I really love everything about this ball,because according to the specifications you can you use this ball on just about every condition they use. The bad thing I hear about this ball is that it soaks up oil. I would like to about how many games it takes for the oil to make a different in the performance of the ball. I know the ball is about three years old now but i was told that the origional is the best the others Widows are basely just using the name black widow and they are not any better. Is any truth in that? I bowl in a mix league four man team 85% of the league is right-handed and by the end of the second game the lanes will be drying up and having carry down anyway I should be able to use BW for all three games. Now all you Pro Shop operator and bowlers that have used this ball and have experience with it let me hear from you. Thank You.

I think if you take care of it good it should last 500+ games or so. I had mine for a while until i replaced it last december because i got a new ball, but it was still good. I gave it to firend of mine and he still uses it.

If your clean it after everytime you bowl and probablly get it resurfaced when you see reaction start to fade. You may need to do surface change if you want to use it on dry.

I havent use any of the other widows, so wouldnt know if there any truth if the orginal is the best of the series.

I like my Black Widow Solid.. It is almost unusable on Dry though... Works pretty well on about every other lane condition though.

I have to agree that if you take care of it, and clean it after every game that it will last a very long time.

Its not that any of the other balls in the Black Widow line are better, its that they are for different conditions. The Original is more for medium conditions, the Pearl for medium-lite, the Bite for a little more oil and the Venom sounds similar to the pearl.

It definately depends on how well you take care of the ball. I've heard anywhere between 80 games to 500+ like Brandon said. And like Cal said the other BW balls are designed for a specific conditions around benchmark ball like the BW Solid.

It's a shame and at the same time a blessing.

A shame that certain balls cannot be used longer without maintenance. I know, I have a great deal of confidence in one of my balls. It lasts a long time with routine cleaning, but twice in a year and a half, I have had it resurfaced. I required about 10 games to get back to my comfort level with it as the ball finish is not just right until then.

On the other hand, it is a good thing to have another ball to use when the conditions dictate. A pearl versus a solid cover will react very differently and there are instances where you have to use one over the other.

The ball companies have developed balls that are different, and conditioned the bowlers to have and carry multiple balls.

Like the philosophy of a spare ball. Not only does it help to roll straight with it. But, the thought now is that it also saves your strike ball from overuse. I guess, in theory, my strike ball should last twice as long??????

The original Black Widow is the best in my opinion. I've owned every one of them, next in line would be the Venom and the least would be the Pearl. The solid likes more oil, the Venom is still strong but a bit more angular and goes longer. My go to ball is still my Paradigm that's over 4 years old and countless games. It doesn't hit like it did when new but routine cleaning and the fact it's cut down on the back end snap makes it a good ball for typical house conditions. I expect the Venom to do the same. The price is right on this line up of bowling balls too.