I'll agree with you on that one. I guess it's a matter of preference.

Most I would do is a 4 ball roller. That's just me. If you do it right, you can use the 4 ball bag to act as a plow and drag the 3 ball behind you.

I am just wondering, where and why are people taking 6 or more balls to bowl? If your bowling a PBA tourney or something with some tougher lane conditions, I can see needing 4 maybe 5 balls.. But IMO anything more that that is overkill, especially if your bowling on a house shot..

Is it just to show everyone how many balls you have??

For Sport shot tournaments, I'll usually bring my KR 6-Ball roller and a 2-ball Vise shoulder tot. Why? Because I want choice. In a strange house, you never know how a published Kegel or PBA pattern is really going to play. Having a choice between high and low RG equipment, drillings,  and different surface preparations can be the difference between cashing and going home with your tail between your legs. I won the last two tournaments I entered because I brought the ball that otherwise would have stayed home.


Having lots of balls with you doesn't mean you're going to use all of them, or even most of them. It just means you have choice. And frankly, I could care less how it looks to anyone else. I'm there to compete -- not win a popularity contest. You're defeated before you start if you give your opponents that much control over your actions.


To the question of multiple 3-ball vs. 6-ball, it's a trade off. I have multiple Vise 3-ball rollers too, and I use one for taking balls to league. That's enough because it's a THS and I know pretty much what I'm going to face. But for storage, they do take up more room in the garage than I like. 


In the end, there isn't a perfect answer between 2, 3, 4 and 6 ball carriers. It just depends on your particular needs.

On a 6-ball roller, the 2-ball tots on the top and in the middle come out. The remaining unit with the bottom 2 balls collapses a little and goes easily into my compact hatchback. The top and middle two 2-ball tots fit easily into remaining space.


It is a little bit of a pain disassembling and reassembling the unit. It's easier dealing with two Vise 3-ball rollers. But once I'm in the alley, I like the footprint of the 6-ball roller. Everything is vertical, so it doesn't take much floor space. When you have 40-60 bowlers in a tournament, floor space does become a premium, and I personally find it easier to move balls in and out of the 6-ball unit. It definitely takes less space at home.


Again, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. I alternate between the 3-ball and 6-ball bags depending on the situation.

My question is this.....

What kind of vehicle do you drive to try and haul a 6 ball roller?

That's a lot of weight to try and pick up all at once from any kind of trunk.

My six ball roller breaks into 3 two-ball bags.  Chevy malibu with a small trunk.  Unsnap one strap, and the top pulls off, lift off the middle 2, close the handle on the bottom 2.  Much lighter than a two 3-ball rollers, takes less footprint when assembled.  I hope you don't think that I would try to lift 6 balls at one time.

My 4-ball roller takes up a lot of space (as mentioned previously, it has a wide footprint). But there are upsides:

- I only have to lift 2-balls at a time into my trunk. I can't lift 3-at-a-time without risking major back issues.
- When whipping through a concourse weaving in and out of traffic (for instance, when moving from high side to low side in a break), those 3-ball rollers are too easy to twist and roll over, which is a pain to stop and straighten out.

I agree with this.  I got rid of my 3 ball roller because it would topple over frequently when navigating the concourse, plus I hated lifting 3 balls at once.  50 pounds can be awkward to get in and out of the average trunk.  The more I bowled, the more I hated the 3 ball roller.

I thought about getting a 6 ball roller but decided against it.  Even with my  PBA leagues I never take more than 4 balls.  For certain tournaments I'll take a 2 ball tote and put it over my shoulder along with my 4 ball roller, but that's pretty rare.  If I can't figure things out with 3 strike balls, 2 more usually won't help.  I can make just enough hand position changes to get a few ball motions out of each ball.

Think about steps and other elevation changes you may need to make.  I recomend smaller bags if navigating stairs!

I am just wondering, where and why are people taking 6 or more balls to bowl? If your bowling a PBA tourney or something with some tougher lane conditions, I can see needing 4 maybe 5 balls.. But IMO anything more that that is overkill, especially if your bowling on a house shot..

Is it just to show everyone how many balls you have??

Quote of the week


"Is it just to show everyone how many balls you have??"

Cav