Ball NPS Score: 100.00
Roto Grip Asylum Ball Specs:
- Color: Neon Green Pearl/Blood Red All colors do vary somewhat from the picture shown.
- Reaction: Mid-lane motion and continuation
- Coverstock: 63MH Hybrid Reactive
- Core Type: Middle Roll 70 Core
- Factory Finish: 3000-grit Abralon
- Radius of Gyration (RG): 2.50**
- Differential (Diff): 0.043**
- ** RG and Diff are based off of 15 lb. balls
- Hook Potential: Medium
- Length: Medium
- Recommended Lane Condition: Medium-Heavy Oil

Asylum

The 3rd version of the middle roll 70 core from Roto Grip.  With a 3000 finish hybrid cover stock.  The Disturbed seemed to be the ball of choice for 2013 USBC Nationals.  This one may be the one for 2014.  By far my favorite of the 3. 

I drilled mine with the pin over the ring finger with the CG towards the middle of my grip.  It gives me great control of the middle part of the lane with predictability down lane.  Once you get lined up the strikes start coming in bunches. 

Kelly O’Driscoll
Roto Grip Staff

LANE CONDITION

Length: Various

Volume: Various

Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc): Various



The Roto Grip Asylum is the third installment to the HP3 line and fits in between the Disturb and the Deranged.  The Hybrid coverstock (63MH) provides enough traction in the oil and enough finish in the dry. The Layout that I used for the Asylum is 75 X 5 ½ X 45 or Pin above the fingers with a small weight hole.  This layout is one of my favorites and has been a main stay in my arsenal.  My coordinates are 5 5/8 over and ¾ up, Ball Speed around 15mph, Rev Rate around 300 and I am right handed. In the next couple of paragraphs I will be comparing the Asylum to the Deranged and the Disturb..

The Asylum out of the box is way too aggressive for any short house pattern (32 feet light oil) but I gave it a whirl and was able to own the pocket! I am naturally a straighter player but with the Asylum I had to move my feet left and project the Asylum to the right. The continuous motion of the Asylum was very readable and strong enough to get through the pocket.  However, the extreme angles that I had to play did not leave me any room for error. The drier condition was right in the Deranged wheel house and the length and backend motion was just right. I did polish up the Asylum and I was able to move right with my feet and had a decent look but the Asylum was stronger throughout the lane.

The last pattern that I bowled on was a beat up scorpion condition (47 feet heavy oil). I compared the Asylum to the Disturb and within a couple of shots I realized that the Asylum has a lot more backend than the Disturb. The Disturb for me has a smooth and continuous ball motion and when I have to go around the condition is does not do so well. The Asylum is also continuous but has a more aggressive backend motion and going around the pattern is pretty easy. Actually I think if the pattern was fresh, the Disturb would be the ball to start with and then transfer to the Asylum.  Really good one two punch!

The Asylum is a good fit in the HP3 line. With a couple of surface changes the Asylum is a very versatile bowling ball!


Likes: The Aggressiveness

Dislikes: The Aggressiveness


PICTURES AND/OR VIDEOS

A hybrid between the Disturbed and Deranged?!?! Umm.. hell yes! The Asylum is a perfect fit between those two balls.  I did feel like there was a bit of a gap and the Asylum fills it perfectly.  For me, the Deranged was very clean and pretty sensitive to friction, where the Disturbed was pretty strong for a symmetrical ball.  The Asylum is definitely a step down from the Disturbed in length and motion.  I can easily see lots of players using the Asylum when the lanes transition and the stronger balls start to burn up.  It provides a good amount of length, not as much as an Up Roar or Shatter and just as much pop down lane as a Disturbed. 

The one I drilled is 5 ½ x 4 ¾ with no hole and I took the surface up to 4000.  I’m not able to use it a lot on fresh patterns, but when the lanes start to transition, it’s a great piece to go to.  I can definitely see using this ball on several types of conditions.  This ball also takes surface very well.  For a mid-performance ball, the Asylum isn’t too strong for the price point and will provide you a step-down benchmark ball.  To sum it up, if you feel like you are missing a gap after your Disturbed, Marvel-S, Wrecker, Defiant Soul, or Byte, this ball will provide a smoother, cleaner motion with a very predictable motion down lane. 

Go drill one! #RotoGrip #OwnIt

Roto Grip Asylum
Right Handed
Experience   Advanced (I have bowled in a league and hold a PBA Card)
League Average   220
Ball Speed   Medium 15-16mph
Style          Cranker
PAP          5 over 1/4" up
 
 


PSA Layout - 4" x 4" x 2"
Balance Hole - yes

Surface Preparation - Out of Box (300 Grit Abralon pad)

What I Was Looking For from this ball:    I wanted the Asylum to be a benchmark ball for me and to be very strong through the midlane and continue all the way to the backend.  I wanted the hybrid coverstock and weight block combination to give me just that.     

What I Ended Up With in the Ball and Layout:     I ended up with a hook monster for me.  I literally went to the pro shop and polished this bad boy before I continued testing it out.  For me its mean and I mean very aggressive on the backend.     

I tested this ball on a fresh pattern at my local center. The centers lanes are wood and the house shot isnt easy.  The shot tends to hook early in the middle of the lanes and hang right if you get the ball too far out.  Over the course of 5 games, I started at my normal area which is around 15 and threw out to 8.  Well, this ball was a bit too much for this line and I had to throw lots harder than normal to play it.  However, When I kept my speed up, it hit like a Mack Truck.  Over the next 5 games I moved left and deeper on the lane.  With our shot tending to hook more when you got deep, I was very impressed by how this ball held its line with a good continuous motion throughout the front part of the lane and came back off my breakpoint with authority!  For the rest of my practice session with this ball, I moved back right and started sending the Asylum out further to the right than I normally play flirting with our out of bounds area.  I quickly found out that I dont have much of an out of bounds with this ball.  I am very impressed!   

Overall:     Once again a fantastic Roto Grip ball!  VERY strong!  I will definately make sure to have this ball with me wherever I go and start out with it.  One of the hardest hitting balls I have thrown in a while and a great looking ball.  I will have to keep mine polished, but thats because of my slower speed.  Most players can probably throw it OTB.  Anyone looking for an aggressive ball with a great look, buy this!  Roto Grip hit it out of the park with this one.     

Sean Baker
Storm/Roto Grip Staff
Paducah, Ky 42003

Right Handed
Ball weight:  14
Rev Rate:  378
Ball Speed:  18.2
Axis Tilt:  6.67
Axis Rotation:  45*
PAP:  4 1/2 horizontal, 1 5/8 up
Layout: 60 x 6 x 80

This isn’t going to be a traditional review.  This ball was drilled for burned and beat up conditions, specifically sport patterns where something like a fall-back shot is required.  I got this ball and have plenty of balls that cover boards in a variety of shapes, but I’ve been lacking something for burn.  Since this is where I get demolished in tournaments, it was time to figure something out.

This Asylum is drilled to flare about ½” and just roll.  The only reading it does is due to surface.  I haven’t altered the surface yet, but that may be coming soon.  When the lanes are really eat up and everything is hooking tons, this one will roll relatively straight and go exactly where you roll it.

Mind you this is because of the layout and not the core/cover.  I’ve seen plenty of guys use this one with much success covering boards, so the ball isn’t weak and it will do whatever you need from it.  My layout is a good example of this.  A ball that seems to be as aggressive as the Asylum was really tamed down, and seemingly weak, but one thing that wasn’t lost is the hitting power.  Even though it has no flare and just rolls, when it gets to the pocket, it hits like it just angled off of the pattern. 

In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be testing this one out on some sport patterns that should get burned up pretty bad.  I’ll post an update when I have a bit more information.

I tested the Asylum on my 39-foot house shot as well as tournament conditions.  I was able to use this ball equally as well under both conditions.  The 3000 the box finish matched up perfectly for these conditions.

My Asylum is drilled with the pin below the fingers with the CG kicked out toward the PAP.  This ball was clean through the front end and produced about 4-6 inches of flare.  The ball rolled strong off my hand and in the mid-lane the ball revved up nicely and made a solid, strong move to the pocket. 
This ball was devastating as it continued to drive through the pin deck (what I have come to expect from Roto Grip).

The Asylum has a very predictable reaction, and with the 2.50 RG and .043 differential makes it a great addition for the lower rev medium speed league player.

As the lanes transition, I could simply move left, play a little deeper and continue to use this ball.  I found this ball to be a couple boards stronger than the Berserk.  The hybrid cover of the Asylum allows the ball to read the fresh oil nicely and make a nice predictable move off the dry area.

What I enjoyed the most about this ball is the predictability of the cover. It produced a nice steady hook to the pocket.  I was getting 4-6 inches of flair and bouncing the ball off the dry all night.

The Asylum is a great ball for the league or tournament.  This ball will make a nice addition to anyone’s arsenal.