My second solid, has the spinners dream lay out on it (look in drill patterns book that comes with the rogue cell) to see what it is. This lay out lets me play lanes with multiple angles, can play the lanes straight up the boards or move in side and loop the ball. Haven't shot anything with this one yet.
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Mr300800

Ball Layout:
4 5/8 pin to axis, so just under middle and bridge, cg under the ring.

At OOB this ball was very speed sensitive for me, especially here on the Lansing area house patterns. Even on sport patterns this ball would often give me a wet dry look as it would skate through the oil too often and read off the dry too hard. When the pattern would break down it could even be too much of the spot (breakpoint) for me. So I took the cover down to 4000 and I got exactly what i wanted out of it. Something I could go to when I wanted to 1) open the lanes up, 2) something I could go to when i wanted to move in and still make a corner, 3) but still read the lanes greatly front to back.

This ball is generally the first ball out of my bag, especially on the house patterns. Plays very well for me except on the extremes of the short, long, or very high volume patterns. But after some lane play, the ball gives me exactly what I want.

I've had this ball for quite some time now, plenty of games on it, plenty of great scores. Definitely a must have in my bag for a very long time. Especially with the color choice of green.

GO GREEN!
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Michael Cabot
Michigan State University c/o 2010
(soon to be alumni)

If this ball doesn't make Ball of the Year, somebody is losing it! My ball has a simple label leverage drill on it. Cg in the palm, Pin just right of ring finger.

The ball is smooth as butter with sneaky strong hit, and exceptional carry! I recently shot 735 with it in a local tournament, and probably could have done much better if I'd moved my feet! I love this ball! Strong continuous arc, that allows you to play the lanes anywhere you want!

I have shot more 700 sets with this ball, than any other one ball in my arsenal. And I've only had this ball for about two months now. Great piece from RotoGrip. Should be in everyone's bag.
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Duct tape is like ''The Force''. It has a light side and a dark side, but it still holds the universe together.

Some days you''re the bug some days you''re the windshield.

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Rick Mitchell
Roto-Grip Staff Member

Roto Grip Amateur Staff

Jimmy Crews

I was fortunate enough to bowl in the World Series of Bowling in Detroit during the month of August and I can tell you from first hand experience, this is the most popular ball on tour right now. Everyone who is associated with Storm and Roto Grip were drilling Nomads out like crazy, as well as bowlers who are free agents. I made matchplay in the Chameleon Championship and got beat by Jeff Carter who was throwing a Nomad he had just drilled that morning. The point I'm trying to make is that if the best bowlers in the world utilize this ball so much, there must be something to it.

What I like so much about the Nomad Solid is its ability to get through the heads but at the same time be a complete monster in the backends. Plus, this ball just hits like a truck. The carry is just amazing. If you are looking for a ball to use on house shots or medium length (39-41 feet) PBA/Sport patterns then the Nomad is what you need to get.
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Mike Keily - Roto Grip Amateur Staff

ROTO GRIP - King Of Them All!

My first game was a 258 and a three way tie for high game. In the money.
The second game shaped up just like the last only a pin shy, 257. Still clean.
The last game I started off with the front six and left a ten pin. The 8th frame was a strike. Then the 9th was a 9 pin. Still clean. Then the tenth came up and I left a ten pin, which I needed to pick up to win a four way tie for clean game. I double kissed it for the split of the clean 30 pot. $$
248 would be my last game for a 763.I cashed for the high series of the night.

GO ROTO GRIP AND THE NOMAD!!!!!!!!

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(AJ) Andrew Jensen
Roto Grip Staffer

The ball is clean through the heads and responds nicely when touching the dry.
The break to the pocket is nice and controlled. The Nomad read the mid-lanes and picks up a nice roll, not a snappy reaction and it also has a great drive through the pins.

This is a perfect ball for medium oil.

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Mike Johnston
Roto Grip Advisory Staff

Layout – Pin 1” below bridge, BH 7/8 bit x 2” deep 4 ½ right, 1 ¼ down

Surface: OOB

Review:

This ball impressed me a lot. I was definitely surprised how easy it got through the heads. It’s very responsive to the dry, but not too much. Very readable reaction off its break point and it carries amazing. It also handles carry down very well.

This is a great ball for your typical house shot, and your average joe bowler. The cover is very forgiving and very versatile. If you want more length out of it, the polish doesn’t take away from its strength.

If you're a scratch player, trust me, you will find this ball very fun to throw!
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Edgar Atienza
Roto Grip Staffer
Manager of Best Bowling Pro Shops - Plaza Lanes, St. Charles, MO
edgar@bestbowlingproshops.com

2) Ball Specifications

a) Gross Weight: 16#
b) Top Weight: 2.?? oz.
c) Pin Placement: 3.5"
d) Coverstock: Ultra Vision Solid Reactive
e) Core: Symmetrical (Rotary core from the Sliver Streak series)

3) Drill Layout/Pattern: label leverage

a) Pin to PAP distance: 4", Pin is 2 1/4" from the VAL.
b) CG to PAP distance: 4 5/8" with the CG 1" from grip centerline on the midline.
c) Extra Hole Placement (NONE)
d) Mass Bias Placement (NONE)

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w89/aloarjr810/bowlingballs/roto_nomad_sol.jpg

4) Surface Preparation

a) Surface Type: OOB 1500 polished
b) Surface Type: 800 grit wet sand finished with 4000 abralon.

5) Bowler Specifications

a) Right handed
b) Stroker
c) Ball Speed (estimated) 18mph
d) Rev rate (estimated): Medium rev’s
e) Positive Axis Point (PAP):5 7/8"> 5/8"^
f) About 13 degree axis tilt

6) Lanes

a) Type of lanes (synthetic) Brunswick Pro Anvil
b) Oil pattern Information (Typical House Shot “THS”)

7) Ball Reaction Characteristics

a) The ball is very clean through the heads, getting good length.
b) The mid-lane read was good
c) The ball made a nice move off the oil, and had a nice even reaction on the backend.
d) The ball retained energy well, The backend was a strong angular one, with good continuation to and through the pin's.

8) Miscellaneous Information

a) Used in two leagues (Mixed (4players), All men(5players) and open play.

9)Summary
I've used this ball for several weeks now, I could easily parrot other reviews. But I'll just focus on a couple of thing's that I was looking at Hold & Recovery, Lane read and pin carry.

The ball's recovery was amazing, throw the ball outside and it came back. Almost a problem for me, trusting the ball enough to send it to the outside. In the out of box condition, it would go just a little long on the mixed league (because it has a oilier condition, because theres a second league following it.). Hold was good on this shot, but with carrydown hit was problematic.

On the drier men's league recovery was almost spooky, it would come back from just about anywhere. Back as the lanes broke down it was just to much, the ball still reacted well and I didn't see it rolling out. But I couldn't get it down the lane. Hold was good at the beginning of the night, but as the oil goes so should the ball go to the bag.

Where the ball shined for me, was when I changed the surface to a 800 grit wet sand and finished it with 4000 abralon and used on the mixed league. This surface change evened the reaction and improved the lane read, but still retained most all of the recovery and hold reaction was more predictable.

The other thing I was watching was pin carry, I wanted to see if the ball having a thick coverstock changed how the pins reacted when hit.

The thinner coverstock balls I think have a little “give” when they hit, with the pins just bouncing off them. Which can cause them to fly around in the air more, which can lead to a lot of ringing leaves.

The Nomad gave the pins a better look when it hit. The pins stayed low and spinning, you could even hear a difference in the sound of the hit. It gave a feeling that more energy was being imparted to the pins.

I want to see now how the ball holds up over the long run. With the thinner covers cracking so much more lately, I want to see if these thicker one hold up more like the old time balls.

This is a good strong ball and I recommend it, but remember it's skid/flip type ball. So make sure that it will fit your game.
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Aloarjr810
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Click For My Grip

After struggling to carry in a four game summer league that saw me only averaging 210 after the first half, I drilled the Nomad and shot 980+ for the last three weeks of the league (only 890 the previous week). I was second high in the league each week and did pretty good in the side pots against some of the better bowlers in the Houston area.

I drilled a second Nomad Solid with a similar layout but dulled the surface to give me a different look on a tighter condition or a more severe wet / dry shot. In a SASBA (Senior) tournament over the Labor Day weekend in Lafayette, the ball reacted great, carried better than ever expected and my partner and I won the tournament. I was high qualifier, out-averaging even the kids (guys under 50).

The person who said this ball is like the Silver Streak on steroids is right on. Same core, stronger cover stock, what more can you ask for. This ball is incredible. With the cover, it had no problems getting through the heads, reads the mid-lane great, and hits very hard going through the pins. This ball is more than what I thought it was going to be. I really liked my Silver Streak, but this ball, WOW!! I am looking forward to my tournament schedule to start.

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Chris Slagter
Roto Grip Amatuer Staff

A few years ago I had drilled a high end ball from another manufacturer with the pin 6" from my axis and ended up with a really good spare ball, as the ball never would get into a roll unless I was using it on a gymnasium floor. After seeing how strong the backend was on the pearl I decided what the heck, so I drill the Nomad with the pin 6" from my axis which put it at about 2" left of the center of my grip and 2" above the grip center. I placed the CG right on my grip center.

When I was done the ball looked like it was drilled for the typical lefthander.
I really didn't know what to expect after my last disastrous attempt at this layout. When I first rolled the ball it loped for about 35 - 40 ft, but to my surprise once the ball hit dry boards you could see the core shift and the ball got into a really nice strong roll and killed the pocket.

After rolling both balls on a house shot I found all I had to do with the 6" Nomad was move my feet 10 boards right and my target 5 right on the same condition. The ball reads the lane really well, getting into a nice strong roll with very little deflection. While I wouldn't recommend this layout for everyone it just demonstrates the versatility of the Nomad. It works great on drier lanes and shorter patterns. I can't wait to try it on the Cheetah.