Hello guys, here we are with our latest review. The Motiv Octane Carbon.
This ball is the third release in the Octane line. While I liked the previous two Octanes (Octane and Octane Burn) both were really condition specific balls for me.
The original Octane needed a lot of friction for me to have a good look with it and the Burn gave me some over/under on fresh oil.
Sometimes I tend to struggle with high RG balls because with my low rev rate the ball skids more than I want it to and if I hit the friction too early the ball goes through the nose, so I was a bit worried that the Octane Carbon would be one of those balls. Fortunately for me it is not the case.
The Octane Carbon is a versatile ball. It handles oil better than the Octane Burn and it is more predictable than the Octane.
I used this ball on fresh during the review and in two different leagues I bowl in and the ball does exactly as advertised: Go long with an angular backend motion.
My first night with the Carbon was in a house where the backends are dirty and you don't see a lot of shape, so you have to play really tight. I used the Carbon since the start, laying the ball down around 8-10, keeping the pocket in front of me and the ball worked great. The ball just gave me what I needed, good length and a strong backend motion.
The second night I bowled in a house with wood lanes, so even for me that I am a lefty, I see a lot of friction since the beginning and the transition happens from one shot to another.
I decided to use the Carbon for the third game since my Forza was reading the lane too early. I moved 4 and 2 to the right, laying the ball down around 13-15 (for the record, playing 13-15 is DEEP for me) and the ball just went effortlessly through the front part of the lane with a strong move to the pocket. I shot 268 and the only pins I left were 9 pins, this ball is definitely angular.
For the review, I bowled in a house with synthetic lanes and their typical house shot is the Kegel Main Street pattern.
I tried playing from different angles and the ball gave me a consistent reaction from shot to shot, it seems like an easy ball to play with.
For a pearl this is something I really appreciate since most of the time I get some over/under on fresh. This ball was able to give me the same shape and the same length over and over again.
I was able to play as deep as third arrow with this ball, which for me is a big thing. I was also able to play comfortable in my confort zone, which is around second arrow and the ball gave me a great look, providing great length and a strong backend motion.
Misses inside resulted in the ball wanting to push the ball down the lane, giving me some margin of error. Misses outside and the ball jumped hard to the right, sometimes leaving corner pins and a couple of 9 pins, but overall I feel like this ball provided me a big area to throw the ball, making it a great option for house shot patterns.
I compared the Octane Carbon with the Venom Cobra and the Venom Shock.
The Venom Cobra is a tad earlier than the Octane Carbon. It is smoother and less angular down the lane. Overall, it is weaker than the Octane Carbon.
The Venom Shock is stronger than the Octane Carbon. It reads the lane earlier and it has a slower response to friction, making it smoother than the Carbon. Overall the Venom Shock has more hook potential.
I feel this ball is something we have never seen from Motiv before. This is by far the cleanest ball in the Motiv lineup and it provides a strong, angular backend motion.
I found this ball to be more versatile than I thought. This ball can be used from different angles, it can be used to play straighter on fresh while it also can be used to play steeper angles when there is not enough oil in the front part of the lane. I think the Octane Carbon will fit a lot of different bowling styles.
Thank you for watching!
