Ball Review TRACK:
LX05 Hook 51 • Length 15 • Breakpoint Shape 14 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: “Bowlers with lower rev rates need more assistance from the bowling ball than anyone,” says Track’s Bugsy Kelly. “The Lx05 delivers that help. After the release of the Lx16 [February 2014], which is perfect for fresh heavy oil, we felt we needed a ball that lower rev rates could transition into when the Lx16 becomes too much.”
Core: The modified Kinetic core is one of Track’s more successful asymmetric cores. It has an RG of 2.49, a differential of .038 and an intermediate differential of .005. We saw about 4 inches of flare.
Coverstock: The blue, black and silver pearl QR-4 Hybrid coverstock is sanded with 500/2000-grit Abralon, leaving a matte finish. We measured an RA value of 11.78 with an effective surface grit of 2200.
Overview: The Lx05 is the second in the series for low rev rate play- ers. This ball provides good length on medium conditions with a strong back-end move. Terrance liked this ball because of the smoothness off the breakpoint and how it handled the transition. The pins stayed low to the deck and carry was good. We liked the motion we saw on the lighter house pattern, playing around the third arrow and bouncing the ball out all the way to the 7-board, according to our CATS. It just kept rolling back through the pins. On the USBC Doubles/Singles pattern, the cover let us play more directly up the track area with a little recovery to the right but, most of all, hold area to the left. We were able to play close to the track area on Stone Street. The Lx05 is a good second ball to go to for low rev rate players when the Lx16 starts to be too much. The Lx05 is about five boards less hook than the Lx16, clears the fronts easier, and has more backend off the spot. It hooks a little more than the Hx10, which is due to the coverstock, in my opinion. The Lx05 could be good for all three types of players. It gives low-rev players a matte finish ball that is clean but with good hook; medium and high-rev players get a clean push through front, but smooth motion on the back with energy through the pins.
THE SKINNY ON THE LATEST AND GREATEST
TRACK:
MX16 Hook 53 • Length 15 • Breakpoint Shape 15 //////////////////////////////////// //////////
Manufacturer’s Intent: “Bowlers with medium rev rates require balls that provide moderate overall strength,” says Track’s Bugsy Kelly. “The Mx16 is the perfect com- bination of a strong core with a medium strength coverstock that provides the medi- um-rev player with a ball strong enough for some oil, but [that] will help them through the transition.”
Core: The multi-density asymmetric I-core from the Lx16 (February 2014) has an RG of 2.59, a differential of .053 and intermediate differential of .016. We saw 5 inches of flare.
Coverstock: The blue, orange and silver pearl MR-8 Hybrid coverstock comes to us out of the factory finished with 500/3000- grit Abralon and left with a matte finish. We
measured an RA value of 6.07 with an effective surface grit of 3500.
Overview: The Mx16 is the second in the series of balls from Track for medi- um rev rate bowlers and it’s the second in the letter series to use the stron- ger .016 intermediate differential asymmetric core. We found success with this one on the Stone Street pattern as it cut through the heavier oil nicely, giving us a strong but predictable motion off the dry boards to the right. We could move in as the lane broke down, and the ball still retained its energy and continued to roll strongly through the pins. We were able to get lined up easily on the USBC Doubles/Singles pattern around 14 at the arrows to the track area, with nice recovery and a little hold area. We were able to use the ball on our lighter pattern because it has a pretty good amount of conditioner in the front part of the lanes, but we had to play close to fourth arrow. Even though we were playing deep and sending it out to the 8-board at the 47-foot breakpoint, according to CATS, the Mx16 was able to smooth out the pattern and save its energy for the pins. The Mx16, with its higher core strength, offers four to five more boards of hook and is stronger in the midlane than the Mx10 (March 2014). The two Mx balls are a good 1-2 punch for medium rev rate bowlers. The Mx16 could be good for lower rev players because it provides good hook reaction for the money. This is a good choice to handle the transitions throughout a tournament block.
AMF:
Decimate Hook 53 • Length 14 • Breakpoint Shape 14
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Manufacturer’s Intent: “The Decimate provides the most overall hook we have produced in the AMF line,” says AMF300 Technical Director, Dave Smart. “Overall hook means the most motion in the mids and backend [is] created on medium-heavy oil patterns. The F75 Hybrid (a.k.a. the Soaker shell) coverstock with the Neat-T finish provides the perfect amount of ener- gy retention for most bowling styles to cre- ate the most overall hook. Expect a strong angular backend, even when forced to play deeper on the lane.”
Core: The Combustion symmetric core pro- duces an RG of 2.55 and a high .055 differ- ential. We saw about 4 to 5 inches of flare with our layouts. Coverstock: The aqua and purple F75 Hybrid reactive shell is finished with the Neat-T system, which is the equivalent of 4000-grit sanding. Our scanner recorded an effective surface grit of 4700 and an RA value of 2.58.
Overview: The Decimate and Torch (reviewed this month) give you a good 1-2 punch out of the bag. The F series coverstock numbering system (with F90 being the most aggressive) pretty much nails this one on the head. The Decimate worked really well on the Stone Street pat- tern, with enough hook to cut through the oil but not burn up too much when we missed right. It held its energy nicely to create good hitting power. On the lighter house pattern, we had to play inside the third arrow, but the ball didn’t lose its energy and kept striking until we got really deep. The Decimate blended out the 40-ft. USBC Doubles/Singles Sport pattern nicely and gave some recovery right on the fresh. It was cleaner than the Darkness (April 2014), with more back-end reaction. I was impressed with how the ball kept the pins low; the carry was very good. We believe this is a great ball to help one see and read the pat- terns on the lanes. It might be too much ball for high-rev bowlers, but it brings out the hook for AMF and gives a good reaction for those need- ing a little help.
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