Spider-Man would be proud…

First Impressions
The concept of a tour edition ball is done very well with the Web Tour. This looks like a sport benchmark success story waiting to happen.

Our Testers:
Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 375 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: 65 x 5 x 40
Intent: Medium/long roll with a medium transition at the breakpoint

James Kasee (Righty)
Style: Power Player
RPM: 425 rpm
PAP 4 1/2 & 1/4 down
Average Speed: 19 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: 19 degrees
Axis rotation: 60 degrees
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: 17.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: high
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 65 x 4.5 x 35
Intent: Medium roll with a slow transition at the breakpoint

Thanks to Jeff Smith and Pure It Bowling for drilling our equipment.
Buy the Hammer Web Tour Edition at PureItBowling.com.
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:
THS: 40ft, 23ml
Sport: PBA Don Johnson: 40ft, 26.6 ml, 2.66:1 ratio

Value
B
The Hammer Web Tour is reasonably priced and will compete with other “tour edition” balls on the market.

Specs
The Web Tour uses the Spheroid TE symmetrical core inside the New TourV1 Solid coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.47, diff of .030
14 pound = RG of 2.52, diff of .026
Coverstock finish: 360/1000 abralon

Overall
THS: B
Sport: B+

This is an interesting piece from Hammer. This formula of low RG, low Diff in a solid has been done by other brands. However this one actually uses a different formula in terms of coverstock to get it to work. This told me what it is from 3 balls thrown. One was a more direct shot which felt like it read the lane at my feet. One shot was where it had too much room, it kind of read and stopped leaving a bucket. The 3rd shot and every shot after that were flush shots. This ball uses aggressive surface to give you really good control of the first 30 feet of the lane. It also has a lower rg which means it wants to get itself into a roll quickly. The lower differential also gives a controlled and predictable backend motion. The short version. This ball felt like the control of the aggressive Black Widow Urethane in the first 30 feet but then instead of that soft motion of urethane backend, it actually hooks like reactive but in a controlled way. I also tested playing my cheater house shot method, hard and fast up the outside and it looked great from there as well. The speed got the rough cover through while the pattern’s built in friction helped it drive straight through the 8-9.

James was next. The ball is very clear in terms of what it is. The aggressive cover means it needs some room unless you really overpower it with speed or less rotation. The core is not huge downlane. So you see the limits in both directions. But you have a nice little zone in the middle to play with. James doesn’t need this much surface so the Web Tour can lose some energy with his higher rev rate. It worked well enough but the Web Tour Edition would come into its own more on the sport pattern where the backends are hotter.

Finally Bryan was up. We can predict what he would see and it would be correct. The ball’s surface means it needs some oil. Typical house patterns don’t have a ton of oil until you start really getting into the flood. But Bryan doesn’t create tons of side to side motion. So if he pushed it to the outside friction, it did make it back to the pocket but just not enough energy to carry consistently. What he needed to do was move in but also move the breakpoint in. There, the ball did it’s business. So 15 to 12 looked great. 12 to 6 not so much. The positive is easy pocket find.

Sport Shot
We tested on the 40ft PBA Don Johnson pattern. The Hammer Web Tour Edition has a nice shape for a sport shot. Backends that are already aggressive on sport shots gives it extra oomph while the aggressive surface gives it up front control. The ball doesn’t lack backend on this 40ft sport pattern at all. For James being higher rev, the ball doesn’t stop. I think a touch more volume would be a better match up or less built in lane friction like you might see on tour. For Bryan it also wasn’t so difficult to find the pocket and even though he’s a little in, the ball isn’t depleted of it’s energy going through the pins.

Final Thoughts
Ultimately, I think the Hammer Web Tour Edition is a nice addition to the lineup. It’s sometimes hard to say if these type of balls will wind up great benchmarks or more niche pieces. Tour editions are now using lower diffs to get control on tough patterns and while that’s great for tough shots, house shots are typically far from tough and many bowlers can use the help of something with a stronger core. Nevertheless, the average rev rate continues to increase with 2 handers and so on that this may be just rightly placed on the market and timely.