Orientation:  Right Handed
Rev Rate:  375 RPM
Speed:  16-17 MPH
PAP:  4 5/8 straight across

Location:  Enterprise Park Lanes, Springfield MO
Pattern:  High Volume THS
Layout:  45, 3 7/8, 40 p1 hole

The Pitch Blue is the sequel to the hugely successful Pitch Black.  It doesn’t disappoint, evidenced by the moment you pull it out of the box.  The blue coverstock looks incredible.  I love the ball reaction too.  It’s definitely a urethane motion similar to the Pitch Black.  The Pitch Blue, despite coming sanded, is a pearl coverstock.  It definitely is a little cleaner in the front part of the lane and creates a little more tip downlane than the Pitch Black.  The Pitch Blue is the perfect urethane for those who needed a little more help getting the Pitch Black to work for them. 

Lane Conditions: Dry
Typical Conditions: House Shot
Type of Lane: All Synthetic
What part of the lane did you play? Second Arrow
Did the ball track out? Normal
Weight of bowling ball: 16
Surface of bowling ball: Factory/Box
What grit was the surface of the ball? 2000
Likes:
Dislikes:

 I recently drilled a Pitch Blue Layout was 4x3 off of my pap and a one inch hole 4 inches over on my mid line. This ball looks great on dryer lanes or on shorter sport patterns. Very clean in the front part of the lane and gives you room off the spot down lane.

 I compared it to my Joyride which was much sharper and pushed me deeper on the lane. My Joyride is a 3x2 1/2 off my pap and was box finish. If your looking for a different type ball reaction the Pitch Blue is a great choice. It a great ball for your high school or college bowler looking to help improve there.

Storm Pitch Blue
Layout: label
Coverstock: 2000ab
Tested on Older HPL on Boardwalk and Easy Street using KEGEL Flex with Fire and Ice oil
Found the Pitch Blue for forgiving than the Pitch Black when it came to coming off of the pattern, my Black made a move instantly off of the oil and the Blue gave me a little shape and consistency off of the pattern, was able to create a little better angle into the pocket resulting in less corner pins. Once the conditioner got used done and near the breakpoint, the Black could not recover, and the Blue did. When using it on Easy Street, I was able to play off of 1-3 boards and get away from the heavy part of the oil pattern and also stayed away from the other lefties that were using stronger stuff and trying to play the track area, and they were getting over/under, and the good thing I wasn’t. Outscored the other lefties by 18-26 pins each game. Glad I had the “Blue: with me. I have used it in league a few times to play straight up when there are other lefties trying to hook all the boards. I get away from what they are creating with using the Pitch Blue and my Loco Solid. If you are looking for a weaker piece from the Locos and similar developed balls, then the Pitch Blue is for you.

Pitch Blue Ball Review by PJ Haggerty

The Pitch Blue is the latest urethane release by Storm Products.  After the Pitch Black, which is a very popular choice by many tour and regional players, the new Pitch Blue is a similar, but different idea.  The biggest difference with the Pitch Blue is the coverstock.  With a pearl additive in the coverstock of the Pitch Blue, this creates more length through the front of the lane, and creates a faster response time down lane.

Some bowlers noticed the Pitch Black might have been too strong and too early rolling in the front part of the lane.  A nice compliment to that is the Pitch Blue and it’s pearl covertstock.  I’ve drilled one Pitch Blue so far and it rolls great.  I’ll also caveat that I’ve put a weight hole in all of my urethane balls to help them flare more, which would create a bit more hook. 

The one I drilled is mapped out as follows:  3 x 0 with a 1 1/8 hole about three inches deep.  I have also used the Pitch Black and Pitch Blue as a spare ball.  This makes traveling easier by not having to carry a plastic and a urethane ball.

I’ve been able to use the Pitch Blue and Pitch Black on multiple patterns, but they must be on shorter to medium length patterns.  They provide a way to lengthen patterns by dragging oil down lane, or to provide an extremely stable and smooth shape.

If you are missing a urethane ball in your bag, the Pitch Blue is a perfect fit!

#StormNation

I drilled up a Pitch Blue for a couple of reasons: One to use as a training tool to make sure my release stays crisp as with today's lane conditions urethane just doesn't read the lane like it did when I was younger. And two to have something to be a combo spare/dryer lane ball. This way I could use it to go direct at smaller combos of spares but it also would read to get sleeper pins. Plus if the lane pattern is really short or higher friction surface, it can be in play under these circumstances as well. One of the reviewers above made a great point about using it also to shut down your angles and go straighter and not give the pocket away. I think that is a fantastic way to look at what the Pitch Blue could be used for also.

I got to throw it and it is something newer for my eyes. I have gotten so used to seeing a ball break sharply in the back end and the Pitch Blue is more even and might even be considered early hooking. It sets up well in the back end and I find myself playing a little more to the left trying to get it to hold than letting it out and expecting it to come roaring back. It is not that type of ball and unless you have 500+ rpms rev rate, you will get frustrated.

Put this one in your bag if you do have a large rev rate and can't get any reactives to slow down in the back end. Also straighter players will like the versatility of using it to go straighter at spares and also get on the "dirt" and play direct to the pocket.

The Pitch Blue is the most recent ball released by Storm utilizing a urethane cover called Control Plus Pearl. The out of the box surface texture is created with a 2000 abralon pad. The Pitch Blue
uses the same Capacitor core found in the Pitch Black which has an Rg of 2.57 and a differential of 0.022 in 15lb balls. The bright blue pearl with red lettering is very appealing to the eye.

I drilled my Pitch Blue 4 x 3 ½ x 3. This is a similar layout that I have on a Pitch Black. Comparing the two balls with their respective box finishes, the Pitch Blue gets through the heads much cleaner, has more length in the midlane and has much more pop on the backend. Using them on a fresh lighter volume house condition, I can stand about the same place or within a board or so with both balls and just bring my eyes more in front of me, to close down my angles to use the Pitch Blue. One big difference I see between the two balls is that the Pitch Blue seems to be more sensitive to carrydown, than the Pitch Black. The Pitch Blue has similar ball motion characteristics to my Super Natural.

I’ve had the most success with my Pitch Blue bowling in a PBA regional on wood lanes, on Cheetah pattern. I led “A” squad shooting +313 on a version of Cheetah that wasn’t near as high scoring on our squad as we are usually used to seeing. The Pitch Blue gave me the extra length I needed as my Pitch Black was hooking too soon, and forced me to go too much away from the pocket. The Pitch Blue allowed me to keep my angles more in front of me, and get push from the cleaner cover; compared to having to belly the heads with the Pitch Black, putting me in the wrong angles to have good pin carry. The Pitch Blue and the Pitch Black compliment each other very well on short patterns. I generally will be using the Pitch Blue more often on wood lanes, and the Pitch Black on synthetic lanes.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review of the Pitch Blue. And remember to Bowl up a Storm!