I've been using a Trauma Response for a couple of months now, and I can say that this particular ball has really impressed me.  I'm a power stroker, usually bowling on synthetics oiled to 42 feet, 7-7, with no bumpers outside to bounce off of.  Since the outsides are pretty slick, I can't just move in deep and swing way outside and expect to get the ball back.  Instead, I find that I play either a down and in line with the stacked leverage (3 3/8" X 3 3/8") Response, or sometimes I can use a shallow swing line with the ball.

The Response is in "box" condition and treated with Doc's Magic Bowling Ball Elixer.  With the Elixer on board, the ball clears the heads nicely, and the ball makes a nice smooth hard arc on the backends.  The ball carry is pretty good when you can get the ball into the pocket...this ball is a heavy hitter.  Of course, this ball needs some oil to hold it back.  If the lanes are toasted, this is not the ball you want in your hand, unless you can flatten out the shot.  You don't want to tug this ball inside, because it will take off running pretty quick on a tug....just give the ball a little bit of working room, get a clean release, and let the ball do the work.

I've been satisfied enough with the Response that my driller is fixing to drill me up another one stacked leverage.  I wanted a ball on standby, and I feel comfortable with opting for another Response.  I must say that I've been impressed with the performance of the ball, if I can just keep the operator error down to a minimum.  All in all, I have to give this ball some high marks for a medium to heavy condition.

This is probably the best ball i have ever owned.Out of the box this ball was uncontrollable.But thanks to my proshop advisor Paul Volker I had it polished and what a difference, its not so much a heavy oil ball any more but it was the only way with my bowling style that i could control this ball.This ball goes long and tears up the back end.I am a high rev bowler and I have my pin placed just above and to the right or my ring finger with a weight hole by thumb for added finger weight.I would recommend this ball to anyone looking to improve there game!

This is a follow up post on my earlier review of the Response.

My Response is drilled 3 3/8" X 3 3/8", with 3/4 ounce sideweight in it.  I bowl in a heavy and long oil house, with the typical shot being 42' in length.  I'm well past the 150 game mark with the ball now, and thanks to Doc's Elixer, the performance is still hanging in there.

I can tell you that this ball HAS TO HAVE OIL to perform properly.  On anything less than medium lane conditions, this ball will roll out in the pines and has nothing left for the backend reaction.....of course, I'm bowling on a flood, so rollout is not an issue with me.  I'm a power stroker, and I find that I usually play either a mild swing shot to a down and in shot with this ball, and the results have been very good with it.  In fact, the carrydown in my house gets so bad that I have actually left 5-pins on what appeared to be solid pocket hits, although I could tell that the ball was skidding on the carrydown.  Based on the 5-pin leaves, you can see that there are situations where the Response can be tamed by the lane conditions, provided that you are playing in enough oil.

Although I do occasionally leave a dreaded 5-pin when the carrydown is deep, the ball typically carries very well on light hits.  In fact, the Response carries light hits better than any other ball that I can remember using before.  Even though I'm using the ball in the box finish (600 scuff), it has a really hard hit for such a dull ball.

I know that this ball has drawn a lot of flak from bowlers, but my guess is that the majority of these dissatisfied owners were trying to use the ball on a condition that was drier than what the Response was designed for.  Give the ball the oil that it needs to work on, and the Response will turn into a very productive ball.  Also, crankers may not be able to realize the full benefit from this ball, since this ball works best dull, and dull isn't necessarily what crankers like.

I have to say that this is the most disappointing Storm ball that I've thrown up to this point. First off, I don't get a lot of opportunities to use this one, as there is seldom enough oil. However, my summer league has been putting down a really wet/dry condition, so this one has seen some action. The downfall of this ball, other than the God-awful colors, is the hit. It's just not there. Maybe it would work better in the hands of someone who tears the cover off of the ball. However, for a stroker this ball just doesn't pack the same punch that most other Storm balls do. At first I thought I was just not seeing enough oil, but this ball is not rolling out, it just doesn't drive through the deck. I have little to no trouble finding the pocket, but it hits like a wet rag. Well, a partially wet rag anyway. In the hands of someone else it might be solid, but for me it is an average ball at best. 6 out of 10.
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Bowling is without a doubt the dumbest, most pointless, most idiotic excuse for a game that has ever been invented. So, what time are we bowling tomorrow?

This ball is pretty awesome. It's a good all around ball. I've shot really high with it on oil and on dry You really need to take care of this ball. Remember: Do NOT say this ball doesn't hook. It just hooks really early. That's why it was made for oil.
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It's NOT the ball, it's the bowler.

Ok, I've had this ball for a while. It's in my closet and now it has a grape smell to it. Well I lovED this ball. I mean I shot a 279 with it on fried wood lanes and a 277 on league shot. Then one day........it died.

This ball was great, for a while.  I shot a few 7’s with it and a 299-279-236 for an 814 series, now I can’t throw it.  When there is oil on the lane the ball kind of rolls and then…When there is not any oil the ball kind of rolls and then…

This was my very first Storm ball and very possibly my last. The general feeling I get from watching bowlers who throw Storm equipment is that it works well for guys who either tear the cover off the ball OR guys who throw the ball dead slow. I do neither, as I am a medium rev player with above average speed.
That being said, I have had a very difficult time with this ball, with one exception.
Plain and simple, I can't get this ball to hook. I realize that I can't throw it on dry heads and I don't. I throw it on oily heads and the ball just spins about 50 feet and then makes a very weak move into the pocket area. I leave a lot of buckets, half loafs and weak 10s with this ball. It just doesn't seem to like my bellying it out a little as it doesn't want to come back. It seems to rev up well enough in the midlane and appears as if it's going to finish strong, but it just doesn't.
The one exception was a night when the heads and backends were so oily that I played a straight up shot with little speed, slightly pointing towards the pocket. I hit the pocket the first 34 shots and finished with 279-278-217. I only rung solid 10 pins from the 2nd game fill ball through the last game (6 in the last game alone!). It was my best shot at 800 but the ringing 10 pins kept me from reaching my goal. Anyway, pointing the ball at the head pin with little speed is NOT my game, so I haven't had any success with this ball since. I even missed a 5-pin right with it on Sweeps and put it away for several months in disgust.
I recently had an extra hole drilled to help it rev up off my hand, and I also changed the grip colors to allow me to better read the ball movement. I hope that this helps, as I cannot afford to just throw away this ball, even if I think it's a piece o' crap to this point. I usually can't use this in league play but last week they put out a lot of oil, so hopefully I'll get a chance to see if my recent changes work. Otherwise, I just gotta give up on this ball.
I definitely would not recommend this ball, unless you're in the market for a very expensive air freshener.
(NOTE: The general feeling I get is that this ball is pretty much thought of as a "lemon" by everyone in the industry, probably even Storm themselves. Perhaps I'll give Storm equipment another chance in the future, but my first taste wasn't very impressive.)