The ball: 16 pounds, 4-inch pin
The drill: pin above ring, CG under ring, BOMBS Away leaves MB strong, down and just inside the VAL and below right of the thumb. Works out to 3.75 x 3.5 x 4 drill for me. No weight hole. Finish is box.
Me: PAP 4 over 3/8 up, tweener revs, good speed, good circumference coverage
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I've had this ball since it was a new model but have never used it as my primary piece of equipment. Still, after some recent testing I thought it might be interesting to review this older, unique piece of equipment on today's oils.
For testing, I rolled in on a modified THS that has decent oil volume outside 8. Two lengths were used, 37 and 40 feet.
When I first bought this ball around 2003, I was amazed with its performance given that I thought it was a bit of a gimmick. For those who have never seen one, the outside inch or so of the shell is clear, but reactive. There is debate over whether it's a pearl or a polished solid. Ebonite calls it a polished solid, but its performance characteristics are more like a strong pearl.
What's interesting about this ball's performance is that it is strong, strong, strong. The core is out of the Matrix, strong for its time but now one of Ebonite's weaker offerings. Still, the combination of that core and this cover make for a ball that is a midlane monster, with great continuation off the spot.
It also carries exceptionally well, owing to its strength.
Many people bought this ball thinking it was a dry-lane ball or even for medium-drys, but that is not the case. This ball, even today, needs medium oil to shine, and can actually handle more than that.
Its shortcomings can be summed up thusly: When it stops working, put it up. This is one of the least versatile balls I've thrown. It works great within a very narrow range of conditions, but it doesn't take changes in input well and if you try to force it, you'll be battling over/under all night long.
As for surface changes, I have not tried any. I'm a bit scared that I can't get the surface to come back up to box finish so that the underlying graphics can show through.
Another plus for this ball that I must mention is that it defies, somewhat, Ebonite's reputation for quick ball death. I now have about 60-80 games on this ball and it's performing like new, even though I've done very little maintenance to it.
These balls are very rare but do show up on eBay from time to time and, for some reason, tend to be sold at very low prices. If you can find one, pick it up. Even if you don't use it, it's a great conversation piece. The summary:
Positives: Stronger than you'd think, great on mediums, above-average carry even when compared to current-day offerings.
Negatives: Very narrow range of effectiveness, not a dry-lane piece, not what you want for a benchmark ball.
Overall: For what it does, it does very well. For what it's not designed to do, it won't do at all.
Jess
