In case it gets buried in the long debate about releases, I've posted these vids separately to discuss ball reaction.

http://tamerbowling.com/index.php/new-storm-equipment-optimus-hy-road-solid/

We tested the Optimus and Hy Road on a heavier volume THS and Scorpion. 

The Optimus rolls so much like the Marvel Pearl.  I would imagine we are going to see lots of pros throwing this ball.  I'm not much for all those swirly colors but if you can manage to get past that or really like it, there it is.  I personally prefer the darker colors of the Marvel Pearl.  Nevertheless, low RG core that helps the ball get into a roll as well as a fairly aggressive coverstock makes this a controllable but strong ball.  The R2X is smoother than the previous generation reactor covers since it seems to have a bit more surface friction.

With the Hy Road Solid, we compared it to the original Hy Road which everyone seems to still have.  It's exactly as you would expect.  Recognizable reaction that reads the midlane a little better which smoothes out the backend and makes it very continuous and controlled, but less boomy.

Our tester is Jeremy Overdier of Pure It Pro Shop in Lebanon PA.  He's about 400 revs and averages around 225. 

Let me know what you think.

Tamerbowling,

Thanks again for the video and the follow up explanation regarding ball reaction on that particular house shot. Do you mind sharing how much editing was done on the Optimus video. Or, stated differently, how hard was it to get the ball to face up, and what did the reaction look like playing up the track where there was no hook?

Tamerbowling,

Thanks again for the video and the follow up explanation regarding ball reaction on that particular house shot. Do you mind sharing how much editing was done on the Optimus video. Or, stated differently, how hard was it to get the ball to face up, and what did the reaction look like playing up the track where there was no hook?

Sure, this was a trickier shot than usual.  Playing up the track say 12 to 10 would go through the face.  12 to 8 and you will just touch the headpin.  12 to 6 and it's asking for a washout.  So you had to use ~10 at the breakpoint but from deeper angles.  It actually played a bit like Shark where there isn't tons of volume in the midlane so too direct and you face up.  So you've got to open up your angles if you have a higher rev rate.  The Optimus did have some trouble facing up nicely from the deeper line with the shiny surface on this slicker pattern but did carry well.  It just had too much grip playing "up the boards" but not quite enough from deeper.  However, once Jeremy played deep and kept the breakpoint in, he could carry pretty well.
The Hy Road Solid played better on this pattern as it did grip the midlane allowing it to face up to the pocket better. 

Unless you roughed the surface up on the Optimus, this wouldn't be the ideal pattern for it.  The shoot also took a little longer than expected as we weren't expecting the shot to play this way.  Jeremy has a composite 230 average in this house but it still took us a little by surprise. 

Hope that helps.

So Tamer bowling decided to make these videos without being obligated to do so and then gets negatively criticized for it. I'm sure there will be a large number of videos for these two pieces that will be posted soon showing a different reaction. Tamer shouldn't be criticize and questioned for posting a review and video that they didn't have to post. I appreciate the work they did and the time spent to take all of the necessary steps to produce and post these two videos as well as all of the videos they've produced in the past. If someone isn't pleased with the video that was posted, then by all means post one of your own. I could see it if a person was paying them personally to make a video and decided to criticize them because they weren't pleased, but that's not the case. I normally don't speak out much, but at some point a person/group wants to be able to do something and not be negatively criticized, especially when they did it on their own merit. Thanks again Tamer bowling for taking the time to produce and post these videos.

Tamer is a website that claims to be "the #1 bowling ball review site on earth" and they are posting links to their site on another ball review site.  There is no need to defend them.

Thanks all for your comments.  We do what we can.  If you get something out of it, great.  If not, then there will be plenty of other videos out there for your perusal.

People have asked questions about the ball reaction and I've tried to answer the best I could.  We write reviews for the simple reason that the video doesn't ever tell the whole story, even if you simply love the 5 shots that were edited by whomever.  We show flush shots, soft shots, corner pins, etc. on purpose so you can see what you get.  The fact that the ball carried with the lighter shots that didn't quite turn over should also tell you something.

If you have any other questions about the ball reaction, please feel free to ask. 

Sport patterns 42 or less typically do show a more aggressive backend so really not very surprising if you think about it. 

I liked the videos, they were different and that's a good thing. I'll check out the vids from bowlingball.com, Bowlers Deals and the Japanese sites. Just want to see the ball for it's shelf appeal, see how it rolls and what kind of bowlers are throwing it and on what conditions are used. Keep up the good work, Tamer!

Everybody needs to be objective here.  When marketing or reviewing a product, you have a responsibility to be as accurate as possible, that's the whole point.  You want to give a good representation of the product as it will appear to the largest group of consumers.  Anyone who creates a production like this for public viewing should be open to criticism, and TamerBowling has handled it exceptionally well.  Honestly, they have put out tons of review videos, and these two were the ONLY ones that weren't on par with the rest, and just because of the first halves of both videos. 

As for the "professional pro shop guys" who know everything, and how dare anyone play the lanes wrong or throw it wrong . . it's kind of their job to help people do it right or to point out when it's not done right, because you know if someone spends 250 bucks on a ball and it "sucks," you know exactly who is going to get blamed, even if they're playing the lanes wrong and throwing it wrong . .

Then there's the other crowd who wants to give everybody a medal or trophy no matter what.  I make my own videos and still field plenty of criticism, but even if one of the complainers is dead wrong, I'M the one who put the video out there, I'M the one who opened myself up for it.  My videos, my responsibility, it comes with the territory.  That's like saying we shouldn't criticize an athlete for a bad performance.  Yeah there are all kinds of excuses you could use, but at the same time, it's part of what they signed up for.  You can't praise someone for doing good and keep your mouth shut when they do bad . .

The bottom line was that the original videos misrepresented the reaction that the vast majority of the consumers will see out of those two balls.  It's still incredibly helpful to see how those balls will react in unfavorable conditions, not many videos show that, but it's also a great illustration of why being able to read ball reaction, play the lanes right and picking the right equipment is so important.  Otherwise you get balls that back up all the way to the pocket . .

Either way, they have put out a new video which shows the balls in a much better light.  Yeah people will say "well yeah they're gonna look good if you set it up like that," but isn't that the point?  If they design a ball for medium-heavy oil, shouldn't you show it and use it on the condition it was designed for?  Or is that too much logic and reasoning for this crowd?  The new video shows the balls as they were designed to react, plus we have the other videos that show you how they fare on other conditions.  And as always, they are all great productions.