I realize this is an older ball, but just want to throw my review in since it’s one of my favorite pearls of all time! I still see a ton of pros throwing it to this day in huge money situations. It’s quite disappointing that Rotogrip decided to discontinue the UC2 as it’s one of the best flip boom asymm pearls in the Storm Universe. Being a huge mark, I originally bought mine after watching Shannon O’Keefe win a PWBA event with it and being really impressed with the ball motion. I also notice Kyle Troup seems to use it a lot as well.
Pros
- Long, straight, flip, boom! That is the UC2. This asymm pearl is an extremely usable angular hockey stick shape that will skid straight and clean through the front and mids. Then take a very hard sharp turn at the end of the pattern in it’s roll phase. In my mind, the UC2 is one of the most stereotypical asymm pearl flip boom shapes I’ve seen.
- The UC2 can read and react for several games before pooping out like other pearls. One of the most consistent pearls I’ve thrown.
- With how aggressive this ball flips, the core winds it up very nicely as it explodes through the pins. When the UC2 is working, it’s a wonderful experience as it will smash through the pocket beautifully leading to huge scores. It’s a really neat motion as the ball stores it’s energy beautifully for the backend roll phase.
- One of my biggest pet peeves is when a ball just poops out and gives you nothing on the backend at higher speeds. One of the things I like the most about the UC2 is it will always try to drive and give you something. Even on the wrong conditions or throwing it like a gorilla, this ball will still try to shape and give you something on the backend.
- Very customizable and will keep up with you whether you want to throw it fast or slow. Hitting this ball with Reacta Shine, it explodes off the breakpoint like a screaming Randy Johnson slider. I was shocked actually how aggressive you could make this ball by playing with the surface. I love booming the ball Eugene McCune style up the gutter and the UC2 is one of the best pearls I’ve experienced for doing that. But this ball is also very controllable, if you want to crank slower curve balls south of 20 and have a nice flip boom hockey stick motion into the pocket.
- I’ve put maybe 100-150 games on my UC2. I absolutely love it. Has held up excellently, still a regular pick for my bag when I’m looking for a flip boom motion or nice controllable kind of medium-higher pearl asymm.
Cons
- This is probably going to sound silly but I really think one of the reasons this ball didn’t become bigger is the single dark purple color with the pink lettering. I think if this ball aesthetic was cooler looking, it would have been much more popular and probably still in production today. The UC2 is probably the best undercover ball I’ve experienced. One of the best performing balls that pros love yet gets no hype because it’s so generic looking with pink lettering.
In conclusion, this is definitely one of my favorite pearls of all time that I still use regularly. In some houses, it’s a little too niche. But in other houses, it’s a God ball, especially if you like stroking at higher speeds. While I lean towards the Altered or the Katana Assault for first pearl out of the bag because those balls are a little more aggressive, I still love my UC2 as that number two pearl and a different look when other things aren’t working. I actually have some anxiety about Rotogrip discontinuing this ball as I’m not sure there’s another ball like this currently in the Storm Universe.
