The Torrent Flows…

First Impressions
The Storm Torrent makes a strong visible but smooth move to the pocket. Looks like a nice middle of the road benchmark type ball.

Our Tester:
Doug Scheidig
RPM: 325 rpm
PAP: 5 & 1 up
Average Speed: 15.75 mph
Axis tilt: medium
Axis rotation: medium
Ball Weight: 15 pounds

Doug is a member of the PBA, has cashed several times in PBA regionals, and has won several local tournaments. He also has 13 300 games and 3 800 series.

Thanks to Limerick Bowl in Limerick, PA.

“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.”

Test Pattern:
40ft THS, 22ml, 10:1 ratio

Value
8.5/10
The Storm Torrent comes in comes in at a quite high value as it simply offers very nice bang for the buck. It is a bit strong straight out of the box especially with the 2000 grit finish but knowing the R2S solid coverstock, it wears nicely and you can easily adjust the finish.

Specs
The Storm Torrent uses the new Booster HV (high volume) Core weight block along with the well known R2S Solid coverstock. Cover is finished with a 2000-grit pad out of box. For a 15lb ball, it has an RG of 2.56, diff of .044 which is benchmark area.

Overall
8/10
We wondered what we were going to see with the Torrent and how different it was really going to be from the Rocket Ship. The specs are very close at 2.54 and .046 for the Rocket Ship. There’s also a small shape modification and came at 3000 factory sheen. When we tested the Rocket Ship, I had hoped it would be similar in shape to the Furious which used the same R2S cover but with the Turbine core. The Rocket Ship turned out to be “bigger” overall than the Furious in terms of hook shape. Seeing the Torrent go down the lane really started to remind me a bit more of the Turbine core reaction shape. It gets down the lane and then you can tell when it sees friction as it’s a bit of a quick read and then punch in the roll phase through the pins. It’s not flippy but you can just see the reaction when it’s making its move which makes it very predictable. When you watch the video you will see the smoothness going downlane yet if you watch carefully, you can see the transition downlane I’m talking about.

Interestingly when on a sport shot, the ball really smoothed out it’s shape. Traditionally you might think it would do the opposite due to the typically squeaky clean backends of tougher shots. However, the ball transitioned very smoothly and can be played more direct. In that regard, it reminded me of the Storm Hy-Road Solid on sport shots. Blends out the pattern and you can play more front to back than side to side.

Doug had a chance to compare the Torrent to the Code Black. He could stand in the identical spot and hit the same target to strike with both balls. However, the Code Black is cleaner and is more punchy downlane. If you look really closely you will see slight difference in where each ball leaves the deck with the Code Black going through with a touch more energy retention.

Let’s discuss the shots that didn’t make the cut. Doug had a touch of over/under reaction. He was finding the ball wanting to creep up on the headpin. Misses in went through the face. He moved in to give it room and he found a happier place. However, misses out do not recover very well as the ball simply loses too much energy.

Final Thoughts
We like the Storm Torrent where it is in the lineup. It fills a baseline solid coverstock space very nicely in the affordable Thunder Line. It ultimately would make the Rocket Ship redundant in my mind. There are 5 different core shapes in the Thunder line currently and I think that could be a good or bad thing. I think it could complicate ball selection for a bowler looking for an affordable arsenal but the Torrent will make a nice benchmark solid.