BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: On1st on January 27, 2020, 01:28:51 PM
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Every bowl seems to have a 5 star rating and when ever someone is asking for a ball recommendation it seems like everyone urgent whatever is the newest latest greatest ball released. I personally am having a hard time making decisions about purchases because everyone seems to love the newest ball so much. There has to be some duds out there.
What is the one ball you immediately regretted purchasing? Regardless what surface you put on it you could get it to respond as you desired?
For me that ball was the DV8 Turmoil - last time I let color scheme be the primary factor in my decision making. No matter what surface I put on it that ball got some serious deflection off the head pin for me
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Storm virtual gravity. if I had it dull it was done when it got to the arrows (regardless of surface). When it was polished it was a blue dot (regardless of underlying surface).
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My Quantum Double Helix. Picked up a single drill that just misses my track. At some point might plug it but yeah that ball kind of sucks if have a low track. All kinds of nasty leaves. Gimmicks aside next worse ball is More Cash. Worthless on house shot.
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Oh, there have been some stinkers. Intense Inferno was a boat anchor, gave that away after a game. Awesome Hook was horrible, Ebonite Riptide, 900 Global Grip-it was bad, but that was my fault because of layout. Track Phenom was bad for me because I laid it out wrong as well. I went 70*5*40 and it was a dart. Found on those cores from Track I had to go pin down and put the mass bias on the val.
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A few come to mind. Not bad balls for everyone, just not good for me:
Twisted Fury Solid - possibly a bad layout
Twisted Fury Destruction - Honor score, but better as lanes started transitioning
Total Inferno (3 Honor scores, but I don't know how)
Fanatic SS - better on sport shots than THS for me
TruMotion - great urethane, but I don't get along with urethane
Most of these I liked early on, but used them less due to better options as time went on.
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Most recently, the Motiv Forza SS. The only time I was happy with that lump of sh*t was when it cracked.
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A Brunswick Smash Zone. Only worked once, on a 30' short tournament pattern (stumbled upon this condition in training), but anywhere else and with whatever surface I tried it, it was a dud.
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Storm Modern Marvel.
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There are 6 balls that stick out for me as being total wastes of time, energy, and money to try and make work.
Storm Eraser Blaze
Lane#1 Pearl Stealth Bomber
Ebonite Adrenaline Shot
900 Global Network
Columbia 300 N'sane Antics (which made no sense considering the original Antics was amazing for me)
Ebonite Maverick
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Lane Masters Xtreme Damage Platinum - ball just did nothing for me with a layout I've used often and multiple surface changes
Roto Hyper Cell Skid - not necessarily a bad ball, just bad layout choice for me. Pin to PAP was too long so the core rolled forward too quick for me. I loved the Rogue Cell
Radical Ridiculous Pearl - I was expecting backend motion and it ended up being really smooth for me
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Two stand out above all the rest:
Optimus Pearl- two words, doo doo
Soniq- storm really outdid themselves here, this is the worst ball I’ve ever owned
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For me it was the MoRich Insane LevRg.
Could not get this ball to do much of anything with re-drill or surface change.
The AZO Pro-Tactics. The gold one. This ball came with hype and left with zzzzzz!
The Roto Hyper-Cell Skid. I had such high hopes for this piece! in theory it should have been great, but no! It was a dud. If I would have only used it in No-Tap tourneys, it would have paid for itself three times over! It was a ringing ten machine!
The Storm Fight. I found little to no use for it. I only scored well with it on a sport shot just one time. Eventually I just sold it!
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Black Widow Pink is the only ball I've ever used that has an under/under reaction. Also rings more tenpins than anything I've ever used.
Hyroad X and Crux Pearl round out the top 3.
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Brunswick Smash Zone and Brunswick Siege. Those were the only two Brunswick balls I ever had and didn't care for either one. I never bought another Brunswick ball after that.
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I will chime in on this one…
As I can recall, here is my list of the worst balls that I have ever owned in no particular order. Well, except for the first ball… LOL!
1. AMF SUMO – I got hyped off of the commercials back in the day for this urethane P.O.S. ball. The ball did not hook at all! Not in oil, not on dry, not at all! Needless to say, but I have not purchased another AMF ball afterwards and I never will. PERIOD!
2. Ebonite Nitro/R – I sold that thing after a few weeks of league play. Some guy bought it from me during league while we were still bowling! LOL.
3. Columbia 300 Super Beast – Words cannot describe how bad this ball was. I never used it in league play and gave it away shortly after it was purchased. Skid city with no hook on the dry. Dead beast. DUD!
4. Storm X-Factor Deuce – I like Storm balls, but this P.O.S. ball was so inconsistent no matter what I did to it. Surface, polish, OOB, it didn’t matter, it was just awful.
5. Roto Grip Uproar – Just because a ball looks good in Belmo’s hand, does NOT mean it will look good in yours. Lesson learned. LOL. This ball was so bad for me, and a few others that I know, that we all just gave ours away! Needless to say, but I did not feel bad for the poor knucklehead that tried to re-drill that P.O.S. afterwards. Roto Grip has not used the core of the ball since. Total DUD! LOL.
Honorable mention to the Storm IQ Tour Fusion, Columbia 300 U2, and Brunswick Danger Zone 2.
That was fun! LMAO!
Peace!
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Seismic Photon Torpedo and Evo Hybrid stand out. Hammer Red Taboo and Infection was pitiful. Roto Grip Critical Theory and ANYTHING made by Motiv
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Seismic Photon Torpedo and Evo Hybrid stand out. Hammer Red Taboo and Infection was pitiful. Roto Grip Critical Theory and ANYTHING made by Motiv
OT but did you like the TSE balls? Have all but the Euphoric but have only punched up the Desperado so far which I do like a lot. Cover is so mild for a reactive.
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Roto Grip Outlaw. The remake a few years back. Man that was awful for me. The Guru Limited is a close second.
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Disturbed. My white dot hooks more.
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EBONITE MAVERICK
MOTIV FORZA (YELLOW)
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Storm Intense: ball never did anything good for me. it just labored down and did nothing on the back; almost like it was fighting itself.
Storm Lights out
Track 300T
Storm Trauma Response
Columbia Rock.
The rest I know I didn't like/use much of. don't really recall why at the moment.
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C300 Tyrant Pearl was an awful ball in my hands, sold it and picked up a Maverick Pearl that that I loved.
Roto Grip Dare Devil Trick was another one, which shocked me as a few of my all time favorites are Roto Grip. This ball ended up in my buddies bag and he sold it as well within the first few months.
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Least favorite...….DV8 Vandal!
First time using the ball thought it was darn good. Scored well with it and was pleased.
Second and all times thereafter it became a true DUD! On the same THS at the same center, tried different surfaces, different hand positions, speeds, played different parts of the lane, nothing worked. The ball basically refused to react.
Never understood what happened and why because no other ball ever acted this way for me. Take it out of the closet ever so often hoping it will be like the first and only time, but nope it's still a DUD! Would be reluctant to ever try DV8 again.
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I had a C300 Pro-Hook Extreme...need I say more? ;D
Honestly I've just kinda blanked out of my mind what was wrong with it though. Think it always either hooked too much or not enough or something like that when my Vector One was really predictable.
I believe I just left it behind as a house ball one day.
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Katana Dragon... horribly sensitive to release variations.
At least the Ebonite Riptide was consistent even though it is stupid early-rolling even on heavier oil.
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Definitely it was the Storm Trauma Response.
I did shoot 774 with it one night, but other than that it was just a boat anchor for me. Granted, thanks to sites like Ball Reviews, coaching, and much experience with different bowling balls, I have come to the realization over time that I didn't have the right expectations for that ball. I expected a ball that would hook in oil with some downlane shape and that probably wasn't realistic, and/or I didn't have a good layout for my own game.
Nevertheless, my lasting impression of that ball was that it was a complete turd.
A few others that never worked for me: Columbia Flipside Wow (two layouts, one result -stinks), Track 300T, 300C Solid, 508A, 920T, 900 Global Mark Roth ball, Storm Lock, Roto Grip Berzerk, Grand Illusion, Unhinged, Uproar.
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Anything made in Mexico.
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Black Widow Pink is the only ball I've ever used that has an under/under reaction. Also rings more tenpins than anything I've ever used.
Hyroad X and Crux Pearl round out the top 3.
Man!
DP3 you sure nailed those for sure! My PSO ordered like dozens of cases of them pink Black Widows and sold them all too! But that ball is just as you described! It is an over/under machine to me, and I have never owned one! I just continue to watch all these folks that invested money in this over-hyped ball, try to MAKE it work!! It is really funny to me!
And the Hy-Road X!!! My coach tried and tried to get me to pick one up, but it too is an over/under poor achieving piece of poo! I never did because I had zero confidence in this ball watching other people throw it! Glad I didn't!
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Black Widow Pink is the only ball I've ever used that has an under/under reaction. Also rings more tenpins than anything I've ever used.
Hyroad X and Crux Pearl round out the top 3.
Man!
DP3 you sure nailed those for sure! My PSO ordered like dozens of cases of them pink Black Widows and sold them all too! But that ball is just as you described! It is an over/under machine to me, and I have never owned one! I just continue to watch all these folks that invested money in this over-hyped ball, try to MAKE it work!! It is really funny to me!
And the Hy-Road X!!! My coach tried and tried to get me to pick one up, but it too is an over/under poor achieving piece of poo! I never did because I had zero confidence in this ball watching other people throw it! Glad I didn't!
I concur, the Hyroad X, reminds me of my ex before my wife. Fun to throw (fun to be with), looks great going down the lane (fun to look at), should work more often (never worked out). Definitely a “trap ball†a ball you feel should work and rarely does and when it does there are about 4 other balls in your arsenal that work significantly better.
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Getting the skinny on balls minus the hype is so nice on here. Gets old over on some other sites trying to explain to someone with a 120 average no the Alpha Jackal or UFO is not going to allow you to go on tour. Been a real flood of silly strong releases lately. Considering having to put black magic on my Mojave for league yeah not the target audience I guess.
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Seismic Photon Torpedo and Evo Hybrid stand out. Hammer Red Taboo and Infection was pitiful. Roto Grip Critical Theory and ANYTHING made by Motiv
OT but did you like the TSE balls? Have all but the Euphoric but have only punched up the Desperado so far which I do like a lot. Cover is so mild for a reactive.
The TSEs were very good the TSE balls were a all the same cover a bit more mild. The Euphoric TSE was a great one to ball down to it was smooth and controlled easy to play farther right with
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I had a Storm Fire Road that didn’t work, at all.
Also had a Code Black that, for one reason or another, didn’t roll right. It just loped and puked. No idea why as it was a layout that works for me.
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Getting the skinny on balls minus the hype is so nice on here. Gets old over on some other sides trying to explain to someone with a 120 average no the Alpha Jackal or UFO is not going to allow you to go on tour. Been a real flood of silly strong releases lately. Considering having to put black magic on my Mojave for league yeah not the target audience I guess.
Excellent point BFD!! Another buddy of mine told me to take a look at the UFO and give him the skinny on it. I did, and told him that this ball was too strong for him and didn't seem to fit his game!
I said based on what I know about your game, you should probably get the Wild Streak. It's probably a better fit. Did he listen?? Nope! Bought the UFO and shot a 192 and is now complaining about the ball!!! Unbelievable! SMH.
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Funny story about the UFO:
Last update he put out, James from Shim Wrecker Enterprises couldn't review it because his home center doesn't put out enough volume for him to use it properly.
I also happen to bowl there and absolutely would agree. 17.5 mL of oil (even if they buff what they do put down out to 50 feet) just isn't enough for half of what's being sold.
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Sorry post came off bad (will yank it). Pretty mediocre myself to be honest but just going off on the moar hook mindset and the marketing catering to it especially lately. No point really and good call. Back on topic will say another ball I dislike on other end of the spectrum is my PG Dry/R. Ball carries like its plastic with a pancake core. Like my Slingshot a lot more.
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Columbia Full Swing---the only asymmetric ball that I have thrown. The FS was probably a good ball but not for me---too jumpy.