Ebonite Gives you the Choice…

First Impressions
The Ebonite Choice is a very aggressive snow tire like ball. Loads and loads of midlane.

Our Testers:
Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 375 rpm
PAP: 5 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 65 x 5 x 40
Intent: Medium/long roll with a medium transition at the breakpoint

Sean Jensen (Righty)
Style: Power player
RPM: 475 rpm
PAP: 4 3/4; 3/8 up
Average Speed: 19 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 65 x 5 x 40
Intent: Medium/long roll with a medium transition at the breakpoint

Bryan Hoffman (Righty)
Style: Higher Tilt Stroker
RPM: 280 rpm
PAP: 4 1/4 & 1/8 down
Average Speed: 18 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: high
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 65 x 4.5 x 35
Intent: Medium roll with a slow transition at the breakpoint

Thanks to Greg Bickta and Perfect Aim Pro Shop for drilling our equipment.
Thanks to Limerick Bowl in Limerick, PA.

Buy the Ebonite Choice at PerfactAimBowling.com.

“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:
THS: 40ft, 23ml
Sport: NCAA #2: 38ft, 24.98 ml, 2.9:1 ratio

Value
C+
The Choice is a high end ball with an aggressive cover and aggressive core. It felt so big I’m not sure how often it will come into play. For Sport, sure. For house, not sure.

Specs
The Ebonite Choice uses the Mod-1 core inside the GSV-1 hybrid cover already seen on the Verdict.
15 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .054, mb of .021
14 pound = RG of 2.51, diff of .054, mb of .021

Overall
THS: C
Sport: B+
Alright, let’s jump right in. The Choice is a lot of ball as already mentioned. The cover is strong and has an aggressive out of box dull finish. It wants to chew up the fronts so you have to get into some oil. But I felt like it was pushing me way in to see enough length on the house pattern but then at the same time just stands up a little too slowly. It’s trying to turn over but feels a little slow and labored to get into a full roll. I think this ball is simply too big for this house condition. I can certainly see the general shape which is one that can help when there’s lots of volume, which means you can play more direct and then can see the core turn over and get into a roll. This is a modified One core but honestly, the cover is so strong that it’s hard to reconcile. To some extent, I felt similarly when we tested the Verdict. I said it just didn’t like to be thrown away from the pocket. I think the Choice is somewhat similar. Now you can see next to Verdict, how much the Verdict gets into a complete turnover and hard roll through the pins. That’s partially due to the coverstock being brought to 4000 plus a light touch of polish. It allows the cover itself to match up better to the condition.
My score is what it is simply because I’m hard pressed to understand how often such a large ball will come into play on your typical house shot.

For Sean, even though this is a hybrid, it’s so aggressive that it was tricky. Again he didn’t find it to be the type of aggressive where he can open up the angles a ton as it just burned up so much energy. So he had to still tighten up his angles a bit and you can see the “rumbling, bumbling, stumbling” heavy roll the ball has. It went through the pins nice but this is tricky. Surface change for Sean and I would absolutely be needed if we wanted to even think about using the Choice on house conditions.

For Bryan, he saw the hook set motion but one that doesn’t have tons of backend. It’s like the core stands up but with a bit more forward roll than angle. The Choice is the kind of ball that generates less entry angle than some big balls but not totally uncommon for “snow tires”. Bryan saw a controlled hook set that he was able to take advantage of once he can see where it sets. On the other hand, the Verdict again had a more continuous motion rather than that aggressive hook set of the Choice.

Sport Shot
On to our sport shot test. Here is where I felt the Choice shines. With the cleaner backends of the flatter sport shot, the Choice now really makes the backend move. It’s still strong and requires me to get get deep but now I like the punch and controlled but aggressive transition. It blended the pattern and struck from 14 to 5 as well as 17 to 8. That’s a nice wide track on a sport shot. For Bryan the arcing motion matched up nicely on the flatter pattern and he can feel the bigger core hit nicely and stronger than some of the weaker cores we tested.

Final Thoughts
In the end, the Ebonite Choice is a big ball with a large foot print. If you don’t show it enough oil in the first 30 feet, the ball may look weaker than it is because the core just doesn’t bend since it’s burnt out. It really burns up early. However, show it some oil where you can play it more direct or move it onto the tougher shots and it really begins to shine. Alternatively, you can adjust the surface to make it more usable the way we did to the Verdict and you will find a pretty good ball. You just have to decide if you want to get it and hold it for when you need something aggressive or adjust surface and use it more often. It’s up to you.