L
Levithian
Think i'll start off my maiden review with this awesome ball.
Line: TPC
Color: Purple
Coverstock: Reactive
Core: 2-piece Asymmeterical
RG: 2.50
Differential: 0.058
Factory finish: Polished
Weights: 14 thru 16lbs
Now to start this off the ball was around a pound lighter than what i normally throw with (light 14, i use 15's). The ball wasn't drilled to suit me exactly either, the span was spot on, the thumb was a little big but the pitch compensated for it.
My first thoughts were that this ball would be a huge hooker, well yes it can cover plenty of boards but this is far from it's strong point.
Style: High Revs, Medium Ball Speed. On the old scale i would guess up around 400 rpm. Ball Speed was about 27- 28k's. I'm not normally a cranker by any means (probably a tweener at best), but the difference in ball weight allowed be to keep my wrist cupped and really work on keeping all the weight on my fingers.
Drilling: Ebonite Drilling Pattern #5 on the sheet. 5-1/2" PIN ABOVE / 45 PSA. Basically a stacked leverage drilling.
Pin Placement: 5-1/2" from bowler's PAP, located above the fingers.
PSA placement: To the right of the thumbhole (approximately 3-1/2" from PAP).Balance Hole: Place balance hole on PAP, back to 1/2 oz. positive side weight.
Coverstock : Big Daddy Reactive Resin Coverstock, Out of the box Polished 1200 finish. The surface hadn't been touched at all. I didn't need any more length, but if you have high rev rates, maybe taking it up to a 2000 grit would allow you to play even tighter (say 30/15). For the lower rev players, maybe the 1200 wont finish strong enough for you. If you find it doesn't recover strong enough when it flips, perhaps i would hit it with 1000 grit paper (or maybe a grey scotch brite pad).
Condition :I can't give you an exact reading on the conditions because, quite frankly i haven't had the opportunity to grill the tech over them. At best guess from watching during oiling (and from previous patterns), it looks a pretty standard pattern (not sure on the pattern itself), wood lanes, forward oil to 26, reverse from 18, buff to around 40. The outside is fairly dry (maybe 2-3 units if you are lucky), backends were squeaky clean.
Reaction: Just awesome, i have never found a ball that would turn the corner like this. The ball could have been drilled a little stronger, in this case it was drilled more for friction with a skid / snap reaction. This was the most controllable ball i have ever used. Reguardless of the revs i put on the ball, the reaction was identical. If i put more revs onto the ball it would skid deeper, flip hard then drive straight into the pins (not continue to hook). If i used less revs it would turn identically, maybe a couple feet earlier but with the same snap and roll. The only difference i could see between the rev rates was how many boards it would cover.
*9/10*
Length: I played two lines tonight,
40 / 25 : Slightly tighter line to take advantage of the oil in the middle of the lane. Playing this line was alittle tricky, if you sent the ball right it would jump early on the dry outside boards (leaving you in 9 pin city). The ball would skid to around 45 - 47 feet where it would flip hard (breakpoint was about 15 board), then roll into the pins.
40 / 20 : Taking advantage of the outside dry to create an extreme skid / snap reaction. Playing this line was just plain awesome, i couldn't get over this ball. Playing right through the oil, the ball would skid close to 50 feet before flipping very hard (breakpoint was about 5 board) and rolling into the pins.
I tried down and in tonight too, but basically i have too much hand, and the ball is just too strong to do so. To get it to play down the boards i would have to keep the ball speed up around the mid 30's and kill all the wrist.
*7.5 /10*
Control : As i keep saying, it wasn't violent, it would sit up nicely, make it's turn hard and roll into the pins. Not once did i ever think just what was it going to do now, i really cannot get over just how predictable this thing is. Keep it in the oil and it will be perfect, if you have extreme wet / dry conditions it might be abit like bumper bowling (IE send it out right, hit the wall and bounce across the headpin).
*9/10*
Carry : Well, no corner pins!, the ball just sat up and drove right through the deck leaving nothing left. I did leave the odd 9 pin where i just pushed it alittle too far right and it came back too hard. It was quite a different feeling, the ball never rolled out, it always had plenty to spare. Just watch out that it isnt skidding too long, i see the potential for this ball to skid far too long and hit like a feather pillow for players with lesser revs.
*8.5/10*
Conclusion : Well what can i say, i didn't know what to expect out of this ball, it floored me and i was amazed. If you are a cranker (or close to it) and you are looking for something alittle more aggressive for fresh conditions, but you are worried about the ball jumping early, or an under / over reaction, this ball might be for you. As i said before, it just skids down the lane, sits up, snaps and drives into the pins. It is so controllable, not matter how hard i tried, i couldn't get the ball to continue to hook after it flipped. Very stable indeed. For the strokers and tweeners, i don't think you will be able to cover as many boards as the higher rev players, the reaction will still be the same, very controllable with a skid / snap type motion. If you are looking for a good go to ball when the conditions change, or something for light to medium oil conditions, this will not disappoint.
*9/10*
One thing i must stress about this ball, it's strong point is just how predictable it is when it flips. You know exactly what it is going to do when you throw it, it maintains your trust. It gives good mid lane reaction, with a very controllable breakpoint.
Overall, a great ball, ebonite are onto a winner with their new range of balls, if you want to find out more, visit Ball Reviews or visit the technical page at Ebonite
Anything else i have missed, or you want to know, just ask away.
Cheers.
Line: TPC
Color: Purple
Coverstock: Reactive
Core: 2-piece Asymmeterical
RG: 2.50
Differential: 0.058
Factory finish: Polished
Weights: 14 thru 16lbs
Now to start this off the ball was around a pound lighter than what i normally throw with (light 14, i use 15's). The ball wasn't drilled to suit me exactly either, the span was spot on, the thumb was a little big but the pitch compensated for it.
My first thoughts were that this ball would be a huge hooker, well yes it can cover plenty of boards but this is far from it's strong point.
Style: High Revs, Medium Ball Speed. On the old scale i would guess up around 400 rpm. Ball Speed was about 27- 28k's. I'm not normally a cranker by any means (probably a tweener at best), but the difference in ball weight allowed be to keep my wrist cupped and really work on keeping all the weight on my fingers.
Drilling: Ebonite Drilling Pattern #5 on the sheet. 5-1/2" PIN ABOVE / 45 PSA. Basically a stacked leverage drilling.
Pin Placement: 5-1/2" from bowler's PAP, located above the fingers.
PSA placement: To the right of the thumbhole (approximately 3-1/2" from PAP).Balance Hole: Place balance hole on PAP, back to 1/2 oz. positive side weight.
Coverstock : Big Daddy Reactive Resin Coverstock, Out of the box Polished 1200 finish. The surface hadn't been touched at all. I didn't need any more length, but if you have high rev rates, maybe taking it up to a 2000 grit would allow you to play even tighter (say 30/15). For the lower rev players, maybe the 1200 wont finish strong enough for you. If you find it doesn't recover strong enough when it flips, perhaps i would hit it with 1000 grit paper (or maybe a grey scotch brite pad).
Condition :I can't give you an exact reading on the conditions because, quite frankly i haven't had the opportunity to grill the tech over them. At best guess from watching during oiling (and from previous patterns), it looks a pretty standard pattern (not sure on the pattern itself), wood lanes, forward oil to 26, reverse from 18, buff to around 40. The outside is fairly dry (maybe 2-3 units if you are lucky), backends were squeaky clean.
Reaction: Just awesome, i have never found a ball that would turn the corner like this. The ball could have been drilled a little stronger, in this case it was drilled more for friction with a skid / snap reaction. This was the most controllable ball i have ever used. Reguardless of the revs i put on the ball, the reaction was identical. If i put more revs onto the ball it would skid deeper, flip hard then drive straight into the pins (not continue to hook). If i used less revs it would turn identically, maybe a couple feet earlier but with the same snap and roll. The only difference i could see between the rev rates was how many boards it would cover.
*9/10*
Length: I played two lines tonight,
40 / 25 : Slightly tighter line to take advantage of the oil in the middle of the lane. Playing this line was alittle tricky, if you sent the ball right it would jump early on the dry outside boards (leaving you in 9 pin city). The ball would skid to around 45 - 47 feet where it would flip hard (breakpoint was about 15 board), then roll into the pins.
40 / 20 : Taking advantage of the outside dry to create an extreme skid / snap reaction. Playing this line was just plain awesome, i couldn't get over this ball. Playing right through the oil, the ball would skid close to 50 feet before flipping very hard (breakpoint was about 5 board) and rolling into the pins.
I tried down and in tonight too, but basically i have too much hand, and the ball is just too strong to do so. To get it to play down the boards i would have to keep the ball speed up around the mid 30's and kill all the wrist.
*7.5 /10*
Control : As i keep saying, it wasn't violent, it would sit up nicely, make it's turn hard and roll into the pins. Not once did i ever think just what was it going to do now, i really cannot get over just how predictable this thing is. Keep it in the oil and it will be perfect, if you have extreme wet / dry conditions it might be abit like bumper bowling (IE send it out right, hit the wall and bounce across the headpin).
*9/10*
Carry : Well, no corner pins!, the ball just sat up and drove right through the deck leaving nothing left. I did leave the odd 9 pin where i just pushed it alittle too far right and it came back too hard. It was quite a different feeling, the ball never rolled out, it always had plenty to spare. Just watch out that it isnt skidding too long, i see the potential for this ball to skid far too long and hit like a feather pillow for players with lesser revs.
*8.5/10*
Conclusion : Well what can i say, i didn't know what to expect out of this ball, it floored me and i was amazed. If you are a cranker (or close to it) and you are looking for something alittle more aggressive for fresh conditions, but you are worried about the ball jumping early, or an under / over reaction, this ball might be for you. As i said before, it just skids down the lane, sits up, snaps and drives into the pins. It is so controllable, not matter how hard i tried, i couldn't get the ball to continue to hook after it flipped. Very stable indeed. For the strokers and tweeners, i don't think you will be able to cover as many boards as the higher rev players, the reaction will still be the same, very controllable with a skid / snap type motion. If you are looking for a good go to ball when the conditions change, or something for light to medium oil conditions, this will not disappoint.
*9/10*
One thing i must stress about this ball, it's strong point is just how predictable it is when it flips. You know exactly what it is going to do when you throw it, it maintains your trust. It gives good mid lane reaction, with a very controllable breakpoint.
Overall, a great ball, ebonite are onto a winner with their new range of balls, if you want to find out more, visit Ball Reviews or visit the technical page at Ebonite
Anything else i have missed, or you want to know, just ask away.
Cheers.
