BallReviews
Equipment Boards => Hammer => Topic started by: robs247 on October 28, 2014, 05:49:21 PM
-
Hammer are re-releasing the burgundy hammer.
I don't usually throw hammer equipment but i'm seriously tempted to add this to the bag. Loved the old one so i'm hoping that i'll love this one again.
http://guernseyproshop.co.uk/burgundy-hammer
-
The difference between this and the Blue Hammer are crazy. Ball looks good though and both can give players an "old school" look.
-
The difference between this and the Blue Hammer are crazy. Ball looks good though and both can give players an "old school" look.
You're not kidding. 6-12+ boards stronger, especially with the higher rev rates from watching the video.
-
This ball is very intriguing! I can't wait to see more of this. I like the look of this one for sure!
-
If it doesn't smell the same way the old one did while you are drilling it, I call bogusness!
-
According to BJ review this is a resin ball with surface prep similar to the Burgundy.
-
I saw this ball in person last night, kid shot 794 with it. He is the one that is throwing it in the Bowler's Mart video for it on youtube. Really weird but interesting ball. The reaction screams urethane but it has the backend of a strong resin ball. It blends out wet/dry really well like you'd expect urethane too, but it really flies on the backend . .
-
I saw this ball in person last night, kid shot 794 with it. He is the one that is throwing it in the Bowler's Mart video for it on youtube. Really weird but interesting ball. The reaction screams urethane but it has the backend of a strong resin ball. It blends out wet/dry really well like you'd expect urethane too, but it really flies on the backend . .
I like what you described, I think thats a nice reaction to have..
-
Urethane Hybrid 8)
(https://www.ballreviews.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FZaQFjUv.jpg&hash=2ea0a1f46f31a067cc7c6794e92295a98c77fd40)
-
:o :o
This.... This is NOT what I was expecting. And while I totally missed out on anything else in the Vibe series (I was completely Ebonite at that time), if this is how the Vibe core spits its game, I am really impressed, and take back what I said in the Viral thread about putting the Bad Ass core in this ball just to keep the throwback to the original Faball layout of the ball.
I want to know more about the coverstock, but on first glance, if you call it a urethane hybrid, this looks to get right what Brunswick's Helix got wrong.
I wonder how this ball matches up to the Cold Blood.
BL.
-
Seems to be a little bit of video tricks going on. To truly compare to the Blue Hammer, they need to be put at the same specs. The Blue Hammer doesn't come that dull nor as an aggressive surface finish.
Also, it will be interesting to see how they both react polished. If the Burgundy can maintain it's smooth overall read like a urethane, but with a little more pop downlane it may be something akin to the old Thunder Flash Pro. Polished, the TFP reacted like a very mild resin but with MUCH better read and you could play 4th and 5th arrow easily with it.
-
I'm actually interested in this. My main ball the past two years has been a Fab Red Hammer. Bought a Blue remake previously and don't like it, but the red is awesome.
Drilled an arson Low Flare with a 2" pin going for a more old school reaction, but it is still too angular off the spot.
Wonder what this Burg would act like drilled that way?
-
My feeling on this release is only marketing. I feel the ball will only have the look of urethane on the lane, but much stronger. I don't anticipate this ball will somehow be a viable option for times when actual urethane would be used.
I see this as an even reacting medium-medium heavy oil ball. Using the Burgundy Hammer name will only increase sales via marketing.
-
Urethane hybrid? The only thing like urethane about this one seems to be the name of the cover. Reacta-thane. Props for the name, but it's just a reactive cover, prepped at 500 grit and designed to look like an old urethane ball. There's nothing urethane about the cover if I'm not mistaken.
That being said, the video does look good...but they always do lol.
-
Urethane hybrid? The only thing like urethane about this one seems to be the name of the cover. Reacta-thane. Props for the name, but it's just a reactive cover, prepped at 500 grit and designed to look like an old urethane ball. There's nothing urethane about the cover if I'm not mistaken.
That being said, the video does look good...but they always do lol.
So its essentially a weak reactive cover with a 500 grit cover?
-
I would guess medium strength. That's what I gathered from hammers site about it. They said something like "a reactive ball designed to roll on today's conditions like the burgundy did in it's day."
-
I think if the goal is to have the ball simulate the ball from back in the day then it will still attract people based on nostalgia. It's not feasible to expect a urethane ball to react now how they reacted in the past.
-
I think if the goal is to have the ball simulate the ball from back in the day then it will still attract people based on nostalgia. It's not feasible to expect a urethane ball to react now how they reacted in the past.
I agree with you 100%. I wasn't being negative in any way, just making sure people had the right information.
-
I see what Hammer is trying to do with this one, but I'm dubious. In some ways, this reminds me of the Pure Hammer balls they put out some years back. Those were supposed to be mild reactive balls that gave the smooth consistency of urethane. Some people matched up nicely with them, but I wasn't one of them. For me, they were much, much stronger and flippier than any urethane piece I've ever bagged. From the looks of this video, I think this ball looks that way too. This isn't to say this will be a bad ball or provide a bad reaction; I just fear that it's still going to be way too strong. The video would've done more for me if they would've thrown some of Hammer's medium reactive balls from the same lines on that pattern to see the differences in the reaction. Just comparing it to the Blue Hammer remake didn't do much for me. I guess we'll see.
-
I wonder if the Hammer Burgundy can be a viable choice to use on heavy oil conditions for a cheaper price? If so, I advertise the ball as such because the balls out there for heavier conditions are usually on the High Performance side and are on the higher side of the price range.
-
I still have my original Fab Blue Hammer and Fab Burgundy Hammer that I bought back in 1994-1995 (somewhere in there). When they were used on mostly wood surfaces, the Blue Hammer was my heavy oil ball and the Burgundy Hammer was for medium oil (or what we used to say holding conditions).
The Blue Hammer started up sooner than the Burgundy Hammer and carried better; the Burgundy Hammer had a tendency to leave a lot of 10 pins no matter what angle I played. Funny thing when reactive resin balls came out, I could use a pearl reactive (my Track Sensor II that I still have and use) on the fresh and have better back-end reaction and carry than my Blue Hammer. Go figure. Again, that was back in the day on wood lanes.
Fast forward 20 years, I still have use for my Blue Hammer on sport shot patterns up to 40 feet with some kind of a crown and on most house shots up to about 42 feet. My Burgundy Hammer is now used mostly as a spare ball, although I have used it when the heads are gone on short sport shot patterns or when house shots are absolutely jacked up.
It is my understanding the new Blue Hammer piqued many out of nostalgia when it was reintroduced by EBI, but it was a big miss. The numbers on the new Burgundy Hammer (2.57/.028; 16 pounds) are proportionately similar to what the old Burgundy Hammer numbers were (2.52/.020).
I get it about the notion of introducing something that is relevant to the current era of bowling. It still sounds like I'll just be sticking with the original and hope that nobody's machines in back gouge them.
-
There's no pancake in the original Burgundy. It's the same weight block that they used for almost every Fab Hammer they ever had.
-
Thanks for the correction on the weight block, and I've modified my previous post to reflect that. The numbers, however, are accurate, per a Facebook IM session that I had with Bill Hall (the Blend 10 guy) who designed the original Blue Hammer.
The original Blue Hammer's numbers were 2.51/.020.
-
Well gang... I drilled up the Burgundy Hammer last night with similar numbers to my Viral - 65 x 5 x 35 and was a little skeptical about this release with how the Pure Hammer balls rolled in the past...
All I can saw is WOW - very impressed with this ball. This ball really blends out patterns that I was bowling on (37' Broadway & burnt House Shot 41').
I brought a few other balls out while testing with this ball to see the difference - Jet Black Vibe with 2000 (pin down with a 70 x 4 3/4 x 60), Blue Hammer (w/ Vibe core @ 500 Abralon), Bad Ass, and the new Viral - all similar #'s as the Burgundy. Using my trusty JB Vibe on the shorter patterns really allows me to play several angles, but tends to be a little jumpy if the oustides are a little too wet/dry... Used the Burgundy for 2 games & was able to really relax and get the ball outside without the over/under reaction... really opened up the lane where others had too much over/under...
After league, I bowled on the House Shot (41') which had 3 games of play, I wanted to see what this ball will do when playing inside & carry too... It was funny to see this ball just get down the lane with ease and turn the corner with a smooth controllable motion... left a 4 pin, moved 4 left and threw the next 25 in a row... the funny thing is that I kept moving 2-3 left after 3 shots to see how far left I can go with this ball until it stops striking... After 25 in a row (moved a total of 15 boards - playing 32 - 8), I finally left a 10 pin. A few of my friends were laughing at how much area I had with this ball... I think this ball will definitely be going into my tournament arsenal. It is weaker than the Bad Ass for sure, but is really a great medium / medium light lane ball that will blend out the backends & provide you with a smooth continuation in the backends. Using the Blue Hammer with the same surface prep of 500 grit, the Burgundy definitely comes back harder in the backends & is about 8-10 boards stronger overall - way different motion than between the 2 balls. The Burgundy coverstock is really that much different from what I saw last night.
Sorry for the long read, but I am very impressed with this new release from Hammer - Release Date is Nov. 18th.
-
Wow nice. How much of a difference was there between this ball and viral at box finish. Im really thinking about getting both for my other winter league that starts up in January.
-
I was about 5 boards deeper with the Burgundy, but the Viral was a lot stronger in the backends (flippy)... so they compliment each other really well
-
Just as an aside, some of you may not realize that all resin balls are resin/urethane hybrids. They all start as urethane. The resin balls have a resin additive to the urethane.
What Hammer has going for it right now is the fact that they make some great cores ( Vibe and Gas Mask in particular ). In addition they are not always trying to match the biggest hook monster shell with those cores. There is plenty of friction available on the lane without the need for super strong shells. Don't need them on a house shot, and often cant use them on tournament patterns.
-
Thought I would let everybody know if they want to try one of these Bowlersmart Black Friday Sale 69.99.Got mine ordered.
-
Bummer On Bowlersmart Black Friday Sale! It did not last into Black Friday just UP to Black Friday. Price jumped at midnight $10!
Still a great price of $79.95. Just different than how I think of a Black Friday Sale! You?
Regards,
Luckylefty
-
Bummer On Bowlersmart Black Friday Sale! It did not last into Black Friday just UP to Black Friday. Price jumped at midnight $10!
Still a great price of $79.95. Just different than how I think of a Black Friday Sale! You?
Regards,
Luckylefty
Yea, makes zero sense to "raise" the price for BF
-
Ordered mine while it was still 69.99.
Has anyone played with the surface on it? Does it keep its smooth motion when it's not at 500?
-
Ordered mine while it was still 69.99.
Has anyone played with the surface on it? Does it keep its smooth motion when it's not at 500?
I saw a couple of videos where people talked about taking it to 1000 or 2000 at the most, but nothing that I saw that was concrete. However, in that same video, the ball tester was lofting the heads as well, which indicated he was bowling on the burn.
BL.
-
On Black Friday sale ending BEFORE black Friday.
Glad I wasn't the only one who found that....well....Different!
Regards,
Luckylefty
-
I can't prove it because the ad is not the same, but I thought that when it was first announced, it was for only one day at that low price. I jumped on that price and bought one.
I just checked my outbound emails and I did mention in my email to my teammates that the sale was for that day. I guess it was a pre-Black Friday sale.
-
Re: Hammer Burgundy new release.
« Reply #28 on: November 25, 2014, 08:56:39 AM »
Quote
Thought I would let everybody know if they want to try one of these Bowlersmart Black Friday Sale 69.99.Got mine ordered.
I guess it was this site that got me pointed in the wrong direction, Lazy and all that!
Regards,
Luckylefty
PS I get it.. Still a great price!
-
Hope I didn't mislead anybody.Add that came in my email was Black Friday add.
I just passed along the deal.Have no idea why they changed price.Kinda odd I did get mine for 69.95.I did see where next day was 79.95.Since it was a new release I wonder if they were selling to cheap and changed there mistake.Bet they sold a ton at that price.Usually new releases can't be discounted that much.Can't wait to see what kind of Xmas sales are next.
-
I usually don't write reviews, but I'm just that enamored by this ball. I feel like this ball isn't getting NEARLY the hype it deserves. This is coming from a non-staffer/non-Hammer fanboy.
I'm a higher speed, higher rev bowler that has been struggling with consistency on our new pattern, a 42' modified stone street. From what I can tell, the modification is less oil. The pattern starts off nice, but the outsides burn VERY quickly (within the first game), turning the lane into an over/under mess. My rev rate would be too high to control anything that touched the outside, but my speed would cause balls to skid too long to consistently kick out the 10 pin when I played in the oil. Worse, one of the leagues I'm in is second shift, so the over/under is already created for us.
Balls I have typically killed this house with were all ineffective. Every ball is over/under when playing out, so I'm forced to move my breakpoint in and play the oil. Anything 4000 or polished (Tribal, Sigma Sting, etc) won't get up in the oil. My pin down Hyroad Solid make a better move in the oil, but the hook zone was too long to carry consistently. My Reax v1 35x4x30 allowed me to play in the oil with great carry, but would peel off the spot into a certain split any time it even sniffed friction from break down.
This pattern is basically a worst nightmare for me, because it feels like all the no handers are on a house shot while I'm on a sport shot. That is where the Burgundy Hammer comes in. I had it drilled up on Saturday ??x5x40 (pin over bridge, for me). On a pretty fresh shot at that house, the ball was simply a monster. Then I bowled on 39' Middle Road on Sunday, and it was easily my best look. Finally, I bowled last night on the condition that had been giving me so much trouble. The Burgundy was absolutely perfect. The 500 grit surface allowed me to play in the oil without blowing the ball past my breakpoint. Overreaction off burned lines was minimal and the carry was phenominal.
I recently purchased a Mastermind, which is working on this pattern as well on that inside line. It gives me the strength and surface needed to play that inside line and still get the ball started, without the overreaction I was seeing on my much more angular Reax. It is almost perfect... and I don't even want to throw it. The Burgundy allows me to play the same breakpoint without having to throw at the 4th arrow, and carries just as well.
I honestly cannot speak highly enough about this ball. The best compliment I can give it is that I've used it 3 times, and it would take me both hands to count the number of people who have watched me throw it and proclaimed "I think I need to get one of those."
I will say though, I don't know what "react-a-thane" is, but it does NOT roll like urethane. Mine gets downlane shockingly well, especially considering the surface, and it makes a strong move. I don't know what it is (my guess is that its a very old resin formulation that is only starting up because it is at 500 grit), but it is an AWESOME ball and absolute house shot killer.