I am one of the biggest fans of the Paragon series, having thrown my Paragon Solid probably over 300-400+ games before it sadly finally cracked. When I think of a Paragon, I think of early, quick responding, mind reader that will hook on anything. I was more excited for the Paragon Pearl than I was for Nintendo 64 as a kid. They took my favorite solid of all time, turned it into a pearl and added HK-22 flip technology??? Take all of my money!
The Paragon Pearl has become my standard medium pearl daily driver. I've already put 100-150+ games on it this season and it is my default mid to late session ball. Pairing it with the DV8 Brutal Collision, this duo has been a cheat code for me knocking down new personal high league scores.
I consider the Paragon Pearl to be in the medium range of Pearls, hooking about 2-3 boards less than my Katana Assault on the back end. But this makes the Paragon Pearl extremely controllable and useable in virtually any situation. One of the best things abut the Paragon series has been versatility and by that I mean I can play them all over the lane. My best league score came playing the Paragon Pearl on two different lanes, with two different oil conditions, using the Paragon Pearl to go left, throwing right bouncing curveballs off the friction on one lane and throwing screamers up the gutter on the other. This ball is going to consistently come back and get around the corner from virtually everywhere on the lane. The Paragon Pearl also loves speed and will shape throwing it like a gorilla.
One of my favorite things about the Paragon Pearl is the I-Core 3.0, which is one of the best cores I have ever thrown. The I-Core 3.0 seems to wind the ball up in it's roll phase, speeding up and then corkscrewing through the pins violently resulting in sick pin action. One of the main things I look for in a ball is does it retain energy and wind up violently enough to regularly kick corners. The Paragon Pearl doesn't disappoint as it seems to flip beautifully and then retain most of it's energy exploding like a howitzer shell through the pins.
The QR-11 is one of the earliest and quickest responding covers I've ever thrown. The Paragon Solid was my go to ball for tough conditions because of it's ability to read and move on anything. The Paragon Pearl does not disappoint! With this version being extremely early and flipping in one of the most angular shapes I've seen. I'm a huge believer in the cult of HK-22, my top three balls currently all have HK-22 technology because I love that flip rapid change of direction movement. This Paragon Pearl does not disappoint, flipping like a boomerang when it sees friction and then exploding into the pocket. But the Paragon Pearl is more useable than the solid because the Solid could get quite wild and unmanageable in breakdown and on shorter conditions. But the Paragon Pearl is so controllable with such a manageable backend. I've spent entire blocks and eight-ten game stretches with this ball in my hands because why put it down if I keep smashing the pocket with it over and over?
The Paragon Pearl also holds better in oil than anything I think I've ever played with. I have had quite a few misfires on a house pattern that still struck even missing at the arrows by 4-5 boards, because the Paragon Pearl just beautifully sits and holds in oil. This is one of the most impressive and helpful things about this ball. With how much flip boom there is with this ball. It holds unlike anything keeping you from a world of nasty up the nose splits and giving you a few lucky breaks a session.
Using the Paragon Pearl as a daily driver, I noticed the cover seemed to pick up a lot of dirt and crap in the early life of this ball. But doesn't seem to pick up anything now during cleaning. Also I feel the ball may have worn down a bit as it was absolutely mind bending out of box. But still an amazing daily driver I'm shooting big scores with 100-150 games in.
Like a Zen on steroids or Baby Exotic that's more controllable.
Paired with a Brutal Collision and a Purple Hammer, this is the best three ball bag I've ever had.
