Received my R&D Test Ball from our Dist. in early August and waited until now to give 2 reviews. I drilled mine 60 Degrees with the pin 4 1/2 from my pap. Axis is 4 7/8 by 1/4 South. Pinout 3" put the pin beside my ring finger.

   House shot on syn. lanes of 38 feet of oil and clean backends made this ball very easy to read the lane. I could move 5 boards either way and still strike! The most impressive point was that at 40 feet I had at least 4 boards to carry from. This ball out of the box shinned needs dry boards to turn. Not flippy at all. This is the only particle ball I have thrown that doesn't read the lane early. Finally a particle for crankers!!

   On a weekend of carrydown the only move was a couple boards right. Still didn't hook early and H.I.T.S. like a tank.The lower diff.of .038 will be suited for big handed players.

   If you like Columbia products this Icon is a MUST for anyone that has a higher rate!! 5 1/2 pin to pap @ 75 degrees might get you that flippy feeling if you have burnt heads. This Icon will not hook in the heads or midlane shinned. Thanks again,Columbia for another great edition to your line...

   After drilling another Icon for a female, I had to add another review. This Icon was drilled stacked 3 3/8 @ 75degrees and left box finish. With a axis of 5 3/4 by 1 1/2 north she couldn't wrinkle this ball on fresh oil and clean backends!! After 5 min. in the Haus with grey pads (800) still not much. Another trip to the Haus and 35 trizac for 5 min. resulted in a much better reaction. This still will not be the first ball out of the bag for a stroker. The diff. of .038 is too low for less handed people. On a league shot and into the 3rd. game she finally got a excellent arc reaction when the track burned up. She moved left in a little more oil and could hit the pocket again... This ball will hook early sanded and lose energy if played straight up the track (like anyother particle ball).

   Great edition for Columbia. I will recommend the Icon to Higher rev rate players only. The cover adjusts very easily and can tweak it for most if you don't get to exotic with the drillings.

Roger

Set up two balls.   One LH and one RH.   Both balls 15#, 3" pin and around 3 TW.
Both balls 4 1/2 by 4 1/2, no hole.
The left hand guy is still in shock.   First ball he has ever been able to throw with a shine on it.   He usually sands everything with 400 grit.   RH guy can hit the pocket with anything.   Ball out of box gives pretty good length on 38' oil, AMF synthetics.   As with the Wicked, carry is good.   Both bowlers say they are getting strikes when they shouldn't.  First impression, it looks like a little bit like a "souped up" Wicked.  Would reccomend both the Wicked and the Icon (and I've never been a Columbia fan).   These two balls make the pocket a little "wider".

hi all, i just bought my ICON and thinking of sanding this ball for very oily lane condition. But i see that columbia recommend us to sand this ball to 600Grit but with my speed, this ball will lose it power so i plan to sand it too 1200Grit. Can i sand this ball to 1200Grit?

i was looking for a ball to replace my la nina, i have it polished so i figured polished particle was the way to go. i looked at all the stuff out and decided the icon was so ugly, i maybe the only person dumb enough to drill one. anyway, i drilled it 3 1/2 x 3 1/2. left the finish out of the box. threw a couple of shots with my la nina to get lined up, then changed to the icon. moved a little right with my feet, figuring it wouldn't hook quite as much as the la nina. the thing went right through the face, big 4. moved back to where i was with the other ball and bang, 10 in the pit. i have almost the exact same reaction. i tell ya. i don't think i could have found a better replacement for my la naina. i love my icon, and will surely recommend it to all my customers.

PRELIMINARY review-- I haven't had enough time with the ball yet to form a real, solid opinion-- this is a read from a couple of sessions on a 'house' condition ONLY.
As tested: 15 lb. "R&D Test Ball" labeled Icon- pin 3-5/8" from CG: Layout, pin over ring finger (4-1/2" from PAP), CG 1/2" right of grip center, no X-hole, box finish. I'm right-handed, medium speed, low revs.
After lining up with another ball, tried this ball and adjusted as needed. From another particle coverstock, I needed a 2-1 right move to hit the pocket; from a resin ball, I didn't need to move at all. Ball arcs nicely and controllably, but NOT very strongly. My strongest recommendation on this ball, so far, is for people who need practice shooting 10-pins: In a dozen and a half shots each, the particle left me two 10-pins, the resin left three; the Icon left 24 ten-pins in 30 flush hits. This includes the usual minor 'tweaks' I use for flush 10's, such as moving the lane target slightly in or out or raising or lowering the swing just a touch.

Once I get a chance to try it at length on a variety of conditions, I'll report back with an in-depth review; but on first pass, "it don't send me".
M

Drilled up my icon today and used it for six games today, four in practice and two on league night.

4 1/2 inch pin with 4 oz. top weight.

Drilled the ball with 3 3/4 cg and 5 3/4 pin, to the pap that is.
Dulled the box finish to 600 cross sanded.

The midlane and backend movement of this ball is simply amazing.  Transitions  very well from the oil to dry and even better from the oil to the carrydown.  As of right now, this is by far the best particle ball i have thrown.  I just hope the ball hold up.

Greatness

Got my Icon set up pin above the fingers, cg swung out the right, and I like to keep it polished.

I adore this ball.  This is the most versatile Columbia ball I've had (and I've had a lot). It hooks a lot and finishes hard but it hooks very predictably with a break point that's really easy to read.  Most of the Columbia balls I've had went long and snapped on the backend but this ball transitions much cleaner and smoother IMO. This ball also keeps a lot of energy through the pindeck and carries very well from any angle. I've played 25-10 with the ball successfully and I've played straight up the 3 successfully.

I don't like the way it reacts in heavier oil because it tends top go a little too long before it breaks (I have a Minotaur for really oily lanes).  I never tried the ball with a dull finish because I like the shined reaction so much!

The bottom line, this is the first ball out of my bag and I absolutely love it.

Another ball that I have not changed the surface on.

I look at the Icon (in box condition) almost like a Pearl Rock On. It's HIT is tremendous, it gets down the lane well, and snaps really hard. For me, this ball is GREAT when you find the condition when it will score. It may be more versitile than I have seen since I have not touched the surface, but it will not move in oil. In HAS to have dry boards. Which is not bad, like I said, seems like a pearl Rock On to me.

I give it 8 1/2 out of 10. A MUCH better ball than alot of people on here gave it credit for.
Should I happen to try it sanded, I will post another review.