Phil,
There are many important things that I look for when I look for when I want a new bowling ball.
First, I look at where the ball starts to roll on the lane. Many that are out today it seems have two specific type of characteristics. They either have great length and great (sometimes uncontrollable) backend, or they arc really hard. Now for most bowlers, this might be enough, but neither I like really well.
One of my favorite balls of all time was the Track TKO. I loved this ball simply because it wasn't the big arc like the brunswick zones of the time, nor was it the skid snap like some of the storm and ebonite products of the time. It was in between. The medium RG medium-high differential core allowed the ball to roll early, but the mica infused Power Plus reactive gave it the length it had.
The second thing I look for in a bowling ball is coverstock durability. I don't just mean games played. Currently, many of the coverstocks out there will crack. I have seen balls with 30 games on them crack all the way around, even drilled within specs.
The third thing I am looking for is value. Yes, value. Some companies use current coverstocks and modified cores to give us high-performance balls, but to me, they aren't high performance simply because there is really nothing new and exciting about the core or cover. I hate to use company comparisons, but I will. Looking at the Agent from Storm, there really was nothing dramatically new about the ball. Just a lower RG core inside the reactor coverstock. I personally don't think it was worth the high-performance tag. Looking at ebonite(and I hate to use ebonite here, but they do have a gem), they have a radically new core inside a new coverstock with the TNV. Now I have not personally thrown the ball, but so many people in my area have had success. I'm not the biggest fan of the reaction, but I do love how the ball rolls. Reminds me much of how the TKO rolled for me.
I personally feel that the pheonix would have been in the same class of ball as the TNV. A new coverstock and a new core. That is worth the price of high performance.
Dj
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The views and opinions of Djarum expressed on BallReviews.com do not necessarily state or reflect those of the BallReviews.com.
