BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Juggernaut on January 19, 2020, 11:03:59 AM
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Anybody know anything yet?
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Rumor only, but hearing first EBI ball will be a hammer, announced in February, and available in March. I slightly more than half trust my source. Massive undertaking to get things integrated at Brunswick for the additional brands, wish them well.
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From a reliable source: Production has already begun, although I don't remember which brand.
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From a reliable source: Production has already begun, although I don't remember which brand.
Probably pretty safe to assume its Hammer considering that was EBI's crown jewel.
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Rumor has it the first release will be a new Widow...seems obvious
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First they need to re-certify the brands before production can begin.
Do not believe that has happened yet.
And they already did testing on an awesome new Black Widow prior to selling
Reports were that's its better than the Pink.
Remains to be seen if the Mexico versions can replicate the Hopkinsville produced balls
Only time will tell.
Not sure it made good business sense to do this in the middle of the season, they could have bought the company and kept it quiet until end of season.
Made enough balls to keep everyone happy and then had time to relocate the plant
All they are doing now is hurting the brands with no releases for months
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Ebonite filed for bankruptcy and later in the year was bought out. I don't think they are hurting anything by not releasing anything right away. Everyone has read the process and that more stuff will release as March approaches. Bowlers complain about too many releases followed by not enough. Distributors are trying to unload all of they stuff they bought out from Hopkinsville. I doubt they are wanting more stuff added to the situation before they can unload the "old".
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EBI filed for bankruptcy?
#fakenews
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EBI filed for bankruptcy?
#fakenews
You are funny.
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Nowhere did anyone say EBI filed for bankruptcy, its all internet BS.
The top ball distributors know who was selling the most products week in and week out.
IN fact, they produced top 10 ball sales by the month, EBI was all over the top 10 every month.
EBI sold strictly because of economics.
Only 2 situations where you sell a business,
pennies on the dollar because you are going under.
or you sell because you can't refuse the offer because its a crazy good ROI
And they certainly weren't going out of business, that's laughable
They were killing it in market share
EBI and Storm had 40-45% market share each
Brunswick bought them because they couldn't catch them.
EBI was a victim of their own success.
Believe whatever story you want....
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Some test balls are already out and in bowlers hands. Rumor says they are hopeful March will bring new releases if all goes well.
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Market share is great but doubt they were going to be able to increase their market share enough to offset the market shrinking which is why I am guessing they sold. Cliche yes but true in business if you aren't growing you are dying.
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Nowhere did anyone say EBI filed for bankruptcy, its all internet BS.
The top ball distributors know who was selling the most products week in and week out.
IN fact, they produced top 10 ball sales by the month, EBI was all over the top 10 every month.
EBI sold strictly because of economics.
Only 2 situations where you sell a business,
pennies on the dollar because you are going under.
or you sell because you can't refuse the offer because its a crazy good ROI
And they certainly weren't going out of business, that's laughable
They were killing it in market share
EBI and Storm had 40-45% market share each
Brunswick bought them because they couldn't catch them.
EBI was a victim of their own success.
Believe whatever story you want....
From what I read, it was a business decision! All of the points you made above are true, but the penalties that they were going to have to pay to upgrade and change the infrastructure within their factory precluded them trying to stay in business!
I was told the govt cited them for quite a number of OSHA violations as well as major asbestos violations!
By the time they'd have finished remodeling their factory, they'd have lost of all the market share that they'd previously owned, making it an uphill battle to regain their bowling recognition and stature! Not to mention $$$ lost while not manufacturing, and personnel lost while being in downtime!
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Nowhere did anyone say EBI filed for bankruptcy, its all internet BS.
The top ball distributors know who was selling the most products week in and week out.
IN fact, they produced top 10 ball sales by the month, EBI was all over the top 10 every month.
EBI sold strictly because of economics.
Only 2 situations where you sell a business,
pennies on the dollar because you are going under.
or you sell because you can't refuse the offer because its a crazy good ROI
And they certainly weren't going out of business, that's laughable
They were killing it in market share
EBI and Storm had 40-45% market share each
Brunswick bought them because they couldn't catch them.
EBI was a victim of their own success.
Believe whatever story you want....
https://cases.primeclerk.com/aceto/Home-DownloadPDF?id1=MTA4MTAwOA==&id2=0
Page 61, down toward the bottom. Search “Eboniteâ€, you’ll find it.
Whether they filed or not, they are involved somehow.
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Nowhere did anyone say EBI filed for bankruptcy, its all internet BS.
The top ball distributors know who was selling the most products week in and week out.
IN fact, they produced top 10 ball sales by the month, EBI was all over the top 10 every month.
EBI sold strictly because of economics.
Only 2 situations where you sell a business,
pennies on the dollar because you are going under.
or you sell because you can't refuse the offer because its a crazy good ROI
And they certainly weren't going out of business, that's laughable
They were killing it in market share
EBI and Storm had 40-45% market share each
Brunswick bought them because they couldn't catch them.
EBI was a victim of their own success.
Believe whatever story you want....
https://cases.primeclerk.com/aceto/Home-DownloadPDF?id1=MTA4MTAwOA==&id2=0
Page 61, down toward the bottom. Search “Eboniteâ€, you’ll find it.
Whether they filed or not, they are involved somehow.
This isn't related to Ebonite declaring bankruptcy. This looks to be a filing by Aceto Corporation listing all of the companies they notified of their [Aceto's] intent to declare Chapter 11. Ebonite probably had dealings with them for chemicals/raw materials and was simply listed in the filing.
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Market wasn't shrinking, was on year 3 of growth.
20 years of decline, 3 years flat and then 3 years growth so far.
Whats next? Who knows, maybe the timing was right to sell, maybe they were as far as they could go.
Owners/Investors got a good ROI and made a business decision
only Osha violation I found is from 2016, nothing major, $6,300.00 fine
https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/prog.php?parent=&major_industry_sum=&primary_offense_sum=&agency_sum=&agency_sum_st=&hq_id_sum=&company_op=starts&company=ebonite&major_industry%5B%5D=&case_category=&all_offense%5B%5D=&penalty_op=%3E&penalty=&govt_level=&agency_code%5B%5D=&agency_code_st%5B%5D=&pen_year%5B%5D=&pres_term=&free_text=&case_type=&ownership%5B%5D=&hq_id=&naics%5B%5D=&state=&city=
The bankruptcy filing you mentioned had nothing to do with Ebonite International end of things.
Factory was old, definitely looked that way when I did the tour last fall
but they were pouring 20 hours a day/6 days a week.
They couldn't keep up.
Doesn't much matter now, every single person in that building lost their job, including the CEO. Some got on with Brunswick and other companies.
Some did not.
Just sad to see jobs lost to Mexico
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Market wasn't shrinking, was on year 3 of growth.
20 years of decline, 3 years flat and then 3 years growth so far.
Whats next? Who knows, maybe the timing was right to sell, maybe they were as far as they could go.
Owners/Investors got a good ROI and made a business decision
only Osha violation I found is from 2016, nothing major, $6,300.00 fine
https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/prog.php?parent=&major_industry_sum=&primary_offense_sum=&agency_sum=&agency_sum_st=&hq_id_sum=&company_op=starts&company=ebonite&major_industry%5B%5D=&case_category=&all_offense%5B%5D=&penalty_op=%3E&penalty=&govt_level=&agency_code%5B%5D=&agency_code_st%5B%5D=&pen_year%5B%5D=&pres_term=&free_text=&case_type=&ownership%5B%5D=&hq_id=&naics%5B%5D=&state=&city=
The bankruptcy filing you mentioned had nothing to do with Ebonite International end of things.
Factory was old, definitely looked that way when I did the tour last fall
but they were pouring 20 hours a day/6 days a week.
They couldn't keep up.
Doesn't much matter now, every single person in that building lost their job, including the CEO. Some got on with Brunswick and other companies.
Some did not.
Just sad to see jobs lost to Mexico
I was shown a picture of the insides of their plant. Much like many older buildings, their main girders, exposed in the rafters were covered with asbestos! I worked at a private company for 37 years, and it was built similarly. OSHA cited us and ultimately the cost to cover and/or remove it was too much to bear. They destroyed the old building and built a new one! Just because you didn't find a citation in your research does not mean a citation wasn't coming down the road! Either way, they made a business decision!!
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Was just curious how you could tell that the beams were covered in asbestos? Just because the insulation is sprayed on doesn’t mean it is asbestos. That way of insulation is still used widely and it does not contain asbestos.
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I looked at the bankruptcy filing that was referenced. It was Aceto Corporation that file for Chapter 11 and Ebonite International was simply listed on the service list meaning that they were served notice of Aceto Corporations filing, they were either a creditor or a customer of Aceto Corporations. Has nothing to do with Ebonite and in no way means that they filed for bankruptcy.
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True or not I have no idea but I was told the only brand they are keeping is Hammer. Everything else is gone.
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True or not I have no idea but I was told the only brand they are keeping is Hammer. Everything else is gone.
I'd be pretty surprised at that since they started the magnificent 7 marketing and paid to register all the brands with the PBA
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I'm hearing 6 months or so
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True or not I have no idea but I was told the only brand they are keeping is Hammer. Everything else is gone.
False.
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All 7 brands are PBA registered for the next 3 years. The first new balls from our new brands will be out soon.
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All 7 brands are PBA registered for the next 3 years. The first new balls from our new brands will be out soon.
Thanks for chiming in, Nick!
Interested to see the new pieces and what, if anything tech wise comes over from the old EBI stuff (cores etc).
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It will be an exciting year for sure, there is a lot to look forward to.
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So are they still going to make anything current like GBs, Beasts, Messengers, Destinys, Ballers, Chaos, Webs, Sauce, Vibes, etc...?
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Can't comment on future product strategy, sorry.
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Thanks by the way for the update Nick. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year holds.
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Just my opinion here but I would think that they need to try to replicate the Purple. If they can duplicate it that will likely go a long way and the price of the remaining few to be found would drop. Show that you can't duplicate it and you'll see even more people run to storm and motiv. Try to avoid balls previously made by EBI and it'll look like you give up on trying to make the same or better quality.
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Just my opinion here but I would think that they need to try to replicate the Purple. If they can duplicate it that will likely go a long way and the price of the remaining few to be found would drop. Show that you can't duplicate it and you'll see even more people run to storm and motiv. Try to avoid balls previously made by EBI and it'll look like you give up on trying to make the same or better quality.
But they also have to worry about overlap as well, because there were urethane Rhinos, Phantoms, and the like that Brunswick already has available or can easily reproduce. While I get that it is brand specific, I could see where some things could fall by the wayside, but not others, especially if it is one of the most popular balls EBI has produced.
I see a lot of potential, but will be interested to see how what Brunswick can do with that potential will be implemented.
BL.
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Just my opinion here but I would think that they need to try to replicate the Purple. If they can duplicate it that will likely go a long way and the price of the remaining few to be found would drop. Show that you can't duplicate it and you'll see even more people run to storm and motiv. Try to avoid balls previously made by EBI and it'll look like you give up on trying to make the same or better quality.
But they also have to worry about overlap as well, because there were urethane Rhinos, Phantoms, and the like that Brunswick already has available or can easily reproduce. While I get that it is brand specific, I could see where some things could fall by the wayside, but not others, especially if it is one of the most popular balls EBI has produced.
I see a lot of potential, but will be interested to see how what Brunswick can do with that potential will be implemented.
BL.
I agree. Does one company need 7 or 8 similar pieces? Probably not. Probably why EBI didn't have any current urethane in the Track, Columbia or Ebonite lines. I should stay out of the discussion really. Other than wanting to try a Quantum Bias Pearl and having some old Hammers most of what I throw is from Utah.
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Figuring out balls will be the easy part.
Try coming up with names and colors for 7 different brands.
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Figuring out balls will be the easy part.
Try coming up with names and colors for 7 different brands.
It's the new Teal Black Widow Platinum Phantom Pro! With its sister ball, the Raw Bad No Mercy Thug Intentions Zone!
Aww c'mon, we gotta have some fun with this one! :P
BL.
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Figuring out balls will be the easy part.
Try coming up with names and colors for 7 different brands.
They should drop DV8. That could free up a little creative time and administrative time. The rest of the brands have actual recognizable history behind them.
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Figuring out balls will be the easy part.
Try coming up with names and colors for 7 different brands.
They should drop DV8. That could free up a little creative time and administrative time. The rest of the brands have actual recognizable history behind them.
+1. That brand has some decent balls but have such a negative opinion of the marketing I generally don't pay much attention. Pretty telling how I have a ton of Brunswick and even a fair amount of Radical but like one DV8 ball which picked up on sale due to word of mouth. Kind of meh too so yeah DV8 not on my radar at all.
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Figuring out balls will be the easy part.
Try coming up with names and colors for 7 different brands.
They should drop DV8. That could free up a little creative time and administrative time. The rest of the brands have actual recognizable history behind them.
+1. That brand has some decent balls but have such a negative opinion of the marketing I generally don't pay much attention. Pretty telling how I have a ton of Brunswick and even a fair amount of Radical but like one DV8 ball which picked up on sale due to word of mouth. Kind of meh too so yeah DV8 not on my radar at all.
Now that Brunswick is one of the two Elephants in the room, DV8 will get more attention. I picked up a Verge a few months ago, and it's a great heavier oil symmetric. The quality is there. Again, the brand will be getting more press.
I don't have a crystal ball, but I believe the EBI brands will play a secondary roll in the Brunswick universe. I'm guessing the # of EBI balls to be released will be a few per brand and nothing compared to what we saw previously. Of course, I could end up having my head up my arse. ;)
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Steven, say 'Hello'.
If you don't hear an echo, you're okay. : )
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We might have our first look. On the approved list today
Hammer Fugitive
Hammer Redemption Solid
Hammer Redemption Pearl
Ebonite Allure
Assuming the Ebonite Omni Solid got sent overseas like the pearl
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We might have our first look. On the approved list today
Hammer Fugitive
Hammer Redemption Solid
Hammer Redemption Pearl
Ebonite Allure
Assuming the Ebonite Omni Solid got sent overseas like the pearl
Time to have a look overseas, especially since one distributor over there just advertised new MoRich balls coming to their shops... ???
BL.
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We might have our first look. On the approved list today
Hammer Fugitive
Hammer Redemption Solid
Hammer Redemption Pearl
Ebonite Allure
Assuming the Ebonite Omni Solid got sent overseas like the pearl
Omni will be a US release as well according to the email I got today
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The Redemption Solid screams Hammer with bold orange, black, and white colors and extremely aggressive ball motion. The Redemption Solid flat out hooks and needs a lot of oil as the cover and finish are as strong as the Hammer line has ever seen. The new Redemption core also has strong numbers for more overall hook. If that doesn’t excite you enough, the Redemption core also has DOT, which, of course, allows you to drill anywhere and makes these tough balls even tougher. Along with DOT is an orange inner core and the outer core is infused with carbon fiber.
The Redemption Pearl goes long and finishes strong! The Aggression NE Pearl cover makes its way through the heads easily and has a sharp breakpoint. Hammerheads will love the Redemption Pearl when the Redemption Solid has burned up the lane and you need a high-end ball to get down there and deliver big backend motion and devastating hitting power.
The Fugitive is Hammer’s newest mid-performance release. This delivers with a strong skid-flip motion and works excellent on broken down lanes. The Fugitive’s red and silver colors pop going down the lane, especially when it makes the turn at the breakpoint. The Fugitive features a Hammerhead favorite, Juiced Pearl, and a new low RG and high Differential symmetric core. Fugitive also has an orange core and carbon fiber outer to keep those Hammer fans happy!
Omni is the newest addition to the Ebonite line up. All our testers loved the Omni for its versatility. It reminded everyone of the famous V2, not only because of the familiar black and blue colors, but the usability it provides on so many conditions for many styles. The Omni core is a new asymmetric shape for the Ebonite line, and the outer core has the proven DynamiCore technology for more power at impact. Ebonite fans will love that the Omni uses characteristics of the popular GSV 2.0 cover.
There is plenty to be attracted to when talking about the new Ebonite Allure. The Allure features the new symmetric Allure core shape with great numbers for strong mid-lane and continuation along with DynamiCore. Allure is a shiny pearl that uses a new version of the proven Traxion cover. Allure was a favorite among all testers and will make its way into lots of bags this season.
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https://strikingdynamicxproshop.com/collections/pre-order
The only one that looks real interesting to me is the Allure. The core looks somewhat s.imilar to the Inferno core
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Buddies Pro Shop already has these balls along with the core shapes and specs on their site.
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Buddies Pro Shop already has these balls along with the core shapes and specs on their site.
Bowlersmart also has these up as well, though I'm not seeing in their specs list for both Redemptions that the core, let alone the cover, is CFI.
And interestingly enough, as of this morning, neither Ebonite's nor Hammer's sites have been updated showing the new gear.
BL.
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Street date 2/20/20
Redemption Solid
COLOR: Black/Orange/White
COVERSTOCK: Aggression NE Solid
CORE: Redemption
FINISH: 360,500,2000 Siaair Micro Pad
REACTION: Aggressive Hook
LANE CONDITION: Heavy Oil
WEIGHTS: 12-16 lbs.
Redemption Pearl
COLOR: Black/Blue/Gold
COVERSTOCK: Aggression NE Pearl
CORE: Redemption
FINISH: 500 Siaair/Crown Factory Compound
REACTION: Aggressive Backend
LANE CONDITION: Medium to Heavy Oil
WEIGHTS: 12-16 lbs.
Fugitive
COLOR: Red/Silver
COVERSTOCK: Juiced Pearl
CORE: Fugitive
FINISH: 500,1000 Siaair/Crown Factory Compound
REACTION: Skid Flip
LANE CONDITION: Medium Oil
WEIGHTS: 12-16 lbs.
Omni
COLOR: Black/Blue
COVERSTOCK: GSV 2.0
CORE: Omni
FINISH: 500,2000 Siaair Micro Pad
REACTION: Strong Midlane and Backend
LANE CONDITION: Heavy Oil
WEIGHTS: 12-16 lbs.
Allure
COLOR: Purple/Silver
COVERSTOCK: Traxion SF
CORE: Allure
FINISH: 500,1000,3000 Siaair/Crown Factory Compound
REACTION: Strong Backend
LANE CONDITION: Medium Oil
WEIGHTS: 12-16 lbs.
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Mike Dole shared photos of them, and the local staffer to me had a shipping notice so these are out in the wild already.
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I hear that Ebonite Mastermind rolls good.
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I hear that Ebonite Mastermind rolls good.
... Well look at that. The numbers are slightly different, but that shape is damn near identical. Just without the Brunswick crown. I bet it does roll good. Going to have to keep an eye on that one.
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Take Brunswick cores and Brunswick coverstocks, put them together and brand them 6 different companies.... Radical kind of does their own thing.
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Redemptions kinda look like the Thug core pinned at the bottom.
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It makes sense though. Brunswick isn't going to start producing cores that EBI was working on right away, they haven't had near enough time to test that stuff out yet. So here comes the re-brands and maybe things they've been working on but didn't make the final cuts when their other releases came out.
I'm wondering that the GSV 2.0 coverstock actually is on the Omni. We know it's not that, and it would be different resin bases with the same formula anyways. Man if that actually does roll like a Mastermind... I had the Intellect and still have the Einstein. Great, great balls.
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They just announced 4 new balls from the new brands, and now 4 new balls from Bruns/Radical/DV8. 8 new balls in the last 2 weeks.
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It makes sense though. Brunswick isn't going to start producing cores that EBI was working on right away, they haven't had near enough time to test that stuff out yet. So here comes the re-brands and maybe things they've been working on but didn't make the final cuts when their other releases came out.
I'm wondering that the GSV 2.0 coverstock actually is on the Omni. We know it's not that, and it would be different resin bases with the same formula anyways. Man if that actually does roll like a Mastermind... I had the Intellect and still have the Einstein. Great, great balls.
The GSV2.0 is on the Omni, as the Omni Pearl was already shipped overseas with the GSV 2.0 pearl coverstock on it. So those balls were already poured , and more than likely poured in Hopkinsville.
BL.
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The overseas Omni has a completely different block and no dynamicore so those were definitely poured before the closure. The US Omni solid is poured in the Brunswick plant. Coverstock formulas are shipped around all the time, as Brunswick and 900 Global have poured Storm balls with Reactor and other covers before.
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Hammer's teaser video with Bohn's kid for the Redemption solid wasn't all that impressive. Ball looked early and lazy, could be layout/pattern he was on, but definitely didn't do anything for me.
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Hammer's teaser video with Bohn's kid for the Redemption solid wasn't all that impressive. Ball looked early and lazy, could be layout/pattern he was on, but definitely didn't do anything for me.
I personally don't have high expectations on either of the Redemptions. Core looks almost exactly like the Thug core which I don't remember it being liked by a lot. Motion seemed really hit or miss
Omni looks like it could be really good depending on the cover.
Allure and Fugitive both look like good house shot balls
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Hammer's teaser video with Bohn's kid for the Redemption solid wasn't all that impressive. Ball looked early and lazy, could be layout/pattern he was on, but definitely didn't do anything for me.
Yeah ball was in it's roll phase at the arrows.
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Sure has been a lot of super early super strong balls come out lately.
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It seems like companies are making "tour first" balls that can read in those huge loads of oil in the fronts and mids. The league bowlers are going to buy the new stuff regardless.
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It seems like companies are making "tour first" balls that can read in those huge loads of oil in the fronts and mids. The league bowlers are going to buy the new stuff regardless.
Most bowlers dont understand ball reaction, or the importance of surface. Fire up the less then 5 games sale ads
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It seems like companies are making "tour first" balls that can read in those huge loads of oil in the fronts and mids. The league bowlers are going to buy the new stuff regardless.
Most bowlers dont understand ball reaction, or the importance of surface. Fire up the less then 5 games sale ads
The entire industry is predicated on Moar Hook. At least they generally release balls that are actually usable on house shot closer to summer.
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It seems like companies are making "tour first" balls that can read in those huge loads of oil in the fronts and mids. The league bowlers are going to buy the new stuff regardless.
Most bowlers dont understand ball reaction, or the importance of surface. Fire up the less then 5 games sale ads
The entire industry is predicated on Moar Hook. At least they generally release balls that are actually usable on house shot closer to summer.
The way I typically see it is actually this time of year more “Nationals geared†equipment is released. Example - Axiom. Bowl expo we’ll see more league bowler stuff and again in August.
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New C300 and Track releases
C300 Authority - https://www.buddiesproshop.com/bowling-balls/columbia-300-authority-bowling-ball/
The Authority is an eye-catching shiny pearl ball featuring an updated version of the ERT cover made popular on the recent Baller release with additives that help produce more down-lane response. The Authority utilizes a brand-new asymmetric core shape that enables the Authority to change directions harder when it encounters
C300 Outlook - https://www.buddiesproshop.com/bowling-balls/columbia-300-outlook-bowling-ball/
The Outlook for the Columbia 300 brand is exciting, and so is this new mid-performance release. The Outlook features Exciter Max, an updated version of the clean and strong Exciter cover from the Chaos line. To create a cleaner ball motion with more flip, the Outlook has a high RG and medium to high Differential; this combination pushes the Outlook motion further down-lane.
Track Proof - https://www.buddiesproshop.com/bowling-balls/track-proof-bowling-ball/
15lb (2.519/.052/.020) Prime Response - Black/Grey Solid
The Proof is a new high-performance release with possibly the strongest core numbers ever in this category and an updated Prime cover that will get Track Bowling fans excited. The Proof is very strong and continuous and surprised our testers because it is usable for a long time and does not seem to want to quit, despite the strong core, cover, and finish combination.
Track Latitude - https://www.buddiesproshop.com/bowling-balls/track-latitude-bowling-ball/
15lb (2.511/.045) QR8 Solid - Dark Purple/Light Purple
The Latitude is everything you want in a symmetric, solid bowling ball. The combination of proven technology in the Track Bowling line makes the Latitude a perfect benchmark ball. The MC2 core shape found in the Triton Elite is used in the Latitude with slight modifications to the density that produce a slightly higher RG and Differential. The Latitude is the type of ball that every style of bowler will want to have in their bag for its versatility and reliability on just about any given condition.