best.
Now their sister brand Roto Grip on the other hand seems to fit my game perfectly. They tend to still use a lot of very similar covers and cores to an extent. Unlike Storm, they will totally reinvent the wheel when it comes to core design and new covers though.
The Rotary Core is still the best symmetrical core that I have ever thrown.
Now, I really like that I can mix and match pieces between both brands, or that I can stick with one if I choose. That's how complete their lines are.
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my 2 cents worth...Within the last 2 seasons, alot of Storm's "Pro" representatives has dominated the "Big" shows. This PBA season alone, how many times did a Storm Pro win in the WSOB series? As someone has mentioned here, Marketing/Advertising the product plays a big part.
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For me, Storm just fits my game better than any other company. The pros on staff or how many times a storm product has been on a show has absolutely nothing to do with me. Before Storm I used all Track until Ebo took over and got off to a really bad start-other than the Kinetic Energy. They have all the bases covered for the wide variety of patterns I bowl on.
Every storm ball I've thrown wasn't wonderful, some were absolute piles, like the Invasion, Prodigy and Furious.
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My opinion on this one is this.....
Storm has made a living on giving the bowler what they want in a ball. Many bowlers want a ball that hooks a lot. Storm has made their share of big hooking balls but where Storm products accel is on the backend. What most bowlers want when they say they want a "big hooking ball" what they really want is a ball that recovers hard on the backend.
Storm has made a living on strong off the spot....that';s my take anyway.
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Quick response to friction is a term I now hear a lot!
I agree with Doug Sterner completely. Storm is synonymous with sexy colors, quick response off the break, interesting smells, power or great bowlers who are on the show a lot. A sexier image.
I believe 900 Global has come out with a lot of similar stuff in their 70 plus quick response coverstock balls.
Brunswick which has the reputation of even reaction for eons is now may surprise some people with their dramatic pickup of response off the dry which is being demonstrated on the senior pro tour this year and a bit with Ryan Ciminelli at the end of last year!
Regards,
Luckylefty
PS as a lefty, very often these quick response balls are NOT needed!
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Quick response to friction is a term I now hear a lot!
I agree with Doug Sterner completely. Storm is synonymous with sexy colors, quick response off the break, interesting smells, power or great bowlers who are on the show a lot. A sexier image.
I believe 900 Global has come out with a lot of similar stuff in their 70 plus quick response coverstock balls.
Brunswick which has the reputation of even reaction for eons is now may surprise some people with their dramatic pickup of response off the dry which is being demonstrated on the senior pro tour this year and a bit with Ryan Ciminelli at the end of last year!
Regards,
Luckylefty
PS as a lefty, very often these quick response balls are NOT needed!
Especially on older synthetics.
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Djarum,
I agree with that comment also. In recent times it seems the new synthetics are not as smooth and slippery where the oil moves and just a slight amount of surface topagraphy has been added making all the synthetics a little more friction in the actual lane bed.
Storm with their quick response could really handle those old slick "anvilanes". The AMF and new friction anvilanes don't seem to need such a quick response! A little more blend at the edges wouldn't hurt a bit either! A frequent retort of the rev dominant bowler.
REgard,
Luckylefty
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I have been a pro shop staffer for about 4 years now and occasional driller of their equipment in the past prior to that. One thing that stands out is the approach they take with their customer base. They give them what they want. Call or approach a rep of there company and you usually find people who geniunely love the game and are good reps of the company.
They also do there best to listen to the people who help them promote and sell the product, the pro shop. If there is a problem, simply call their customer service line and you deal with some of the best people in the business world not just bowling.
To summarize, they are willing to go the extra mile for their customers and surround themselves with people cut from the same cloth.
From day one when Storm was HSP they have had the attitude of putting the bowler first. I think they are about the only company to have a stand like that. I personally don't use Storm, long story. They have always put out great equipment. The only ball that I have heard mixed results was the La Nina.
I have seen others say they stick with what works and make small tweaks to it. That is one thing they do. Very rarely will you see a big drastic change in direction from them. By having the reaction stay close to the same helps their followers know what to expect. I give them credit for sticking to their guns on this.
Storm has had a long run on top. Just like any run this to will come to an end. All companies have had their days at the top and their days on the bottom. I remember Track being on top with the Heat years ago. Brunswick with the Inferno line and the Zone line back in the day when that came out. Columbia, Hammer, and Ebonite have all had their days. It will change soon on who is on top. Question is who will knock them off the top of the mountain?
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Storm is special because of their equipment. I can only think of a couple of duds they have put out (La Nina, Trauma Response, Invasion), but look at the Thunder core. It's been around since 94, 95? Still working. Every Storm ball I have ever owned (and the list is not long) has been great. Trauma ER? Awesome. Erase-It? Awesome. Thunder? Totally awesome. Personally, the midline stuff looks better than the high end stuff nowadays. I see a bunch of people wrecking with the Vivid, which doesn't look so whippy on the back end like the Thunder series.
If I didn't like 900 Global so much (which personally, I feel that the covers on the 900 stuff is just a shade less flippy and sensitive off the spot than the Storm products.) I would put holes in some Storm stuff. Done with EBI, and Brunswick has never matched up well with me.