This may be a bit out of character for me in terms of the latest releases MOTIV has graced us with my friends, the Rebel Tank. The reason you may ask? The answer is simple, and that is ‘unique. Now you must be thinking to yourself, “Unique, whatever do you mean?†Allow me to explain MOTIV faithfuls, I assure you that you will be pleased that you continued on. Now, I must confess, I have never thrown a urethane cover stock in my bowling career that I can recall. Funny enough, I have actually owned and through a good old fashion Black Beauty rubber bowling ball many years ago, but never a urethane ball. So, with the Rebel Tank, this was my first experience throwing such a cover stock.
How does one proceed to review a ball when have no past experiences with a urethane cover? All you can do is go with what you know best, and that ball motion and the piece’s functionality in your arsenal. I have always been a huge advocate for smooth arc ball motion, to me it is so much easier to predict. From a competition standpoint, I feel smooth arc is the way go in order to keep the shot in front of you. Now this can be quite difficult to do the shorter and/or the more burnt the shot becomes. Now I must admit, with the bowling style I have, keeping the shot in front of me with a reactive resin is manageable. With the introduction of the Rebel Tank, however, there is now a new dimension that must be considered. One of the smartest moves MOTIV has taken in my opinion with the Rebel Tank, is utilizing the Halogen core that has been featured and well proven in both the Tribal line and Tag, allowing for better down lane continuation that is a must for urethane cover stocks. In my practice sessions with this piece, I learned very quickly that I can easily dictate what I want this ball to do down lane and not be concerned at any point that the ball will not reaction when i expect it to due so.
Allow me to share a fun story with you, there had been one evening in leagues that I just could not get any of my regular equipment to give me the reaction i was looking for as well as carry. My scores were just not up to par to say the least. Well, I decided to have some fun and also take advantage of the time to experiment with my Rebel Tank. The pair I was bowling on had nothing but party/open bowling take place prior to our league and the lanes were not re-oiled. It is always a surprise as to what you will see on this pair. With this being said, I decided to take my Rebel Tank and simply play up 5 to see the type of look I would have. To my surprise, my first shot was a high-flush 8 Pin, I could not help but laugh at what I was doing. I decided to continue on with this game, keeping the game simple with a straight up the boards with a urethane piece. During the entire game, I spoke with an older gentlemen that had bowled along side of me for several years and was familiar with my style, he commended me for the experiment. He commitmented on what my game has been over the years and was very impressed with the fact that I am willing to experiment with a dimension of the game, that, although may not be needed in my bag of tricks, just the desire to experiment with and and make it a strength speaks volumes to my desire to be remain competitive and pursue growth. For the remainder of the game, i continued to throw the Rebel tank. Although it was not a score worthy of the record books, the fact that I was able to keep the pattern in front of me and keep the ball in the pocket and not a single weak, I can’t wait to unleash this on a short pattern!
Ryan Wyandt
MOTIV Staff Member
Shoemakersville, PA
rwyandt869@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter: @rwyandt869