BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Elimeno Pee on April 02, 2014, 06:20:16 AM
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Rank in order, in you OPINION, the ball brands whose covers last the longest with the least amount of maintenance done to them.
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Motiv
DV8
Brunswick
Radical
Columbia
Track
Ebonite
Roto-Grip
Storm
Hammer
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This should be interesting.
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Mostly agree with Gizmo, but I'd put Visionary near the top of that...probably in the top 3.
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I would mostly agree with Gizmo other than putting Visionary at #1 or #2 (I can see them and Motiv as the top 2 and could switch with each other).
I have had good success with Elite covers but I know (pretty sure) they have used covers from multiple companies so I don't know really how to judge based on that. Good company though and solid products.
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Mostly agree with Gizmo, but I'd put Visionary near the top of that...probably in the top 3.
I'd put LaneMasters above Visionary. Then the Soaker covers from Phil Cardinale.
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And we still have to place AMF/Global.
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I'd have to agree with Charlest. Still using 8-10 year old L/LM equipment that rolls and hits as good as the day I bought them.
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Forgot them. DUH!
I have had more luck with them than Ebo/Bruns/Storm covers...so I guess I should put a more complete list now that you said that....
Visionary
Motiv
Elite
AMF/Global/Lane 1
Lanemasters/Lord Field
Brunswick/DV8/Radical
Storm/Roto
Ebo/Hammer/Track/Columbia
Just personal preference from my personal use. I would not doubt that others have seen big differences than what I have seen.
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Where does Seismic fit in the list?
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I'd have to agree with Charlest. Still using 8-10 year old L/LM equipment that rolls and hits as good as the day I bought them.
But is that the current Lane Masters or the original one? Even the last couple of years of product before the original Lane Masters went bankrupt, those balls were not near as durable as the ones being poured prior to 2010.
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Seismic=Global
Definitely see a relationship to reaction shape and the perception on how long the covers last.
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I'd have to agree with Charlest. Still using 8-10 year old L/LM equipment that rolls and hits as good as the day I bought them.
But is that the current Lane Masters or the original one? Even the last couple of years of product before the original Lane Masters went bankrupt, those balls were not near as durable as the ones being poured prior to 2010.
I haven't used the original LM balls with filler nearly as much as I used the ones without filler; so I'm not as sure about balls like the Sure Strike and the XS Power as I am about the ones like New Standard, Yeah Baby, World Class, Big Bang, Masterpiece, Kong and Buzz.
So far with the new LM, I have the Perfect, Terminator and Red Diamond. So far, no loss of performance but it's a long way from "these are the most durable."
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I haven't used the original LM balls with filler nearly as much as I used the ones without filler; so I'm not as sure about balls like the Sure Strike and the XS Power as I am about the ones like New Standard, Yeah Baby, World Class, Big Bang, Masterpiece, Kong and Buzz.
So far with the new LM, I have the Perfect, Terminator and Red Diamond. So far, no loss of performance but it's a long way from "these are the most durable."
Yea, the Sure Strike, XS Power, Dynamic Power(Only LM Ball I ever had crack) didn't have covers that lasted very long.
The older ones you mentioned and also the original Black Pearl were just made of better materials. The particles didn't seem to wear down like they did with the Black Diamond. I suspect that as they began to struggle financially, there were some corners being cut with the quality of material being used in the product.
The new Lane Masters may be back to using the better grade of raw materials. I can't say as I have never owned one of the new ones nor have I owned a Lord Field.
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1. Original Lanemasters
2. Old Brunswick- PK18 & PK17
3. Motiv
4. Visionary
5. Ebonite
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1. Motiv
2. Brunswick
3. Ebo family
That would be my top 3!
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1. Visionary
2. Lanemasters
3. Brunswick
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EBI and the original JET, that is a strange hard as nails cover
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EBI and the original JET, that is a strange hard as nails cover
I suspect the original Jet was about 85% urethane. :D I had one, a very strange reacting beast.
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And we still have to place AMF/Global.
If they would thicken their shells I would agree.
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I've only thrown Visionary and Roto Grip. With my home made ball oven, no oil ever comes out of my Visionary equipment, but oozes out of the Roto balls.
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I only listed the brands I've had a good amount of experience with, so amend/adjust my list as you see fit, it's helpful to know.
As we've heard and are finding out with this Detox, Ebonite and Storm brands really seem to soak oil up quick, the other brands not so much. But as we're also seeing, everyone's coverstocks across the board seem to hold up and perform very similarly as well. Seems that oil saturation seems to be the main culprit in durability. When it's extracted, everything goes back to normal. This would almost be more accurately described as least amount of maintenance.
I've only thrown Visionary and Roto Grip. With my home made ball oven, no oil ever comes out of my Visionary equipment, but oozes out of the Roto balls.
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Soaker cover on the Dynothane The Thing... they actually seemed to get stronger as oil soaked in...