I purchased this ball in the 15lb. variety, (normally throw 16 lb.), because with the lanes having a bigger backend, I wanted a little more speed on the ball. I am a righty with better than average revs, about 16-17 mph.
I went with the Vicious Strike because I wanted a sharper entry angle at the pocket. And, boy, did I get it. I have thrown it now for 2 weeks both on wood lanes and synthetic lanes. The house with wood tends to have less head oil, and this ball would start to burn up very early. The back end reaction was very good; however, it did tend to leave a solid '9' or a 4-9 split because of the driving nature of the ball. I usually had to put it away after 1-2 games because it would go into a roll very early, leaving little energy for when it got to the pins.
On the synthetic lanes, there was more oil to play on, and I was able to open the lanes up a bit more. Throwing 25 out to about 5, the Vicious Strike came charging back hard after it hit the dry area. It carries extremely well. If I did not get the ball out far enough, though, it came in high or crossed over each time. Not much room for error using this ball. The "hold area" is extremely small.
Overall, I give high marks to the carry of the ball. I would like to use it in a heavier oil pattern to see what it can do. With the touchy nature of the ball, I don't think this is an all-around ball to use. It is condition specific, but on the right pattern, this ball could be hard to beat.
Thanks for reading
