Right Handed
Ball weight:  14
Rev Rate:  378
Ball Speed:  18.2
Axis Tilt:  6.67
Axis Rotation:  45*
PAP:  4 1/2 horizontal, 1 5/8 up
Layout:  55 x 4 1/2 x 45

I wanted to try this one because it seems that many bowlers are having much success with older urethanes on shorter patterns.  I haven’t had much success with the Natural series, but I’m pretty sure they just don’t match up with my game.

The layout on this ball has proven to be quite good for me with the Byte and Reign of Power, so I’ll say that I played this one safe so I didn’t end up with an anchor.

I’ve used this one on a few different patterns and have seen some very good reactions.

On a flat, 43 foot house pattern (their open play pattern), it rolls so early, you can’t play the gutter.  The cover just won’t let you play the light volume of this pattern.  I end up having to play a bit of bounce off of 8-10.  It’s a great look for about a game and a half.  After that, the lane opens up and I have to start chasing the shot inside. 

On Sydney, during a night of pot bowling, it was again, too early outside.  I was able to play about 7-8 up the boards, but it broke down quickly.  I really liked the look on fresh, but as the oil moved down lane, I lost the look completely and had to pull out a low-flare Asylum. 

On PBA Regional Chameleon (43’), old wood, I had a decent look during the practice session, playing tight 12-13, right at the hole.  It was quite speed sensitive, as you would expect with urethane on that kind of oil.  During the 8 games of qualifying, I pulled it out around game 5.  I had no look or luck with anything else, so I figured this may be my opportunity to utilize urethane control.  Because the look was 3,4,5 due to the track hooking quite early, I tried the outside 5 and rolled a couple of pretty good shots, but at that moment, I just didn’t have the accuracy needed to play that shot.  I had about two boards of bump right when I set it down around 8, hitting 5 at the arrows, but my tendency to pull the ball just wouldn’t let me utilized that shot.   Just FYI, Kameron Doyle won this tournament using the Pitch Black.

Overall, I really like the roll of the Pitch Black.  With this layout, my Byte and RoP get about 5-7” of flare.  On the Pitch Black, it’s about 1”, which is refreshing.  This is reminiscent of the older urethanes that I used way back in the day.  I can’t say it’s a ball that will travel to every tournament with me, but it will make all of the short and low volume patterns, just because it could be a good security blanket.  I have not altered the surface yet and it is holding the box finish quite well.  It’s very smooth and controllable, which is what urethane should be.  This is the ball I will be using to work on my accuracy.  I do not get away with a bad shot with this ball.  For me, the worst case scenario with the Pitch Black is that I have a ball to practice with without beating up my tournament arsenal and I know it will help my accuracy and possibly speed control.

I would suggest this ball for anyone who doesn’t remember or never had the opportunity to roll the old urethanes.  It could be a great tournament ball as long as the bowler is aware that you are not going to open up a lane with this piece.  If you understand the limitations of urethane, it is a must have.

LANE CONDITION

Length: 35ft

Volume: Medium

Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc): Kegel Boardwalk


COMMENTS

I’m proud to review the new best urethane ball to the bowling ball market by Storm, “Pitch Black.” This ball is the real thing. It is not like the newer hooking urethanes. It’s much much similar to the old school urethanes which i loved and like. It’s in the same comparable category as the original Roto Grip Grenade.

The Pitch Black utilizes their new urethane formulated coverstock, Controll Solid Urethane. The inner core which powers this ball is Capacitor Core. Out of box this ball comes at 1000 grit abralon finish. Unlike most of the newer urethanes, this ball retains that same finishing surface for a very long time much like older urethanes.Capacitor Core_NEW_3

We threw this ball on the Kegel 35ft pattern, Boardwalk. I was able to play farther right which is exactly where I wanted to be. I compared it the Super Natural and the Pitch Black allowed me to stay further right and up the boards instead of swinging to the gutter which I had to do with the Super Natural. This ball is $$$$$ on shorter sport shots and low volume house shots. I could also see this ball coming into play on very very burnt lane conditions or houses with very high friction.

Based on performance in the category of urethane balls, I’m gonna grade this a Solid “A.” It does everything it was designed to do and has very good pin action at the pocket. Based off the cosmetics of this ball with the all solid black color and the dull finish with bright neon green logos, I will give it a “B.” Some people won’t be to thrilled with the really dull finish, but I personally love it. This ball will give you a great amount of control with a smooth motion towards the pocket with still packing a punch as it crushes the pins!


PICTURES AND/OR VIDEOS

My Initial Pitch Black Layout: 3" x 5 3/8" x 2"

The Storm Pitch Black is the newest urethane ball from Storm. The Pitch Black is in the Thunder line and is intended to be a step up in performance from previous urethane releases which is why it was placed in the Thunder line rather than the Hot line where you'll find the previous urethane releases.

The Pitch Black combines the new Controll solid urethane cover with the new Capacitor core. The cover is finished to a 1000 grit abralon.

Compared to the solide Natural, the RG is higher (2.57 vs. 2.53) and the differential is lower (.022 vs. .040). This combination produces a smaller flare potential and a more controllable ball reaction on the shorter/lighter patterns.

I found the Pitch Black to be a lot of fun to throw. When shooting the ball demo video on Wolf (32') or during my sport league on Boardwalk (35') I never felt like I had to be careful not to overhit the ball or worry about throwing it hard enough. The Pitch Black let me just throw the ball like I was bowling on 40' feet with resin. I guess to put it simply the Pitch Black just let me bowl on those short patterns without having to try to change my game.

Conditions I have used the Pitch Black on: 32' Wolf and 35' Kegel Boardwalk.

Where the Pitch Black fits in my bag: The Pitch Black is a condition specific ball for me. I have not tried it on anything longer than 35' and don't feel I need to based on my game. It is a step down from my Black/Cherry Tropical Breeze for when I need less hook than that provides.

When I use the Pitch Black: Whenever I bowl on a short pattern it will be the first ball out of the bag. If I need more on the fresh I would go to something like that Hy-Road Solid or another smooth rolling/reacting solid.

Overall the Pitch Black is a heck of a lot of a fun to throw, there's no other way to put it. It doesn't quite have the same energy as resin when it hits the pins but the ability to go straighter and stay out of trouble on the shorter patterns makes it worth using without a doubt. Anyone who bowls on sport patterns and will run into short pattern from time to time should seriously consider drilling a Pitch Black.

The Pitch Black is the latest release in the Thunder Line of bowling balls from Storm. It uses a new core called Capacitor and a solid urethane cover called Controll. The Capacitor core offers an Rg of 2.57 and a differential of 0.022 in the 15# ball. The Pitch Black is obviously black in color, and has a sanded 1000 grit abralon finish.
The Pitch Black is a little closer to “old school” urethane balls as it has less flare potential than the Natural series of balls. The Conroll cover seems to be more aggressive than the U2S cover that was on the solid Natural. I drilled my Pitch Black with a 4x4x2.5 layout with a small X hole 2” down from my PAP on my VAL. This is a little bit different than the 4.5x5x2.5 layout I used on the Natural that I will be using as the comparison piece.
The weight block in the Pitch Black seems to retain its motion longer through the lane than what the Natural does, even though the layout would suggest it would read earlier. The cover of the Pitch Black reads friction earlier than the cover on the Natural. The Pitch Black has more continuation through the backend of the lane than the Natural. If there is a small trace of carrydown, the Pitch Black will roll through it easier than what the Natural does. Once the oil pattern gets long, or shows any real amount of carrydown, then it is time to go to a ball with a reactive resin cover. One other note that needs shared, is that the Pitch Black allows me to chase breakdown in a little better than what the Natural did. I can get the 7 pin to still snap out, with moderate moves right, as the outside oil dries up.
The bottom line is, the Pitch Black is the ball to use for slow speed players who want to play closer to the dry part of the lane. The Pitch Black will also help high rev players control the back end of the lane of those short tournament patterns that are becoming all too familiar these days. Low rev, speed dominate bowlers would need a lot of dry boards for this ball to be real useable in most cases.

   PITCH BLACK review by Storm staffer Jeff Richgels
      Drilled July 4, 2014
     
      The PITCH BLACK specs are here:
      http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/pitchblack
 
      The PITCH BLACK video is here:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp1hMZSx9cI
 
      You can see a picture of mine at the end of my blog here:
   http://www.11thframe.com/reviews/47


Non-resin urethane balls should be in every serious bowler’s arsenal for use on extremely short and/or low volume patterns.
 
I started bowling at a high level starting in the late 1970s, years before the first urethanes debuted, so I had years of experience with rubber (LT-48), polyester and urethane.
 
Even after resin debuted more than two decades ago, I still used urethanes like the Ebonite NITRO, Columbia WINE U-DOT and Faball BLUE HAMMER on a regular basis.
 
It wasn’t until I became a Storm staffer and started throwing Storm balls exclusively that I retired my urethanes for good.
 
There were times over the next decade or so that I really wished I could pull my BLUE HAMMER out of the basement, such as when bowling on the PBA Cheetah pattern, as Storm didn’t have a urethane like that.
 
Then Storm came out with the NATURAL urethane ball, which I used almost exclusively in making it to the semifinals of a PBA Regional on Cheetah not long after it came out.

http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/classic/natural?search=&exclusiveClassic=false

The NATURAL’s only issue is it wasn’t quite strong enough to handle any significant volume of oil (for me at least) on even a short pattern. (The PBA Regional where I made it to the semis featured a Cheetah that was hooking quite a bit.)
 
I also got a SUPER NATURAL when it came out, but that urethane with a touch of resin also skidded too much in any significant volume of oil for me.
 
Storm has completely solved that issue with the PITCH BLACK, which provides the best urethane reaction I’ve seen since the glory days of my favorite urethanes two decades and more ago.
 
I make that conclusion after using it on fresh Cheetah-type short patterns, wet/dry house shots and well transitioned PBA patterns.
 
The Controll solid urethane coverstock handles today’s oils up to fairly significant volume IF there is some dry area.
 
It actually gave me a better reaction on the longer wet/dry house pattern and well transitioned PBA pattern than on the shorter pattern – playing the hold came easier for me than playing the hook.
 
The PITCH BLACK rolls strong and will dig out 10s and blow 5s if it’s thrown good. It will hook off the dry and stop when it gets to the oil on a longer pattern – that’s what was missing for me on the short pattern.
 
I used it my final two games of the PBA50 Tour Fort Wayne Classic on the PBA50 Chameleon pattern that had broken down into a fairly wet/dry condition that was providing me lots of 9-counts with about everything I tried from an inside angle.
 
With the PITCH BLACK, I could hit the pocket virtually every shot moving back to playing straight up around 10-board and finished with a pair of games in the 230s, which was as high as I got that tournament.
 
With the basic Capacitor core in the PITCH BLACK I don’t think an exotic drilling will matter much. I have mine with the pin over the ring finger and the CG kicked a tad more right, and I get just a touch of flare. 
 
(I am not providing numbers on my drillings because I just don’t know what to use for my PAP numbers. For years, I used old numbers that I know weren’t accurate and my re-measured numbers came on one of my experimental grips that I gave up on as I returned to my long-time grip. I plan to get re-measured when I get a chance.)
 
The PITCH BLACK works so well in its box finish that I have no desire to alter the 1,000 grit box finish coverstock. I also think shined up it would become too touchy in oil for me. I have seen no evidence of lane shine so far – and I have been using my PITCH BLACK for spares since I got it.
 
Other than those favored urethanes of long ago, I don’t know what to compare the PITCH BLACK to. It’s certainly much stronger than the SUPER NATURAL or NATURAL.
 
I’d recommend it for anyone who struggles with wet/dry conditions and is looking for some control and also for those who compete on short patterns. I’m sure it also would be good playing “defense” on a truly brutal pattern where keeping the ball in play and avoiding designer splits is important.
 
The only caution I would provide is that for me I needed dry boards to provide a good reaction – the couple of times I tried it on a fresh non-house shot with no defined dry area I had trouble finding a consistent reaction.
 

Storm Pitch Black

Layout: 70 X 4 1/8 X 65
Box Finish

Bowler Info:
325 Rev Rate
Speed: 16 - 17 MPH

The Pitch Black uses an enhanced urethane coverstock that allows it to be used on medium or lighter oil lane conditions.  The Capacitor core allows it to still have a good bit of entry angle when used on the right lane conditions, which can sometimes be difficult for urethane bowling balls to achieve.  The Pitch Black, with the dull finish, can be used to go down-and-in on fresh medium oil.  Lower rev players can use it on dry conditions.  And it is a killer to use on Cheetah, or other short oil patterns.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2hvzaZkJMU

Mike LeViner
Bowlers Mart

I set up this Pitch Black with a 30x5x70 layout. Ball really does what I need it to do on some super burn or some short sports patterns leagues. What I really like about this ball is how it rolls where you need it to and still finishes down lane. It starts that roll early in the mid so that it doesn't overpower itself at the end. The out of box surface was just right on this ball, I didn't feel like it needed any extra help from some surface or less surface to push further down. This is the one ball I'll always be able to get to the right with and really trust the ball.