By priorities:

a) Replacement for an arsenal piece (e .g. when ball cracked)

b) Fill an arsenal gap (mostly concerning a ball's utility, for me it is a certain reaction shape for a certain lane condition window)

c) Curiosity

 

Personally, I neither need nor want more hook and traction. I'd rather look for steady and duable performers that are easy to control and read, inspire confidence and allow me to make educated guesses about game adjustment, to stay competitive in the long run. Carry comes from proper use, and ball recation is not about the boards covered, but a clean skid/hook/roll reaction on a specific condition window. I have become less romantic about new-ballitis in the past 3 years, and consequently my arsenal has not changed much in that time.

DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
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Last season it was actually bought a lot of balls due to dropping in weight. Once I those I started trying to fill in specific gaps for lane conditions. Still looking for that ball that will fill in for my old Eraser on dry lanes and still trying to find that ball for extreme dry other than the plastic. Have bought a couple looking for that step when the Break Out is too strong, but lanes aren't quite where I can jump to the deep inside. 

 

I typically will put at least one new ball in the bag for Nationals. This year that is going to be two of the same ball with different drills. One to replace my Break Out and the other will have a longer pin and hope to get the ball down the lane a bit farther with a similar hook/shape at the back end.

Roll with 900 Global.

Made in Texas!