The Fortera Exile looks amazing...

If you look at the video, the Exile is laid down a little farther left and still finishes high flush. The slow motion video really shows the difference from the Genius. I saw the Genius reading a lot earlier and when it hit the pocket, it bounced to the right. If you look at the Exile, it just continued through the pins almost missing the 9 as it takes out the 8 pin. They are drastically different. The new formulation really seems to be getting the ball cleaner and farther down the lane.

A few thoughts-- had a bad experience with my original Melee, so I'm quite hesitant to think about throwing/drilling/testing a Melee Cross; I wonder if it would work well (the Cross) with some surface on it (1k, 2k?) as a fresh medium oil ball? It looks like it will be a nice benchmark type ball for a variety of styles.

As for the Exile---- are you(we?) sure that this ball was designed by Brunswick? I mean, LOOK at it! Very clean in the heads and mids (in this video, the Genius was already starting to transition) while making a beautiful motion down lane and through the pins. As a previous board memeber stated, look where the Exile leaves the pin deck, compared to the Genius. It really isn't even close-- the Exile finishes (through the pin deck) at least 4 boards deeper/stronger.

To me, it looks like the first Aura did when that ball came out (overall shape and ball movement on the lane) with the Exile being stronger/more angular overall. Oh, with the pin down layout, I could imagine the ball tends to be a bit over/under-- any confirmation out there for my statement? I base this off of how the ball (even w/pin down) finishes in the last 1/4 of the lane, and especially through the pin deck. Going Pin Up looks like it will open up most patterns without fear of roll out or not finishing with any power.

BrunsNick-- thanks for posting the video; can't wait to see an Exile in person!!!! Also, any thoughts to comparing the Melee Cross with the Blue/Solid Ringer?

I agree that this is the best Brunswick has been for a long long time. We are finally realizing our identity at the same time we are making performance break-throughs.

To answer your comparison question, the Melee Cross is stronger than a Blue Ringer. Between the tweaks to the core and cover, it will handle more oil and be stronger overall. The Blue Ringer will have a similar shape, but it is a step down in performance (as it should be)

The Fortera Exile is more responsive and continuous than the Mastermind Genius. I only used a few clips to compare, but truth is, I only needed a few clips. It was apparent from all the shots that the Fortera could play deeper and recover harder shot after shot. Playing less angle, the Genius faces up nicely, but when you move in, the ball labored compared to the Fortera.

Very exciting times! 2 videos from me in 2 weeks, I plan to film another Fortera video with my girl. I'm excited to see her results soon!

Just throwing an answer out to Bowlingballsale.I too had a bad experience with my first Melee.I drilled with a 5 1/2 inch pin to pap.Ball was really to smooth almost like a urethane cover.I liked how it went threw the heads like it was butter,But not much backend on our condition here.Bought a second one and drilled much stronger 4x4x2 let me tell you no comparison .The ball is much better.I noticed your pin was 6 inch with high total angles.If you decide on the cross I wouldn't go with such a weak layout.Just throwing my opinion out there.You can't go wrong with any Brunswick equipment as of now.Brunswick used to always roll early for me,So I stayed away from them.Not the case now.I like the direction there are heading.Just my 2 cents worth Good luck on your decision.