About me:
Right handed. 16lb. Power tweener. About 17mph. Higher rev rate. PAP: 5.25” / Level. Exacticated thumb (slug) and oval grips.
About the ball:
The coverstock on the Off The Chain is the same pearl cover with particle as the Lord Field Heritage, but now it is combined with a very similar core to the Lord Field Jacked.
Layout/Finish:
This particular ball weighed 16lb 2oz, has 3.6” pin and 3.0oz of top weight. The pin is above the ring finger with the CG kicked out slightly (we didn't lay it out dual angle, but eyeballing it looks about 35x5x50). It was a little over 1oz of positive after drilling, so we put a hole on the PAP. It now has about a 1/2 ounce. Box finish.
On the lane:
The Off The Chain has been great for me on most conditions. This ball does hook, but it’s preference seems to be medium to dry conditions and/or shorter patterns (as most pearls are). It’s not necessarily a “dry-lane ball”, but it’s so good thru the fronts and so controllable that I can keep throwing it when the conditions break down.
I drilled it skid/flip-ish, and it has that general shape, but it’s a lot more controllable than most balls that I drill pin-up/CG-out. It’s very clean thru the heads. It goes long, just like a pearl should. The mid-lane read is good; you can get a good feel for the conditions by watching it roll… and it will usually give you a warning before over-hooking as your line dries out. (For righties, I call it that “warning 4-pin”). This ball is decisive off the break point, but still smooth. It has the benefits of a pearl, but it also gets into a roll a little like a solid, helping it get thru the pins and not overreact. Its continuation is strong and its deflection is minimal thru the pins; also more like a solid than a pearl.
I haven’t played outside with this ball much. It would probably do it great, but I generally only play the outside of the lane when they’re oily, and my Judgement and Big Hurt both hook more than this ball. I typically pull out the Off The Chain when the lanes dry out some, and this ball has rolled great for me in those situations. But most of the time I have thrown it, I have been inside of 15.
This Off The Chain has also been what I call “user-friendly” when it comes to the release. This ball doesn’t roll drastically different if you tweak your release at the bottom. What you get is a ball that is pretty forgiving when your release isn’t perfect.
I haven’t tweaked the box finish. It has rolled great for me so far as-is.
Dislikes:
I don’t really have any dislikes of this ball. I’ve gotten compliments on everything from the way it rolls to the way it looks. This ball has been a very solid and consistent performer on different lane types and patterns.
Summary:
I would recommend this ball for anyone on almost any condition, and even more so to anyone looking for a ball to throw on most conditions in typical situations. I haven’t used it much on heavy oil or extreme dry, but for everything in between, it has been great. This is probably the perfect ball for someone who doesn’t want to carry a whole lot of bowling balls and mostly bowls on THSs, but more traveled bowlers will still love to have this ball in their arsenal.
