Honest answer? Buy Motiv. They have a coverstock formula that is allows for their equipment to hook with the best but last twice as long. And this is no joke. Ask any pro shop operator with a Detox machine and they will tell you the same. I have a Shock with over 100 games on it. I have never touched the surface with a pad and it hooks the same as it did day 1. I clean it every 10 or so games and keep going.

Some absorb oil some dont. Those that do, require more up keep. The ball surface will change to the lane it is being thrown on.

I am a former Storm staff member. I had zero complaints with their equipment, but there was so much out that I wanted to try. So I drilled up a couple Global, Radical, and Motiv balls. For me, the Motiv balls gave me something very similar to Storm, which is a good thing in my opinion. But I have noticed that Motiv has less overlap in their arsenal. Not to mention that I have not lost more than a board or two in reaction of balls that I have had for 3 months. Motiv has a few oil absorbing videos out that also help with this claim. So here is what I have; Similar ball motion as the best ball company in the industry, much slower oil absorbing rate, and a more complete arsenal.

Now with that being said, I am not saying their arsenal is perfect nor are their balls. I have an Octane that gets me out of jams on burn, but is over under on fresh backends. I had to put my Tribal Fire at 4k to make it a little more useful on flat patterns. And they need a shiny Asym. For bowlers who need the extra core help. My arsenal from strongest to weakest is Revolt, Rage, Vengeance, Sting, Shock, Octane, Fire, Tag. It is a pretty complete arsenal without any overlap, in my opinion. The Jackal and Remix will fit above the Revolt. The Forza is slower than the Shock, but those 2 could be interchangeable  for overall strength? Not motion. The Panic would fit around the Fire and the new Redline should replace the Sting. And one last thing. Their neomarks are pretty cool as is their citrus scent.

I'm not on staff, so I'm just giving an honest review. But these balls are making me money. So why wouldn't I talk them up?

tkkshop nailed it here.  I have thrown Storm/Roto Grip and the EBI brands and found that Motiv without question lasts the longest on their covers.  The strongest Motiv ball I have currently is the Revolt and after doing an oil extraction after an entire season, there was barely any oil that came out.  Same with the Sting.  I'm also expecting the same with my new Tribal Fire. 

EBI had the worst covers in my opinion and those died out the fastest when I used to use those.  Granted, my Track 505T lasted a long time for me and gave me a very nice look, but my 919C was way more condition specific than I ever thought it would be.  Plus, that cover didn't take to surface changes well and eventually I sold it.  My Vital Energy was a nice pearl cover but lost its reaction fairly quickly.

The thing I also like is that Motiv is Storm-like with their reactions yet seem to be more versatile.  Just like the Storm covers, they take changes well.  But, there isn't the overlap you see with other brands.  So in my case, building a 6 ball arsenal is going to be easier than choosing from Storm/Roto Grip where there are 5 balls in the majority of each line.

So even though I like Storm/Roto Grip, I think Motiv is the best with their coverstocks and overall line at this point.  Yes, there are some holes that Motiv will need to fill to have a complete line, but they're a great alternative to Utah.

 

I have had a few Motiv balls and never matched up well except for the GT-1. That was an awesome ball.

For coverstocks as someone who uses Brunswick/DV8 exclusively I have had no issues with ball death. My original Aura has a couple hundred games on it and I have never been able to bake a drop of oil out of it. I always adjust surface for my desired reaction and is a must have in my bag for anything I bowl.

The Paranormal is another great ball I love that has had oil bake out and continues to go strong.  Some balls will absorb more oil then others and it isn't always the ones you expect. If you take care of your equipment it will not be an issues for 99% of the bowlers out there.

I know plenty of bowlers throwing equipment (dirty grit) that has never seen a cleaning or anything else for years since buying the balls and it rolls great for them from various manufactures. I have also been asked to clean up a few and afterwards been told how much better the ball rolled and didn't realize there would be any difference.

I throw a lot of Ebonite/ Columbia balls. I haven't noticed a drop off in performance
with my equipment . In the early years of reactive balls, the ones with particle coverstocks died an early death for me.