Storm Road Warrior - Thunder Line
Coverstock: R2S Deep Pearl - Power Edge
Core: Inverted Fe² A.I.
RG: 2.55   Differential: .045 (15 lbs)
Fragrance: Peppermint Patty
Layout: 5 ¼  x 5 ¾ x 3
PAP: 6" Right, 1 3/8" Up
Axis Tilt: 16°
Rotation: 51°
Rev Rate: 450-500
Speed: 17-18 mph
Location: Vista Lanes - Yorkville, NY
Pattern: Kegel Carbon
Lane Surface: HPL

The Road Warrior is the latest release in the Thunder Line and was created to compliment The Road. With the Hy-Road pearl being discontinued this was a ball that was missing from the lineup. It was designed to be a dependable and versatile ball that can help bowlers of all styles conquer dryer conditions. The Road Warrior debuts the R2S Deep pearl coverstock with the proven Inverted Fe² weight block enhanced with A.I. core. The pearl cover with Power Edge is clean through the fronts and helps save up plenty of energy to create a powerful backend reaction. The Road Warrior gave me a good look sliding on 27, looking 16 at the arrows with my breakpoint around 7-8. As the lanes transitioned and I moved left, it continued to look great. When compared to The Road, the Warrior is a couple boards stronger and is much more continuous. The Road Warrior may not be the first ball out of my bag for league or tournaments, but I can see it coming into play once stronger balls struggle to take out the corner pins. Stop by your local Storm VIP pro shop to check it out! Available on November 22nd.

Dave Jecko
Storm Amateur Staff Member
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@maximumpotentialbowlerssho7625

Storm Road Warrior – WWRD 11/22/2024

Cover: R2S DEEP Pearl
Core: Inverted Fe2 A.I.
RG: 2.55
RG. Diff.: 0.045
Finish: Power Edge
Fragrance: Peppermint Patty

Storm’s new Road Warrior is a Pearl Symmetric Piece.  This piece is good for Medium-Light Volume Patterns.  PAP is 5 5/16 R 1 3/16 Up. Rev Rate: 400.  Speed: 16.5.  Drilled this piece with the Pin Up between the Fingers and CG kicked out 1” from the palm.  I threw this on a fresh house pattern.  Out of Box ball motion was clean through the fronts with a sharp continuous backend through the pins.  I compared this piece to the Lightning Blackout & Hy-Road.  Lightning Blackout was 2-2 Right.  Started earlier in the mids but not as sharp on the back end as the Road Warrior.  Hy-Road was 3-3 Right but a smoother shape on the backend.  This will be a good piece to go to when the front part of the lanes starts to dry up.  If you are looking for a medium price point piece this would be good to have in your bag.

Check out the Ball motion Video on my YouTube Page:
https://youtube.com/shorts/sD1mLnQLE2E?feature=share

A pearl Hy-Road RETURNS!! This take on the timeless favorite features R2S DEEP Pearl and the same great Inverted FE weight block, only this time with A.I. core technology. The result feels like a Hy-Road Pearl with a slightly stronger/smoother cover that can handle more oil than the original, while still being clean and never reading the front part of the lane. The A.I. core also lends itself to smoother ball motion and a longer hook phase. Practically, this ball is a way more useable version of the original Hy-Road Pearl for me. It flares a bit more, continues longer and revs up a tick earlier. This version of R2S DEEP Pearl feels stronger/more capable of handling oil than R2S Pearl, which makes this more of a medium-strength ball and less of a super weak/clean ball for me. You don't want to miss this Hy Road Pearl 2.0!

-Chase Valenzuela

The Road leads to this new Warrior! This ball rolls so well. I normally adjust the surface on a bowling ball out of the box, but Storm is breaking the surface! I kept this one out of the box. For me, yes Light/ Medium oil. I also bowl in a bowling alley with wood lanes and this ball rolls very good there. Then even on synthetic lanes, if you need a straighter ball, A ball to go through the mid lane burn, and still react on the back ends, this is the ball. I'm really happy to see this ball roll, happy to read it on the lanes and happy to learn off it.

Thnk Hyroad Pearl, but on steroids.  This was my first impression of the new Storm bowling Road Warrior.  The core of this ball is the prove FE2 AI core and this ball is wrapped in R2S Deep Cover.  The colors that were used on this ball really pop as well. 

The first thing that struck me about the Road Warrior is its impressive ability to handle a wide range of lane conditions. Whether I was dealing with heavy oil or lighter conditions, the ball performed exceptionally well, providing consistent hook potential and a smooth transition through the backend. For me, this was everything that I loved in the Hyroad pearl, only much better. 

What I appreciate most about the Road Warrior is its versatility. It performs well across various styles, whether you're a straight bowler or someone who prefers a more aggressive hook. The adaptability makes it a fantastic choice for league play, or tournaments.  While this a ball can be used on the fresh, this ball for me excels later in the day where I have to get the ball through the fronts.  The cover makes this ball glide, but I have no doubts the ball will come off the spot strong, allowing me to be confident when throwing it away from me.

The Storm Bowling Road Warrior has solidified its place in my bowling bag. If you're looking for a bowling ball that excels on a variety of lane conditions while still offering style and comfort, the Road Warrior is an excellent choice.

Sean Daniels
900 Global Staff
Hillsboro, Oregon

TESTING ENVIRONMENT

Length:43
Volume: Med-High
Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc):THS


COMMENTS

Coverstock: R2S DEEP Pearl
Core: Inverted Fe² A.I. Core
Finish: Power Edge
RG: 2.55 (#15)
Differential: 0.045 (#15)

ME:
Right-Handed Tweener
Speed: 12-13 mph
Rev Rate: 315
Axis Tilt: 14°
Axis Rotation: 74°
PAP: 5 1/8 R 7/8 Up

Ball Layout: Pin Up 5  X 5  X 2 1/2 VLS

Long awaited new addition to the Storm Thunder Line is finally here. The Road Warrior features a pearl version of the super clean R2S Deep cover that was featured on the Absolute and absolute power. This time the engine in the ball is the legendary Fe2 core enhanced with A.I. (Amplified Intertia) technology. The result is a clean angular and incredibly forgiving shape.

I tested the Road Warrior in League. I waited until game 3 when I really got pushed left. My hope was that the Road Warrior would work as a Hy-Road Pearl Replacement. Sure enough when I had to cover boards the Road Warrior gave me the the length and hook I needed. To the eye it is a slightly earlier and a little rounder than the Hy-Road pearl. I had expected this as it's the difference I normally see with the A.I. version of cores. The difference was much less pronounced than in other balls, I believe because of the cleaner R2S Deep cover on the Road Warrior.

Because my greatest need was for a ball to throw on the driest conditons that's where I was most interested in seeing the reaction of the Road Warrior. Too far left was not an issue I ever ran into throwing the Road Warrior. I did also throw the Road Warrior on a fresher condition later in the week. I obviously had to be much closer to the friction, but I was surprised at how useful it was on the fresh conditon. Responsive balls can be pretty over-under when the lanes are fresh here but the Road Warrior was a little smoother seeing the earlier friction so the over-reaction wasn't as pronounced as I was used to seeing with balls like the Hy-Road.

The Road Warrior definitely fills a gap that needed to be filled. This ball is incredible when you need to see the ball hook down-lane and its so clean that it really combats the early friction. I think this ball is going to be a must-have for any one who sees to much friction develop as they bowl and especially invaluable for anyone who bowls longer format tournaments.

Check out my full ball reaction video on Youtube: https://youtu.be/FYzvtMN-KFs?si=jiGEIcT-RusjcxdW

Lonnie Pemberton
Storm Pro Shop Staff
Vise Pro Shop Staff
Revolutions Pro Shop

Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@k1ngsizepapa



PICTURES AND/OR VIDEOS

Storm Road Warrior

Layout: 5 1/8th x 5 1/4th x 2. 

Ball specs: R2S Deep coverstock with the Inverted FE2 Core with the new A.I. outer core technology. Box finish is the all-new Power Edge polish.  Mine – I hit it with a fresh 2000 grit pad then reapplied Power Edge to make sure the peaks and valleys of the coverstock was the freshest I could have.

 

All the next release in the Storm Thunder Series is the Road Warrior. A follow-up from the The Road that was released earlier this year to much fanfare, because of the legacy of the Hy-Road lives on with new A.I. technology enhancing the very popular Inverted FE2 core. 

 

Wrapped in the newer R2S DEEP coverstock, coupled with the all-new Power Edge polish, the Road Warrior has enhanced overall length down lane which works better on medium to lighter volume oil patterns. The A.I. technology adds predictable transitions in ball motion across all skill levels of bowlers, which intern gives a ball that can cover all aspects of anyone’s game and lane play. 

 

I went with a longer pin to PAP drilling than I normally would have on a piece like this. My Road was a stronger pin to PAP layout and I not a real fan of it. It was a little too early in mid-lane motion and a not very forgiving for me in the backends, If I just “missed” it a little, I had no run for error. Now with adding R2S DEEP to the cover combo that was on The Road, I noticed an instant difference in length and responds on the friction, it was not as early as I thought it would be but still had a TON of POP going through the pin deck. I found after a good bit of time on the lanes using the all-new Physix Blackout, and I was getting a little worn out, and the Blackout would start to move a little sooner than I would like, I hopped right into the Warrior without any change in angles and starting position on the approach, it added that extra length I needed but without a “hockey stick” reaction in the backend. The Warrior will be a step-up for me from the Physix Blackout in my league bag, which it will replace my Hyped Pearl which I have used for several years. Thanks for taking time to read my ball review and feel free to reach out to me at bigrotogripfan@gmail.com for any additional information. Check with your local pro shop teams to see when the next Storm Matchmaker Live! Event will be in your area.