Just watched EJ Tackett use this new urethane ball to great effect. Any thoughts on what type of urethane this ball is?
It seems to have much higher RG and lower diff than the original Tank though they indicate that this is to compliment the cover stock which is the strongest they have ever made for a urethane.

What do you think Joe?

Here is the pitch (not Black) on this ball from Motiv:

The Tank Rampage is a strong urethane ball engineered for the modern game.
Featuring both a new cover stock and new core specifications, it will dominate on patterns with wet/dry features and also on higher friction surfaces where reactive resin balls are too angular.
The new urethane cover stock developed for the Tank Rampage is Alchemy - the new gold standard for urethane performance.
Tested and developed by Motiv's PBA tour staff, this urethane technology provides a great deal of overall hook, but with that smooth urethane shape.
To complement this shape, the solid burgundy urethane shell is tuned with a 3000 Grit LSS finish.
To make the Tank Rampage absolutely the best, they not only developed a new cover stock, but also modified the original Gear core to provide a higher RG and tighter track flare.
The new Gear V2 core provides the 15# model with a 2.55 RG and differential of .020.
The Tank Rampage is the strongest urethane ball MOTIV has ever released, making it the most versatile Tank in the series.
Now bowlers will be able to play more angles and use the Tank Rampage on more conditions.

http://www.bowlerx.com/Motiv-Tank-Rampage-Urethane-Bowling-Ball-MOTTANKRAMPAGE.htm

Oh Nord come on now

1-Evey current ball manufacturer needs to come up with
the next "new thing" to stay in business.

2-Pro's are paid to show case the new products.

3-The average bowler will benefit little from
the next "new thing"

4-Given time you will see either a yea/nay form the public.

5-It never a good idea to be the "first on your Block"
you will end up paying too much and your new toy will be obsolete
as the "new and improved" version comes out at a lower price.
(do you have a eight track or a Beta-max?)

A very strong modern urethane seems unnecessary if you ask me. Wouldn't that be analogous to a very weak reactive ball?

No. Reactive and urethane are very different. Urethane is not simply a ball that hooks less than reactive. They do very different things.

A strong urethane would be good on any condition with overly snappy backends. Weak reactive will be too over/under on those conditions, and stronger reactive may force you too deep, playing bad angles.

A strong urethane would be a great choice on this year's USBC Open Team pattern.

I don't like that most modern urethane balls have high RGs, though. The purpose of urethane is to read early, and roll smooth. The higher RG will cause it lope too far, negating the purpose of the ball.

Agreed. But I spoke to Jason at Visionary Bowling about the design for a future very strong urethane.
Something with a 2.46 RG and a .060 diff. Basically a heavy rolling core for lower rev bowlers like myself who don't really benefit much from reactive balls.

His reply was this:
"We actually released a urethane particle for those exact bowler styles. It was called the Midnight Scorcher, and it did exactly that.
The ball was fantastic for the older generations, and they bought a bunch of them.
But bowlers who grew up in the reactive era hated it, because it did not have the recovery or hold on errant shots, and didn't carry quite as well as a reactive.
However, you could throw the ball on a flood, and as long as you were somewhat consistent, you would hit the pocket all night long.

We have made those types of balls as well. (Low RG-High Diff) Problem is that when a ball rolls that early, it doesn't drive as hard through the pins and you leave a ton of corner pins.
The Midnight Scorcher had a differential over .069" actually....but it did have a higher RG, but honestly I think if it was any lower, the ball would have hit like a marshmallow."

I have the Visionary Crow which is the strongest urethane ball I have every used. It comes at 500 stock grit but I had to take it up to 1000 grit just to be able to play on heavy oil house shots.
I have it drilled with a high flare layout.

The Crow's specs are RG 2.56 Diff .044.

I would love to get one of those Midnight Scorchers though! Not only was it a particle urethane but it had stock 320 grit!

Here was the ad for it:

The "Midnight" SCORCHER is equipped with a modified version of the DC weight block encased with a truly unique Retro-Active cover stock.
This ball is designed for medium to heavy oil and is characterized by a very heavy, even roll.

As the cover stock name states - retro (like balls of the past) - this ball doesn't over hook in the dry like a reactive and its specially designed textured surface grabs better and earlier in the oil than any reactive.
There won't be a big jump or snap on the back end and it won't over skate in the oil. This combination of reactions allows for much better control, especially on touchy conditions with out of bounds, etc.

As oil carries down to the bowler's break point area, there is little effect on the ball because the difference between the ball's reaction on oil and dry is much smaller than with any other ball.
This allows the bowler to make fewer moves to adjust to the changing lane conditions and often lets the player have more of an opportunity to play a shot closer to what they prefer instead of always being forced to play what the lanes dictate.

Those expecting a snap when the ball goes from oil to dry will be disappointed but those who get tired of constantly having to move and adjust because the oil shifts will love it.

***This ball does not polish easily and was not designed for dry lanes or heads.***

2017 Mainequarterly.com PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship Stepladder Finals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ0SdGEoOHw
Jesper Svensson and EJ Tackett both using urethane but in very different ways.
Just thought you would like to see this.

I used the older Motiv Rebel Tank during team this year with some success. Played a very shallow inside line standing 20 and targeting 15. Didn't get a whole lot of strikes but left relatively easy spares to pick up. The ball was useless for singles/doubles though.

I watched this and it was a very enjoyable tournament. EJ was winging that Rampage right at the pocket and it struck every time it hit flush. A ton of power.
Jesper was using a very highly polished Pitch Black and as usual, killing it on any pocket hit.

Who says this modern game is about reactive?
I think urethane is making a comeback and manufacturers are making new urethane formulations that will hook on the heavier modern oil conditions but still roll just like a Vintage urethane.

I thought you would like that tournament.
Only time will tell if new urethane formulations will hook on the heavier modern oil conditions, for us average bowlers, who don't have the rev's and power of the pro's.

I'll be anxious to see some video and the Bowling This Month (BTM) review, but the Tank Rampage appears to be an interesting mix of new technology, with its modified urethane cover and modified Gear core. It should provide a different look on the lanes than the original Tank or Rebel Tank, and perhaps attract a wider audience.

Btw, I had my Rebel Tank in the car from bowling on Cheetah Monday, and decided to use it in my house shot league on Tuesday. I used it all 3 games for a 675 series. No complaints about that.