Ball NPS Score: 100.00
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Features:

- Color: Cobalt Blue (colors may vary from the picture shown)
- Core: Late Roll 69 (14-16#)
- Coverstock: 60M Pearl Reactive
- Finish: 1500-grit Polish
- RG: 2.58 (for 15# ball)
- Diff: 0.049 (for 15# ball)
- Recommended Lane Condition: Medium Oil

Lane Conditions: Medium Oil
Typical Conditions: Variety of Shots
Type of Lane: All Synthetic
What part of the lane did you play? Second Arrow
Weight of bowling ball: 15
Surface of bowling ball: Factory/Box
What grit was the surface of the ball? 1500
Likes: - Smooth and continuous - Clean through the fronts - Easy to read ball motion - Doesn't overreact to friction
Dislikes:

The Roto-Grip Unhinged is the newest release from the brand in the HP3 line and is the pearl compliment to the Hysteria. This ball is a definite go to as the lanes begin to dry up in the fronts because it easily creates length and gets through even the most burnt up heads.

I drilled my Unhinged with a 60x4.25x30 layout to compliment the coverstock and core combination and play off that long and strong reaction. I personally feel this ball is similar in overall motion to the Nomad Line that Roto-Grip found a lot of success with.

I absolutely think this ball will match up to a good majority of bowlers out there and I would find it hard to believe anyone would be disappointed to have one in their bag, I sure wasn't!

Weight:  14 lbs.
Pin Length:  2.5-3 ”
Drilling:  35 X 4 1/2 X 40
Pattern Length:  39 ft. & 40 ft.
Pattern Volume:  Medium and Light
Pattern Type:  THS
Right Handed

The UNHINGED has the Late Roll 69 Core from the popular HP3 line, and the 60 M pearl reactive cover stock.  The box finish is 1500 grit polished, but as always, can be changed to suit a variety of lane conditions.

I have used the UNHINGED on a 39 ft. light volume house pattern, and a 40 ft. medium volume house pattern.

For the 39 ft. THS, I consider the UNHINGED to be my new benchmark ball.   At box finish, it gets through the heads with ease, and has a very strong backend motion, continuing through the pins.  As the pattern broke down, I was able to make a move in and swing this ball, still with great recovery. 

On the medium volume 40 ft. pattern, the UNHINGED is still plenty of ball, as it is very aggressive coming off the pattern.  I had no trouble carrying the corners.

If you are looking for a longer and stronger motion than the HYSTERIA, the UNHINGED should fill that spot in your arsenal.  #OWNIT

Carol Teel
Roto Grip Amateur Staff Member

LANE CONDITION

Length: Various lengths

Volume: Various Volumes

Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc): Various patterns


The RotoGrip Unhinged was the January Release in the HP3 line.  The Unhinged has the Late Roll 69 weight block surrounded by a Pearl Coverstock.  The Unhinged is the pearl version of the Hysteria.  The Unhinged provides generous length with a predictable almost smooth backend motion.  The layout I choose was pin in the center of the grip with the cg kicked out with a weight hole 3 3/8 from my axis on my VAL in the thumb quadrate.  This layout is sometimes called Rico.  The layout emphasized the smoothness and predictability of the Unhinged.  My coordinates are 5 5/8 over and ¾ up on the PAP, Ball Speed around 15mph, Rev Rate around 300, I like to throw it straighter than most and I am right-handed.

The patterns I threw the Unhinged on were a fresh house pattern, broken down House Pattern and some medium sport shot patterns.  The word that describes the Unhinged is predictability.  I compared the Unhinged to the Hysteria and the Hyper Cell Skid.  On the fresh whether it was a house pattern or sport shot the Unhinged blended the over under out.  Whereas the Hysteria and Hyper Cell Skid were just too aggressive when they hit the friction either down the lane or to the right.  The issue with a smooth rolling ball is that when you have to move left and get through the carry down the Unhinged might not be able to go through the pins well.  Then maybe go to a bigger ball like the Hyper Cell Skid or a more skid flip ball like the Hysteria to go around and through the carry down.  The Unhinged is becoming my benchmark ball very quickly because of its predictability and the readability of the ball motion.  Unhinged will be in my bag!



Likes: Predictability

Dislikes:


PICTURES AND/OR VIDEOS

The Roto Grip Unhinged is the pearl version of the Hysteria. It uses the same late roll 69 core that has an Rg of 2.58, and a differential of 0.049. The cover is a pearl reactive called 60M and is finished to 1500 grit polished. The cobalt blue pearl color makes for a very attractive ball. I drilled my Unhinged 5.25x5x2.25. This layout puts the pin about ¾” above my ring finger, and the cg in my palm, with no extra hole needed.
The Unhinged gives me great length with a smooth roll off the dry. This ball doesn’t overreact to the dry boards, even though it is a polished pearl. The Unhinged is a solid 3 and 2 move left with my feet compared to the Hysteria. The Unhinged gets down the lane like my old trusty faithful Victory Road Pearl, but has a smoother change of direction. I have been able to use the Unhinged on a few different house shots, all being of the medium length and medium to lighter volumes of oil. Higher volumes of oil would call for some surface adjustments, as the cover and core really has some built in length. The Unhinged will round out an arsenal for a bowler that really wants some length out of the ball, without having to over muscle the ball down the lane.

 The Rg of a bowling ball tends to be very important for me and my style of play because I have a softer ball speed and release. Based on this, I can get high Rg, high differential bowling balls down the lane further and better than low differential, medium to low Rg bowling balls. A ball like the UpRoar or Punch Out, although technically weaker cores, hook earlier and more for me than a higher Rg ball like the Unhinged. It is very important to know your individual game, when it comes to making a ball selection, and trying to fill out your arsenal. Knowing that you are speed dominant or rev dominate, or matched will help give reason to why your Unhinged is hooking less than another ball that it is supposed to be hooking more than, or vice versa. Thank you for taking the time to read my review of the Roto Grip Unhinged.

Right Handed
Ball weight:  15
Rev Rate:  378
Ball Speed:  18.2
Axis Tilt:  in flux
Axis Rotation:  in flux
PAP:  3 9/16 horizontal, 1 3/8 up
Layout:  45 x 5 x 30

After having success with the Hysteria, I originally considered using this as a ball down; however, after doing some research, I had found that the Unhinged may be too angular to be comparable to the Hysteria.

I decided I wanted it for when the middle of the pattern blows out.  I want to be able to jump left and just send it right and have it jump back.  Because it is so condition specific, I haven’t had too many opportunities to try it out.

One chance came in a tournament using a THS.  The middle had started hooking and I wanted to find a way to get to the breakpoint.  The Unhinged would get there and make a move.  The only issue I had was mechanical.  I had some problems trying to get the ball to the spot, so my reaction was not good.  When I did get it to the spot, it made a defined move and hit really well.  I liked the movement, but I was so inconsistent, I could not take advantage of its use.

The next best opportunity came on a short sport pattern after about 22 baker team games.  This time, I was able to use it as a ball down from the Hysteria (which now has some surface), and it rolled great.  I was not crossing a lot of boards laterally, but trying to allow the ball to just roll to the end of the pattern and make a move.  When it was on target, it looked great.   When I pulled it, it was just too much (as it should be on 36ft.).  I really only rolled it about 6 times, so I didn’t have a real chance to move around with it.

So far, I think it will be good, but I have to get more games on the right conditions.  Just going to have to be patient while waiting to use it.

BALL SPECS

Pin Length: 3"

Starting Top Weight: 2.5oz

Ball Weight: 15lbs


DRILL PATTERN

Pin to PAP: 3.5"

PSA to PAP: 5.25"

X Hole (if there is one): 3/4" hole 2" deep 3" below midline on VAL


BOWLER STYLE

Rev Rate: 430rpm

Ball Speed: 17mph

PAP/Track: 4 3/4" x 1" up


SURFACE PREP

Grit: Box Finish

Type: (Matte, Polish, Sanded): 1500 Grit Polish


LANE CONDITION

Length: 38ft

Volume: Medium/Heavy

Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc): THS


COMMENTS

Likes: Drilled up my Unhinged to be a solid benchmark pearl to throw on a variety of patterns. 3.5" Pin to PAP x 5.25" PSA to PAP x 3" Buffer. This is a layout that I like to use a lot simply because of the high friction surface that we have here. The back ends are squeaky clean and everything just flies off the spot, so often times I try to tame the cores a bit to gain a little predictability downlane. With that being said, this ball is by no means tame! Very very clean through the fronts but really reads the mids better than most pearls. This is especially true with the 3.5" Pin to PAP measurement. The motion that the ball makes at the end of the pattern is not sideways but reminds me of the motion that the original Storm Reign had. Strong and very continuous with a quicker change of direction. The ball retains energy phenomenally. As the pattern breaks down I'm able to move my angles in and really bank this ball off the spot downlane. It has enough power to open up the lane with a little friction for anyone who has a rev rate over 325-350rpm and appropriate speed. All in all, it's an excellent benchmark ball that provides a consistent and thorough read of the pattern with enough pop downlane to be versatile and dangerous! For those starting the night with a stronger solid or hybrid (aka. Crux, Hyper Cell, IQ Tour Nano), this ball will be a wise step down when those covers start to tear up the lanes or use up too much energy.

Dislikes: NONE! Great piece!