The Critical is the first asymmetrical ball released in the HP3 line of Roto Grip bowling balls. The Critical is advertised with a 67MH cover, that has a finish of 3000 abralon and is purple green and grey in color. This hybrid cover is two parts pearl, and one part solid. The Critical uses the same Triliptic Core that was in the Theory line of balls a few years back. The Critical has an Rg of 2.49, a differential of 0.058 and an intermediate differential of 0.013 in 15 lb balls.
I used a very aggressive layout on my Critical of 3 ⅝ x 6 x 2 ½. I went with this layout to give me a ball that blends those over walled league conditions. The Critical didn’t disappoint. In fact, I was able to shoot 300 with my Critical and average 255 in a tournament, that was bowled on the style of lane conditions that I drilled the Critical for. The early even ball motion doesn’t over-react on push shots that get to the dry too quickly, and doesn’t under-react on pull shots that stay in the puddle of oil on over walled house conditions. I took the box finish of 3000 down a bit with Storm step #1, as I didn’t want the ball to cover too many boards. The Critical gives me a completely different reaction than anything else I have in the bag. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that surface texture is more important to overall board coverage than what layout option is. Layout options, give the bowlers the chance to create a desired shape to the overall board coverage that the cover texture is finished to. The only down side to a layout like I used on my Critical, is it makes the ball very specific, which is what I wanted anyway. When my Critical becomes too much, I can step down to my Asylum for a 1-2 punch.
The Critical gives bowlers a chance to drill an asymmetrical ball, at the HP3 line of products price point. The cover is very adjustable, and can be changed to meet the bowlers need of traction and friction based on conditions. If you had any of the previously released Theroy line of balls, then the Critical is a chance for you to bring back a blast from the past.