Mike Thomas
Mooresville, NC
photog17@windstream.net

Current Arsenal:

Hammer Taboo @ 2000
Storm Dimension @ 2000, pin down
Storm Anarchy @ 1500 Polished

Storm Hy-Road @ 4000, shined
Columbia Freeze
Spare Ball

 

Edited by tvphotog on 2/20/2012 at 7:22 PM

i'd say theres a big gap between your anarchy and freeze... any low end-to-mid range pearl or hybrid ball would fit in between there really. i'd recommend a 2fast... It gets down lane with ease and gave me a very controlled reaction downlane, even with a flippy layout. I was able to get in and swing it or play up the boards. very versatile ball that would fit between the two balls I mentioned.

Another thing to consider is a true control piece with a pin-axis layout or something close to that. It will certainly be a special purpose piece (mainly for down-and-in lines), but it would IMHO be a valuable arsenal addition when you face tough lane conditions or drastic transition. A weak ball with such an arcing/rolling layout can be a great fall-back option, because it moves in  a much different way than "normal" stuff, esp. when you just have pin up balls in your arsenal.

DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
2010/11 Benrather BC Club Champion
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Really, if it's just a THS....you can throw them all out and just use the Freeze. As far as opening up the lane,, the first 3 balls you listed should be able to open up almost ANY lane, regardless of how much oil is out there.

 

If you need a new ball to fill a gap, I would say you need a medium/light-range solid that's a little smoother. Dimension and Taboo are kind of a wash, both very strong sanded solids. Anarchy is as strong a pearl as there is out on the market. Freeze is an entry-levelish type of ball, but gives you a lot of bang for the buck and really packs some pop when it encounters the dry boards. Marvel Pearl is a really good ball from all the ones I have seen thrown, we've sold probably 30 of them the past few months at the shop, but I think it'll overlap with the Anarchy a bit as they're pretty similar.

 

 I would think a smoother solid to fit in line with the Freeze, or maybe a hair above it would be the best fit. If you can find a Pink Panther from Lane #1, it's the smoothest most predictable ball out there. The new Pearl Panther is a great smooth ball as well, even though it's a pearl. I think you could put a rico on that thing and absolutely destroy a THS. The new Droid from Lane #1 would be a good ball to fill that void if you drill it a little weaker and add some polish as well. Other good balls would be the Karma's from Big B, 900G Favorite (this one was a little stronger than advertised for me) the Seismic Solaris Blackout would probably do a real fine job for you, 900G Hook with the solid cover (think its yellow/red, if I'm not mistaken), the Storm Furious, RotoG Riot.

 

I'm a little biased towards the Lane #1 seeing as I am on staff with them and have had great success with the 3 Lane #1 balls I mentioned, but really just about all the manufacturers are making some good stuff right now so it's hard to go wrong where ever you choose to go. If it were me and I was in your shoes, I would stay away from the high end big hooking balls though, as you already have 3 of the stronger balls those manufacturers have produced.

 

Edited by tywithay on 2/22/2012 at 1:44 AM