Roto Grip brings back the Nucleus core and puts it in the MicroBite cover. This is one beast of a core and it’s return is fitting.

First Impressions
I’m thinking this is definitely the strongest bowling ball I personally have. I’m going to need some oil or play deeper to keep this ball in play. Very different than the first Cell I had?!?

Remember that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core will create the dynamic shape. Your drilling will alter the shape to suit your game and conditions you bowl on.
Our tester:
Tweener: Coach T (350 rpm) 60 x 5 1/2 x 40
Yours truly tested the Roto Grip Hyper Cell. This layout is intended to get the ball to get further down lane and store some energy to slightly combat the very aggressive nature of the ball.
Tony Rado of Tony Rado’s Pro Shop drilled our test equipment. Tony has the highest qualifications as the only Advanced Certified IBPSIA Technician in New Jersey.
Please work with your local pro shop operator to find what best works for you.
Test Patterns:
THS: 41ft tapered shot 7:1 ratio, 20 ml
Sport: Designed locally, similar to the Teen Masters Qualifier 2014, 42 ft, 2:1 ratio, 25 ml

Value 8/10
I always knock down the high end balls a bit since I have to measure their cost against their versatility. The Roto Grip Hyper Cell is a strong ball and will be limited a bit due to that.

Core
The Hyper Cell brings back the Nucleus core that was used on the Cell line originally. This massive beast of a core is 7 pounds! It has an RG of 2.52 and massive differential of 0.056 with a pretty high mass bias of 0.018. This is a strong dense core which really hits hard. It’s designed to give the driller different options while still maintaining the dynamics the designer intended with the core.

Cover 9/10
The Roto Grip Hyper Cell bowling ball uses the 80H MicroBite solid cover. The MicroBite cover was first released with the Defiant and it was a reasonable success. It’s not clear how different this cover is from the one on the Defiant. The Hyper Cell comes out of box with a 2000-grit finish.

Reaction 8.5/10
I always felt there were 2 balls that stood out for me as truly the hardest hitting balls I’ve thrown. Some might remember the Columbia Rock which was one. The other was the original Roto Grip Cell. I never liked the Columbia Rock in terms of overall ball reaction but I always remembered how hard it hit for me when I got it to the pocket. I vividly recall the strength and power the original Cell hit the pocket with. Because of how aggressive it was, I could never “loop” the ball, meaning I could never throw it away from the pocket and have it come back. I saw plenty of other bowlers bring it back but I couldn’t.
The Hyper Cell is looking like something pretty different for me these days. With the Hyper Cell, it can be thrown away from the pocket and it still makes a strong move back to the pocket despite it’s aggressive cover and core. With that being said, it hits strong but not quite as explosive as I remember the original Cell. Very strong without a doubt but no reason to use that cliche of “strongest hitting ball” since a lot of balls hit this hard and you need some decent volume of oil to allow this ball to store some energy.
This is a strong asymmetric ball which allows it to have a defined move at the breakpoint. Despite it’s strength, I didn’t have too much trouble getting this ball to get down lane. However, you can tell it’s strength easily as if you aren’t left enough (as a righty) you will go through the nose. You can easily see it’s strength at the breakpoint and the pins as well. If you are battling carry down or a bit of over/under with another ball, this one will handily deal with it.
I found this ball to be a great compliment to the Critical Theory. The Critical Theory is a strong pearl asymmetric that plays like a pretty strong solid ball. Their core shapes yield similar overall hook shapes. The Critical Theory rolled as heavily and hooked as much as my Nano. In fact, it’s cover was less sensitive to push than the Nano, despite being a pearl. The Nano shined up more easily. With that established, the Hyper Cell is a step up in overall strength from either ball. On the house condition, both the Hyper Cell and the Critical Theory were continuous. However, as you can see from the video, the Critical finished further right off the deck with less deflection (I’m lefty). It stored more energy due to the cover allowing it to get just slightly further down lane. On the other hand, the Soul seemed to more often finish off the deck between the 8 and 9 pin which is just right. The Hyper Cell also shows off its strength on off hits as it still carries nicely.

Digitrax

The tracks gives you an idea of how these balls compare. The Hyper Cell is stronger and uses more energy up front which tames it’s backend slightly compared to the Critical Theory. There is about a 1/2 degree difference in entry angle which is visible in the video as well. The main take away is that you will need to put the Hyper Cell into more volume to get it to push down lane further and stay right of the headpin (for a righty).

Overall 9.5/10
The Roto Grip Hyper Cell represents the latest pinnacle for the marque. If you are bowling on medium to medium-high volume patterns, this will be a nice piece to have in the bag. It will also help those with less hand get more punch at the pocket. I found the Hyper Cell a perfect compliment to the Critical Theory. We didn’t get a chance to compare it directly to the Defiant Soul but would likely be a nice compliment there as well. Although I would say the shape of the hook is more similar between the Nucleus core and Trilliptic core. The Hyper Cell is the strongest ball Roto Grip has and if you must have the strongest then…