I have thrown the 3 new releases from DV8 and I must say I am thoroughly impressed. From the brand name and image, to the colors, to the way all 3 fit together, to the ball reactions, and all the way through the pin deck.
I love the marketing decision to ignore the Brunswick logos. For all you pro shop operators that have been fighting the less than favorable reaction from your customers when you suggest a Brunswick ball, the DV8 brand is "baggage-free". For those shop owners who have resisted giving Brunswick a try, all I can say is that you should reconsider your prejudices for the sake of your customers' bowling enjoyment.
You can tell that DV8 has something special with these covers. Any ball can react to friction. To me, a great cover does two things: 1) doesn't "wiggle" later in the blocks when you move deep inside 2) consistently goes off the pin deck between the 8 and 9 pin, regardless of where you are playing on the lane. This was the greatest lesson I learned when I first started tour repping. The DV8 covers allow the ball to do the right thing through the pins.
The Hell Raiser is indeed angular, but in a beneficial way. Where many angular balls tend to wiggle in the midlane, then explode at the first sight of friction, the Hell Raiser provides a combination of predictability through the mids and about as strong of a breakpoint angle as you can have without going strike, washout, greek church. My favorite angular ball was the Reign. It was tough to find a bowling style that was not able to use it for its designed purpose. The HR shares that same identity.
The Reckless is a tremendous benchmark ball. It is very responsive to changes in axis rotation, rev rate, and ball speed. This will be a ball that players will have multiple drillings and surfaces. It reads the pattern, handles carrydown, and does what is told to do. Kinda like my old favorite V2 did way back when. I have not had the opportunity to throw this versus my Wicked Siege (another one of my favorites for its versatility), but one of my teammates did this past weekend. The Reckless is a couple of boards stronger overall, with a more pronounced response to friction, but still not jerky.
The Misfit has quickly become my favorite. Slower speed, more axis rotation than I care to have, and a tendency to hit up at the release point. Even with the weaker cover, I am very comfortable knowing what the MF is going to do. I used the Damage alot last year. The MF has a little more hook, slightly more angular, and carries way better. If I mishit the Damage, I could turn around before the ball hit the pins and go back to get my spare ball for the 10 pin. I have thrown several league matches with the MF and have only left 2 10 pins. Not that I carry everything, but I will say that I have a better spare percentage shooting the 9 pin than I do the 10 pin. Certainly not a dry lane ball, I still need a Slingshot for that.
Kudos to marketing and R&D for creating a new brand making a strong statement. These certainly aren't your grandfather's Brunswick balls.
BP
