“The IQ Tour Pearl off ers a balance of power and control for the tourna- ment enthusiast,” says Steve Kloempken of Storm. “The lower-fl aring core helps power players control the mid-lane hook motion, and allows for greater ener- gy-storing hitting power. The pearlized cover will complement the original IQ Tour solid, introduced in August 2012.” Core Design: The 4-cylinder, turbo-
charged C3 Centripetal symmetric core supplies plenty of down-lane power. The RG remains low at 2.49 and the diff erential small at .029. We saw only about 3 inches of track fl are with our strong layout. Coverstock: Not many balls have
This Month’s Balls In Action
Each month several of the balls covered in the Ball Review will be shown in action on the lanes. The video simply shows how the diff erent balls react. Balls are selected at random for the videos.
been produced using a gold pearl color scheme over the past 50 years, due to the possible blending-into-the-lane vi- sual it presents. But as Jason Belmonte would say, “No worries, mate.” The new IQ Tour Pearl pulls off this look perfectly. The R2S pearl cover is factory polished with 1500 grit. The response is quick off friction, and oil traction is average. The average Ra reading is 1.70 and the
surface grit is 5100, great on most medium volume patterns. Test Results: With the huge suc-
cess of the IQ Tour Solid, we knew it was only a matter of time before a pearlized edition emerged. Storm decided to choose the R2S cover in-
stead of the slightly stronger mid-lane reading R2X cover. The R2S tends to store more energy for a stronger back-end motion off friction areas, and that’s exactly what we saw.
The IQTP will hook a few boards less than a Marvel pearl (August 2011) and display slightly more angular-
ity. It also will rev up easier and read the mid- lane a touch sooner than a like-drilled Victory Road pearl (March 2011), which also uses the R2S coverstock. We felt the back-end shape was more arcing (less angular) than a Victory Road on most of our test patterns. When to Use: On most medium oil vol- umes when looking for control in the mid- lane but with some down-lane attitude. PBA player Andres Gomez says, “Great midlane with just enough back-end motion is per- fect.” We also felt the shape was similar with both our pin above and pin below the fi ngers, but just a touch slower on the back- end with the pin below the fi ngers. The IQTP also will do nicely on many Sport patterns, as it plays well in oil without showcasing too much back-end fl ip motion.
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