All right, I drilled a Red Zone a couple of weeks ago (after Scott got back from the Mini/HIgh roller with one and I kinda "stole" it from him) and so far I love it.

15lbs
3" pin
Drilled 4 1/2 x 3 3/4 pin 1 1/2" above center grip

Same layout as my Classic Zone #1 (2 and 3 yet to be drilled), except my Classic has the pin 2 1/2" from center grip. Ball in OOB condition gets downlane very nice, picks up aout 2 feet sooner than the Classic and delivers the same backend reaction. Bowled on a fairly fresh house condition today, was able to get play around 3rd arrow, out to about 7 and "the spot" and ball made a solid move to the pocket. Threw the same line as my Classic (again similar drilling and the same OOB surface) and Classic went about 2 feet longer before making the move. So far awesome 1-2 combo for a medium oiled 40 foot THS.

Got to also use the ball on a semi-burnout condition (yes there are lefties in the world) and was able to play a tighter line, ball reacted very well through carrydown where my Classic seemed to skid along with my Smokin (drilled 5 x 2 1/2) Red Zone moved was continuous through the backend.

Overall in an OOB surface, ball is definately a bit stronger than a Classic Zone and a wonderful addition to the Zone line. I am debating on wether to drill another one and take the surface down to 800 grit (similar to a Strike Zone for more oil or not). Awesome compliment to the Classic with the polish. Thank you again to Brunswick and please continue to make the best quality products on the market.


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Unoffical Brunswick staff 06-07
Viva la Nacion!

Right handed tweener. Check my profile for exact specs.

4" Pin, drilled 60 degree, pin over fingers, which ends up about 5 1/4 from PAP. Small to medium weigh hole drilled deeper...just gets into the core.

Played on 2 different types of shots so far:

1) Busted up house shot after 2 league shifts. Played from ~18-20 at arrows out to ~7-9 at a 40 ft break point. Ball flys through the heads and at the breakpoint makes a solid, continuous move to the pocket. Absolutely blows the rack since it's storing so much energy. Even if you don't catch it all, it still rolls up solid. Give it some room and it will work wonders at the end of a shift. I feel that with this ball, I have unlimited room left when the shot dries up.

2) Fresh competitive house shot (~40 ft) with reduced bounce to the outsides. Ball does seem to have a tendancy to be a little over/under here. It's definately more sensitive to mistakes release and speed wise as it's looking for some dry here. Really this isn't what the ball was supposed to be for so this result makes sense. A move right with the target does help, but I have other equipment that works better on fresher shots.

Overall this ball is a keeper for me. Unless I have strong backends with a shorter pattern, strong bounce to the outsude, or a shot that has broken down some, it won't be the first ball out of the bag, but it will definately be the second one. Super ball Brunswick, keep it up!

Red Zone
Ball Specs
The ball being drilled was a 3” pin out with 3.00 oz top weight.
Drilling: Pin 4" from PAP and Mb 55 degree angle. Pin is above ring finger, 3" above grip midline. Weight Hole on my axis. Factory Polished/Then Sanded to 1000 Abralon.

Bowler Information:
Track diameter is 10 1/2.
PAP is measured at 5 1/4 over and 3/8" up.
Average ball speed (foul line to head pin) is 17 mph.
Axis rotation is typically 90 degrees
Initial rev rate is typically 300 rpm, "Tweener"
Lane Condition and Pattern:
Bowlero Lanes, HPL 9000 Panel. Oil Pattern: Medium to Heavy oil with semi clean backends.

Review: Again Mika told me at the Trade show this year that most pro's drill this ball with the MB at a 55 Degree Angle, 45 degree creates a little to much jump off the dry, so I tried it.

Again I like it, it more predictable at the break point than the Zone Classic and about 2-3 boards more hook. It is just not enough hook for Bowlero's heavy flood of oil. So I sanded the ball down to 1000 abralon and shot 660 with the ball leaving a few ten pins in the set. For me and Bowlero a much better set up sanded.

If you strap the ball, I would try it polished 1st then tweak the surface from there. If you are a tweener or stroker that is bowling on oil, I would definitely sand this ball down 1st, to 1000 to 2000 abralon. I like the quick revving core that matched up well to the coverstock. Brunswick's R&D did a great job with this one.



Thanks for reading me review.
Dwight

I set mine up with a 5.5 inch pin to PAP which is the longest I have ever used.  The MB was strong.  In box condition the Red Zone reads head oil and skids more than any of the other activator shells I have thrown.  It seems to compare to the Vapor Zone just about the way Brunswick says it does.  I haven't tried it yet on an inside hooking condition, where I think it will really shine.  Even with early skid it still gets that strong mid lane roll with nich continuation that is characteristic of Brunswick activator combined with low rg cores

specs:
15lbs 15oz
2.5" pin
3.1oz tw

layout:
pin 3/4" above ring finger, MB kicked right 1 3/4"
pin to PAP 5", MB to PAP 4 3/4"

left in OOB condition

i wanted this ball to shoot down the lane with a BIG flip on
the back-end.  what i got was exactly that.  ball has no problem
getting down the lane on fresh oil, or when lanes break down.  back-end
is huge on fresh shot with a little bit of over/under with carrydown(not much).
on dry conditions, i can still get the ball down the lane after moving left,
but with tremendous left turn and the ball going through the nose/brooklyn.
the ball shines on fresh conditions(medium oil with 5 to gutter out of bonds is my house shot)
and clean back-ends.  nice setup with a little midlane read and left turn on
back-end.  outside of the little over/under the red zone is consistant and
has so much stored energy it hits ungodly.  with the angle the ball comes in at
i rarely leave corner pins and yet to leave an 8 or 9 pin with it.  but with
that angle i do leave(and have left over 10) alot of 7-10 splits in the hole.

overall, a very good ball with great legnth and back-end, and explosive energy
and power at the pins.

This is my second review of this ball.  What I can say is, this ball is a lot like the Scrochin Inferno when it comes to hitting power.  The Classic on the right condition absolutely shred the rack.  However, the Red Zone is a much more versatile ball than the Classic.  I find that the Red Zone works great when I try to take a little hook off by tilting the ball more when I line up but still using enough fingers to get some hit.  The Scorchin and Red Zone are not weak hitting balls, you just need to adjust a little bit and then they work fine.
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Brandon
Owner of a Vertex Mold 1/2 HP.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bowling_tips_group

oldrerack
Lane Conditions: Heavy Oil
Typical Conditions: House Shot
Type of Lane: All Synthetic
What part of the lane did you play? Second Arrow
Weight of bowling ball: 15
Surface of bowling ball: Factory/Box
Likes: Over all reaction
Angular breakpoint, and better mid-lane recovery
and forgiveness
A new standard for traction that leaves other balls behind
Dislikes: hooks too much on Dry-Medium Conditions

The hits keep right on Coming
Brunswick truly hit the mark on this ball
Red Zone was truly hot
At the Mini events held in Las Vegas this year

This ball cut thru the oil
strong in the mid-lane but did not hook early.
ball was clean thru the heads,
strong in the mid-lane, and great continuation in the back-ends.
In comparison to the the Scorchin’ Inferno was about 5-10 boards more aggressive
And this was without a super aggressive layout.
Unlike most manufacturers who just release balls and say they hook more and will be better then their predecessors,
The Red Zone truly lives up to the hype.
Great Ball For straighter player

My Layout: Pin 4 ¼ from PAP, CG 4 ¼ from PAP,
Pin is below ring finger above the mid-line of my grip.
My PAP: 5" across 1/8 Up
Balance hole 2¾ Down below PAP
Ball Specs: 15 lbs. 3 oz, Pin Distance 3-4 Top Weight 2.7