Bowler’s Stats:
Right handed
18.5 mph
450 rpm
7 degree tilt
35-45 degree rotation
Layout:
45 by 4.5†by 55
No hole
OOB Surface
Purpose:
For me the original Aura is amazing on almost any condition with medium volume and medium to longer lengths. Although it still provided a good reaction on the heavy/long conditions, I wanted the Aura Paranormal to be able to just motor through the soup. Thus, the layout for the Paranormal is slightly stronger than my original.
On the lanes:
I’ve thrown the Aura Paranormal on both my fresh medium volume 39†house shot and 41†WTBA Montreal. Lanes are Brunswick Pro-Anvils.
On the house shot, I admittedly didn’t plan on even throwing this ball at all. Its cover is 2000 grit, I have low tilt, and the pattern is only about 20mL total oil. I thought there was no way this ball would get far enough downlane to look like a good option. Playing around in practice, I picked it up and took a big step left. My very first shot with this ball crossed the arrows at 23, leaked further right than planned out to 5, flipped up and absolutely ran over the 8 pin. Even though I now know otherwise, it’s hard to get away from the preconception that a dull ball can’t get downlane and flip. I never thought I’d say that a dull ball offers an equally good reaction in this house as weaker equipment does. I stayed with the Paranormal Aura until the middle of the 3rd game when I finally had to ball down. On this house shot, the Paranormal Aura is 4 boards stronger for me than the original Aura. All of this comes from the strong Optimum-Hook cover reading the lane a touch sooner and stronger than the Optimum-Flip cover of the original. Even with the dull cover, it has no problem recovering back from shots missed right of target.
On WTBA Montreal (41’, 27.55mL), I knew this ball would get plenty of action. I was bowling a small local sweeper and was confident going in that the Paranormal Aura would give me a look that no one else could match. I started the 4 game qualifying crossing 19 at the arrows and targeting 9 at 41’. During practice I threw the original Aura for comparison and found it to require a 6 board move right with my feet to use the same breakpoint. Based on this and the THS comparison, regardless of condition, the Paranormal Aura is at least 3-4 boards stronger than the original on medium volume patterns and at most 5-6 boards stronger than the original on the very heavy patterns. During the 4 games of qualifying, I only had to move 5 boards in with my feet and move my breakpoint in 1 board. Since people were throwing heavily sanded balls to combat the lack of frictions, the ease of getting the ball downlane became more important throughout the night. Nonetheless, for the last 2 games of the finals, it became too burnt and I jumped right 5 boards with my feet, pulled out the original Aura, kept my breakpoint target at 10, and went on to win the sweeper. The way the Aura Paranormal dug through the end of the pattern gave me a ton of confidence with my ball roll despite some user error occurring that night.
Overall:
The Aura Paranormal is a terrific compliment to the original Aura. It’s almost just as clean down lane despite having a 2000 grit cover and flips more than I have ever seen a dull ball flip. What this does for my game is to allow me to get the ball further downlane and flip without sacrificing the predictability of the spot that can sometimes come with polished equipment. For speed and rev matched players, you will see the most versatility out of this ball. Heavy handed players will still see plenty of push downlane before flipping up to the pocket. Those with less revs or higher speed who play further outside get the benefit of the strong cover and core doing all the work for you in checking up and sending pins flying while the push through the fronts doesn’t trap you into having to move in more than what you’re comfortable with. I’ve had plenty of success with the original Aura and I can’t wait to rival that success with the Aura Paranormal. This ball will be a staple in the strong end of my arsenal and I see no reason that it shouldn’t be in yours. It’s almost Valentine’s Day so show your game a little love and treat yourself to the Aura Paranormal.
Good luck and good bowling!
