Purchased ball on June 18th, 2008 from the Nationals booth in albq. Ball came 15-3, 3 1/4" pin and 3 7/8" TW. Ball is laid out 4 x 3 with a small weight hole dissecting the mid-plane and VAL. The ball is laid-out similarily to my Sure Strike and Original Black Pearl(Pin above ring, weight hole),it is very close in shape but with a more pronounced move at the breakpoint.

June 20, 2008: Threw the ball friday afternoon on a Flat tournament shot(similar to USBC Nationals but with a little more bite), the BP-R had a little trouble making the turn, it was motoring but didn't have enought to make it up the hill. I put it away for a little while and threw obviously a more aggressive ball in the Terminator and it excelled on this pattern. After I burned a hole in the oil, switched back to the BPR and it by this time was able to make the necessary move to get back. For me, not really a ball for this condition, YMMV.

June 21, 2008: Threw the ball on our fresh house condition today(38', buffed to 45' on all newer synthetic lanes using Control oil) with OB outside the 5. This is where the BP-R excelled, it has a lot of snap on the back-end (more so than the Original)and very comparable in shot shape to the above mentioned Sure Strike. The BP-R for me is about a board more on the approach and very close in it's breakpoint, again compared to the SS.

Hope this helps for those of you looking at yet another fine piece of equipment from Lane Masters/Legends.

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Pat Patterson

This is my 3rd LaneMasters ball and their products are quickly becoming my favorite.  I had the bpr laid out stacked with the pin about 1" right of the ring finger.  This ball is a perfect compliment to the conquerer which is another amazing piece of equipment.  The black pearl reactive reads the midlane well and has a very strong but controlable move off the breakpoint.  Control is the main reason I like the Lane Master line of equipment the best.  Since swithching my arsenal to Lane Master my average has gone from 220 to 233.  They are not the cheapest equipment but the balls last longer, hit as hard as anything else, and are very controllable.  What is not to like?

About me: See my profile.

About the ball: 15 lbs, 3 1/4" Pin, 3 5/8" x 3 5/8", Label Leverage, Pin right of ring finger, CG just right of grip center line and just up from the grip midline

Many of the past Lane Masters and Legends ball have a lot in common: Highest quality materials, symmetric cores, medium radius of gyration, low to medium differential radius of gyration, high coefficient of restitution, long-lasting coverstocks and consistent reaction over hundreds of games, etc. The Legends Black Pearl Reactive (BPR) breaks the mold as Lane Masters’ highest differential RG ball to date. Like other LM/L balls, the BPR in clean through the head and reads consistently in the midlane, but unlike any LM/L ball before it, the BPR recovers from mistakes to the outside as well as any competing ball on the market. Most quality balls give me a board or so of area at the breakpoint. The BPR usually gives me at least another board on either side of my breakpoint target.

As you can see from the layout, this is a strong ball drilled strong. Like most LM/L equipment, this is a good ball on a Christmas tree THS but unlike many of the lower differential RG counterparts, the BPR just abuses top hats. The coverstock is strong enough to not squirt in the puddle (and carrydown) so “miss a little left” is in play, as is “miss a little right” as the BPR’s engine is strong enough to recover and carry from the dry.

The Black Pearl Reactive is terrific on wood lanes, medium-heavy to medium-dry conditions. Typically, I like my low-load and medium-load particle balls as first-out-of-the-bag balls. The BPR is exceptional, in that it also falls into the benchmark ball category. On synthetics, I like the BPR on medium-dry to medium conditions. It will get to the pocket on medium-heavy patterns but sometimes a little later than I (and the 10-pin) like. In my arsenal, I just switch to my Big Bang or Conquerer for heavy to medium-heavy patterns on synthetics. If I didn’t have these to switch to, the BPR would work with a little surface adjustment: The white or gray pad, or P2000/P1000 abralon would do the trick.

Compared to other LM/L balls, the BPR and the Dynamic Power are the two closest to meeting the “steroid ball” classification. Anyone who appreciates the stronger offerings from Roto-Grip, Storm, Hammer, and Ebonite would feel right at home with the BPR in their hand. But to its credit, the Black Pearl Reactive still exhibits the control and hit that Lane Masters/legends are famous for.