I recently purchased 15 lb, 2-3" pin NIB 1st quality version of each of these. WHile I've had 2 previous CTs, this is my first new one. At the urging of achappy, Anthony Chapman, I picked up a Solutions Ex, and he was right.
Base:
For the purposes of comparison, and to make sure what type of oil pattern I was actually on, I took a Messenger Ti B/S/P pearl. It's slightly earlier than the standard gold/black Messenger Ti Pearl, but its forte is still medium-light oil, on which there is no better ball. There are equals, but none better. It'll also work fine on true medium oil, but I have to go more direct.
Drillings:
All 3 balls have similar specs and identical drillings, roughly 4 1/2 - 5" x 4", with pin 2 1/2" above the midline. Pins are exactly between the fingers and CG either directly below of slightly kicked out. No weight hole in any ball. Pin-CG distance: 2" on CT, 2.5" on Messenger, 3" on the Solutions.
Test oil pattern:
I found a true medium oil, when I had wanted a medium-light oil. Bizarre in that up to this year, almost every house I regularly visit had medium-light as its standard oil pattern/amount.
Notes:
I have been trying to reduce my revs and think I am on the right track. My revs have always been too much greater than my ball speed and that leads to great looks when I hit the pocket, but mostly results in far too much over/under. I haven't verified but it seems that my track has not changed greatly. WHat is noticeable is that I can't use pins over the bridge quite as well as I used to. So this test is with this new release.
Lanes:
AMF synthetics,with wood approaches.
Messenger Ti B/S/P pearl:
Lay down point at the foul line wound up being around 13 board. The best breakpoint was approximately 45 feet down, around the 5 board. At first, the ball seemed to skid a long way, but as I got into it, I found the dry. The oil line was about 7/8 board. I tried a few at that breakpoint, but this ball didn't have enough surface to handle that area. The 5 board was good as the breakpoint. Still a great hitting ball.
CrunchTime:
Shock! I always thought the B/S/P handled as much oil as my previous CTs and had never put them up against each other. Shows you what happens when you assume! The ball started to hook, break much earlier, I'd guess at maybe 38/40 feet down, showing it can handle larger amounts of oil. Final breakpoint was about 7 board at 40 feet. 5 feet earlier is a HUGE amount for 2 "pearls"! That it can handle more oil than the Messenger is a safe assumption given 2 factors: 1) the CT is half solid/half pearl, while the Messenger is all pearl. 2) The CT is Track's Power Plus EX which is closer to Columbia's Enhanced Super-Flex, while the Messenger is "plain" Super-Flex.
(Aside: It hurts to call Super-Flex "plain" anything; it is still up there with PK 18 as the 2 best coverstock ever made.) Track's Power Plus EX may actually be Columbia's Enhanced Super-Flex, but I can't say for sure. )
I moved my feet about 3 boards deeper and I was able to move the breakpoint closer towards the oil line. It can handle more oil, and probably more carrydown than the Messenger. Hitting power was slightly greater, but not much.
If the lanes got drier during competition, I could probably throw the Messenger faster to keep the line; I am not sure I could throw the CT fast enough to do that.
Solutions Ex:
I expected the Ex to hook less; so I started with my feet 3 boards further outside, to the right. After I went Brooklyn twice, I moved back to where I had been standing for the CrunchTime.
Reminder: The Ex has the same core as the CT and also uses Track's Power Plus Ex coverstock; that is in the ball's name after all.
Feet back in the right place, what I saw was this: it went about 2-3 feet further than the CrunchTime and I could still keep the breakpoint around the oil line, about the 7/8 board. The Ex seemed to flip slightly more in the backend than the CT. This could be due, in differing proportions, to 2 factors: 1) the Ex had a 3" pin-CG distance, while the CT had a 2" pin. 2) The Ex supposedly has a smaller RG Differential, .040", than the CT, .047. That is not a trivial difference, where so many other factors are so close between these 2 balls.
Considering these are 2 brand new balls and 1 virtually new ball (Messenger), I'd have to say, if I were to make a decision based on this FIRST test, the Ex would replace both of the other 2 balls. However, life being what it is, bowling being the experience that it is, one cannot make snap judgements.
I need to make a bare minimum of one more test, of all three balls on medium-light oil. That may be hard to do, seeing what is happening to centers around me lately, but I have one more house in mind. Maybe next week I'll have another report to make.
Thanks for reading ...
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Bowling: Just like hand grenades and horse shoes, you only have to get close.
Life: Deal with what is.
Edited on 9/23/2005 7:33 PM
Edited on 10/1/2005 11:25 PM
