“Mission Complete”
A versatile top performer.
Drilling
This ball was drilled pin above ring finger, mass bias on the strong side, with a weight hole in the PAP. Won’t spend much time on drilling as this will vary and coverstock is 75% of the reaction. As usual, I suggest to work with your local pro to find what best works for you.
First Impressions
This is a high performance ball which commands top dollar. Thus, I was surprised how playable it was in a medium-light THS where I first tested it. My personal experience with high performance balls is that they tend to be “oil soakers”, gripping the lanes very aggressively. When a ball like that is used on medium-light shots, it tends to burnout, having a relatively weak backend. Not so with the Mission. I could see this ball being used by many different player types on all kinds of conditions. It really seems more versatile than your typical high end ball. This is a very strong ball, no doubt, and it should fill your top spot in your arsenal. But you will see backend with this ball even when you are on lighter conditions. When you put it on a heavier condition, the ball really shines. You can see what it was meant to do.
Price 8/10
As this ball is in the highest performance category for Ebonite, the price is no surprise. It’s not the most affordable ball out there and it’s not meant to be. However, for an aggressive ball, if you absolutely had to have the top of the line ball and you only wanted one, I would not hesitate to recommend this ball due to its versatility.
Core
The Mission 1.0 core has a 2.48 RG with a .050 differential and a .013 mass bias for a 15 pound ball. It likes to rev up midlane and seems to read the condition well.
Cover 9/10
As I said earlier, this is a versatile ball and no doubt much of that versatility can be attributed to the XL1200 coverstock. The out of box finish is 2000 abralon. That finish matches up well on various conditions so I preferred to leave it OOB. On heavier conditions, the finish allows it to have some grip and still have a strong motion down lane. In fact, I found it to have a very strong backend reaction on heavier conditions. On medium conditions, you’ll have to move in more, but you will still see some traction and a pretty strong backend reaction to allow you to carry well.
Reaction 9/10
Again, versatility is the name of the game. I liked the ball motion on both medium and heavier patterns. If I compare this ball to another very popular high performance ball, the Rotogrip Cell, the Mission reads the midlane later and saves enough energy to have a strong backend motion. The Mission does not burn up very quickly, allowing it to play on various conditions. It is much cleaner through the fronts than the Cell is. The core and cover seem to match up very well in this ball. On heavier conditions, the backend on the Mission is fantastic. When you watch my video, take a look at how consistently strong and powerful the backend reaction was compared to the medium shot. Nevertheless, on both conditions, the ball seemed to transfer a lot of energy to the pins upon contact, providing very good carry.
Overall 8.5/10
Overall, this ball has a very strong reaction, with very nice backend. The core and cover seem to match up very well. The core wants to rev up early while the cover is pretty clean through the fronts, allowing a relatively smooth transition and strong backend, making it very readable. While many high end balls aren’t known for big backend because of their aggressive nature, this ball is not one of them. This ball is strong, yet versatile. You will see strong entry angles on many different conditions. On the heavier conditions, this could be a benchmark ball.
If you are in the market for a versatile high end ball that you don’t have to put away after 5 frames, consider the Ebonite Mission.
For a full review and Digitrax analysis, visit my Tamer Bowling Video Ball Reviews.