First Impressions
Is this the same ball that was already released? No it’s definitely a pearl asym!

Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 330 rpm
PAP: 5 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 4.25 x 40

Bryan Hoffman (Righty)
Style: Stroker
RPM: 280 rpm
PAP: 4 1/2 & 1 1/2 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: high
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 5 x 45

Tyler Church (Righty)
Style: Power Player
RPM: 450 rpm
PAP: 5 1/2 & 1/2 up
Average Speed: 19 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: med
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 5 x 50

“Keep in mind that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core creates the dynamic shape of the reaction. Your driller will alter the shape to suit your game.”

Pattern
THS: 42ft, 23ml
Sport: TBD

Specs
The Roto Grip X-Cell uses the Gear Nucleus +AI asymmetric core inside the eTrax Ultra Solid Reactive coverstock.

15 pound = RG of 2.50 diff of .056, mb of .019
14 pound = RG of 2.55, diff of .048, mb of .016
Coverstock finish: 2000 grit abralon

Tweener’s Take
I made this mistake multiple times naming my files, pics, etc. when loading the 900 Global Harsh Reality Pearl. It’s because it uses the same name and colors as the Harsh Reality Solid that was released previously. Minor point so let’s get into it. I’ll preface with a couple of things. First, I resurfaced the reactagloss finish to 1000 then Step 2 Compound to get rid of the shiny OOB inconsistency. Second, the house pattern again was playing quite long on the left side in this test session as it was for the Motiv Supra GT. So while not ideal, I could still test. It just kind of boxes you in to a specific area of the lane. That’s not a huge deal since that’s what typically happens on house shots in terms of forcing you to a specific area. I just wish I could show you more downlane movement. Since I can’t quite show you the visual, I’ll spend some time describing it. This is the fairly typical pearl asym shape in the sense that it does get downlane cleanly while the core is churning itself up sooner. That tends to make it look and feel smoother when the pattern plays longer but at the same time offers great control on tough patterns, especially for medium to lower rev rate bowlers. So as opposed to the Supra GT or IQ Tour Ruby that require some lane friction to show the giddyup downlane, the Harsh Reality Pearl core gets it going and kind of rolls up regardless. So while a Mid Late ball can go from big hook in friction to a dart in oil, this ball will be kind of round to rounder. I love what the core does getting the roll going, not relying as much on the pattern in terms of getting started. Of course surface will still dictate the match up or where you play, but you could play this ball even with longer oil, just more direct. In fact, it worked spectacularly on Boardwalk, a pretty flat 35ft sport shot.

Power Player’s Perspective
Now we have Tyler and as we’ve discussed in the past, he gets plenty of shape as he is a bit rev dominant with very low tilt and medium/high axis rotation. That’s a recipe to show off motion. As such, he doesn’t usually need a ball to create tons of its own motion. As you would’ve seen on the Motiv Supra GT that ball had tons of back end motion and accordingly, not the ideal shape for Tyler, the Harsh Reality was actually quite a bit easier to use. Again, the core getting into a roll sooner meant a more visibly controllable backend motion. And while that doesn’t mean it was little motion, the control of that motion makes a huge difference for usability for a bowler with Tyler’s style. Just one note in why there were several shots that went high was dictated by the pattern. Outside of 5 was out of bounds which is odd for a house shot but the ball was pretty strong from in so he had to find a slot where he was deep enough to manage the motion but not get it out too wide or there was no chance of return. That doesn’t matter which ball but in this case, and this is a good lesson in ball selection, Mid Defined motion is actually too much ball. He would likely have more success with a solid mid control or something with a little more surface that allows him to move right and have less sensitivity to the out of bounds in terms of board coverage.

FInal Thoughts
Bottom line is we have another mid Defined or Pearl Asym from the Storm family. This one looks to render the Eternity obsolete in the lineup. If you have a pearl asym already like the Eternity, Attention Star, etc. you’d be hard pressed to need another. But I will say I really liked this piece as the core does a really nice job for my style getting itself going.

Stroker’s Stance
Welcome back. Here’s a quick look at Bryan tossing the new 900 Global Harsh Reality Pearl. SPI releases another shiny asym and from what we saw in mine and Tyler’s test is the pretty traditional shiny asym look. To be honest, I’m starting to feel like this ball is a bit of a standout from the crop of others the Storm family has. As was the case for us, Bryan faced a bit of a tricky long house pattern. However, we were still able to read what the Harsh Reality Pearl is about. It has that big core roll up which gives confidence that it will make the move. You don’t have to wait for the end of the pattern for this thing to go so you can visualize the roll quite easily. Bryan couldn’t move a ton given the condition but in the zone, you can see the motion. It gets downlane reasonably well given the cleaner finish (which is the resurfaced 1000 grit and step 2 compound with a light 3000 scuff. The core gets into a roll and then you have a bit of punch downlane. This motion also easily telegraphed when it wouldn’t make as well. You can sometimes see that it goes a little long on this pattern and it hits light. It’s the typical hit of a big core that has quit up the hill as it used up it’s energy. Big picture, this is a nice mid defined shape that offers an interesting look for Bryan.