(UPDATE is in new post at bottom)

NATURAL

5 1/4 pin to PAP, 6 1/4 "MB" to PAP, 4 1/4 pin buffer
Drilling is pin over bridge with CG about grip center. No hole.
That's a drilling I generally like for balls designed to get down the lane on hooking or burned out patterns. Other balls I have this drilling in include T-ROAD PEARL and TROPICAL.

The NATURAL is Storm's "blast from the past" urethane -- "U2S" coverstock – ball using the Turbine core found in the FAST, FURIOUS and the STREET RODS.

My expectation for the NATURAL was that it would be similar to an old-time urethane like a Blue Hammer or Black U-Dot but a little more dynamic with the Turbine core.

My first experience with it was on a wet/dry house shot on 6-year-old Brunswick Pro Anvilane synthetics.

As expected, the NATURAL has essentially zero flip. DO NOT EXPECT TO SEE THIS BALL MAKE A SHARP MOVE ANYWHERE! When I tried going in and out my reaction was bucket/face.

However, when I got my feet to the right and went direct up about 10 board, the NATURAL rolled hard and true to the pocket, taming out the wet/dry. The result was six straight dead flush strikes. This ball rolls through the pocket very strong if you have it rolling. I did leave one classic 5-7 when I was trying to be in the oil hooking it.

I brought a BARBED WIRE (the straightest reactive Storm ball I've ever thrown) along as a comparison and it was fairly close. I could play the house shot exactly the same with the only difference being slightly more reaction from the BARBED WIRE, which is what you'd expect.

I would expect the NATURAL to be popular for those trying to tame down a wet/dry reaction. And I think it will have use on certain short Sport patterns, such as PBA Cheetah. I will have a chance to try it on Cheetah at a regional July 10-12 and will update my review after that.

Edited on 7/13/2009 11:34 AM

Im thinkin about getting this ball for the dry wood lanes I bowl at. How does this ball compare to the tropical storm as far as hook goes and also carry?

Alright thanks, do you think the natural can also work as a pretty good spare ball when there is oil?

I think the NATURAL can definitely be a spare ball.  Might even be better for some folks than plastic because it won't skid so much on today's oils -- I rough the surface of my plastic spare balls before using them.

As for comparison to 1980s urethanes ... it is difficult to say for certain because oils have changed so much since then ... but what I saw in the first test drive with the NATURAL leads me to say yes it is like an 80s urethane.  It most certainly is NOT like any reactive I've thrown in recent years, other than the BARBED WIRE, which is still a tad stronger.