Sounds to me the Vertigo is like the X factor and the Triple X. The coverstock is made to not absorb the oil. It is made to be very durable. I have both the X and Triple X and they both come back dry every time. It doesn't matter how much oil is on the lanes. And my much used X Factor is as good as the day I bought it. One more ball in the same line, Fear Factor. Same results. Good Coverstock. The X Factor does use a different coverstock than the others though.

Hello all. I don't know Smoothy? I believe if one rolls a steel ball through oil, some oil will be transferred to the surface of the steel ball. Physics?

I am going to find and refer you to Coach04 who I believe it was that caught my attention concerning bowling ball life. I have a 10 year old Danger Zone that turns the corner fromfrom 25.

Two very able and very knowlegeable and very experienced bowlers gave their opinions and experiences on ball reaction degradation in the following thread and in the qoutes below.

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</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Originally posted by Coach04:
There are a lot of heavy oil performers on the market. A lot depends on how you throw the ball, you really need to match your style of play to the ball you use.

The Bully series Erin mentioned is a great series of balls by Columbia. They are relatively new to the market, but are winning peoples confidence quickly.

The Ebonite V2 series are also good performers, but do suffer from oil absorption, and a problem with the pin popping up in the ball.

The Brunswick Inferno line is great, very predictable and very adjustable.

Lane #1 Cherry Bomb and Dirty Bomb, very expensive but unbelievable performance. They are manufactured by Brunswick, for the Lane #1 company, and run about $50 higher than other high performance balls.

Storm balls I just cannot in good conscious recommend right now. Out of the box you can't beat them, 200 games down the road you can't use them. They have a problem that needs fixing before I would ever buy another Storm ball.

Check with your pro-shop, have them watch you throw a few shots. They can help to match up the right core and cover for you. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA"> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Originally posted by Coach04:
For coverstock durability, I think the Inferno line and the Bully line have the others beat.

The bully still has to pass the test of time, but its coverstock was developed by BASF who is doing very well at whipping the oil absorption problems.

The Lane#1 Cherry Bomb and Dirty Bomb are unbelievable in oil. I am still having trouble justifying how a polished ball is getting that much hook on 41 feel of heavy oil. Lane#1 has some video of those balls, on their website that is amazing. The Dirty Bomb is put down on 1L (or board 39) shoot across about a board or two left of center, turns on the 1 board, rides the rail for a few feet, and hooks back to pick up a 2,4,7,8. That is well in excess of 60 boards of hook on a very long pattern, with a polished ball.

I am looking strongly at purchasing that ball on my next shopping spree. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA"> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Originally posted by Atochabsh:
Out hooking isn't really what you want. You want equipment that will be controlable for your style. If you have monster hook, but cannot control it then what good is it? I see guys every night that use big hooking balls and get only about 1/2 through the game with it before that ball is now a detriment to their game due to lane transistion and their inability to keep the ball in play.

Dirty Bomb didn't get great reviews for oil. It did get great reviews on medium and pretty good reviews for dry. Medium reviews on sport condition, which tells me that its not that controllable given a tough shot. But I have not thrown it.

Most of good ball selection is matching the player with the ball, to the lane conditions. This is why you see us always recommend that you talk to your local Pro Shop where they can see you throw a couple balls and make an educated decision on ball selection.

Honestly, today's equipment is simply not going to last like the old reactive stuff. Nothing out there is going to last like the old stuff did. Last a couple seasons??? No way. Not anymore. I love the Bully, but I've had it only a few months and now need to baby it along every week with constant scuffing. And I consider the Bully one of the new balls that DOES have good cover stock longevity.

Erin </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA"> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Originally posted by Bigiron:

Atochabsh said;
"Honestly, today's equipment is simply not going to last like the old reactive stuff. Nothing out there is going to last like the old stuff did"


When you say the equipment is not going to last, I do not think you mean the ball is going to Break in two.. obviously.

So I am assumeing you mean the performance is going to decrease thru the life of the ball. To ellaborate a little... What you are saying is - once the ball is purchased and put into service, you get a result... let say... a certian amount of "hook" on a given lane condition... again, lets say "oily". We clean the ball and have a Pro Shop restore the ball once in a while.

After throwing, lets say 400 games with the same conditions, one has to expect the ball to finish with less "hook"?? Correct?? Or do you mean the ball doesn't hit as hard after a certian number of games?

I guess what I'm asking what is the "life" of a ball.

OK.. I use an old Red Hammer, a Thiel Rino, and a Zone 2... (I know... a bunch of old junk by todays standards)
The Hammer and Rino still react the same as when purchased... The Zone on the other hand has just plain "flattened out" for lack of a better term... I thought it was me and the way I threw it but I throw the other 2 the same way and get expected results.

So have I just used the Zone up or is it still "Just me"???

Still just trying to improve my game... </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA"> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Originally posted by Coach04:
You've got the right idea... It is performance degradation over time, where time is relative to use on certain lane conditions.

As much as it goes against the grain of our thinking, plastic is porous. It is just that the molecular size of the pore is very small, so things like water molecules are too large to penetrate it. However oil has a smaller molecular size, and added with the heat generated from friction, the pores enlarge and the oil enters.

After this occurs enough times the ball reaction is effected.

Sometimes using a cleaner that will break down the oil, will allow it to be wicked, or leached, from the surface with a cloth. Sometimes a system like Hook-Again will wick the oil out. Still other times a complete resurfacing followed by a thorough cleaning is required. And yet sometimes nothing on the planet seems to rejuvenate the ball. This is when we refer to it as "Dead", it no longer finishes properly. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA"> </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Originally posted by Atochabsh:
And its not a matter of 400 games. If the new balls lasted that long, I'm sure the ball companies would be shaking in their boots. Balls today last about 50 games before you see a marked decrease in reaction, sometimes less. You HAVE to baby the coverstocks these days. Keep up your cleaning regime and have your Pro Shop touching up the surface to keep it at box condition or whatever works best for you.

Erin </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">

I can only tell you what happens when I use my X. It comes back absolutely spotless. When I use another ball on the same lanes, I see oil rings. I got the info straight from Storm that the X Factor coverstock is made to repel the oil, or at least not absorb as much oil as other coverstocks.

also, my X Factor has much more than 50 games on it and I haven't noticed any loss in ball reaction. Maybe the drop hasn't been noticeable to me. I still get the same great reaction from it. This XFactor has over 100 games on it easily. I haven't seen any dip in average since I first used it. I got it brand new. When I see an average drop and a reaction loss, I will let you know.

One last thing. Everyone has an opinion on which balls work best for them. Some people love their V2's, some people swear by the Inferno's. Some people will go to their graves talking up the 3D Blazing Violet, Some people will only use Storm and love the X Factor. I have seen more 3D's on the lanes out here than V2's. It's always just opinion. Ask Pete Weber and he will tell you that Storm balls are the best. PBIII will tell you that Brunswick balls last the longest. I know guys that haven't bought a new bowling ball in years and they still average very well with their old 3D's. Still bowling 300's with them. Nobody can tell me that a bowling ball dies at 50 games and that's a fact. there might be a slight loss in reaction but I can't tell the difference. There is no best company or ball. The best company or ball is the one that works best for you.

Smooth Stroker,

My experience cocurred your observation. As I said, I bought Storm vertigo and Brunswick raging inferno almost the same time and I used them to bowl altogether. and I can tell u that the inferno has more oil on its surface than the vertigo.

Yesterday, I have to bring the inferno to my Pro Shop and get the oil out of it. So my guess is the inferno absorbed oil much faster than the vertigo.

As I remember, I did read some threads saying oil wouldn't affect the ball performance at all. The only trouble is if the ball absorbs no more oil, the surface will become very slippy and that will affect the ball action.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Originally posted by Smooth Stroker:
One last thing. Everyone has an opinion on which balls work best for them... The best company or ball is the one that works best for you. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Hey Smoothy, You have said a mouth full. This is a very subjective area of discussion, but technically not only is it interesting but I think neccessary. You think...?

There various situations that different bowlers find themselves in, where they may place different demands on their equipment.

In tennis for instance, having ones racket restrung is subjective based on the feel that one gets when the ball is hit,and also technically based on how many games have been played with the old strings. Is driver life the same for touring Pros and touring amateurs and same as for the amateur weekend golfer. Subjective? Yes, but technically the facts maybe neccessary.

I guess what I am trying to say is, that you are right. But! But, the experiences of some bowlers, especially of those bowlers who place heavy demands on their equipment are relative and relevent... technically. For the love of the game! Happy bowling.