BallReviews

Reviews => Columbia 300 => Topic started by: admin on December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM

Title: Beast With MICA
Post by: admin on December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM
The Beast with MICA has been added to the Beast line of balls. The proven Flexcel coverstock of the original Beast has been enhanced with MICA. The core is an inverted bulb-shaped core within a round core. The available weights are 10-16 lbs.  The color of the ball is Purple Solid or Purple Pearl with Neon Red Engraving.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Drillmn300 on February 02, 2000, 01:00:00 AM
Nice ball, it reminds me of the original Beast with a little more zing on the backend. Had to polish it to 5,000 but now it does seem to clear the heads nice and has plenty of hit on the backend.

It's good to see some older equitment coming back into the game.

Drill
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: REVOLUTIONS PS on February 15, 2000, 01:00:00 AM
The guys at our shop can never understand why balls like the beast don't seem to sell in comparison to the "hook monsters".  All this ball does is keep you in control on conditions where the pocket is not wide open.  We drilled the beast with the pin 6" from the pap on a pin in ball(under the fingers) with a 1500 grit and finesse surface. This created tremendous length and virtually no flare, again putting the emphasis on control.  During tournament conditions on late squads, the beast ignored the drying heads and allowed the bowler to concentrate on the breakpoint without having to force it on line.  On synthetics with fresh backends the beast did well not jumping too hard whan it came out of the oil and the carry was never a problem.  I believe the key to matching up a ball to a condition is shell prep and the beast is a good example.  This is one of the most versatile balls around for medium to dry conditions.



If you have any questions about this or any of our other reviews, contact us at proshop@bowlero.com


Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Shane Strickland on February 19, 2000, 01:00:00 AM
I don't know if this is the ball that I am suppose to write about, but I have a Beast PEARL w/ Mica.  Anyway,  this ball is a great ball for when the shot is medium to dry.  When I first threw this ball, it reminded me of my Meteor Flash, but doesn't get quite the flip that the Flash does.  It is the perfect ball for a beginner or intermediate bowler.  It is also well just to keep in your bag when a house isn't heavily oiled.

~Shane Strickland

"ST0RM thr0ugh the c0mpititi0n."
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Paul Meyer on May 15, 2000, 02:00:00 AM
Well I should have posted this review a while ago, but I want to sing my praise for this ball. I drilled mine with a 4x2 drill pattern with balance hole about 8 inches from center of span. Shined to 3000 grit ebonite polish.  Well this ball has worked for me on basically every type of lane condition with the exception of extreme oil or extreme dry.  Even on a wet-dry condition, this ball would make its move off of the dry and set and hit very hard.  On an average blended condition, this ball is one of the best balls I have thrown.  Regardless of the price, this is a ball EVERYONE should own.  I cannot even count the number of 700+ series I have bowled with this ball.  Since had bowled so well with my first MICA beast, I drilled a pearl MICA beast with a simple label drilling with a pin-in ball.  This ball clears the heads even better and I now have a great ball for the extreme dry conditions.  Basically what I am trying to say is.....after you read this go out and buy one!
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Paul Meyer on May 16, 2000, 02:00:00 AM
I just want to speak my praise of this ball once more. Tonight went 300 and 794 with my (4x2) Mica beast. Once again, thank you Columbia 300.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: TWC on August 13, 2000, 02:00:00 AM
This is a review of the Pearlized Beast.  Have it drilled with some negative weight on it (the pin is right under my middle finger).  Great spare ball and dry lane ball for me.  When the lanes do dry out, the Pearlized Beast goes long with a very very small break at the end.  Doesn't carry very well for me as of now.  If it's not buried a yard deep odds are I'd get lucky with just leaving a 10 pin.  When I used this as my main ball without the negative drilling, it was very versitale for me on heavy, medium, and dry conditions.  I would never get rid of this ball I Love It.  Columbia came out with a winner here.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: rb27 on April 07, 2001, 10:13:33 PM
I just drilled up the Pearl Beast w/Mica.
The pin is 5 inches from my PAP and the cg
is kicked out 1 inch.
First, I sanded off the factory polish
and finished to 1500 wet sanded.
First condition was fresh, heavier blend.
The ball did not match up well - squirted
long on the inside without recovery.
It played "ok" down and in outside 10.
Second condition was a broken down, drier league
condition.  The Beast really showed it muscle
here on an inside line (25 to 12 at the breakpoint).
It created a little hold and swing.  The ball
was long and smooth on the backend with good
carry.  For dry ... this should be a great ball!
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: ooutlaw99 on May 07, 2001, 11:36:08 PM
Check my profile for specs.
I have my Pearl Beast w/Mica drilled with the pin above my bridge, and the c.g. in the center of my palm.  This ball was absolutely terriable when I first got it.  Out of the box it was very unpredictable.  I didn't know what the ball was going to do.  Then one day, while contemplating selling it, I resurfaced it, I decided to try a little duller shine on the ball(600grit sand, and then Track Magic Polish.)  This made all the difference in the world.  It became very controllable, while not losing any length or pop at the big-end.  With this little tweak, this ball became one of my favorite balls of all time.  Nice ball Columbia.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Mongo on June 20, 2001, 07:19:35 PM
The Beast family of reactives have been out for some 7-8 years and there's a reason for it...they're darn good balls.  I recently picked up a Pearl Beast for something to match up with medium-dry and dry-dry and I found it with this low priced monster.

Drilled mellow, pin in center of grip (5 1/2 from PAP), CG 2" out, and weight hole 6 3/4 for a little extra pop.  Bowling on what most would consider a medium shot, I was able to play dead up the boards and never got a over-reaction.  The Pearl Beast cleared the heads with ease and made a smoooooth transition at 45 feet.  No matter how hard I leaned on it, I couldn't get an overreaction.  

I highly recommend this ball for anyone at any level.  It is an excellent first entry resin for beginners and a must for tournament players and 2nd shift league bowlers.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: 1fife on January 16, 2002, 09:33:47 AM
THIS IS FOR THE PEARL BEAST WITH MICA

i have average speend and above average revs
pap 5 3/8 over 3/8 up

drilling
2 inch pin
put pin right below my ring finger and put cg to the left(1:00drilling)
ended up. cg is about 1/2 left of midline an 1/4 inch below.
5 x 5 3/4
1/2 ounce negative side weight.

what did i find
very-i repeat very smooth ball.
the house i did try it in hooks a lot and it tamed hook and made ball very smooth. reduce flare to almost nothing 1 inch or so. If you are a high tracker be careful-it did pull my track very close to fingers and thumb. The nice thing-i drilled the ball for a specific reaction and i got exactly what i was looking for. I hit the ball pretty hard and the lanes hook alot and it hit very hard and didnt over react in the backend that i was having problems with with my other balls.

carry was much better than anticipated

i will post in a few weeks if something changes-if not this intitial analysis is still accurate

Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: PSUfan11 on February 10, 2002, 12:54:41 PM
Lane conditions need to be less than heavy oil for this ball to work.  If you bowl in a house where you play from 9 board to the 15 board this ball works.  I never had much success trying to swing this ball thou my father does.  Its a good ball for a youth to start with but I havent seen many people still using this ball (except my father).  If you dip your shoulder this ball aint going anywhere (which is the case with most balls but if not thrown right this ball will hurt u)
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: RandyO on April 28, 2002, 04:10:12 PM
Update 5-30-02:
After more usage, I felt that the ball started hooking a bit too early, leaving very little pop on the back end. I had it polished up, and it's a much better reaction. It's drilled label leverage, so it ain't much use inside, but that's not why I bought it. I've also quit using it for spares - there's too much variation from house to house, and there are some conditions where it's too much ball for right side spares. It's still a great control ball - good combination of mild shell and core.


4-28-02:
This rating is for a Beast with Mica LTD (regular - not pearl). It's the same as the currently sold Mica Beast except that it has a little bit more mica in the coverstock. I don't think it makes any difference at all. Very mild and controllable ball. Not much more aggressive than a urethane. I'd been using a Faball Berry Razor as my "go to" ball when the lanes were on the dry side or I just needed to get the ball farther down the lane. The Beast starts rolling a few feet earlier but doesn't move as much. A much smoother arc than the Razor. This will be an excellent ball for screaming back ends, or along the edge of a wet-dry wall. Where does it fit? With the Beast I have to stand about 5 boards farther right compared to my Columbia Spirit, and it moves a  few boards more than a urethane Black Angle. This little Beastie is going to do double duty in my arsenal- dry lane AND all-purpose spare ball. It's going to replace my white-dot for those right side spares. Because it's mild it doesn't want to hook past those 10 pins, and since it's not a hard plastic it will hang on the edge should you happen to miss right by a board or two. I love it! One small oddity, after drilling the thumbhole I found little pits and voids in the interior. Perhaps the extra load of Mica affected the consistency of the coverstock? Who knows. The ball looks all right on the outside and hasn't cracked into pieces yet J.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Mongo on July 09, 2002, 08:59:05 PM
Yes, this ball has been out forever, but you know what...it's still one of the best balls out there.  Therefore, I drilled one up and here's a review.

Specs:
15 lb. TW 3 oz.
2" pin
Drilled 5 X 5 (stacked under ring finger)
Polished with Black Magic

Anytime a ball survives as long as the Beast line, you have to know it's a good ball.  Drilled this ball up for myself for fresh league conditions and some other medium-dry conditions I run across in the area.

The Beast is a nice option for stronger releases on fresh house conditions 34' and shorter.  The ball clears the heads well and can still turn the corner from deeper angles.  I wouldn't try this one coast to coast, but many players can play the middle of the lane and bump the dry with no problem.  Columbia solids tend to have a hard arc reaction, the Beast is where that all began.  

The cover is versatile and can even play in some oil when dull (at least for stronger releases and slower speeds).  Great dry ball for strokers, too.  Along with the Pulse, this is another one of my all-time ball releases.  Just about anytime I talk to a guy with a big release or bowls on a lot of different conditions in the shop, I will bring up the Beast.  

Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Strike Zone on August 04, 2002, 08:19:24 PM
This is the best mid-priced bowling (Pearlized) I have ever had.  It is controllable and even at 13 lbs., it hits pretty hard.  I used to use the high priced bowling balls and all I got was comments like "Bad break for leaving the back row", or "Your bowling ball hits too hard", and heartaches for losing games by less than one mark (most times less than 5 pins).
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Strider on August 29, 2002, 12:02:34 AM
This is a review for the Beast PEARL.

15#, 3.5oz top weight, 4" pin.
Drilled 4.5 x 4, pin 1.5" over, just a little right of my ring finger, CG in grip center.
See my profile for the relavent specs.
Lanes: Synthetic, christmas tree pattern (38-40 feet), 35-40 units of oil in the middle.

I bought this ball for dry lanes.  WRONG.  This ball is way too strong out of the box.  Polishing it further didn't help much.  I sanded it to 2000 grit with the last pass being parallel to my track, then polished it to 3000 grit.  Better, but still too much.  Tried some of Doc's Elixer, but didn't notice any difference (I haven't noticed much change with any shiny pearl balls, but that's another subject).  Finally, I applied some Control-It.  Finally.  That's what I was looking for.

I really like the motion of this ball.  It rolls so smooth and consistent.  Must be the lightbulb weightblock.  When the lanes get a little squirrly, the Beast Pearl is a good ball to go to.  Would probably be a good ball for a sport shot as long as the pattern wasn't too long.  Very arc-y, never snappy, gets into a good hard roll.  The hit is well above average.  Pocket and light are exceptional.  Avoid coming in high.  Because of the heavy roll, you'll be asking for trouble.  You can crank it up and swing this ball quite a bit, or tone it down and play down and in without reducing your carry.

This is the kind of roll I was expecting from a Buzzsaw.  If I could get a lightbulb core with a weaker cover, I'd be in heaven.  Don't forget about the Beast line, although I'd consider this more of a medium/med-light ball than a true dry lane ball.  A sanded Beast Solid and a polished Beast Pearl would be a pretty good tandem for those trying to keep it simple for the typical league wall shot.
--------------------
Strider
Penn State Proud
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: btx on February 16, 2003, 04:36:12 AM
Ive had this ball for more than a year now. It was my first reactive ball and it was drilled for control with the pin below my ring finger(dont know the specs).

Though this is not the best ball, this is a ball strokers with slow to med speed, would love to have in their arsenal and a great beginners ball. It worked great for me for light-med conditions. Not much hook on this ball and needs some hands to work and it has a tendency of leaving  a lot of 10pins but that probably is part of my game.It also worked as a spare ball for me and i even use it to hit the 10pin.

I wont forget this ball and would be buying another one. Rate it a 9/10
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: bolngod on April 25, 2003, 05:44:06 PM
I am not reviewing this ball even though it is out standing. I'm here to let everyone know that Columbia is coming out with the BEAST MASTER. It has the TEC2 particle coverstock. Should be in pro shops by May.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: PolarMike on October 26, 2003, 09:46:12 PM
On conditions where my Vendetta Particle and my TPC Player are to 'jumpy', this ball is substituting great. The conditions still have quite a bit of oil, but the stronger equipment is jumping far too aggressively when it hits the dry. Since I do not own the equipment I have in mind for that, I throw my Beast. I have to slow it down and hit it to make it roll up, but it skates thru the dry, and still hooks if I miss the dry. Carry is not an issue until the carry down outsmarts my wrist, and the ball hits very very hard, especially when I tug it and it holds.

A guy on one of my teams said he threw one until his pro shop guy said it wasn't worth resurfacing anymore. I hope mine doesn't do that, I sure would hate to lose it right now...

PS: If anyone is ever in the Dallas area, look up Tom Wicker of Wick's Pro Shop at Don Carter's All Star Lanes - West. He's my Pro Shop guy, and easily 15-20 pins of my average.
--------------------
There will never be great leaders so long as we mistake education for intelligence, ambition for ability, and lack of transgression for integrity...
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: sniper on May 25, 2004, 12:57:36 PM
This ball is awesome!! I'm a normal bowler, atleast for an amature. Meaning standing on the second dot and aiming at the second arrow. This ball is perfect for that type of bowler. It will break in the back like it is supposed too and hit the head pin just off to the side. That's perfect. I do agree though, that of all the pins it leaves, the 10 and the 6 are the two that are left the most. I throw a 13lbs. ball.
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Ehudakineyah on October 18, 2010, 09:25:31 AM
Age: 20

Average: 219

Style: 2 Handed/Right

Ball Speed: 21-22 Mph

RPM: 600-650

Layout: ? (not to sure) my dads old bowling ball.

Shots Thrown On:
Route 66
Route 66 (Shortened)
Earl Anthony

Got this ball from my dad. All i did was cap the fingers and change the finger pitches. left the original layout and thumbhole. So im not to sure on the drill layout on this one.

All i can say it that this ball is like in between a reactive ball and a urethane ball. It stay's smooth and long through the heads, starts to curve nicely in the midlane, and continue the smooth curve all the way to the pocket. And hit pretty hard to be honest. Makes the pins move fast on the deck.

Kind of reminds me of my Polished Storm Furious. Except this one is even smoother down the lane then that one. It doesnt hook as much as a reactive ball, and it hooks more then when i was comparing it to 2 other urethane balls of that time period. And thats the only way i can explain it in words.

The only other way to explain it is if you have one, or thrown one back in the day. This ball does what its made to do.

And it hits like a "Beast." Thanks for the ball dad

Rating 8/10

- Keene Inafuku
--------------------
(October 17th, 2010) Zero Average now lol (reset my "iBowlStrike" App after 112 Games)

Current Arsenal:
Storm 2Furious (Polished)
Storm Invasion (Polished)
Storm Black Ice
Ebonite Mission 2.0
Track 607A SE
Brunswick Wild Ride
Title: Re: Beast With MICA
Post by: Armourboy on May 28, 2013, 04:38:18 PM
Pulled the Blood Red version of this out the other day, its going back in my bag. I still love the reaction of this ball and have had several people tell me they wish they could get their hands on one  :)