My older brother still uses the Brunswick Rampage and does very well with it.  He is looking to replace it and is not sure what ball to get.  He likes how the Powercoil 18 coverstock has lasted and still reacts.  Any suggestions that I could give him?  Thanks in advance for all replies.

Great ball. I just sold a 15lbs nib Rampage a couple months ago on ebay. According to the information sheet it was pk18 pearl and the box finish looked lightly sanded.

I would look at either the blue/green or blue/black Karma or the new Strike King. Both run about the same price and are almost identical to each other in reaction. The Meanstreak Brawler would be a great step up for a similar reaction only much stronger.

So is a pearl a pearl or a hybrid really a hybrid?

Or is the fact the balls surface is plosihed or sanded the bigger determining factor? By your account if it is a mix of solid and pearl coverstocks then wouldn't it deam the ball inconsistant? Depending on how it was mixed along with who it was drilled for and how the ball was thrown and where it tracked it may touch little or no pearl or solid part of the ball.

Just like the Bralwer you can see a solid and pearl look, but is it more proof of marketing and not truely being an actual difference? Especially with the surface of the entire ball being the same.

I have seen Brunswick and other manufactures bowling balls look pearlized and were not. Along with pearlized balls that looked and rolled very much as if they were heavy oil solids. The difference usually being polished versus sanded.

Every hybrid will be somewhat different. My Brawler has some pretty good patches of the blue (solid), so when it was not shined up it was closer to the "rolly" reaction.

If kept shiny and laid out a tad weaker you could get something close in reaction to the Rampage. The reason I believe so is because the BOWLER (speed, revs, rotation, tilt, etc.) will determine reaction more than any one thing, with SURFACE being a close second.  Most bowlers play the same area of the lane regardless of what ball is in their hands.

Yes, the hybrid term is possibly another way of effective marketing.  If so, the whole industry is using the same tactic.   Whether or not Bowler A can really see the difference in reaction versus a similar surface pearl ball is probably debatable forever. 

I have personally thrown every reactive ball Brunswick has produced since before the Rampage. I don't read too much into the core numbers, etc, because I know how they reacted for me.  My style isn't the same as every bowler, nor are the conditions I bowl on.  Perhaps the burgundy Ringer would be close, but so much depends on the bowler and the lane conditions.

Thanks to you all for your input.