In my experience I’ve found that the Raging is not a “Big Hooking†ball. Don’t expect it to cover a lot of boards or ‘Swing the Lane’ with any layout. I have three Infernos, and a Raging. All 4 balls have the pins above the Ring or Bridge. The Raging has the pin over the ring and the CG in the grip center. The reaction I’ve seen with this ball in 3 different houses is pretty much the same. It has a strong hit, and a very controllable movement, but it is NOT a “Big Hookerâ€. On Medium, Medium-heavy, and heavy oil, it’s been my experience that the regular Inferno “covers†more boards. Where the Raging Inferno excels is when the regular Inferno is not controllable due either too much oil (squirtiness) or too much disparity between the oily and drier areas on the lane.
Remember when Randy Pederson stated on the telecast that Chris Barnes had made a ball change to a “less aggressive†ball when Chris went from a regular Inferno to a Raging Inferno? He caught some ‘flack’ on this site for saying that, but from a standpoint of controllability and predictability, the Raging Inferno could be considered to be a ‘less aggressive†ball. In my experience, what the particles add to the Activator coverstock is just that – controllability and predictability – Not “more†hook.
Disclaimer: All of the above is my experience. Others may have different results. I have average speed (around 17mph), and average revs (old, tiring, tweener), so I figure my results and experiences are pretty average.