I have bowled 5 of these and never have I ever used my dry lane ball.  Would it be smart to just leave it at home, or has someone actually needed it.

ALWAYS take a complete arsenel to out of town tournaments.  It never hurts to have it just in case.  You have so many bowlers now that want to throw the dull reactives and particles that you never know just how fast the shot will hold or burn up.  Better to be safe than leave it at home and realize at the last minute the ball you need is sitting at home.
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Steven Vance
Atlanta (Buford), GA
Pro Shop Operator
Advanced Bowling Solutions

If anyone out there is worried about the scores being too high, try duckpin!!

I've needed a weaker resin ball (Storm Too Hot) at Nationals before and had to play really deep with it.  Ofcourse that had to do with our crappy team squad time and the amount of play on the lanes.  But if you are on an earlier squad I have yet to see a need for anything weaker than a medium oil ball, but that's me.
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-Chris: DJ's Pro Shop : Auburn, MA

Here's what I'll take in April:

Smokin' Inferno
Big Hit Pearl
El Nino X-It (although I'm thinking of getting a ball for heavy oil, so stay tuned)
White Dot
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White Dot
Where am I going and why am I in this basket?
"I wish I was in Tijuana...eating barbequed iguana..."
GO LEAFS GO!!

I've had just the opposite experience at nationals.  I typically fight over reaction and lack of oil most every time I bowl...  all three times I have been at nationals, we drew fresh shots for singles...and of course fresh oil for team event.  All three years, I ended up using my strongest equipment and wished that I had something a little stronger...  I would say take the strongest equipment and a spare ball...  if you get out there and need something for dry lanes.... buy it.  They usually have reasonable prices.. especially for dry lane equipment .

S^2
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-Strapper Squared

Alias Generator

The way it sounds, I need to take something that is strong for the dry lanes.  Something like a Beast, Power Groove or Hot Rod. Either that or just polish up my Triton Elite so that it doesn't have the big back end that it has.

My best year was Albuquerque 2000, 1868 using an old Ebonite Puma.  Even arcing pearl.  Knoxville did well in doubles and singles with an Ebonite Tornado, a weak reactive playing 25 to 12 (inside 4th arrow is usually not my game).  Last couple of years I have used a Dynothane Thing on the fresh and a V2 Dry on D/S.  I have done 13 of these and never had to use my strongest stuff, usually medium or weak balls.  

This year I will take the Thing, the Tornado, a Blue Dot, A V2 sanded, and the V2 Dry.  The Recharge, the Thing Lives and my other aggressive stuff stays home.  Nothing that is really aggressive on the back ends - I get in too much trouble with those kinds of balls.

Many, many times the ABC/USBC plays like a reverse block, but you kind of have to be prepared for anything because almost everything than can affect the lanes has at one time of day, at one time of the year in one part of the country.

A friend, with medium speed and medium revs recently told ne that he has used a Lane #1 XXXL as his strike ball for 2 of the 3 events 2 years ago. I've seen it dry but never that dry.

Like NOTHUMB says, a lot, A LOT depends on your style.

I'd definitely suggest, if you have TRUE medium revs, a medium light oil ball with extra length and extra backend for playing a 4th arrow shot that must go no further right than the 10 board all the way down the lanes. Very often, but not always, the out of bounds begins, for the right side, at the 10 board. SO, you taregt the 12 board as a breakpoint, giving yourself a margin of error of 2 boards. (After all most of us are not PBA quality consistent.) Where you target at the arrows depends on the ball and your delivery.

I'd also suggest a dry lanes ball and a meidum-heavy oil ball, JUST IN CASE, both drilled for control. I've hardly ever seen wide open shots like we get in normal house leagues.

If you intend to bowl the BJI or the BTM tourney, you might want to bring a hevay oil ball. SOmetimes they oil heavy; sometimes you get dry-ish. Also a crap shoot.

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"...for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise...."
J. R. R. Tolkien