:MINI-REVIEW:
:UPDATE:

After throwing this ball on a variety of patterns, THS and PBA, I can update a tad bit. The T-Road Pearl, at OOB finish is remarkably strong off friction. I haven't had a pearlized ball get this much length and have this much room and still recover. I threw it on Scorpion, Cheetah, and Viper. Scorpion was where this ball shined. I could play out to about the 8 board, a very small swing of 12-8 or so, and the T-Road just got down the lane and kicked out the corners much better than previously. Viper, it got VERY touchy. I had to play 2-5, coming up the back of the ball, or play a huge angle with a lot of axis tilt to try and just get the ball down there and still carry. Cheetah, this ball was close to impossible. Best bet for me was to throw it very weak, and play 8-4, up the back, and let it just "smoothly" come back. If I pushed it out, it was through the nose. If I kept it inside, worse. This ball needs lengthy patterns to be honest. T-road Pearl is a helluva ball for the price, and seems to excel on our PBA and some sport conditions compared to THS. Go Storm.

Bowler Stats: Tweener, 16-17 MPH, 275-300 RPM rate, medium axis tilt, PAP at 5 5/16" over, 3/4" up.

Ball Stats: T-Road Pearl, 15lb. 2oz. 2.5-3" pin-out. Drilled with the pin 5 1/2" from my PAP.



First off, I must say the reaction so far with this ball as been excellent. It's frankly, way more aggressive than what I planned, but that's OK. The Black Currant fragrance is a very interesting scent for the inside of your bag to have. Anyways, onto the review!

THS #1: This was the day of the purchase and punching up of the ball. It was on a broken down, already med-light oil THS. The T-Road Pearl was having difficulty getting down the lane pretty bad. I wanted it initially for the medium-light to light patterns. I ended up standing on about 32 at the line, breakpoint at about the 8 board. I decided I would add some extender polish later in the week, to give it the extra length.

THS #2: This was a second shift, medium in volume, medium in length house shot. I was playing around 13 to the "bumper" and back. It was a great look on a THS truthfully. Like a ball I could throw for a set on any normal THS and have to adjust maybe 2-3 boards with the feet and arrows.

THS #3: Fresh Medium-heavy in volume, medium in length. This ball was exactly what I wanted in reaction. A lot of length with enough recovery to carry exceptionally well. This ball doesn't lack in the back, and it has a very drive. I have noticed a lot of problems in excessive dry areas. I stood around 26 at the line, getting a breakpoint out to the 3 board, and it was just impressive to throw and see. The Mystic and T-Road Pearl is a hell of a 1-2 punch on the THS, so when I get the T-Road jumping like crazy on me, I go to the Mystic and play a deep inside line with a lot of success.


OVERALL: This ball is excellent for the price, but I'm still out on if it will fill the gap or not. This ball is a great piece by Storm, and will work best on your medium and medium-heavy volume/length patterns. I have noticed more cranker-type of bowlers LOVE this ball. They seem to get remarkable recovery and carry. I'm still out on this ball, and we'll see how it does on PBA/Sport tomorrow night. GREAT ball by Storm, but for me? It's only been 10 games, I can't say...

Style: Lefty Stroker
Speed: 15-17.5 MPH
Revs- Medium Low
Normally play about 15-8 at the breakpoint.

Layout - Pin next to ring finger, no weight hole. PIN to PAP distance is close to 4 inches.

Cover- OOB condition

Lanes- Lane 1: Synthetics with Flying backends, and a good amount of head oil. Breakpoint sweet spot is around 7-8.
Lane 2: New AMF Synthetics, not a whole lot of head oil. I am on the left side and it really starts to dissapear by the end of game 2. Out of bounds outside of 5. Backends more arcy then snappy.

Reaction on lane 1: This ball flat out hooks. If you want a ball with a big backend, this is it. Sometimes its a little too much backend. You have alot of area to the outside, but not much pull area. A couple of times I thought I was going washout, and instead came in dead flush. Had to adjust 5 right with my feet and move my breakpoint out to about 4-5. Really strong ball. Have to make sure to keep your speed up. Also gets a little jumpy once the track really dries out.

Lane 2: Matches up much better with lanes that have controllable backends. More of a smooth arc on these lanes. Wanted to grab early after 1st game, so I just gave it a little loft and I was smashing the pocket. Playing about 19-9 at the breakpoint.

All in all I really like this ball. Still adjusting to it, as I underestimated what it could do. If you have alot of hand, I would definitly recommend going with a weaker drilling to control this beast. I happen to NEED more backend, so it works for me!
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Go Maryland Terrapins!!!!

Style: See Profile

Pin to CG Distance - 3"
Topweight - 2.8 oz

Layout:

What I like to call the "hand friendly" layout, pin about 4" from the PAP with the MB under the thumb.  Small weighthole on the PAP to take out a little side weight.  

Reaction:  

Versatile depending on hand position.  More up the back provides a earlier and smoother reaction and more on the side is a longer, stronger reaction.  

Comments:

This is probably one of the most versatile balls I've ever thrown.  I've been able to use it on a wide variety of conditions with very good success.  It worked very well for me during the PBA Experience league I bowled in over the summer on every pattern except for the Shark.  This ball carries well from 1st arrow all the way to almost 4th arrow, which is really deep for me.  The ball hits very well and pin carry is fantastic.  On short to medium length patterns with a decent amount of head oil, this ball with this layout will kill it.

A couple of things this ball struggles with is that it does need a little head oil to get down the lane, which I think is a consequence of the layout and the R2S coverstock, which definitely has more traction in oil than the original Reactor.  There is one house a I bowl at where the fronts break down really fast and this ball starts to check unless I stand way left and provide more axis rotation to get it to store.  I think this ball would handle head breakdown a little better with a 5" or 6" layout.   The other thing is that it appears to "track up" sooner than some of the other Storm balls I've thrown in the past, again due to the softer R2S cover.  

Bottom line, on shorter to medium length patterns with a decent amount of headoil offer little challenge to this ball with this layout.  The extremes will cause this ball trouble and it appears to be a higher maintenance ball.

i drilled this ball for lenght with a big snap in the backend and thats what i got. only thing i dont like about this ball is that at the house i bowl at they strip the backend bone dry for league so i only get 2 use this ball for 1 game. when it hits the pocket pins go everywhere. its alot stornger than alot of people think hooks about 1 more board than the black widow pearl and hits so much harder. if u have prob with carry with the bwp go(i know i did). get the t road pearl. u will love it. BOWL UP A STORM

I just got another one of these balls and have this drill the pin above my fingers  and to the left above my middle finger and the cg under my other finger. This ball gets very long and snap great on the back end. This ball will be great with the Solid that i just drilled up and both of my rapids. If you are looking for a ball to accompany the t road solid or especially the rapid fire this would be what I would get. So if you haven't thrown a storm in awhile i tell you go get them.

I seriously have to say this could be one of the best balls I have ever thrown as well.  And I have a good list...Brunswick Danger Zone, Ebonite Apex, Columbia 300 Rock Star, Storm Eraser PBT....The T-Road pearl is in that list.  Which is a very tough list to make as you can tell....

Has a very good midlane read with a huge backend, is not angular by any means but still has a forgiving midlane reaction.

I went to the pro-shop to drill another one up, track was beat up on mine, but I was sad to hear that it is discontinued.....

If you can get your hands on one drill one up, if you can't I have heard that the Storm Fast is very close compared to reaction...Fast goes a little longer...

Me....??
high rev, med to high speed. check out my profile for more
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"The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of a gun."

T-Road Pearl Pin is the bridge, 2-2.5" pin, stacked layout
Used this ball in a college tournament this weekend.  The shot was a 39 foot flat pattern, and had very low scores.  
I found that when the later games came around, some of my more responsive balls, such as my Hy-Road and Virtual Energy, became overly aggressive and would go through the face.  I then switched to my T-Road Pearl and was able to get a much better reaction.  I found that the weaker drilling was able create more push, but the higher flaring coverstock created more room for me to miss right.  Overall, I had a very good reaction with this ball, and was able to finish 19th in the tournament.
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T. Hudnell
William Paterson University Bowling Team Member
Storm Bowling Products

This ball is a great ball for shorter lane conditions.