BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: mainzer on July 02, 2022, 10:07:06 PM
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Another opinion question for fun.
Does the brand in your bag matter? Are you loyal to a company? Or do you buy whatever looks good?
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brand doesn't matter to me; but looking at my bag you might disagree with my self assessment since most of the balls I own are storm; with only 1 or 2 roto, 1 Global, 1 Bruns,1 track and 1 hammer still in my rotation.
so it is easily 5 or 6 to 1 ratio of storm balls to non-storm balls.
There are 2 reasons that I tend to be loyal to storm.
1) I have had a lot sucess with storm equipment
2) it is easier to compare new releases to older releases within a single company. also easier to keep track of, given all the options out there.
that said; I am a customer, not a sponsored competitor so I will use what I think I like and envision further branching out.
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Brand don’t matter.
They all strike and they all crack.
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They all produce great equipment, I've thrown them all over the years. I throw all Motiv right now, they've been good to me any time I've had a problem and I have had a lot of success throwing that brand.
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Only Brunswick, Radical, or DV8 for me these days. I have tried balls from all the brands over the past 28 years and those three roll the best for me. Also liked Kentucky Ebonite until they went to the GB coverstocks. Also tried a GSV covered ball. Neither of them worked well for me so I abandoned Ebonite.
Also enjoyed the Columbia ceramicore era. Those were some fantastic bowling balls.
Haven't tried any Brunswick made Hammer, Columbia, Track, or Ebonite balls yet. If the coverstock formulas are the same as pre-acquisition I wouldn't expect them to be any different performance wise than what they were before.
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Even for fun this is a great question; I’ve been on both ends over the years. For years I was Storm/Roto loyal, but as time went on and I joined a ball league, I tried something different, and have thrown whatever I feel will work for my game.
To each their own, but every company, has amazing equipment. I currently throw;
Storm
Hammer
Brunswick
Ebonite, hell I even just found a Pyramid Path, and it works fantastic for me. Keep a open mind to all companies’!!!!
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I stick with the brands under one umbrella 98% of the time because its easier to maintain an arsenal that way for me.
Motiv is the only brand i didn't have as much success with as others. Still like there stuff
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Staying primarily with in a family of brands like Storm makes it easier for me to understand the differences between ball reactions. That said I fill gaps with other brands because I don’t always matchup so I might go to Hammer for urethanes or their low diff asyms I can’t find in the Storm lineup.
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I use to say it doesn't matter... I see people have success with all brands. But EVERY time I try another company, or recommend another company for a friend or teammate, it has immediately backfired. I've tried 5 Radical balls, because I've followed Mo for 2 decades, and didn't match up with a single one. I recommended my friend try a Radical ball, and the same thing, it rolled very poorly. I tried throwing it, and couldn't get it to look good either. My teammate was new to bowling, he liked the DV8 brand, so I helped him get fit and drilled for a Pitbull bark or bite, can't remember, and it never reacted well. After returning from Covid I was struggling myself, and experimented with the Motiv Fatal Venom, and I could never get a read on the ball. It felt so condition specific that I could never identify when or why it would work.
For me, my friends, and my teammates, it's the Storm Umbrella 99% of the time and it just works without any hiccups. The only other company I'm willing to consider is Hammer, but they're now owned by Brunswick, so it's even less likely I do it, unless it's a Widow.
It's probably all in my head, but I'm not going to ignore my own experience and results, or those of the people closest to me. Maybe it's alley specific, who knows. Global 900 seems to be the most impressive brand on the market right now, I'm not sure if Storm just got lucky with the acquisition, or it's the combination of the minds to create what they have, but regardless, the balls they've dropped over the last 2 years have been absolute winners. The Zen, Reality, and Wolverine are probably the most complete arsenal (universally successful\versatile) top to bottom that any company has created, as long as I've been bowling.
Also, I'm a sucker for the scent gimmick.
Motive's logo system is the best. I dislike engravings.
Brunswick Dot technology is brilliant.
I'm not sure I believe in dynamicore, but it would be nice to have it just in case.
The perfect ball would be a combination of a Global 900 Core, Storm Cover\scent, Swag coloring, Radical filler material, Brunswick Dot technology, and Motivs laser logos.
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Unless you are being given free bowling balls, you are doing yourself an injustice by only keeping one brand of balls in your bag.
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Unless you are being given free bowling balls, you are doing yourself an injustice by only keeping one brand of balls in your bag.
[/quote
This^^^
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I use whatever rolls good for me! I have a friend who is an excellent bowler and is always trying to steer me towards Storm but I have had limited success with their equipment. To me, most of their equipment is geared to go long and create a huge backend reaction, which is not good on all conditions.
Lately I am hooked on Radical, but I have Hammer, Brunswick, Storm, Columbia, Global, Dynothane, AZO, AMF, Roto Grip, Mo Rich, Track, and PBS in my arsenal.
Basically, I go with whatever works for me, at the time.
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I was always brand specific for a while. First it was Columbia and Track back with the Boss and Rock series'. Track I had both Critical Masses and Heat series. Then I had a friend who got on the staff program with Visionary and tried a couple balls he drilled and instantly found a lot of success with them. I must have had 10-12 VBP balls (Green Gargoyle and Crimson Executioner were my favorites by far). Then when they went under; I went back to Columbia with the Deep Freeze and Violent Eruption and a couple years ago picked up a Beast and Messenger on closeout.
They say there is no such thing as a bad ball anymore. In the grand scheme of things; it is all about matching the ball to the bowler for a specific lane condition. If a ball didnt roll well for you then more than likely it was a poor choice by the pro shop operator or the choice was based on how it rolled for someone else and not you.
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I use whatever rolls good for me! I have a friend who is an excellent bowler and is always trying to steer me towards Storm but I have had limited success with their equipment. To me, most of their equipment is geared to go long and create a huge backend reaction, which is not good on all conditions.
Lately I am hooked on Radical, but I have Hammer, Brunswick, Storm, Columbia, Global, Dynothane, AZO, AMF, Roto Grip, Mo Rich, Track, and PBS in my arsenal.
Basically, I go with whatever works for me, at the time.
Have a family member who traditionally uses Brunswick, Hammer, and Ebonite. They recently tried Storm and Roto at the urging of others and watched their average plummet. Just as you experienced...long and dramatically flippy for them despite altering surface to try and counter the reaction. After several months of frustration they put it all away and went back to their old stuff. They said they will only consider Brunswick, Hammer, or Ebonite moving forward if they ever decide to buy another ball.
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Brand doesn't matter as long as it is Made In The U.S.A.
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I second, "Made In The USA".
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I second, "Made In The USA".
LIMITED, SAD TO SAY. ::)
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Country of manufacturer doesn't matter to me. I love the ABS stuff and wish more of it was available here.
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It's a bit easier to build an arsenal within the SPI family given their penchant for reusing covers with not only different cores but different core strength categories. The progressions are simpler to plan for when buying new balls.
With that said I'm good with any brand. It just has to match up with what I'm looking for at the time.
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I will use different brands. Currently using Visionary, Radical, Brunswick, Hammer, Motiv, and RotoGrip.
For those who are against using anything not made in the USA, I guess your TV is one of the following too? If so, good for you for supporting American companies.
TVs that are made in the USA:
Silo Digital
SunBrite TV
Element Electronics
Seura TV
Sceptre TV
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Country of manufacturer doesn't matter to me. I love the ABS stuff and wish more of it was available here.
Can't argue this here. If the product is good, durable, reliable, and has longevity, then where it is made does not matter. what hurts is that people pigeonhole themselves and limit their options when they put place of manufacture above anything else.
the ABS gear is phenomenal, and I've seen a lot of Lord Field thrown in S. Korea.. yet we don't see the overseas competition hung up on nationalism. To each their own; but the product is the product. I've had my Fab gear last me 30+ years; yet conversely I've had overseas gear last for years, while Made in USA gear crack in less than 8 games.
BL.
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ABS will ship you any ball you want, however last time I inquired with them they quoted approximately $100 to ship a ball to the United States. Total price for a ball was approaching $400 and it just didn't seem worth it.
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I used different brands when I started bowling seriously in 1991. Back then I was rolling Columbia, Ebonite, and AMF primarily. I also tried some Brunswick but none of their stuff rolled well for me. Then in 2006 I switched exclusively to Storm. After trying out some of their equipment, it matched up the best with my game. And I haven't looked back since.
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It all goes back to the same old saying, buy what YOU like because that's what you'll make an excuse for.
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It all goes back to the same old saying, buy what YOU like because that's what you'll make an excuse for.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A WINNER!