Ball Review BRUNSWICK:
Blue Ringer Hook 52 • Length 15 • Breakpoint Shape 14 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: The Ringer Royal Blue Solid adds a new coverstock formulation called CPT Controlled Reactive to the Ringer line. The cover provides easy length through the front, control in the midlane and a strong, continuous break on the backend. Core: The Blue Ringer uses the same Ringer medium RG core that was in the previous Ringers. The RG is 2.534 and the differential is low at .038. Our layouts produced over 3 inches of flare.
Coverstock: The CPT Controlled Reactive solid coverstock has a royal blue color reminiscent of the old blue Rhino Pro. The ball comes sanded with 500 and then 2000 SiaAir pads. The Ra is 27.44 with an effective surface grit of 700 out of the box. Overview: The Blue Ringer solid complements both the Platinum Pearl (November 2013) and the original Burgundy Pearl (February 2013) nicely. This is a great out of the bag ball for a fresh condition and a good No. 1 ball on the Stone Street pattern. It created area to the right, but wasn’t too much surface to burn up or lose the shim to the pocket. The ball matched up well on the fresh USBC team pattern as well, with miss room right for both of us. The surface pushed us a little farther left than we would have liked to start on the USBC sin- gles/doubles fresh, but we were still able to get lined up pretty easily because the ball sailed so cleanly through the heads. Even with the strong surface on the ball, we both found quite a bit of recovery on the team and singles/doubles patterns, as well as on Stone Street. It probably has too much surface for the 39-ft. lighter volume house pattern. Even so, we could get lined up from inside third arrow without the ball losing its energy. The pins stayed low when the Blue Ringer drove through, which helped create very good carry on our patterns. This ball gives me flashbacks from the old Blue Rhino days with the color scheme and, honestly, its very true reaction. It has a smooth but strong and predict- able reaction off of the midlane toward the pocket. The Blue Ringer can be the benchmark ball in any bowler’s bag.
THE SKINNY ON THE LATEST AND GREATEST
COLUMBIA 300:
Blur Hybrid Hook 46 • Length 16 • Breakpoint Shape 16 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: The Blur line has been created to bridge the gap between the lower mid-performance Freeze and mid-performance lines. Columbia 300 is offering the Blur in solid, pearl and hybrid versions in order to provide an option for any condition and any bowler. The hybrid is designed to provide strong continuation. Core: The new symmetric Blur core produces a medium RG of 2.52 and a medium Diff of .45. We saw about 2-3 inches of flare with our layouts. Coverstock: The orange and palladium (silver) Full Tilt 5.0 hybrid coverstock was used on the high performance Full Swing (August 2009) with proven success. It is sanded with 800, 1000, 2000 and 4000 grits and topped with factory polish. We measured a Ra of 2.23 with an effective surface grit of 4900. Overview: The Hybrid version of the Blur provided more hook than I expect- ed on Stone Street. I got lined up around the 12-board with area out to about the 6 and a breakpoint around 46 feet, according to our CATS. I was able to shoot between first and second arrow on the USBC team pattern with a tight line, but the breakpoint seemed a little too long to give me recovery to the right. On the USBC singles/doubles pattern, I could play in the same area and had a better look, but the breakpoint was still a little late for where I would like to start. I see this as a singles ball or No. 3 ball out of your bag. As the lanes opened up and broke down, this ball gave us some room and better angle to the pocket. On our 39-ft. light house pattern, I could get inside and really open the lane because the ball got through the heads so easily, saving a lot of energy for the backend. It was obviously cleaner than the Disorder (March 2014), with more angle on the backend. Carry is very good, even on the longer patterns. The Blur is a good choice for players with slower ball speed, and also works for higher-rev players needing a ball to get down lane when the fronts start to burn up. This new line of balls from Columbia fits in nicely, giving the bowler a bit more for their dollar than the Freezes.
HAMMER:
Spike Pearl Hook 49 • Length 17 • Breakpoint Shape 16 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: The Spike Pearl is a bold-looking pearl reactive that’s designed to go long and finish strong. Core: The Nasty symmetrical core, which fea- tures Flex-Resin and Carbon-Fiber, produced about 3 inches of flare for our layout. The RG is 2.56 and the differential higher at .054. This is the same core as in the original Spike (July 2013).
Coverstock: The black and blue pearl GTR III cover was originally found in the Taboo Jet Black (February 2012) and helped make the original Spike a great ball and great buy. The new Spike is sanded with 500, 500, 500 and 1000 Abralon, then polished with Powerhouse factory finish at 3000 grit. Out of the box, the Spike’s Ra is 1.64 with an effective surface grit of 5180. Overview: The Spike saves energy nicely as it clears the front part of the lane smoothly to recoil at the pins for strong impact. This ball complements the Deadly Aim (February 2014) and Black Widow Assassin (March 2014), as it was eight boards less than the Deadly Aim and four less than the Assassin. It would be great as your breakdown choice or the No. 3 ball in your tournament arse- nal. I was quite impressed with the way it picked up and drove through the pins on the USBC team pattern and Stone Street. Even on the team pattern, we could use it from the start and get to the pocket with very good carry on the fresh. We were able to get lined up playing straighter on the longer patterns, as well as on the USBC singles and doubles pattern, even out of the gate. Then, on the lighter patterns, we could move left and open it up with great recovery to the right. This Spike is cleaner than the original, with more kick in the back- end. What I really liked about this ball was the pop we got when the ball drove through the pins. Higher rev players can use it when they need to get the ball through the front part of the lane, yet depend on a very good back-end reac- tion with a strong flip movement. Players with lower rev rates also will get a good kick through the pins because of the strong back-end read.
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