Having been quite a big fan of Storm equipment, when the time came to buy a ball for heavy oil, I looked towards the La Nina, as recommended by Storm. At the time of purchase, I was a very average player. Right handed, medium pace, and a mediocre amount of revs, and a high track. The drilling used was for a very early roll and hook, using box surface. The first condition I played on was about 35 foot oil, flat across the lane. I found the ball set up very early, and by playing straight down first, I could take out the seven pin. I worked on the assumption that on heavier oil, this would create a little more area, and by playing a similar shot, I would most likely find some movement into the pocket. trying to move around on this condition, I found the ball was too aggressive for a consistant line into the pocket. Give it too much room and it left washouts, try and play oil inside, and it went heavy. After 6 games of practice, I decided that I would not try using this unless there was a flood warning. So, when I came to use it in one of the big events in Nottingham bowl in England (the home of the UK's major events), I was a little disappointed to find that the ball did not live up to the hype. The lanes started out very fresh, wet with only a little backend. The ball seemed a little inconsistant, in that it would not stay on line when one would expect it to. Playing straight down board two, the ball did make a break for the pocket, and did work well. Moving inside, the ball just stayed straight. As the oil carried down, the ball could not cope with the carrydown, and started to just sit. I found myself forced to play straight at the pocket, pointing from the corner. Safe to say, this was not a pleasing tournament to play. I tried altering the surface down, going through some more aggressive grits, but I found that the same problems came to pass. The ball grabbed too much if it hit dry, and skidded too far if it hit the wet. Interestingly, I hurt my arm, and went down to 14lb, and had to sell off my equipment. The guy who brought it is a cranker, with a heavy rotation. He had it drilled with the pin above the fingers, and he has found that he can use it very well on wet lanes. My overall assessment is that it is still a good ball, but it is probably one of the weaker releases in the line. It suits those who give it a little more hand, but with a less aggressive drilling, could be used by weaker release players on medium conditions. Certainly worth a 7/10. Good, but not great. Although personal experience was mixed, if given enough hand, it could be a real slick conquerer.
