Hey guys, just wanted to see if I can get some opinions on the LaneMasters New Standard 2.

BTM gave this ball great ratings on the "Their Sport Shot." I see this is a particle ball, but was wondering what the load was (heavy-med-light).

If you have one, how do you have yours laid out and what type of reactions are you getting.

Thanks!
Ramtart


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Pedro: If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true. Napoleon Dynamite

I've got one it is 15.5 lb. w/ 2 3/4" pin.  Laid it out 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" pin directly under my ring.....drilled the pin out. Basic 50 deg. layout.  I'd call their out of box grit at about 1000 small shine medium load particle.

Me, medium speed tweener 16 mph, 325 and 45 deg. tilt on CATS.

I've bowled on one sport pattern tourney with the NS2 <AMF HPL worn synthetic, not sure of conditoner used> that I would term more medium 42' OB right of 7-8.  Used out of box worked relatively well on this pattern where the cut was -29.

Last weekend bowled on a 2004 ABC Masters pattern tourney <11 yr. old Bruns. Anvilane w/Kegel Offense> OB right of 8.  Tried NS2 and found it going to long on this pattern to much hang.  Pulled out Visionary Midnight Scorcher <320 grit> and could square up a bit more and found very little hang.  Remember the Scorcher is the older Vis. flood ball.  After, I broke down the condition with the Scorcher the NS2 worked better.

On Sunday, prepped the NS2 on spinner at 800 grit took any shine off of it.  Scuffed during practice with a burgundy pad by hand with my track ALL of the ball.  Again, broke down lanes with Midnight Scorcher then moved to NS2.  Grit at 800 and hand scuffed w/320 pad gave it just right move mid lane with no over reaction.  

I am still working with this ball but it seems a good even reacting ball. It's already paid for itself in $ won.  Only ball I could compare to that I have used is a Col. Alter Ego my other favorite medium sport condition ball.  I do think the AE picked up a roll earlier than the NS2.  Also, I do more surface adjustment than most players that I know.

For me the best sport/flatter balls that I have liked are the ones where you don't feel like you have to fit the ball on a specific board.  Frees up your arm swing. Early results are that the NS2 is one of these balls.


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Scott

nice shootin Scott!!

Hey....is the NS2 STRONGER or weaker than the NS?

FORGET IT!! I FOUND OUT !
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JEFF
"...each anothers audience outside the gilded cage.."


Edited on 11/16/2005 8:33 AM

I have an NS2 drilled with the pin under the ring (4 1/2 from pap) and the cg kicked out to the right just slightly (no balance hole).  I like my layouts to be between 50 and 70 degrees and this one is a 65 degree layout.

I too read the review in BTM about it being a control ball and decided to give it a try.  I also noticed that the reviews posted in BTM directly contradicted the reviews given in Bowlers Journal.  While the BJ reviews are not conducted with the same approach that BTM uses, I use them as another datapoint.  For example, BTM listed the NS2 as the weakest (hook number) ball among the 4 new releases (AP2 (54), Kong (52), Masterpiece (47), NS2 (46)) while BJ had the NS2 as the strongest (NS2 (84), AP2 (82), Masterpiece (81), Kong (81)).  While these numbers are all relative, especially with the conditions that BJ tests on being unknown, it appears that the list is almost flipped.

For me, the NS2 is stronger than the Kong (both are drilled the same in oob).  It picks up sooner and has a much sharper turn in the back.  I don't see it as a control ball with the reaction I get at the backend.  Again, BTM gave the NS2 the smallest backend number (signifying control) but I don't see that.  The NS2 also handles carrydown better than the Kong.  Carrydown stops the Kong in it's tracks!

In one of my leagues (AMF HPL synthetics) the lanes are your THS, with very strong backends.  The Kong is the ball that I use 99% of the time here.  It gets thru the heads clean and gives me a strong arc at the back and has tremendous hit and carry.  The only time it usually labors is when the kids have had the day off from school and the plastic balls have pushed the oil down.  I am having a good year at this house with this ball so far (avg 234) (don't ask me about the house that charlest and I bowl in ).  This week, the oil was heavier than normal but the backends were still clean.  I continually tried to adjust my line, backup a little on the approach and change hand positions but the volume was just too much for the Kong.  I was in the pocket but my carry percentage was low.  I shoot a clean 203.  I switch to the NS2 the next game and this ball picks up its roll sooner so it handled the extra volume much better and it turned much harder at the back.  This resulted in a 277.

I am very pleased with the Legends/LaneMasters line.  They don't seem to have overlap (I haven't tried the Masterpiece yet) and they carry great.  Hope this helped....JS

Damn, John (JS), now I have to go get yet another darned Legends balls??? The NS2, of course.

By the way, I was higher than JS in that in that unmentionable house, until he shot that 277. WOnder what I'd do at Midstate where he uses the Kong. I tried the Kong 2 weeks ago in a 2nd shift at the unmentionable and shot 668; considering I had never used it before, that wasn't too shabby. Last week, we had oil and the Kong & the resin pearl Track Solution PPEx were the strongest "oilers" (of course, neither are oilers) I had brought. I floundered until the shot came to me in the 2nd and 3rd game: 170, 201, 221. 3rd game was with the Track ball (OOps!).

The Kong is, for JS and me, a medium-light oil ball. Odd for a solid particle, but as such it is a great hitting ball as JS indicated.

Now I have see what the NS2 can do. sigh. the wife is gonna kill me; I got 18 balls spread out in front of the cabinet in the basement now, with more in the racks behind them and those are just the drilled ones.

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Bowling: Wish I could help me as much as I seem to help others ...
Life ... is what you make of it. No, really!