-
I bought the Tropical Heat hybrid to have a controllable ball to use when lanes started to break down. What I got was totally the opposite, Mine is a very strong, very flippy ball that covers more lane than anything else that I have. I have only been able to throw this ball in league once cause it is usually WAY TOO MUCH ball on most nights. I was just wondering if anyone else has bought one of these and had the same results???
-
I have one as well with a 5" pin to PAP distance and couldn't believe the aggressiveness of this ball when I first threw it. I was surprised at how soon it revved in the midlane but then made a left turn on the back part of the lane. It has tamed down a bit with some games on it but actually just hit it tonight with some Extra Shine to try to smooth it out some. I have found it works best for me when I want to hook the whole lane or play straighter with lots of speed. Definitely not a weak ball by any means.
I did read the Bowlers Journal review and watch some youtube videos before the purchase so I knew the ball was stronger than advertised. I did not expect the quick transition with the layout I chose however so I am still experimenting with mine.
-
it is more ball than the price shows. i drilled mine pin under bridge,cg 45 deg. x hole down pap. very controllable midlane read continuous backend. best thing you can do is hit it with a 2000 abralon pad and add a coat of polish on top. it will smooth out the big jump on the backend from the pearl additive
Current Arsenal
Theory
Reign Supreme
Tropical Heat Pearl
Natural
Plastic
-
maybe your ball driller drilled it wrong/strong for what your needs were...??? just a thought
-
T C ........I told my driller to give it a drilling to give me a smooth reaction, something more controllable. So I dont think it was misdrilled. It could be I guess if the pro shop made an error. But I know it is very flippy on the back and very strong. Exactly what I didn't want. Not unhappy though, I love the ball when I actually find enough oil to be able to use it.
-
I had the same problem with my Tropical Storm when I bought it.
Realistically, when I get a ball like this I tend to play down and in with it, outside the track area. The problem is, even a plastic ball can hook through the nose or go brooklyn when you play it on the dry. I've had some success on tournament patterns that oiled gutter to gutter playing the outside line with the Tropical. Like any ball, it needs oil through the heads.
I fight over/under with this ball more than anything else I have. I can't use it inside or I leave flat 10's all night and down 5-10 it rolls out too early and misses the pocket left.
It's been a good ball IN the track area at my house though.You probably want to play with the cover stock before writing it off. I thought 70% of a balls reaction was surface prep...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply
-
I have the orange and purple Tropical Heat, so it's the pearl version, not the hybrid, but I do know that even the pearl is a lot of ball for the money. Remember: the Reactor coverstock on it was Storm's high end cover just 5 years ago! (And it's been tweaked and improved over time, so it's stronger than what we saw on the Agent and Spit Fire for example) It's still capable of handling some oil, and it is very responsive to friction downlane. There's a reason that you see it being thrown by the pros a lot later in blocks and on shorter patterns. I personally found mine is best when it's got a little surface on it to help the ball read the midlane, which reduces the snap off the friction and lets me open up my angles a little. For me, sanding it with 500 then going straight to 4000 abralon works great. I'm not sure how this would work for your release and on your lane conditions, particularly since you're using the ball that has some solid mixed in with the pearl cover, but it's worth a shot. You may have to move inside further than you expected, but on a lot of conditions it really opens up a nice amount of mistake room with good carry.
-
There is a big misconception that weaker bowling balls go straighter. Often, with the amount of oil some centers put in the front of the lane, "WEAKER" balls do not have a chance to use up energy through out the lane, thus resulting in a big backend move. What you are probable seeing, is the ball not using up enough energy, thus going sideways out of the pattern. A weaker ball is designed to glide through the heads, and save energy as the mids break down, and the backends carrydown. It sounds as if you are using it in too much oil, and the ball is not using up enough energy.
If your problem is that you are not able to get the ball through the front part of the lane, then yes, it maybe to strong for the lane condition.
Tommy Gollick
Storm Regional/Pro Shop staff
Red Crown Pro Shop Harrisburg, PA
stormbowling.com
-
Perhaps knocking the shine off with 4k or2k abralon would still allow it to get thru the fronts, while calming the backend reaction.
-
I think Belcher & Cobalt really nailed it, stormfank. Play with the surface & the line you're throwing. I did that with my Reign. I kicked it up to 2000 ab/no polish & I have not looked back. I didn't match up to the pure pearl coverstocks at all until I played with my Reigns cover. Could be I went with a symetric pearl vs. my assymetric Gravity Shift but not sure. I did play with the Gravity's cover, but never found anything that seemed to match up for my house.
-
Try hitting the ball with a fresh 1000 pad by hand and the ball should use more energy through the front and be a little more controlled and continuous in the back. If the 1000 is to much bring it up again. I try to avoid polish on the r2s cover.
Billy Trudell
Storm PBA regional staff
Drilling Tech Next Level Proshop