As many of you know Kegel came out with two lane conditioning products - fire and ice during the USBC Open/Bowl Expo of this year.

I was able to see those products used at the USBC Open upstairs for the Open, and downstairs for the sweepers. During competition, you're in the competitive mode, so it's hard to really judge what's going on.

Finally, late this summer, bowling centers in our area are gaining access to the product and are testing them out for their fall leagues.

I was asked to blindly test some lane conditions today and was asked to log my observations of how it was playing for me. After writing and talking about it, the laneman continued to tell me one of the patterns I had seen was Kegel Fire and the other was Ice.

They showed me the charts and the machine settings - nothing was changed except for the product being used on the lane. I have to say these products are really going to change the game fairly quickly in the next year or so. My goal for this post is to create a buzz surrounding it.

Any of you guys notice anything new in your home center?

My home center is an old wood house that has not had the lanes cut in 8n years. We had been using Infinity which was found to be superior to Prodigy, Navigate and Response.

We are currently using Ice and all I can say is wow....the shot holds up very well and I am able to play various parts of the lane even with my rev dominant stye.

Great product....

From a price point Ice costs about $5-$10 more per case than Infinity.  We switched just before we went to Nationals in May.  It does "hold" up better than Infinity and Infinity "held" up better than Prodigy (we used both of those the last few years)  As far as revolutionizing/changing the game, I don't believe the conditioner holds that much weight really.  I believe it will always come down to the pattern specs and the lane surfaces being used.

Quote from: strikeshow on September 25, 2013, 07:33:59 PM

I have to say these products are really going to change the game fairly quickly in the next year or so. My goal for this post is to create a buzz surrounding it.

Then maybe you could tell us why you think these conditioners might "change the game" so quickly.  Even if they are great (shot holds up longer, possibly cheaper?...) a lot of center owners are stubborn.  It might take a lot to get them to change until the benefits are huge.  And you still have to deal with corporate owners (does Brunswick still make lane oil?) and they sign contracts with their suppliers.  In the corporate world, other circumstances often decide these things, not which product is "better".