I only bowl on house lanes, so i'm unsure if the lanes are dry or heavy. I've been thinking about getting the BW and wanted to know if it is veritile enought to be my only ball. If not are there any you could suggest?

In our first week of scratch league last Monday both myself and the guy I was shooting against were throwing BW's. He's an older guy that shoots straight up second arrow whereas I can start out that way but might end up by the 4th game swinging it out past 5th arrow and playing the entire lane. All I could think is that by the 3rd game this guys going to be in trouble and he was. His BW started hitting high frame after frame and half way through the third game he'd switched balls. I used the BW all night, averaged 228, but paid dearly for any errant shots (i.e. my last game was an 8 strike 208).

I wouldn't suggest using the BW as your only ball particularly if you can't adjust BIG TIME as the lanes transition.

Edited on 9/1/2006 1:55 PM

Edited on 9/1/2006 1:56 PM

Actually, pretty similar as a couple times we picked up each others balls (ummm....that didn't sound right....LOL). Mine: Pin above bridge, cg kicked slightly to the LEFT (weighed out to 1/2 neg) with mb just right of thumb. His: pin above ring in the left quadrant....that's all I noticed.

The point is: the BW is one heckuva a strong ball in the backend. In a scratch league the track tends to burn up pretty quickly as players are using much the same trajectory. As the night progresses if you can't move left on a THS with the BW you're in trouble.

I agree with that, if you can't move left throughout a set, you're in trouble with any ball though.  If someone can't adjust at all, they would probably be better off with a zone classic or something more even rolling than the doom or BW.  I would work on trying to adjust if it was me.
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Shane Soule

BW ($124)
BVP Rampage ($95)
Doom ($105)
Diablo ($115)

Thise are all good balls. I think of the four if I had to pick one and bowl with it all night I'd pick the Doom with the Rampage a very close second. I have 2 Dooms and the one drilled with the pin above the bridge and cg kicked out just a hair is a very nice, strong arcing ball and can last the night if things don't get too crispy. The other, drilled stacked leverage is a skid/ snap monster and a bit more condition sensitive. I also have 2 Rampages with similar drillings. They can be a little less forgiving than the Dooms but still hold up well as the lanes breakdown. The Diablo is a really interesting ball. It seems to ignore carrydown and has very good length with a hard arcing/hitting backend. I shot 277 with it in practice last night on a medium light condition but later, after the lanes had really dried up, it was too much reaction. It handles everything from light heavy to light medium with real authority.

You know, a lightly polished up Pain might be a good consideration too. Ah, the possibilities are endless, aren't they?

Another question. Does DOOM need alot of maintenance (i.e do i need to buy cleaner to keep it in playing condition?) if so how often?

Wallshot, wouldn't a Diablo be a better "all around" ball per your standards?  Not skid flip and its a very even rolling ball....
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Shane Soule