CRUX review by Storm staffer Jeff Richgels
Drilled September 12, 2014
The CRUX specs are here:
http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/crux The CRUX video is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9QSgVyO-N4 You can see a picture of it at the end of my blog here:
http://www.11thframe.com/reviews/52 The CRUX was supposed to be a ball that I would have one of the very first reviews out on, in a collaborative effort with my doubles partner Steve Richter of Elite Pro Shop in Sheboygan Falls.
I got it in a rush delivery from Storm in early September, a couple of weeks after I injured my sliding leg glute muscle on Aug. 23 at a PBA Regional.
Unfortunately for me, it would be until Oct. 23 that I was able to resume bowling and it’s only now in mid-November that I am getting close to 100 percent (by my diminished Raisin standards).
But it hasn’t taken me long to realize that all I had heard about the CRUX in the meantime was true.
The CRUX has the ERG hybrid coverstock over the brand new Catalyst core.
Storm describes the catalyst as a “dynamic asymmetrical design (that) will help you create more angle through the pocket.â€
I drilled my CRUX basically the same as my Roto Grip HYPER CELL that I like a lot, with the pin well above the fingers and about a 75-degree drilling angle so the mass bias ends up a little bit to the right of my thumb. I didn’t need a weight hole because my CG was left of the line between pin and mass bias.
(I don’t have any numerical numbers for my grip because I still haven’t re-done my PAP, and won’t until I feel like I am 100 percent, which hopefully will be in the next couple of weeks.)
I left my CRUX in the 3,000-grit box finish and first used it in our Ten Pin Alley Bullseye Masters League on the 45-foot Kegel Route 66 Challenge pattern. While it’s a long pattern, Route 66 has a moderate 23.68 mL of oil, and that was not enough for me with the CRUX with my slow ball speed and medium revs as I was first coming back from my injury.
I tried my Roto Grip SINISTER as a comparison and the CRUX was at least 3 and maybe as many as 5 boards stronger, and it was earlier AND more continuous.
“Yikes when will I ever use this ball!?†was my main thought.
During that league session, I went down and asked Derek Eoff, the best bowler in our area by far and a major speed and power player who also is a Storm staffer, and he said he also had trouble using the CRUX due to its strength.
I tried it on a medium volume house shot in our Senior City Tournament and it was comical how far left I had to get on the fresh just to keep it right of the headpin.
The most notable thing I noticed is that it wasn’t rolling out, which is what I had heard from others.
Knowing I would get little use out of my CRUX without changing it, I called Richter and he recommended roughing it with a 1,000-grit pad and then shining over that roughness.
This method provides some underlying “teeth†so even shiny a ball won’t squirt in oil, with the shine still getting it down the lane and delaying hook.
This worked perfectly for me, as I used my CRUX this way in our Senior City Tournament on the same house shot that I could barely stay on the right side of the head-pin on the weekend before.
This time I pulled it out after 8 clean frames without a double with other balls, moved a little left, swung it a little right and struck my way to a 711.
So long as I threw it decently, it skidded to the breakpoint easily when I missed a little in or short and recovered strongly when I got it right without jumping high. And it never really rolled out and quit on me.
Keep in mind, this was on a house shot.
But I have talked to other people who have used the CRUX and many said they had shined theirs and got great results.
I don’t have much use of the CRUX on Sport/challenge shots, but will update this review at my blog after I do. This review is so late due to y injury that I want to get it posted.
There are plenty of big hooking balls on the market from Storm, Roto and every other company. But I have never thrown a strong asymmetrical that is as angular and continuous as the CRUX – even when it was dull.
I really don’t know what to compare it to.
So the advice I can give is pretty clear: If you want a very strong ball with angularity and continuous motion, the CRUX is for you. I think most people would fall in that category.
However, if you are someone with more revs than balls speed, or you only bowl in a center with not much oil, I would advise you to stay away from the CRUX. Storm and Roto have plenty of great balls for those sorts of conditions!
