The 900 Global Honey Badger Extreme and the Extreme Pearl are the latest additions to the Tour Plus 750 series. They feature the Grapnel Asymmetric core and the S74R coverstock. The Extreme Solid is wrapped with the S74R solid cover and the Extreme Pearl uses the pearlized cover.
Let's talk about the HB Extreme Solid first. I started laying the ball down inside the second arrow and getting it out to six at the breakpoint. The HB Extreme Solid has a strong midlane read and and a smooth and continuous downlane motion.
One thing I noticed with the Extreme Solid is that the ball offers plenty of continuation at the back of the lane. The HB Extreme Solid allowed me to keep the pocket in front of me during the review. Once I saw more friction I was able to move in and still had plenty of recovery.
Misses outside weren't as forgiving as misses inside. I had to be careful to keep the ball in the oil, otherwise the ball sometimes ran out of energy resulting in flat 7 pins. When I missed inside my target the HB Extreme Solid is strong enough to dig through the oil making a strong but controllable move down the lane.
Overall, the HB Extreme Solid is a great option to use on fresh oil patterns where stronger equipment is needed. This ball provides a smooth and consistent motion with some pop downlane. On a house shot, this ball will be a great option to blend the pattern and a good ball to control the breakpoint on tougher oil conditions.
Time to talk about the Honey Badger Extreme Pearl.
The first thing I noticed when I started shooting the review is how strong and angular this ball is. I started laying the ball down pretty close to where I started with the HB Extreme Solid and the ball went through the nose. I had to move 4 boards right and move my target to around 5 to hit the pocket. Once I found the right line, I couldn't miss with the HB Extreme Pearl.
The Honey Badger Extreme Pearl loves friction. It is very, very clean through the front part of the lane and it creates a strong angular motion. Think of it as a Honey Badger on steroids. Stronger overall, with the same skid-flip shape down the lane.
With this ball I felt that I had a BIG margin of error. Misses inside and the ball had enough traction to make its move to the pocket without missing the breakpoint. Misses outside and the ball was coming back over and over and over again, honestly pretty impressive. I wanted to see how far in I could move with the HB Extreme Pearl and as you can see in the video, I was able to play around the fourth arrow. Yes! THE FOURTH ARROW! For a low-medium rev, low-medium speed bowler like me, that is impressive and quite an accomplishment!
The HB Extreme Pearl is a versatile piece. It handles oil better than I thought and it has a strong, angular backend motion. I was able to play from different angles and the ball worked great.
Overall I feel like this ball will fit into a lot of bowling styles. I see myself using the Honey Badger Extreme Pearl on fresh playing straighter angles and when I need to open up the lane or move in, I know that this ball will offer enough recovery to swing it with confidence just to watch it come back from almost everywhere. This ball will be a great piece to have for its versatility and it will be a great complement to balls like the Honey Badger Extreme Solid.
Comparing these two is a no brainer. The Honey Badger Extreme Solid is earlier, smoother and it has a slower response to friction than the HB Extreme Pearl, being a better option to use on fresh or to control the breakpoint on tougher oil conditions.
The Honey Badger Extreme Pearl is cleaner and it has a stronger backend motion. This ball is the perfect weapon when you need to create more angle and when you need more shape down the lane. Overall, they have similar hook potential.
The Honey Badger Extreme Solid and the Honey Badger Extreme Pearl will be a great 1-2 combo. They complement each other perfectly. For most league conditions these two will be all you need. For tougher conditions and sport shot patterns, the Extremes will be also great additions to your arsenal.