BallReviews
Equipment Boards => Storm => Topic started by: AlonzoHarris on February 19, 2018, 09:17:17 AM
-
Anyone try some polish on their Phaze II? Thinking of trying some light polish. I hate letting equipment sit a long time without use. With OOB on our league conditions, it's good for almost the whole 1st game before it'll 5-7 trying to chase the oil line.
-
I use polish on mine.....too much for me OOB for me on a THS. Even then need some oil to use it.
-
My Phase II lane polished noticeably after 20-30 games. Great ball that has been very valuable on several tournament conditions over the past year, including doubles and singles at nationals. You can't hurt it with some polish, but I am not sure it would bring out the best attributes of the ball for me. It has a very unique roll for a solid. I recently drilled a Hyroad Nano as a possible replacement. Very similar look, but the nano might be just a bit cleaner through the mids with a more angular move off the end of the oil.
Try the polish, but if that doesn't work, and you want the look of a solid try the Hyroad Nano
-
I actually prefer letting a ball just lane shine naturally. Phaze 2 did so for me as well, but it seemed to be kind of a diva with the surface, with the lane shine it got really lazy for me, was a noticeable difference between box surface and the lane shine. That's to be expected, but it was a bigger difference for me than I saw with other balls like the Rocket Ship. Rocket Ship just got longer and stronger, didn't lose too many boards though. Phaze 2 lost almost an arrow for me after it shined up, so I had to stay up on it with the cover maintenance. Very good ball though, just too much of a diva for me lol.
-
Storm step #1 with light pressure, using the slow speed setting of a two speed spinner has been really good for me. Obviously, it doesn't handle near as high of volume of oil, as in the box finish, but is much more useful, and doesn't need as much maintenance to keep it consistent. I tend to stay away from "polishes" on these kind of covers, as using compound like the Step series, or abralon without skipping any grits, seems to work best, when trying to smooth out the surface of these newer covers.
-
Hated my Phaze II until I stopped screwing around with it and just let it lane shine. I keep it nice and clean with Hook-it right after each set. Already shot 300 with it earlier this year in league and average is up 8 pins. Great ball (for me) to tell whether it's too dry or not. It'll talk to me, when I care to listen :)
-
Some of my favorite Storm equipment has been best after it lane polished ( Virtual Gravity, Lucid ). Phase II tamed a bit after it lane polished but didnt really change its reaction. Very unique roll. I have bowled well playing the gutter on a 40 foot pattern, Playing 7-8 board on the Viper, and playing relatively deep in nationals. Best thing about the phase II is that it is not a teaser. When it is good it is very good, otherwise I put it away. Probably going to replace it with the Hyroad Nano, but not sure yet. Playing them side by side the look is similar, but the Hyroad pushes a little better, and may be a bit sharper off the break point.
-
Yes and yes, Hyroad Nano is a longer and sharper Phaze 2, that's exactly right in my opinion.
Some of my favorite Storm equipment has been best after it lane polished ( Virtual Gravity, Lucid ). Phase II tamed a bit after it lane polished but didnt really change its reaction. Very unique roll. I have bowled well playing the gutter on a 40 foot pattern, Playing 7-8 board on the Viper, and playing relatively deep in nationals. Best thing about the phase II is that it is not a teaser. When it is good it is very good, otherwise I put it away. Probably going to replace it with the Hyroad Nano, but not sure yet. Playing them side by side the look is similar, but the Hyroad pushes a little better, and may be a bit sharper off the break point.
-
I'm not buying it yet.... You can do whatever you want with coverstock, but I just don't see anywhere in the world of a 250 rev bowler, how a 2.57 RG and .046 diff is going to match up equally to a 2.48 with a .051..... It's going to lope, then lope, then lope some more. Wish I had the disposable income to test that theory.....
-
250 RpM is a little low even by the standards of this old stroker. I am not a storm staffer, and in no way promoting the ball to anyone. Just documenting what I have seen from the 2 balls so far. I have only thrown s few games with the Hyroad Nano. I pulled it out of the bag on a broken down 47 foot pattern when my usually reliable Marvel pearl just wasn't coming off the dry hard enough to carry. I got 7 in a row to make the cut. Interestingly enough when the lanes were re run for the finals the marvel pearl was better than the hyroad because it gave me some hold area that wasn't there for the nano.
One reason I seldom recommend balls on this site is because it so much depends on individual style matchups with the ball in question.
-
I've had both, and he's not far off. Cover is most of ball reaction, and the Nano cover is stupid strong.
I'm not buying it yet.... You can do whatever you want with coverstock, but I just don't see anywhere in the world of a 250 rev bowler, how a 2.57 RG and .046 diff is going to match up equally to a 2.48 with a .051..... It's going to lope, then lope, then lope some more. Wish I had the disposable income to test that theory.....
-
Bob, that would be comparing the Hyroad Nano to the MP, not the Phaze II. I'm at 225-250 most days, and If I had the proverbial nickel for every %^&* high Rg ball I've had lope down the lanes, I'd have retired long ago. Different matchups, that's the key. My main point is people that compare balls as if everyone has the same game... The low rev world is way different... And please folks, don't bother to type the "increase your revs" BS. Been there, but I'll take 215 1 night a week with no practice on left side ice, thank you very much.
-
Okay, here again is my comparison of Phase Ii to Hyroad Nano. Phase is a very heavy rolling solid that has better continuation than I expected. Hyroad N gives me similar look with a bit more push and more angularity. I did not see any loping look on the 2 conditions I used it on.
I mentioned the Marvel P not because I thought the balls are comparable, but to give readers some idea of how I use my equipment.
-
Left side is also very different from the right. Balls don't act the same for me on both sides of the lane. Low RG on the left is a must, I never did very well with anything north of 2.53ish no matter what the diff was, Hectic was about the lone exception. Best lefty balls for me were stuff like the Rogue Cell and IQ Tour Solid. Left side has a much narrower path to the pocket, but a much cleaner and firmer look on the backend. I've no doubts that high rg stuff doesn't look great on the left, I've experienced that myself, and if you watch my old old videos, I was down in the very low rev rate area at one point also. Even lower rev righties generally have heavier rolls than lower rev rate lefties who can just glide out of the ball and watch it still shape up firmly on the back. You do that on the right side and you get a lot of meh and a flat 10.
I'd still argue the Hyroad Nano is a different animal, but maybe not if you're speed dominant. Your game, so you'd know best, but . .
Bob, that would be comparing the Hyroad Nano to the MP, not the Phaze II. I'm at 225-250 most days, and If I had the proverbial nickel for every %^&* high Rg ball I've had lope down the lanes, I'd have retired long ago. Different matchups, that's the key. My main point is people that compare balls as if everyone has the same game... The low rev world is way different... And please folks, don't bother to type the "increase your revs" BS. Been there, but I'll take 215 1 night a week with no practice on left side ice, thank you very much.
-
Last time I did CATS , I was 17mph through the heads with between 275 and 300 rpm. Speed and revs match well for me on mist conditions. I agree that the left side presents different challenges, especially on sport patterns. Not so much in house shots.
-
I've seen plenty of good lefties in the area dominate house shots (and some tournament shots) throwing high rg stuff. I don't buy that argument one bit. I've witnessed one of them shoot 800 with a hyroad pearl from start to finish on fresh conditions. The ball did anything but lope.
As for the hyroad nano, it most certainly does not lope. The combination of that core and coverstock makes it a beast on the lanes. I throw 14lbs, and if you look at the numbers, it should be even more prone to lope than 15 or 16. Not even close. I have not thrown the Phase II myself - other than at a demo day. However, I've seen plenty of others throw it. They aren't that far off.
Coverstock does have more of an effect than the core. I think some people get too caught up in the numbers and convince themselves it won't work. Also, those core numbers change when a ball is drilled.
-
I'm thinking about picking up a Phaze II before Nationals this year....
-
Lol yeah I did forget some pertinent information there, low rev lefties. I did well with my Hyroad Pearl too when my rev rate increased. Not saying it can't ever happen obviously, I just found that on the left side that the reaction is so clean that carrydown happens first, and high RG stuff gets wiggly and long unless you have a higher rev rate.
I second your Nano comment. It's actually fairly early and aggressive even.
I've seen plenty of good lefties in the area dominate house shots (and some tournament shots) throwing high rg stuff. I don't buy that argument one bit. I've witnessed one of them shoot 800 with a hyroad pearl from start to finish on fresh conditions. The ball did anything but lope.
As for the hyroad nano, it most certainly does not lope. The combination of that core and coverstock makes it a beast on the lanes. I throw 14lbs, and if you look at the numbers, it should be even more prone to lope than 15 or 16. Not even close. I have not thrown the Phase II myself - other than at a demo day. However, I've seen plenty of others throw it. They aren't that far off.
Coverstock does have more of an effect than the core. I think some people get too caught up in the numbers and convince themselves it won't work. Also, those core numbers change when a ball is drilled.