I am a lefty. Great ball for the right lane condition.  I put the pin up kicked out to the left CG off to the left to get the most hook out of the ball.  I am a high speed high rev player and I use this ball when I am bowling regionals or I run onto a heavy oil sport shot.  Every time I have thrown this ball I have always had a good look at the pocket and had a very good ball reaction.  It is a great ball for the low rev player or the high speed player.
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Lucky lefty

Brunswick Strike Zone
Weight = 16lbs
Pin = 3 inch Pin
Mass Bias = offset 1" to right of cg/Pin line
Top Weight = 1.6oz before drill

Layout = Pin right of ring finger, MB next to thumb, 4 x 4
Weighthole = None

Surface Finish - Everything from 400 grit abralon to highly polished

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--0---0-P
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----0-MB--

Stats
Right
19-20mph of hand
425 rpm
PAP - 5 > 1/2 ^
Axis Rotation - 10*-60* degrees
Axis Tilt - 0*-15* degrees axis tilt

This is one of the oldest balls in my arsenal and the only one to survive in my change over to Storm equipment.  I initially drilled the ball as my oiler, but found that it's much more versatile than that.  This ball is what I call my Desperate Zone, if i'm confused on the lanes and nothing else is working, I can trust I'll find something with the Strike Zone.  No matter what tournament I've been to the SZ has been used for at least one game.

Overview
This ball is meant for heavier lane conditions and can handle almost any amount of carrydown you throw at it.  This was my second venture into Activator; the Raging Inferno being my first.  I feel this is one of the most tunable coverstocks i've got.  I've had every combo of grit and polish on this thing and each one is a different reaction.  

I drilled this ball before I really had any arsenal planned and is the only ball I have with a drilling like this; lower pin, with MB in really strong position.  Most of my stuff had the MB out in the boonies at 45 degrees with a hole to adjust the hook shape, but this drilling happens to be the most versatile drilling I have.  I can play anywhere and do anything with this ball.  Up the twig with speed, swing to the twig, up the track area, tight line inside of 12, long oil, short oil, going coast to coast, lofting the gutter caps, forward roll, side turn, cupped, uncupped,  you name it I've done it with this ball and done it well.  (All except light oil, I can't get far enough left on light oil)

Hook
No matter what house i'm in I trust this ball is going to make a strong move.  The only problem is sometimes it makes too strong a move.  Applying polish helped to smooth everything out but didn't provide the look I was going for on the lanes.  The Zone core gives me an amazing turn off the dry and with the MB at 90 degrees the turn is even more pronounced and continuous.  Many say this is a control ball but that control does not me a lack of backend power.  This is my coast to coast ball and yet it is my go to sport shot ball as it gives me a point and shoot capability at my breakpoint.  

Length
Being a solid sanded reactive the lenght is only dependent upon the length of the pattern.  You might 1ft. at the end of a pattern and the ball WILL start it's turn.  Polished, I got almost 5ft. of extra length while 400 grit abralon allows this ball to see the soup.

Control/Readability
As I said and will say again, this is my extreme coast to coast ball as well as my favorite sport shot ball.  With this ball in my hands I almost feel invincible.  I know exaclty what this ball will do and how to adjust as compared to my other equipment.  I can perfectly see the ball reacting on the lane even before I've thrown a shot.  I can see one person throw a ball and know where I want to throw my SZ.  I can't say enough about how much confidence this ball gives me on the lanes.  

Patterns played
Regional 3 38' crown
This pattern gives you a fake shot on the gutter, and a more manageable shot up the track. This ball allowed me to cash in my first regional.  It competly opened up the shot and allowed my to make easy predictable moves left as the shot dried.  I ended up lofting the gutters with confidence, nailing my breakpoint at 6 and seeing the ball scream back as if it was on rails. I used the ball from start to finish the first day, and again the second day.  Too bad I'm still not that good and only finished 22nd out of a maxed out field of 138.  Pretty good for my first regional.    

Regional 5 44'
This pattern is meant to be played in with a breakpoint inside of 10.  The Strike Zone was again the only ball I used this tournament and though it gave me a look it wasn't quite the right drilling.  I would have benefitted from a longer pin drill with the MB more towards 45 degrees.  The ball picked up well enough but didn't quite have the right shape to the hook to really maximize my scoring.  This is where another SZ, the Red Zone, and the Dyno-Thane Threshold will come in handy.

THS 39'-42'
I had my first 300, 800 (803), and 1000 (1054 4 games) milestones with this ball at my home lanes.  I've also won several tournaments in my local houses with this ball.  This ball gives me the most area and consistent hook on local house shots.

Compared to Other Balls in my Arsenal
Storm Paradigm - 5 x 4 1/2 drilling, cg @ 45 degrees. The Paradigm provided me with the same backend potential as a strong assymetrical cored ball, though the Strike Zone could handle more oil up front and as carrydown.
Storm Trifecta - 5 x 4 1/2 drilling, 600 grit abralon. The Trifecta is earlier than the SZ but a magnitude less in backend strength.  If the Strike Zone can't make a good move on the soup then I know the Trifecta will.


Overall Impressions and Final Thoughts
I can't say enough about this ball.  Just about every dollar i've won bowling recently can be attributed to this ball.  If i'm ever lost or struggling th SZ will give me a look.  If nothing is hooking, I know the SZ will.  If I can't carry the 10, I know the SZ will anihilate it.  This may not all be scientifically true but more importantly I feel that it's all true and in my head I'm invincible with this ball.

*backswing

PS - Thanks to Ramtart for the use of his review format. Makes it easier than trying to remember to include everyhting.


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*...Got the 5 out clean!

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Specs:
15lbs
3.5 inch pin
3oz top

http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=strikezonees6.jpg

Layout:
Pin under ring, MB 3 iches right of thumb, Pin 5 inches from PAP,
MB 4 inches from PAP, X-hole 6-3/4 from center of span, through the cg and past the MB

Conditions: AMF Synthetics/Top Hat Shot/39 feet/Clean backends, Wood lanes with fresh backends/40 feet, ABC Nationals

I've tried this ball on a variety of conditions. This ball shines when the lanes are fresh with clean backends. With this particular layout, the ball revs so hard and charges on the backend. When there is carry down, you have to tighten up your angles and go straighter. With carry down this ball still shines. The only weakness is when the heads start to burn up. It causes the ball to use up so much energy up front and quit on the back. You can play various angles with this ball, tweak the cover to your liking and it responds to different hand postions.

This has to be one of Brunswick's most underated balls.

This ball hooks, plain and simple. It is also an oil sponge. I have found it works best on conditions where there is a lot of oil and relatively soft backends. If you can find a line with it, then while you have that line, there is no one who can beat you. However, if your line disappears then you might as well pack up and go home, because you won't be able to find it again. Oftentimes when that happens in the middle of a set, I find the most useful thing to do is pull out a pearlized ball (the Rampage being my personal choice) and attempt the play the line you were playing with the Strike Zone as I find 9 times out of 10 it works just as well. In order to react properly, this ball must be kept in box condition (800-grit wetsand). I just couldn't get a satisfactory reaction when I polished. I reccomend cleaning this ball after every 3 games (preferably with Black Magic) as this ball is a sponge. As with all Activator coverstocks, this ball has the best carry if you have a good amount of side roll. The reaction is very smooth, early, and controllable, despite how enourmously this ball hooks. Overall this ball is a very good buy.

Arsenal:
Brunswick Total Inferno
Brunswick Strike Zone
BVP Nemesis
BVP Rampage
Dyno-Thane Element Zr40
Ebonite Maxim (spare)

My specs:
16 mph avg.
Mid-high track
Mid revs

I haven't reviewed a ball in some time, so I have a little catching up to do.

I have drilled 3 Strike Zones:
1. 2.5" pin, 3.2 oz. top
Pin over, 4 1/2 x 3 1/2, x-hole on axis, PSA strong
2. 2.5" pin, 2.8 oz. top
Pin under, 5 x 4 1/2, no hole, PSA strong
3. 1.5" pin, 2.2 oz. top
Pin in palm, 5 x 4 1/2, x hole in thumb quadrant, PSA stong

A basic overview:  All three balls roll early with the box finish.  The difference is in the backend reactions.  The pin high ball, despite the early roll, comes off the dry very hard.  The pin low ball has a strong backend, but it is much smoother off the dry.  Polished, the pin high ball gets extra skid, good midlane read, and a strong backend move.  The pin-low ball had good midlane recovery and a smooth move off the dry.  

The pin-in-palm ball rolls VERY early, and is very smooth off of friction, but still retains the hitting power of the other two balls.  

In addition to my own, I have drilled several cases of these for the team with good results.  Strong midlane and backend reactions on oily conditions.  

This is great solid reactive.  It has the strength of an Ultimate Inferno in box finish and provides a smooth and controllable reaction with polish.  A great ball for medium oily/oily lane conditions.  If I could do one thing differently I would have drilled one with the PSA closer to or under the thumb.




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J. J. Mastny
Men's Head Coach
UNO Mavericks Bowling

I love this ball. I got it 2 days ago on sale for $65. Had it drilled with pin under ring finger. cg kicked right and x hole on pap. used it for the first time today and shot a 632 out of the box. I'm still a beginner so this was just amazing. First time ever that I was able to shoot consecutive 200+. I bowl 14-16 mph. Low-med rev rate. track/down and in. great ball

IMO this is brunswick's second best bowling ball ever, second to the Vapor Zone.  Drilled two of these balls and both were great when I wanted to throw them straighter.  First one was 4 1/4 from my axis, pin through ring finger mass bias at 50 degrees. The second was 6" from my axis below the middle finger, mass bias in flip zone.

The first ball was finished at 2000 abralon and was great anywhere right of 15 because it rolled very early and was very smooth at the breakpoint.  I cashed in my first regional throwing this ball on the Viper pattern flaming it up 8 and killing racks.

The second ball 1000 abralon+shine.  This ball needed much less oil and was flippier than the first.  Another great ball to throw striaght with.  I used it alot on house shot when I wanted to move right and also rolled good on the cheetah pattern.

Both ball handle surface adjustments very weill and I cried when I found out this ball is discontinued, hopefully the Blast Zone will be just as good.  If you can find one, drill it anyway you want, it will roll great.
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www.bowlingsolutions.com

Move left, hook it more.....

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