Ball NPS Score: 100.00
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Color: Blue/Steel/Yellow All colors do vary somewhat from the picture shown.
Core: Spinner Symmetric
Coverstock: "300" Reactive
Surface: 4000 Abralon
Reaction: Strong Mid Lane
Hook Rating: Oil - 35, Backend - 27
RG Differential: .040 (Medium Flare) on a scale of .000-.080 Low Flare-High Flare
RG Average: 2.49 (Low) on a scale of 2.43-2.80 Very Low-High Break Point
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium to Heavy Oil
Description: You know all about the great rivalries in sports. Michigan and Ohio State, Cards and Cubs, Yankees and Red Sox. Introducing the Rival. It has no competition. On medium to heavy oil this ball will leave the competition shaking their heads. Check this one out: this Rival is the best of everything you need. A benchmark ball that picks up in the middle of the lane and never quits.

SEE OUR VIDEO OF THE COLUMBIA 300 RIVAL AT:
http://www.AverageJoesProShop.com

Likes: The Rival clears the heads really well and makes sharp turn on the backend. Hits like a truck and rolls right through the pin deck.

Dislikes: The only thing I can think of is that it might be a little to strong for a normal house shot but if you polish it it will work great.

The Columbia 300 Rival has been on my "want" list ever since I heard that it was coming out. Ebonite has put alot of time and effort into making sure that these new Columbia balls get the company off to a good start.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a couple of these so you knew I had to drill on and review it for you all. I wanted to try a something a little different than I usually do so I chose a Rival with a .5" pin and 2.5oz top weight. I like using shorter pins on balls that have symmetric weight blocks because it always gives me a smoother reaction. My PAP is 4 3/4" right by 1/2" up for those of you who don't know me.

I took the Rival out to a fresh house shot to see what i could do with it. Right from the get go I noticed that this ball has one heck of a backend reaction. It would get down the lane pretty goo then all of a sudden just make a left turn. I moved in deep and tried my hardest to get this ball to come up light and miss the head pin but it would scream back to the hole every time. The carry for this ball was excellent. I seemed to leave more 9 pins then anything else but it was probably due to the extreme angle I was playing. I also moved right with it and played it up the boards but it was a little too much for the shot I was on. If I would have shinned it I have no doubt I could have played there.

Overall I am impressed with the Columbia 300 Rival. It is an excellent compliment to the new Resurgence and the Wrath High Flush which I will be reviewing in the next day or so. My hat is off to the new guys at Columbia. They have definitely stepped up when there was alot of room to fall short.

Until next time..

Average Joe

COME SEE OUR VIDEO OF THE COLUMBIA 300 RIVAL AT:

AverageJoesProShop.com

WE ALSO HAVE MANY OTHER VIDEOS INCLUDING:

Columbia 300 Jazz
Columbia 300 Resurgence
Ebonite NVS
Ebonite Raid
Hammer No Mercy Beat'n
Hammer Black Widow Pearl
Brusnwick Blast Zone
Lane #1 Uranium HRG
And Many More!

Thanks for taking time to read my review!

Joseph K. Smith
Average Joe's Pro Sop
AverageJoesProShop.com

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Average Joe's Pro Shop is a full service bowling pro shop located in Louisville, KY.  Please visit our site!  Thanks

http://www.AverageJoesProShop.com

I recently drilled one of these up and this ball is the classic "Benchmark" ball.  I saw a video on Columbia300.com with Chris Barnes saying this is his 80%er, that he can use it on 80% of the shots he bowls on, and I thought yeah right.  I can't say enough about this ball so far.  You can do just about anything you want with this ball. With hand and speed adjustments, this ball will work from just about anywhere.  I have thrown this ball on the Chameleon pattern and our house shot, and I want to Polish it before I complete the video and post it.

This is a great release from Columbia, and a great addition to anyones bag.

I will update my review after I complete testing.  Any questions, please email me at Bill@BuddiesProShop.com
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Thanks
Bill
BuddiesProShop.com
"The Place All Bowlers Shop"

Pound: 15.3oz
Pin: 2-3
Topweight: 2.25oz
Drilling: pin under, CGs kicked out with x-hole

Review on THS, this ball was almost to much for this House. I was swing this ball across the lane like crazy, then I changed up my hand position and next thing you know I was playing down the line(with speed). really adverisle

PBA Chameleon/Scorpion V.S. The Rival= huge bank accounts, this ball was built to dominate the PBA/sport shots.

Carry: put it this way, ever had a problem with carrying high flush or light pocket. I have 15 games on this ball and I have never left a 6pin or 10 yet. 7s arn't that much of a problem.

all in all I give this ball a 9 out of 10 only because i havnt throwin 800 yet with it
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Left hander
-ball speed: 15-17mph
-rev rate: medium to medium-high
-average: THS-218 Sport Shot-203

Current Arsenal
Columbia:
-Rival
Brunswick:
-Ultimate Inferno
-Monster Smasher
Storm:
-Thunderstruck
-Shift
Ebonite:
-Total NV
http://myspace.com/speedskater4life

Weight 15 lbs
Pin to CG - 3"
Topweight - 3oz
Surface - Box Finish

Layout:  Pin above bridge and between fingers with CG in the Palm

Reaction:  Strong Midlane Roll and Smooth backend

Comments:

The Rival is a very versatile ball that can be used on a lot of different conditions.   When Chris Barnes said this was his 80%er, he wasn't joking.  I've been able to use this ball effectively in every league that I bowl in except 1, and the only reason I don't use it there is because the ball would get tracked up too bad.  This ball reacts very predictably to physical game adjustments (hand position, speed, angle, etc.)  I've been able to use this ball from as far out as between 1st and 2nd arrow to as far in as just outside the 4th with no loss of pin carry on most patterns.  And speaking of pin carry, this ball keeps the pins low and carries very well.  This ball actually complements my TRoad Pearl very well because the Rival rolls more in the midlane and the TRoad Pearl is more about backend reaction.   If I were to be asked which ball is more versatile between the TRoad Pearl from Storm and the Rival, my answer would be the Rival.  I haven't found a house in Tucson that has more oil than this ball can handle, but that's not saying much.  

This ball can labor a little bit if there's not enough head oil, but requires less oil in the front than the TRoad Pearl, which surprised me a little bit. It's also a smoother backend reaction more because of the layout than the coverstock strength, so shots that require more of a skid/flip reaction don't suit this ball well.  I probably could polish it to get that reaction, but I have other balls that do that (Thunderstruck Pearl).  

Bottom line, if you're looking for a ball that rolls a little more in the midlane with a smooth and predictable backend reaction that you can use almost anywhere, the Rival is the ball for you.  

P.S - I'm basing this review on bowling on house shots, I'll update the review when I get a chance to use it on tougher conditions.

UPDATE 1/04/2008:

After about 50-60 games and this ball started to lose it's reaction a bit and needed a session in the revivor oven.  This appears to be a higher maintenance ball than I originally thought.  That's not a bad thing, and the result is well worth the effort.  This ball is a benchmark ball in every sense of the word and has been $$$$ for me on all different types of lane synthetic lane surfaces (haven't tried it on wood, yet).  I'm going to a PBA Regional Doubles Tournament in March and this will definitely be one of the balls I'm taking and probably the one I start with.

Alright I don't do to many reviews, but felt I had to for this piece.  All I can say is wow!

Rival#1 (4000 grit) 5 X 4 pin below bridge small x-hole down val thumb quad.

Rival#2 (4000 grit) 4 1/2 X 4 pin above bridge no x hole

Both of these balls  are amazing.  The first one is about 3-5 boards stonger up front with a hard arc, the second is very clean and stronger in the back part of the lane.  Conditions are new synthetic, 40 foot house shot.  After a few games, I like the pin down rival better, very versatile.  Lets me play anywhere right of 25 and left of 10 I want with hand/speed adjustments.  I can see as the lanes burn up the pin up rival will rule.

These are my first C300 balls I've drilled in 5+ years and they are great. Stats/Axis/RevRate in profile.  Way to go Columbia!

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www.bowlingsolutions.com

Move left, hook it more.....

Tommy Jones is a Gamecock fan...are you???

We shall now refer a 4-bagger as a hambone...Mark it down the revolution has started!

I drilled a Rival last week and have the chance to throw it quite a few games in that time including in a PBA Experience League. The Rival picks up hard in the midlane to the late midlane but by no means quits on the back. There is a strong, sharp arc into the pocket. There is not a flip on the back but it is still very strong. The ball is what Columbia advertised it to be, a benchmark ball that doesn't quit on the back. The pin carry is great when you are on a condition that will allow it to maximize the backend. The ball is best suited for a longer condition or a pattern with a little more head oil as the ball will retain its energy and hit on the back. On the Cheetah pattern in our league the ball allowed me to stay outside on the very edge and maximize my reaction. The ball is very much suited for a patternlike that as it will get into a roll and not over react on the 25 feet of backend. I also think that it will be nice on Chameleon or any pattern that requires you to keep the ball on a line in order to score well. Overally a greta ball from Columbia 300.

This ball is alot more ball then I thought it would be.  I drilled it like my ultra zone, pin high and right of my ring finger.  This ball has the strongest mid lane of any of my balls.  Like any ball if you have revs carry is good.  I left it box witch is 4000 but I think this ball at 1000 it could handle any oil out there.   This is my first try with columbia in a long time but it will not be my last.  Great ball. Myspace.com/bigballbrown
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raw need a coach

Weapons of choice
rival
ultra zone
twisted solid
smash zone
twisted fury
vapor zone
pit boss old faithfull