Just curious on how durable the Storm cover stocks are compared to other companies? My pro shop guy says they have the worst cover stocks as far as ball death.. Any truth to this??

Just curious on how durable the Storm cover stocks are compared to other companies? My pro shop guy says they have the worst cover stocks as far as ball death.. Any truth to this??

Storm balls are no better or worse than any other brand, as things stand right now.

Having to clean your balls regularly is a relatively new aspect of bowling ball technology that most bowlers have yet to accept. Resin have always absorbed more oil than urethanes and the newest ones, especially in the last 5-7 years have the highest oil absorption rates eve seen. This plus the need to maintain the very sensitive surfaces of ball are 2 of the main factors that have lead to this situation of "permanent ball death".

Both of these maintenance factors are concepts people just can't seem to wrap their heads around. Most figure, with the rising investment costs of new balls, that they do not need and do not want to do any more to maintain their investment. But it's just like owning any piece of equipment from a car to a house: they all need some degree of maintenance to keep their value.

EVERY ball's performance degrades over time, whether we notice it or not. It's  a fact of physics, of life. Some do it more gradually, some more rapidly, but they all do it.

Balls need to be cleaned of oil IMMEDIATELY after each use, NOT before the next use. Using a ball changes the surface over time, some more quickly than others. Balls need to have the oil extracted and the surface refreshed and restored on a regular basis to maintain the original (or close to it) level of performance.

Every once in a while a ball will not be restored. It could be only one of the above (oil extraction or surface restoration) was done or either one was not done correctly. It could be a problem with the coverstock of the ball, but this is an unusual situation.

Here in Texas, Storm and Ebonite die out quick and my pro shop also say Storm, ebonite and Hammer cover stock die sooner, but Columbia have the longest and most durable cover stock. I have bowled with all makes, and Columbia to me have the best cover stock. I have an Icon from 2001, and it out bowl and bowl more strikes than my team mates Storm, and they are better bowlers than me. Last season I watched half the center lose reaction and get frustrated with their Storm equipment.So this summer I have convinced two of them to at least try Columbia, to me Storm is overrated and every body and their mama bowl with Storm. Their are so many balls out today, try something new.

I'm with NotClay on this.  I still have some storm equipment from 2008 that still roll very well for me.  but I do also go the extra steps to ensure my equipment stays in great condition.

Here in Texas, Storm and Ebonite die out quick and my pro shop also say Storm, ebonite and Hammer cover stock die sooner, but Columbia have the longest and most durable cover stock. I have bowled with all makes, and Columbia to me have the best cover stock. I have an Icon from 2001, and it out bowl and bowl more strikes than my team mates Storm, and they are better bowlers than me. Last season I watched half the center lose reaction and get frustrated with their Storm equipment. So this summer I have convinced two of them to at least try Columbia, to me Storm is overrated and every body and their mama bowl with Storm. Their are so many balls out today, try something new.

So you're actually talking about the current 900Global company when you're talking the old Columbia Icon. Current Columbia is a subsidiary of Ebonite and uses the same coverstock manufacturer.

well said...

Quote from: LoganS on July 24, 2012, 08:00:10 PM

Just curious on how durable the Storm cover stocks are compared to other companies? My pro shop guy says they have the worst cover stocks as far as ball death.. Any truth to this??

Storm balls are no better or worse than any other brand, as things stand right now.

Having to clean your balls regularly is a relatively new aspect of bowling ball technology that most bowlers have yet to accept. Resin have always absorbed more oil than urethanes and the newest ones, especially in the last 5-7 years have the highest oil absorption rates eve seen. This plus the need to maintain the very sensitive surfaces of ball are 2 of the main factors that have lead to this situation of "permanent ball death".

Both of these maintenance factors are concepts people just can't seem to wrap their heads around. Most figure, with the rising investment costs of new balls, that they do not need and do not want to do any more to maintain their investment. But it's just like owning any piece of equipment from a car to a house: they all need some degree of maintenance to keep their value.

EVERY ball's performance degrades over time, whether we notice it or not. It's  a fact of physics, of life. Some do it more gradually, some more rapidly, but they all do it.

Balls need to be cleaned of oil IMMEDIATELY after each use, NOT before the next use. Using a ball changes the surface over time, some more quickly than others. Balls need to have the oil extracted and the surface refreshed and restored on a regular basis to maintain the original (or close to it) level of performance.
well said


Every once in a while a ball will not be restored. It could be only one of the above (oil extraction or surface restoration) was done or either one was not done correctly. It could be a problem with the coverstock of the ball, but this is an unusual situation.

i have a rev rate of 500 and my hyroad from 2008 and my energy from 2009 still work fine. so the whole rev rate thing theop879 is not true at all. this whole thing about storm having a bad coverstock is not true either. I mean if you dont take care of any ball no matter who produce the ball, the ball will crack. storm has produced the best performance balls since 2008. i would imagine if the coverstock had a problem then they would not have received so many ball of the year awards and runner ups. just saying.

Some body already mentioned the idea of friction.  The higher the Ra is, the more obvious it will be that the ball hooks less.
Ra is surface friction, difference between peak and valley.  It is known that the Ra from the factory will come down pretty quickly, likely within a 5-20 games, you will notice some difference, especially in the hook monsters. 
Once balls are hit with 2000 abralon, the Ra becomes almost identical for all balls.  In fact, only down to 500 abralon where there statistical differences in Ra between balls.
You can read all of this in the USBC ball motion study.
http://www.bowl.com/uploadedFiles/Equip_and_Specs/Equip_and_Specs_Home/08ballmotionstudy.pdf

I will likely be in the minority in this opinion, but for me, I hate cleaning balls constantly and have not found "ball death" when the ball is not cleaned. 

Let me rephrase a bit. Personally, I have a preference for equipment when it has essentially taken on the lane surface friction.  I find them more predictable like that.  Meaning I will clean them or wipe them down after each ball, but will rarely touch them up with abralon or polish. 

I don't want to pick on any specific brands here.  I've had a Ebonite V2 which has over 500 games on it.  I've had the surface taken to 2000 max twice in 7 years but each time I do, it was because I wanted to see just a little more friction.  I am certain it doesn't hook as much as it did when it was new, but that's because the Ra has gone down to as little as it's going to be.  I still have it to this day and it's my favorite of all time.
I had an Ebonite Angular One which was totally ridiculous in terms of hook for the first 30 games, but then it literally just stopped.  That was the first time and only time I had that happen with any ball or manufacturer.  Tried surfacing, etc., it didn't matter.
Like my V2, I had a Storm Trauma for 6 or so years and that thing was a beast day 1 and day 2000.
I've got a Storm Furious with several hundred games and hooks as much as it did day 1.

That's my 2 cents.