Link to: season 2012-2013 blog
Link to: season 2011-2012 blog
Link to: season 2010-2011 blog
In the bag:
Seismic Raging Bull, the 2nd. (solid reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2012)
Bought a 2nd Raging Bull off eBay Germany. This one has a different drilling layout (pin above ring) and provides more lenght with a somewhat quicker response to friction on the back-ends. Strong ball that starts hooking a bit earlier than the Special Agent, it has more mid-lane response and less back-end movement. Great hitting power on impact as long as the speed is kept under control.. this ball is quite speed-sensitive due to the agressive core. Best on: medium/heavy to heavy, 38 foot or longer. Lenght: 7, Hook: 8. Will be named "Second Bull" in the blog.
Seismic Solaris Blackout (solid reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2012)
From eBay Germany, very cheap and very low milage. Drilled pin under ring with cg outwards, similar to Bull 1. While advertised as black it's in fact a very dark blue coverstock and it looks quite sophisticated. Versatile, comfortable, smooth reaction, great carry. A bit like a milder version of the Special Agent and it might see a lot of use in the coming season. Best on: anything in between short/dry and really long with soaked back-ends. Lenght: 8, Hook: 7.
Storm
Special Agent (solid reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2011)
Bought
2nd hand out of curiosity and it has seen a lot of use ever since. Easy going and quite forgiving ball that produces a strong but controllable arc towards the pocket when it hits the dry. It works well on long and heavy patterns and when there is carry down. Best on: medium/heavy to heavy, 38 foot or longer. Lenght: 8, Hook: 8.
Columbia Alter Ego (particle reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2012)
Found one on eBay USA and simply couldn't resist.. a fresh (used, but in very good shape) Alter Ego with roughly the same specs as my previous one. The reaction is similar, it starts to move quite early but always has plenty of energy left on impact. Was hoping to get this type of reaction when i bought the First Bull but i seems that an Alter Ego can only be replaced by another Alter Ego. It didn't come cheap but i'm really happy to have found another one. Still think it's an ugly bastard and the previous owner named it "a frog in a blender". Best on: medium/heavy THS but it can also handle shorter patterns. Shot a 279 with this one in feb. 2013. Lenght: 6, Hook: 7.
Seismic Raging Bull, the 1st. (solid reactive urethane, 14 lbs, 2012)
Bought new to complement the Special Agent on longer and heavier patterns but it doesn't perform up to expectations on those conditions. Difficult ball, on the right circumstances it can be very powerful (the reason why i bought another one) with a long sweeping curve-motion, but on most conditions it seems to lose a lot of energy on it's way. Thinking of getting it re-surfaced at a finer grit or polish it to give it a touch more lenght. Lenght: 6, Hook: 7. Drilled pin under ring, pin distance is only 2". Mentioned as "First Bull" in the blog.
Roto-Grip
Cell Pearl (particle reactive urethane, 14 lbs, 2011)
Another
2nd hand with low mileage, mainly in use when more lenght and
speed are needed. The move is quite agressive and violent when it hits the dry. Love the motion and pin-carry of this ball and usually play it straight up with some speed and a lot of revs. Best on: medium/heavy long patterns (40 foot+) when the back-ends are dry and clean.. carry down is not a friend of this one. Lenght: 8.5, Hook: 9. Also got some good results on wood with dry outsides, playing long wide curves at high speed. Simply mentioned as "Cell" in the blog.
Lane#1 Buzzsaw XL (pearl reactive, 14 lbs, 2012)
Didn't exactly plan on buying another one but the price tag overwon common sense. Old (2001) release and a bit of a classic. It's a tame low rg pearl and should be a nice addition for drier conditions. Will be drilled pin out and cg inwards with the intention to go long with a sharp hooking motion. Pretty colour. Will be named "XL" in the blog.
Columbia White Dot (polyester, 14.5 lbs, 2011)
Not the prettiest ball on the planet but it has no reason to be fancy. Bought new for the sole purpose of killing corner pins and other undesired leftovers. Lenght: 10, Hook: 1.
On the rack:
Columbia Quake (solid reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2011)
New old stock, found on a local auction site. Manufactured in 1996 and it's exactly what i was looking for, an "oldschool" reactive that arcs smooth and starts early, similar to the Avenger, but with more overall hook and bite. Best on: medium/dry to medium, short patterns. Lenght: 4, Hook: 5.
Coming Soon:
Seismic Raging Bull Charged (pearl reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2012)
The 3rd out of the german batch, the pearl version of the Raging Bull. Waiting for the day it gets filled and drilled and that might take a while, solids seem to work better for me. Layout is not decided yet. Will be named "Charged Bull" if it enters the blog sometime.
Retired/replaced:
Storm Double Agent (particle reactive urethane, 14 lbs, 2011)
A well-used second hand but it still has plenty of life in it. Reaction-wise it's similar to the First Bull with a touch more lenght. Don't use it a lot but bought it for experimenting with surface changes. Right now it's still in factory finish at 1000 grit. Best on: not figured out yet. Lenght: 5, Hook: 6. Retired because of a large crack in between ring finger and thumb, feb '13.
Ebonite
Avenger (solid urethane, 14 lbs, 2006)
Bought
for only $0.50 at a Salvation Army-shop near Charleston, S.C. Apart from the
holes it was brand new and the fit was good enough to take it home. Very
profitable ball, it replaced the aging Nitro right away as it proved to have
the same characteristics. In use for most spares and occasional lane-scouting
when i'm desperate.
Hammer
Black Widow Sting (solid reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2011)
Bought
new to replace the Alter Ego, but it has a totally different character. It's strong, agressive, difficult, and definitely needs oil up front. When released smoothly it will produce a strong arc towards the pocket as soon as it hits the dry. When played a little more agressive it becomes snappy on the back end and a lot less predictable, especially on worn down patterns. Very sensitive to speed and lane condition changes. Great ball on specific lane conditions when your game is consistent enough, but when you're slightly off, you're in trouble. Retired, not versatile enough and too sensitive for my taste. Best on: 39 to 41 foot medium/heavy, flat with clean back-ends. Lenght: 8, Hook 8,5. Sold.
Storm Paradigm Passion (solid reactive urethane, 15.2 lbs, 2011)
After being happy with the Special Agent the decision was easy to snatch this one off the 2nd hand market too, but decided to ditch it after a few test games.. it's too heavy for me. In the few games it proved to be a ball that got into a roll really early, reacting kind of sluggish. Not my cup of tea. On impact this ball has plenty of force but sounds like a bucket filled with bricks. Lenght: 5, Hook: 5. Sold.
Ebonite Nitro/R2
(solid reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2008-2011)
Bought
brand new, 2nd hand from a woman who left for a bowling career in the US.
Bought as a replacement for the Ninja but it never delivered. For some reason
it looses a lot of energy on the moment it flips inward, leading to weak hits.
It's excellent on long and fresh patterns with a dry end but quite useless on
most other conditions. The grip is a struggle too. Will be replaced by the Cell Pearl. Lenght: 9, Hook: 8.
Columbia Alter
Ego (particle reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 2004-2010)
Unfortunately
gone. Favourite ball ever in both drilling and performance. Strong arching ball
that picked up effect quite early. Very versatile, could use it for pretty much
everything, from simple "2nd arrow hook" to all sorts of curve-balls. Very
forgiving if you were a little off. Always lots of hitting power available at
the pins. Ball was too strong on dry wood and somehow didn't like extremely
long patterns. When it became older it started leaving corner pins when the
angle of impact was too wide. It cracked while sitting in a closet when i was
out due to a leg injury. Dearly miss this one as it was still working very well
after 6 years. Shot my highest series (891/4 and 1094/5) in it's last season. Mine was more green and less yellow and red compared to the picture but despite that it was just as ugly. Lenght: 7.5, Hook: 8. Destroyed and disposed.
AMF Ninja RPM
(solid reactive urethane, 15 lbs, 1996-2008)
Bought
2nd hand. Very powerful, mean, snappy and hard-hitting ball. Went straight for a long
time and then came in with a pretty violent turn left. Second game was a 258.
Shot my high's (279 and a 278 on bone-dry wood) with this one. Later in it's life
it became more smooth and controllable. Retired it when it stopped delivering
any pin-action and it got replaced with the Nitro R2. Destroyed and disposed.
Ebonite Nitro
(solid urethane, 15 lbs, 1993-2006)
Urethane
balls were out for only a few years in '92. Got this one from my dad as a
birthday present, a few months before returning to the lanes. Nice smooth
predictable curve and usable on a lot of different lane conditions. It was the
only ball in my bag for quite some time. Later mainly used for spares and dry
conditions as the sport and available materials evolved rapidly. Destroyed and disposed.
Columbia Yellow
Dot (polyester, 13-ish lbs, 1986-1987)
My
sister's ball. Heavier and not drilled for my hand, but the lack of grip led to a smooth
and gentle curve towards the pins. I liked that motion quite a lot so the ball
got confiscated after my sister quit bowling.
Columbia White
Dot (polyester, 12-ish lbs, 1983-1987)
After
the the Strikeline died my dad got me this one. First drilled conventional,
later fingertip and i got a pretty decent amount of hook on it, as long as the
lanes were not too oily. Used it for quite a few years, ballspeed and thumb
hole size increased when i got older. Gave it away to a former friends former girlfriend.
AMF Strikeline
(rubber, cork core, 10-ish lbs, 1981-1983)
My
first ball, altough it was club-owned. There were two of them, exactly the
same, one encrypted 'RM' and one was 'FM' but i can't recall which was mine.
Used it in youth bowling for about two seasons. Conventional drilling but it had
a little hook. It died in the finals of a tournament as a large part of the
shell simply fell off somewhere behind the pindeck. Two games too early, it's
twin was not available and i remember being pretty pissed off as i was in the
lead at that moment. Came in 2nd, my first trophy. Destroyed and disposed.