Hi, I am new to bowling and actually starting bowling frequently about 4 months backs. I have just heard from my bowling buddies that the bowling balls nowadays do actually have a life span ? Is that true ? so what is the average life span of a bowling ball ? and is it true that reactive ball can last longer then a particle ball ? Is there any way to prolong the life of the ball ? Thanks in advance....

Ace,

The best thing that you can do is to keep your equipment clean. If you fail to keep your equipment clean - yes, the ball performance will suffer.

There are several brands of ball cleaner on the market and I don't believe that one brand significantly outperforms another brand. The bottom line is to clean your equipment immediately after you finish your league or practice session. This will extend the "life" of your bowling balls.

Thanks Strikesbeme....anymore comments from anyone ?

Just keep em clean my friend

Hello Ace. Search one of the other areas of this forum. Probably Coaching and Equipment. It was stated that Brunswick uses coverstocks made from BASF produced materials, which seem more enduring that those materials that say Storm uses.

I have also heard that Storms die out quickly, but I think a lot of what you hear depends on the mouth that it comes out of.

What's the old saying... "don't believe what you hear and only half of what you see"?? (I'm sure I got that wrong).

As for Brunswick, I've always been a Brunswick fan. In all the years I've bowled, I've only had one Brunswick ball that I disliked.

Again the best way to extend the life of your equipment is to keep it clean. I recently purchased a ball spinner online, so I can clean my equipment better - with less effort. (I really must be getting old!)

Marty

Huh ? Storm die out quickly ?! O no ! a case of not doing enough reseach before getting a ball..sign. Will keep the ball real clean and hope that it will last for a while...

Ace, I just heard that Storm balls don't last as long as other brands. But, that's what I heard - it really doesn't mean anything!

I'm sure there's plenty of people on this forum that throw Storm equipment, love it, and haven't had any problems with it.

For example one person might love a particular movie, while another says don't waste your time and money. So don't let me influence your purchasing decision, just talk to your Pro Shop operator and see what they suggest! Afterall, they are the 'professional'!

Mary, are you around ? Are you a Storm lady ? What is your experience from bowling with Storm balls ? Can you share your experience ?...thanks

Hello there Ace38. Yes I'm still here. I recently bought a Storm Ball. I bought the Storm Flash Flood and had it drilled to arc, because all of my other balls were drilled stacked leverage to make the ball flip. My experience so far has been great with the Storm ball that I have. I hadn't bought a new ball in three years and I knew it was time to but a new one. I had always had confidence in my ball driller's chioce and I told him that I would like to try out a Storm ball and asked him which one would be right for my game. When I tried it out for the first time I did notice a big difference in my carry. And I would suffer less 10 pin taps, but keep in mind you could still get tapped by a 10 pin no matter what ball you buy. I have a teammate on Saturday that bowls with nothing but Storm balls. He tells me how happy he is with Storm balls. Let me ask you something. Have you shopped around for a Pro Shop that you would feel confident with? The best thing that you could do if you bowl in league or know some friends who bowl in a league is to ask where they get their equipment from. The best thing that you could do for your game is to find a shop that has your interest and goals in mind. Someone who would take the time in guiding you in the right direction. There's one rule of thumb that I would like for you to be aware of and that's when you go to a Pro Shop and the worker there tries to rush you out the door and just drills three holes in a ball and that's it and good luck kind of attitude. I have encountered that experience several times before I found the right shop to go to. You also want a ball driller who really pays attention to detail when he measures you for a ball. The shop where I go to is the only shop that has a stub lane and you can try the ball out for free on the lane. The main reason why he has that stub lane is because he wants to see how you roll your ball and from that he can see how your ball tracks on your ball. This is the vital information that he needs so that he can drill the ball to balance and get the most hitting power out of your ball. He can also tell a lot of things about ball fit by how you release the ball. I don't know if you live in Ohio. But if you did I would highly recommend you to this shop. Or if you're interested would you be willing to travel the distance? When you do find the right shop that you feel comfortable with don't expect miracles overnight. You still have to work at your game to acquire the skills you need to reach whatever goals that you set out for yourself as a bowler. You can buy the top of the line or most popular ball that the pros or league members use, but it won't help you improve at all if you don't work at your game. What are your goals as a bowler? Please by all means let me know, because I'll be checking back sometime this evening and if not sometime during the middle of the night. I'm on my computer checking on my posts the most is in the middle of the night. I hope what I said helps and gives you some perspective. I'm always happy to help.

I am a Storm user. I had an X Factor that had over 500 games on it before I gave it away to a friend of mine. Mind you, there was nothing wrong with it, he was just getting back into bowling after a long lay off and I told him I had a lot of balls and I gave him that one. Plus I had just bought another one waiting for that one to die. I have used my X Factor for two leagues for a full season and that accounts for over 100 games. Sttill has the same hit as the day I bought it.
Like has been stated before, keep your balls clean. I wipe off the oil before every shot. I also clean the balls every week. With my X Factor, I don't even know where the oil goes. It comes back clean after almost every shot. Supposedly the oil doesn't get soaked into the X Factor coverstock.
That being said, I have never had a bowling ball die on me. I also have a Blazing Inferno and the coverstock on the Inferno is very durable. Very little wear and tear.
It is true that pearlized balls seem to hold up better than particle balls. Particle balls are supposed to soak up the oil. The harder shell of the pearlized balls seems to help make the ball more durable. How a bowling ball reacts after soaking up a lot of oil, the opinions differ on that. Ebonite had an extensive study on just that subject and said that a bowling ball soaking up oil has no effect on a bowling balls reaction. You should go to the Ebonite website if you want to check that out.
The coverstocks of todays bowling balls have gotten better. Storm has the Monsoon coverstock. Brunswick has the Activator coverstock. I think it's Dyno-Thane that has the Soaker coverstock.
Like Mary said, a good Pro Shop guy will tell you what's up.

Again, "Ace, I just heard that Storm balls don't last as long as other brands. But, that's what I heard - it really doesn't mean anything!"

As Mary Allen and Smooth Stroker mentioned, a good Pro Shop operator will be able to be your bowling doctor!

Strikesbemw, no hard feelings..just trying to ask around and get different bowlers opinions...so as to get more knowledge.
We over here aren't as lucky as your side. Most Pro Shop operators here aren't as pro as those over your side. Most of the time we are the one who tell them what we want and what we want them to do and they seldom want to suggest. Sign

Maybe bowling here aren't as popular as it is in States..

Smooth Stroker,

I have a question. Right now, I use two balls together - one is Brunswick raging inferno and the other is Storm vertigo. the lane I play is heavy-oil. after practicing a couple of games, the inferno got oily as compared to vertigo. even I tried to wipe out the oil, the raging is still skippy. this won't happen to vertigo. any reason for that?

I guess, may be wrong, the raging soaks oil much faster the vertigo so that after a while it can't soak any more oil and therefore the oil has to remain on its surface.

It's possible the vertigo is more porous and therefore soaks in the excess oil while the inferno holds more of it on the surface. Or it's possible the inferno is "full" and can't absorb any more. When was the last time it had a good cleaning?

Squirrel,

I bought these two balls at the same time a month ago and I use particle polish to clean up them every time I finished.

I'll chime in since this is something I am going through as we speak.

I have a Columbia Blue Pulse which I have used for the 2003/2004 fall leageue season, a 2004 summer league, as well as the 2004/2005 season. Both fall seasons consisted of two leagues.

My ball began to lose it's backend about 5 weeks ago. At first I thought the lane conditions had changed (more oil), but all of my teammates were still using their same ball and same path to the pocket. So, this lead me to believe it was my ball's reaction that had changed.

Since this ball is discontinued, I cannot simply replace it. I have liked the results so far, so anything I can do to keep the ball is a plus. I wipe it down after every shot and clean it before league each week with ball cleaner.

I took my ball to be resurfaced last week and I will be picking it up today for use in my league tonight. I am excited to see if the backend comes back so I can return to where I am more comfortable throwing the ball, rather than down and in. I'll post agian tomorrow with the outcome.

Raynger27,

I have similar problem with my Columbia wicked. even after I have my Pro Shop resurfaced it, the wicked still can't perform as good as before.

Well, mixed results for me with my resurfaced ball.

I currently carry a 182 average. I bowled a 607, which could have been much better had I not chopped three easy spares or thrown splits to break up a string of strikes. My ball reaction on the backend was somewhat improved, but not like "new" condition. Overall, I was happy with the improvements, though they still fell a little short of expectations. I want to give it a few more weeks to make a true judgement.

Jusy my two cents.

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

I bought these two balls at the same time a month ago and I use particle polish to clean up them every time I finished. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">Sounds like the vertigo is more porous and soaking in the oil instead of leaving it on the surface. Kind of like comparing my strike and spare ball. I find if I don't wipe my strike ball regularly, the oil soaks into it, but it just sits on the surface of my spare ball.

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.