The Astro Physix is the second ball released in the premier line of balls from Storm featuring the Atomic core. The Astro has a Rg of 2.48, 0.053 diff, and an intermediate diff of 0.017 in 15lb weights. The beautiful color combination of cyan/indigo/charcoal looks great! This version uses the R2S pearl cover, compared to the hybrid NRG cover of the Physix. The Astro has a factory finish of 1500.
I drilled the Astro Physix 4.5 x 5 x 2.5. Using the Astro in the box finish on a 42 foot house condition, the Astro was very flippy off the spot with this layout. I touched the surface lightly with a well used 2000 abralon pad just to crack some of the shine. This helped the Astro read the lane much better, making it less squirty, but not losing too much of the dowlane reaction. Comparing the Astro to a Physix drilled 4 x 4 x 2.5, the Astro has a few feet more length, and more of a continuous motion through the backends, where the Physix stands up harder and rolls more direct. They compliment each other well. I originally wanted to compliment my first Physix (4 x 5 x 3, polished), but found that with the touch of surface, the Astro is best suited to compliment the 4 x 4 x 2.5 Physix. The Astro is also a nice reaction to go to from my Idol pearl when it becomes too rounded to carry consistently. The Astro is an asymmetrical ball that allows me to get a little deeper on the lane than what most asymmetrical balls have allowed me to do in the past. The only other asymmetrical ball that I can remember with this much downlane move was a Hyper Cell Skid.
I wouldn’t call the Astro Physix a benchmark ball because of its strong nature, but more as a fill ball when I need downlane hook. This is a good ball for opening up conditions without using too much head belly. Thank you for taking the time to read my review of the Storm Astro Physix. As always, bowl up a Storm!
