Drilled my Flame, Axis Leverage with my Pin about 2 inches away from PAP, cg on PAP. Extra on PAP as well. Basically this ball worked well straighter down the lane, as it was very predictable and hit like a truck. I am waiting to try it out on the extreme wet/dry I bowl on during my monday league. I would like to see if it works better than my Lightning Flash (on the wet/dry).

Otherwise this seems like a ball for dry lanes, since it doesn't flare much at all, but the hit is better than an Attack Zone /R or /MR.

A 3piece reactive BOMB. I drilled mine stacked 3x3 to get a lil pop on the backened. For me outta the box on freshly oiled lanes saw this ball go dead left when it came off the oil.. I took it to 400 grit and back up to 1200 to get out some of the ultra-flecks and polished it w/ 1200 polish. Now I have tremendous length, unbelievable backend, but it's a nonstop drive. This ball to me actually drives harder than any of the Blue Hots or Hot Shots. A great dry-med ball.

I bought this ball a couple of weeks ago.I thought that it would be a great ball for dry wooden lanes,wrong. It comes in with anice smooth arc, but it hits like a marshmellow. I leave lots of corner pins and pocket splits. Great spare ball for the price.                GET OUT OF YOUR CHAIR AND GO BOWLING!

An update to my last review on this ball. This thing is, in my opinion, the best ball value on the market. Can be bought for 50-60.00 on the web, and I fid myself pulling this one out more and more because it is so dependable. Skip the thought, just go buy it. Need a little more hook, scratch pad it. Less, use a little control it. Just awesome!

I got two e-mails today asking about this ball, so here goes....

I drilled my Flame with the pin under my ring finger, and the cg directly below.  The pin is out about 2 inches from the cg.  This ball had 3.5 top weight before drilling.

This layout comes close to being a 4 1/2 X 4 1/2 for me.  With the big top weight, and the overall weakness of this ball, it is a DART.  It hooks about a board or two less than my Too Hot #1.  (See Too Hot Review)  The motion is different than the Too Hot though.  The shape of the hook is smoother with the Flame, snappier motion with the Too Hot.

You better have some dry to work with.  On most any kind of oil pattern this ball will be used for spares.  But for kids, Seniors, dry lanes, and possibly some entry level resin buyers, this ball is nice.  Good control, not much track flare if any at all.  Pretty much the drier the lanes are, the better off you will be, as this ball doesn't hit very well, especially compared to all the monster mashers on the market today.  Sometimes, 9 is better than Big Four!

Hope this helps ya.....
--------------------
Mike Austin
Mike Austin's Precision Pro Shop
Houston, TX
strikes4days@aol.com

Please note this review is for the NEW Flame Reactive Solid coverstock ball.  The original Flame is a pearl.

I drilled my first one for Johnathan Wiley, probably the best player in the Houston area.  (Man, can he throw it, he gets crowds just to watch him practice)

Nothing really special about the drilling.  Pin under the ring finger.  Used a pin out about 2 inches ball with about 3 1/2 top before drilling. Drilled over the lable, no X hole.  John had the original Flame with him, the lanes were hooking, so I thought this would be an excellent comparison.

I shined the solid Flame with Ebonite Extender Polish right on the box surface, nothing else.  The ball had about 3-5 feet less length than the Orange Flame. The breakpoint was not nearly as sharp, and the overall hook was about 1-2 boards more with his feet, same target.

What was significant was the hitting power and the reaction when a little oil carried down the lane.  1)  The hitting power was noticably better with the Solid Flame over the Pearl.  Hit like it weighed 20 lbs.  2)  You could square up/change lines with the solid and work around carry down.  With the pearl, the ball was just skittish (for lack of a better word).  You could not really tell with confidence what the pearl Flame was going to do when it left John's hand.  The carry down seemed to help with the solid Flame, letting John create some angle to the pocket with the lane instead of with his hand. The ball seemed to run over the 8 pin no matter what though.

Overall, very impressive ball.  Great for kids, Seniors, dry lanes, but may be a little weak for an entry level ball.  The solid shell is a nice improvement over the Pearl.

Hope this helps ya.....
--------------------
Mike Austin
Mike Austin's Precision Pro Shop
Houston, TX
strikes4days@aol.com

I drilled one of these for drier conditions.  The Flame, with its 'weak' coverstock and simple core design are supposed to create maximum length and decent backend pop.

I drilled my 15.4 pound flame (pin out 1.5", 3.25 oz. top) with a 4 x 4 pattern to produce the best backend reaction possible.  I wanted it so I could use it on dry, but still give it enough power to carry something.

I must say that I am very impressed by this 3-piece ball.  I can use it when they're torched, and play my normal line.  It gives me the same look as my heat 2 does on a fresh shot.  Good length, and excellent backend.  And, it carries EXTREMELY well for a 3-piece.  I can also shimmy way over to the twig (an unfamiliar place for this strong-handed righty), and actually play down and in on a house shot (oily 7 to 7, dry outside, semi-clean backends), without having to take my wrist out of it.  So, it also adds another good angle to my game.

I have only gone to Storm for my dry lane equipment, but this ball has the Tour Power looking better and better every day.  Solid 8 out of 10, good for dry and good carry for 3 piece, loses points in overall versatility.