Original thunder core - Reactor coverstock. The thunders used to be our high end balls, but since the core didnt have to be re-made and we didnt have to invest extra money in R & D, this ball is brought to you at a much lower price point. Thunderstruck Pearl is very clean through the fronts and mids, with a smooth predictable move through the pins. You will see different motions from different players depending on rev-rate and ball speed. If you have a Fired-Up this ball will be a nice compliment, being smoother off the break point. Players with softer hands and speeds will see this ball be much more controlable than the Fired-Up. So far i've only used this ball on several house patterns while doing trade shows, but i like what i see so far
--------------------
Bowl up a Storm,
Jeff Carter
www.stormbowling.com
www.jeffcarterbowling.com

Bowler Stats:
Rev Rate: 200-225 rpm
Ball Speed: 16 mph
PAP: 4"

Ball Specs:
1.5” Pin

Drilling: Storm's layout no 3

This ball sure got lots of energy when it hit the pin. The pins are flying a lot more than ever. I agree with Joe jr, on fresh medium oil TSP is very clean from the head to the mid and then it made strong angular move in the dry backend. And it does get better when the lane breaksdown with little bit of carrydown. I still need to try this ball in medium-heavy condition and see its reactions in future.

If there's any pin standing, its just me making silly mistakes during release. Overall, TSP is a very good ball in the medium oil. If you dont have any, buy one!

First let me say that this might be the best Storm ball I have ever thrown and I have thrown most of them.I wanted something to replace my Flash Point but what I got was a primary weapon in the fight for bowling supremacy, Ok, maybe that is overstating it just a little since I have only used on house shots, but this ball is a killer. I have a high rev rate, ball speed around 18 MPH and love to swing the ball left to right and back again. I have this ball drilled 4 1/2 x 4 (pin/CG)with the pin over the bridge. I can use this ball on the fresh 41 ft house shot I bowl on and crush'em. If I miss a little left it holds and if I miss a little right it recovers. This ball absolutely destroys the pins. I do have some problems with it getting slightly skid/flippy in the third game but then I either move deeper or move right and take some hand out of it (oh yeah this ball is versatile as well) or switch to the T-Road solid, but that is a another review. After I bowl some in an upcoming PBA experience league I will post and let everyone know how it handles those shots.

The ball: 15 pounds, 2.5-inch pin, 3 oz top weight
The drill: Rico. Finish is box.
Me: PAP 4 over 3/8 up, tweener revs, good speed, good circumference coverage

---

Bought this ball to complement a Thunderstruck Solid that I also have drilled Rico. I selected Rico drills for these balls as an experiment, based on the proven FE2 core in both giving me a baseline of knowledge as to what should happen versus what I was seeing with the Rico drill.

A funny thing happened here: Whereas a Rico drill seemed to actually build some angularity into the Solid (although still being smooth and mostly arcy), it made the Pearl completely smooth.

I tested this ball over the course of a month on a shot that, in most nights, has caused any other pearl ball in my bag great difficulty: A house shot with decent outside volume and not much of a crown in the middle. There has been a lot of over/under built into the shot and polished solids have been the way to go.

This ball, however, did a good job of smoothing out some of the transitions and making the condition more playable. The cover allowed me to play inside with some hold, but the ball's aggressiveness allowed me some miss room outside.

Carry, like most Storm FE2 balls, is excellent. The Solid with the Rico drill tends to be a 10-pin monster after the head oil disappears but the Pearl was kicking out corners deep into a set.

Even I was surprised, though, with the amount of action this ball was generating on non-flush hits. This ball moves pins around very well.

I've seen a lot of reference to this ball being "mild" or having a mild cover it does not. I tested it against some known "mild" balls in my bag but this ball has good strength. FE2 balls with pin-down drillings (which the Rico is, of course) tend to be quite strong off the spot, sometimes too much. I'm left to believe people referring to mildness either have overly long pin-to-PAP numbers or are bowling on heavier-volume conditions than they might thing. The summary:

Positives: Very good carry, versatile, covers up mistakes, proven technology wrapped in an aggressive coverstock, good match for a Rico drill if that's your preference.

Negatives: Not for oil volumes on either extreme, factory scent on this ball is much stronger than most Storms and is actually distracting.

Overall: Great ball that can play anything from medium-dry to medium-heavy, is user-friendly and inspires confidence, all at a great price point.

Jess