It's not unheard of for a ball maker to just change the color and name of a ball and present it as a completely new release. Brunswick did this same thing with the WIZARD. Instead of just saying the WIZARD was a remake of the NEMESIS with a new color and name, they tried to fool the bowlers into thinking it was a completely different ball.
Now Hammer/ Ebonite has not had that type of reputation. I feel Hammer/Ebonite has done a pretty good job of putting out new releases even though some maybe close in reaction to another ball in their line.
I understand where 302 is coming from but I don't think Hammer/ Ebonite tries to fool the bowlers like Brunswick tried. Nothing wrong with questioning what a ball maker is doing. I questioned the new Emerald Vibe release because it didn't make sense to me. Hammer discontinues the Blue Vibe which is a good amount different than the Cherry Vibe. They replace the Blue Vibe with a ball that's very close in reaction to the Cherry Vibe. I just didn't understand that type of thinking by Hammer. However, I don't know how well the BV was selling. I'm sure if the BV was selling like crazy they wouldn't of discontinued it.
I also look at it like this. If the BITE and VENOM are very close in reaction then just pick which color you like better. One doesn't need to have both in their arsenal if they don't want to but it's nice to have options to choose from.
Edited on 6/26/2008 8:30 AM
