I would say one of the Hy-Roads in the Thunder line (nearly same RG and diff).  I am a big fan of the OG Hy-Road but I guess the Hy-Road X can handle more oil and the All-Road more oil still.

Having had several Razor Wires, I'd suggest that the Hy-Roads may be a notch stronger than the Razors. The cores on the HRs are a mite stronger with a much stronger coverstock than the Razor's Pro-Glide.


I'd suggest the Red/Blue Match-up Hybrid. The core and coverstock strengths are closer. But the Match-ups use polished surfaces; so you'll have to sand it to make it equivalent to the Razor.

Charlest, is the Match Up Black Pearl out of place for this? To me, its the best in the Match Up series. Definitely one of my favorites and not as sensative imo when I have the cover matched up properly.

Quote from: charlest on November 03, 2019, 04:55:20 PM

Having had several Razor Wires, I'd suggest that the Hy-Roads may be a notch stronger than the Razors. The cores on the HRs are a mite stronger with a much stronger coverstock than the Razor's Pro-Glide.


I'd suggest the Red/Blue Match-up Hybrid. The core and coverstock strengths are closer. But the Match-ups use polished surfaces; so you'll have to sand it to make it equivalent to the Razor.

Charlest, is the Match Up Black Pearl out of place for this? To me, its the best in the Match Up series. Definitely one of my favorites and not as sensative imo when I have the cover matched up properly.

The problem is the Razor Wire was/is a dull solid. The original poster said nothing about polishing it up. So the MU pearl is likely to be much flippier (even if it is not a flippy pearl) than a Razor Wire. I feel safer recommending that the OP sand a polished hybrid than a polished pearl. It could turn out that a sanded/dull MU Black pearl could work, but it's more likely that the Hybrid would be closer to his Razor Wire. That said, there might be several non-Storm balls that could be a lot closer than a Match Up, but this was posted in the Storm section; so that is my best guess.

Even though the Razor Wire cover is weaker than pretty much everything on the market, the OP's question isn't about replacing his Razor Wire with an identical ball.  The OP is looking for a benchmark ball for everything short of long sport patterns. It would have probably been better to not say what ball he/she used to use.

As usual, you will get a lot of suggestions.  To get the best results, get with a trusted pro shop and let them see how you bowl and they should be able to get the best piece in your hands.  You could to get his suggestion and bring it here for debate.  But you will probably just get people wanting to push their favorite ball company's version of whatever is suggested.

Quote from: 2handedrook12 on November 04, 2019, 11:38:02 AM

Quote from: charlest on November 03, 2019, 04:55:20 PM

Having had several Razor Wires, I'd suggest that the Hy-Roads may be a notch stronger than the Razors. The cores on the HRs are a mite stronger with a much stronger coverstock than the Razor's Pro-Glide.


I'd suggest the Red/Blue Match-up Hybrid. The core and coverstock strengths are closer. But the Match-ups use polished surfaces; so you'll have to sand it to make it equivalent to the Razor.

Charlest, is the Match Up Black Pearl out of place for this? To me, its the best in the Match Up series. Definitely one of my favorites and not as sensative imo when I have the cover matched up properly.

The problem is the Razor Wire was/is a dull solid. The original poster said nothing about polishing it up. So the MU pearl is likely to be much flippier (even if it is not a flippy pearl) than a Razor Wire. I feel safer recommending that the OP sand a polished hybrid than a polished pearl. It could turn out that a sanded/dull MU Black pearl could work, but it's more likely that the Hybrid would be closer to his Razor Wire. That said, there might be several non-Storm balls that could be a lot closer than a Match Up, but this was posted in the Storm section; so that is my best guess.

MU Black Pearl does come sanded. Most wouldn't even know its a pearl if it weren't in the name.

Even though the Razor Wire cover is weaker than pretty much everything on the market, the OP's question isn't about replacing his Razor Wire with an identical ball.  The OP is looking for a benchmark ball for everything short of long sport patterns. It would have probably been better to not say what ball he/she used to use.

As usual, you will get a lot of suggestions.  To get the best results, get with a trusted pro shop and let them see how you bowl and they should be able to get the best piece in your hands.  You could to get his suggestion and bring it here for debate.  But you will probably just get people wanting to push their favorite ball company's version of whatever is suggested.

The title of his thread is "replacement for a Razor Wire", lol!


A "benchmark ball" has different meanings to different people. One person will say it's a ball they use 90% of the time. Another will say it's the ball that they go to first to read a lane and see what ball they should use. yet another person may say it's the ball right in the middle of their arsenal; in a 5 ball arsenal 2 that hook more, and 2 that hook less. Benchmark is very open ended.

He said he used the Razor Wire most of the time, except high volume sport patterns. To me, that translates into someone who was using a very weak ball even for it's time (although it did have surface on it) a lot. That says that he either has a slower ball speed, or a lot of hand, or bowled on fairly dry conditions, or possibly likes to throw it towards the pocket. Again, very open ended.

 Knowing that some centers use newer oil, but that there are still a lot of centers that use old oil technology, and volumes very greatly from one center to the other; pointing out this information on how much stronger today's equipment is than the piece he used a lot, especially if he has been out of the game for a bit, seems to make sense. Match Ups slow down a lot sooner than a Razor Wire would. Since I still see a local bowler throwing a Razor Wire, giving the OP information on how much technology has evolved, isn't a stretch at all. Education is a good thing. It will help him when he talks to his pro shop to see if they are really trying to put him in the correct piece, or just trying to make a sale.

The worst thing to do is to throw spaghetti against a wall to see if it sticks. Educating the consumer about technology is a good thing, not a bad thing. 

This I agree with 100%;

To get the best results, get with a trusted pro shop and let them see how you bowl and they should be able to get the best piece in your hands.

I'm following this. The Razor Wire was my 2nd favorite Storm ball ever,behind the Eraser.