Layout: 4 5/8 x 70
Surface: Box – 4k Fast

The new Wolverine Dark Moss is a direct replacement of the original Wolverine that was discontinued due to hardness issues with USBC.  Since I still use my original Wolverine, I went the opposite way with the drilling on this one.  What I found on the original Wolverine was a lot of length and very strong angular backed motion.  With my typical ball speed, there were times where the ball wouldn’t read in the oil quite enough or in tournaments, the oil pattern wouldn’t break down enough for me to warrant using the ball.  Using a pin down drilling along with the 4k Fast finish fills this gap for me and makes the ball a lot more usable for me.

House Shot Testing:

On the typical house shot, I still saw a lot of length and angular backend motion, but the reaction was more predictable due to the pin down drilling and lack of polish on the surface.  Even with these differences, I still saw the angle down lane expected out of the S70 pearl coverstock.  Comparative to the Reality Check, I saw a lot more length but saw very similar down lane angle which makes the Wolverine a nice step down.   I do prefer this wolverine on medium to lower oil volumes just do to the amount of length this ball gives.  If you do tend to bowl on more oil, bring the surface of the ball down to 2000 or even 1000 to see a stronger midlane footprint.  Regardless of the ball drilling on this Wolverine, it will still give that angular down lane motion that you all love to see.

Sport Shot Testing:

I tested the Wolverine Dark Moss on the 43ft Earl Anthony Pattern.  As expected, the angularity of the coverstock makes this ball to sensitive for the fresh.  As the lanes stated to break down, I was able to open up the lane quite well as a step down from the new Reality Check.  When the Reality Check was too strong in the front part of the lane, the Wolverine really shined.  It got through the front significantly easier and gave me a ton of angle down lane and went through the pins well.   With the higher volume of oil on this pattern, I had to bring the surface down to 2000 grit abralon.  This surface change gave me a little more predictability but also allowed the ball to read the oil stronger than the box finish.  The motion of the Wolverine Dark Moss would be most beneficial on medium oil or as a step down from any other asymmetrical pearl ball or similar.

Adam Chase
Storm Staff