I have had the Command Zone ARC for over a year now, and I finally feel I have enough input on it to review it. The ARC is unlike anything in Brunswick's arsenal. It is a high-performance Reactive, but like the Red Alert it has its own distinct reaction. This ball needs backends and/or hand to make it move on the backend of the lane. This coverstock, which is also on the Command Zone and the Revolution Rebel and Rebel Pearl, is extremely clean through the front part of the lane. It is not a coverstock for the heavier oil like the PowerKoil 18. I have no problems ever with this ball over-reacting to the dry boards on the lane, and this ball is also great to point up at the pocket from the corner and let it set back in. Heavier-handed players will and should love the ARC because of its clean nature through the heads. It reads the dry very well and is never uncontrolable.
The main reason why it has taken me so long to get used to it is because I thought it would be the replacement for the Red Alert. Well, this ball is not a Red Alert by any means. The N'Control Powerstock coverstock on the ARC is not a cover for when the oil is heavier...that is where the PowerKoil 18 covers come into play and then the ProActives. Bowlers Journal gave a review of the ARC when it came out and it is right on. I just won a tournement tonight using the ARC most of the time, and I am really starting to fall in love with it. You just have to know when to use it. The more hand you have, the more usable the ARC will be. BTM said this ball was very clean through the heads with no force to keep it online...this is also correct. Again, overreacting in the heads is not in its nature. Not a ball for carrydown.
My ARC was drilled leverge with the pin kicked away from the grip at a 10:30 pattern. This was a 0-1" pin with around 3 oz. of top. My type of game is listed in my profile. Coverstock has been left in box condition, and touched up every-so-often with 800 grit Squeaky Clean.
Again, clean through the heads, picks up roll in the midlane, and will react nicely to the dry on the outsides or backends with a nice smooth arc. Needs some dry for a good reaction, and not a good ball for carrydown. More usable for those with more hand, and a nice complement to the Command Zone. Brunswick really has a great High-Performance Reactive series right now: Danger Zone 2000, Red Alert, Demolition Zone, Command Zone, and Command Zone ARC. All five of these have different reactions, and can hit almost all conditions except for extreme oil. Keep up the excellent work Brunswick!