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Author Topic: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?  (Read 1849 times)

Sir Bowl-A-Lot

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Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« on: July 22, 2009, 12:44:54 AM »
I'm thinking about picking one up.  Please describe your bowling style, type of lane condition(s) you use it on, and how yours is drilled.

Thanks!

 

Gene J Kanak

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2009, 09:13:15 AM »
I don't have mine anymore, but I loved it while it was in my bag. I had the green/yellow one drilled pin even with and right of ring, cg under ring, box finish. For me, this ball offered about as much bang for the buck as I could possibly have hoped for. On fresh, I could play up the outside of the lane as long as I didn't send it into the friction too early. When they dried up, it was jump way left to go hunting for dry boards. In either the case, the ball rolled and hit great as long as I played it properly. The thing to keep in mind is that these balls are very weak in oil but very, very strong off friction. Therefore, don't buy it as a truly dry-lane ball because it will most likely disappoint you by how aggressively it responds to dry boards. On the other hand, don't expect it to pick up and react well if left in large amounts of oil. The cover just isn't strong enough. In my experience, this is a bounce ball - skids in oil, snaps hard off dry. If you understand that going in, you will find yourself very, very pleased with this ball, especially for the price.
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greenefam

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2009, 09:42:19 AM »
I know you asked for Tropical references, but I run a small pro shop and I have drilled several Tropicals in the past and I have stopped due to what Inverted1 says - it is a lot stronger than advertised and I have found that people looking for a ball in the light oil area have a bunch of over/under issues with the Tropical.  I think the reason for this is that the core is deceivingly flippy - and matched up with the Reactor Pearl cover it glides through the heads but turns harder than expected.

For bowlers looking for a light oil pearl reactive these days I recommend either a RotoGrip Neptune or a Hammer Razor.  Both are smooth through the heads like a Tropical but are smoother and more predictable at the breakpoint.

If you are determined to get a Tropical I'd suggest drilling it pin down with a mild layout like 5x4.  This way you are moving the change in direction a bit earlier in the roll so that it is a bit less flippy.

Gene J Kanak

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2009, 09:52:29 AM »
If too much flip is an issue, giving the cover a small amount of surface may help as well. That is what I'm going to have to do with my Razyr because that ball boomerangs off dry boards.
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Spider Ball Bowler

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2009, 10:06:57 AM »
I bought one a few years ago as my light oil ball, and what I ended up with was my first out of the bag ball.

I had mine with the pin to the left of the ring and the cg in the palm.  It got good length on medium oil and a nice smooth arc down the lane for me.  I scuffed off the polish towards the end and didn't like the reaction as much.

I had the Lime version.

I have a higher ball speed, and medium revs and play pretty straight.  The best day I ever had with it was at a tournament where I shot 1193 for 5 and was a 7 pin in the 10th away from high qualifier.

Very underrated piece and just thinking about it makes me want to drill another.  My bridge cracked and I got rid of it.
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stopncrank

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2009, 12:16:28 PM »
i have the blue/silver one as well, and im a high rev cranker. on my ths this ball can be used all three games. exactly as gene said earlier, this ball is a beast off the dry. if theres any friction to the right, this is the first ball out of the bag for me. with my rev rate i get more use out of balls like the tropical and the mid line stuff than with the upper end stuff. my tropical is drilled for a full roller if you can beleive that and it really gets into a good roll and the carry is unbeleivable for that kind of weight block. lol, i just have to tell myself if im gonna miss miss right cause if you pull it to the oil its skid city.
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Sir Bowl-A-Lot

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2009, 01:49:15 PM »
So which way is the core pointed in the Tropical Storm?  The core extends out from the center but which way?  Would this ball have a decent mass bias even though not marked?

http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/classic/royal-lime

Edited on 7/24/2009 1:49 PM

No Revs00300

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2009, 02:13:43 PM »
Good dry lane ball for me. My rev rate is 510 speed dry lanes between 19.5 20mph. The ball carries well to.

themagician

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2009, 03:56:48 PM »
I have the ocean sky/blue one and its a very nice ball. Layout is pin well above my bridge, 6" From my PAP. The ball is pretty controllable for me and works very well on broken down/dry conditions.

I am more of a stroker, 17mph at the arrows, 285 rpm.
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LuvThatWhiteDot

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2009, 09:20:51 AM »
I have the Red/Purple Tropical and it doesn't leave the bag in case the lanes are less than THS
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six pack

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2009, 10:05:51 AM »
I have the pink/black pearl,can't say I love it but it's a skid/flip monster.it's drilled 5x5 pin up and last time I used it it went dead straight for 50 ft and fliped very hard.I keep it because on the right condition where there is some friction early I think it would be a very good ball.the hit from this ball was also very impressive.
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J_Mac

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Re: Who here has a Tropical Storm and loves it?
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2009, 11:10:57 AM »
quote:
So which way is the core pointed in the Tropical Storm?  The core extends out from the center but which way?  Would this ball have a decent mass bias even though not marked?

http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/classic/royal-lime

Edited on 7/24/2009 1:49 PM


The arm of the central core is usually 6 3/4" from the pin through the CG. 15# Tropical Storms spin up on a DeTerminator to two consistent spots roughly 13 1/2" apart in roughly 12 seconds.  

For the most part, the strong asymmetric pieces on the market today are all Y-spinners and spin up on the marked MB.  Balls like the Tropical Storm, Morich Pioneer and 900G Link are Z-spinners and don't spin up to one spot 6 3/4" from the pin through the CG.

Storm does know the MB strength and included the info in a seminar a few years ago.  If I recall correctly, in the heavier weights the MB differential is strong enough (over 0.08) that it could be marked.  

Seeing as the Tropical Storms are so popular, marking them all would probably be cost prohibitive.

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Edited on 7/25/2009 11:14 AM