Ball Review 900 GLOBAL:
All Day Hook 53 • Length 15 • Breakpoint Shape 15 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: “For those bowlers looking for an all-purpose benchmark ball at a great price, the All Day, in our Preferred Series, is for you,” says 900 Global Vice President of International Sales Dave Smart. “The S64 solid 4000-finish shell is matched with the Clockwork core, providing a strong mid-lane motion with a controllable backend. The All Day is ideal for fresher house condi- tions that have a medium concentration of oil in the front.”
Core: The Clockwork symmetric core has an RG of 2.50 and a differential of .046. We saw about 5 inches of flare with our layouts.
Coverstock: The neon green and navy S64 solid reactive coverstock comes out of the factory finished with a 4000 pad. We measured an RA value of 6.60, with an effective surface grit of 3400 out of the box.
Overview: The All Day is a strong benchmark ball that does what it’s designed to do by giving you strong mid-lane reaction while remaining smooth on the backend with good continuation through the pins. It keeps the pins really low on the deck to help with carry. It worked extremely well on our Stone Street pattern, where we could play a little deeper than with the Dream (reviewed this month) but still had good recovery from all the way out at first arrow. This would be a good choice on the USBC Doubles/ Singles pattern because it controlled the break point nicely when we were lined up around 15 at the arrows to 9 at the breakpoint, according to our CATS. We had miss room right on this Sport pattern. We used the ball on our lighter house pattern from an inside angle, where it gave us a smooth, predictable motion through the pattern. As long as we didn’t try to cover a lot of boards, the ball kept its drive through the pins. The All Day was about five boards left of the All Night (also reviewed this month). It doesn’t start up too early, and saves its energy for continuation through the pin deck. This ball is versatile and could easily be used by bowlers needing a little more help on the oil, or those with heavier rev rates who want a predictable back-end reaction off the breakpoint. This is a good choice to have in your bag to get you started on most patterns.
THE SKINNY ON THE LATEST AND GREATEST
900 GLOBAL:
All Night Hook 49 • Length 18 • Breakpoint Shape 16 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: “The All Night, also in our Preferred Series, is the per- fect complement to the All Day,” says 900 Global’s Dave Smart. “It also has our S64 coverstock, but it’s pearlized and pol- ished. Like the name says, the All Night is ideal for when the lanes have broken down and there is a higher amount of friction in the mids. The All Night is very clean through the front and stores up tremendous energy where you need it, on carrydown and medi- um to drier lane conditions.”
Core: The Clockwork symmetric core has an RG of 2.50 and a differential of .046. We saw about 4 inches of track flare.
Coverstock: The S64 pearl reactive cover- stock is bright ruby red and gold. It comes to us out of the factory sanded with 2000 grit, then polished. The RA value was 1.76, with an effective surface grit of 5300.
Overview: The All Night gives you a ball with length and a strong backend. On Stone Street, we could play in the track area (more in the lighter volume area) and more direct with pretty good success. The ball would come out of the pattern and make a strong motion off the break- point to the pocket. On the USBC Doubles/Singles pattern, it showed a bit too much skid for us to miss right, but we could square up and go more direct up the track area with some success. It was really good for us on our lighter house pattern, where we could play closer to the third arrow and bounce to the track area with a strong back-end reaction and strong drive through the pins. We had miss room left and quite a bit of miss room right to create a good amount of area on the lighter pattern. The pins truly danced when this ball hit. This is a good ball for bowlers with lower ball speeds, as it easily gets through the midlane on lighter house patterns. Terrance and I agree that this is a good No. 3 ball when the lanes start to break down, especially in the heads. It does like friction and is definitely for medium to drier conditions. The All Night was about five boards less hook than the All Day and was a lot cleaner than the Dream.
900 GLOBAL:
Boost Hybrid Hook 44 • Length 18 • Breakpoint Shape 16 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: “The Boost line is replacing our highly successful Hook line, and we offer the balls in three eye-catch- ing colors that come in a pearl, hybrid and solid coverstock,” says 900 Global’s Dave Smart. “The Boosts were developed for bowlers looking for an affordable per- formance reactive ball, or those high-end bowlers looking for good length on drier lanes.”
Core: The Boost Hybrid uses the Launch symmetric core with an RG of 2.54 and a differential of .043. We saw about 3 inch- es of flare.
Coverstock: The black and blue S43 hybrid reactive coverstock comes out of the box polished. We measured an RA value of 1.93 with an effective surface grit of 5600.
Overview: The Boost Hybrid is one of the three Boosts replacing the Hook line in 900 Global’s Select Series at an entry-level price point. This is a sharp-looking ball that gives you a good amount of hook for a rea- sonable price. It is extremely clean through the front part of lanes, with a good amount of back-end reaction as long as there is enough friction. Playing in the track area on our lighter house patterns, we had a strong drive through the pins. The Boost hits harder than I thought it would for a ball at this price. Sometimes entry-level balls with smaller cores and lower differentials give up hitting power, but this series has a stronger core than most such balls. The Boost was a little too weak for us on the USBC Doubles/Singles pattern, but we could see it as a last game ball for Singles to let you play straighter and closer to the track area. We got lined up on Stone Street from the outside, which created a good angle to carry the corners. It was an arrow less (straighter) through the fronts than the All Night on the lighter house pattern and Stone Street. This ball would be a good choice for bowlers with slow ball speeds, because it will provide the length they need with a good pop on the backend. It is also a good choice for players needing a ball to get through the fronts when the heads have gone.
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