First Impressions
Looks neat rolling down the lane. Seems like a potential stronger type benchmark but could also get a little lost amidst everything else.

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: 50 x 5 x 45

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: 50 x 5 x 45

Tyler Church (Righty)
Style: Power Player
RPM: 425 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: 50 x 5 x 45

“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: 40ft, 23ml
Sport: TBD

Specs
The Storm Ion Max uses the Element Max A.I. Asymmetric core inside the NRG Solid Reactive coverstock.

15 pound = RG of 2.47 diff of .055, mb of .014
14 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .053, mb of .010
Coverstock finish: 2000 grit abralon

Tweener’s Take
Ok where to start with the Ion Max. We saw this Element Max core first in the Ion Pro and that was in benchmark territory. Had a way cleaner look as you would expect and really nice punch. The core is not really as strong as the numbers would indicate in my experience. So with the NRG solid cover, I feel this ball is pretty cover dominant. This ball vaguely reminded me of the Roto Grip Tour Dynam-x because of that but core in the Ion is stronger. What that means is that you see the cover dig in. It’s not super early, despite being an NRG cover and low RG core. Just watch the Subzero Forge from Motiv if you want to see early. The backend was pretty arcy for me, fairly even. I felt like I wanted a bit more to be honest. It was way better from straighter trajectories for me but it didn’t take long for carry to reduce a bit since the cover is so strong. Now to be clear, I really don’t have an issue with the softer arc and strong cover as it feels very controllable. However, it just didn’t punch as nicely as I would like which reduced my carry a bit. Again, this is compounded with the HPL lanes which have lots of midlane friction. We’ve seen the NRG before, going back to the Virtual Gravity and it’s pretty reliable. It will also lane shine which will make it weaker but a bit more handy. Plus I think bowlers on Pro-Anvilane will get the punch I felt I was missing.

Power Player’s Persective
I was thinking it would look better for a higher rev bowler and initially, Tyler actually saw the same thing I did. Excellent pocket control, low carry. Finally we said, get in to where your breakpoint would be a bit closer to 10 downlane, more in the oil. Voila, it looked much better. It’s still not a ball that loves huge angles as the cover is just too strong and will run out of steam but something like 22 to 10 looked great. The thing is the change is so subtle. When he as more like 5 at the breakpoint, At the pins everything looked fine until it went through the pins. Then you notice the deflection. It’s one of those things where you really have to pay attention to what the ball is doing at the end of the deck. Again, the cover at least OOB is too strong for this pattern and house. Not in the sense you can’t get to the pocket but takes a bit too much precision to carry. That said, I’m showing you where it works here.

Stroker’s Stance
Now Bryan takes a spin with the Ion Max and again to start, he saw the same thing. Pocket was easy to find, carry was elusive. Kept moving in to catch more oil and found a great shot when he got to about 16-17 at the arrows to about 10 at the breakpoint. The ball is quite smooth and arcy for Bryan so he couldn’t swing the ball massively. It tightened him up a touch and missed in to go high. Then he used more angle with slower speed and it hooked up. So he edged even further left and found a shot again. 18 to maybe 12 looked good. He didn’t find it super easy either to find carry.

Bottom Line
All that said, it might sound like we weren’t thrilled. That’s not really it. We liked the shape and I think the Storm Ion Max could be a good benchmark, possibly mid control + or strong control – where you have a bit more volume or the mids don’t play with a ton of friction. I always think about where something fits in an arsenal and that’s why I said at the outset, it will need to find it’s way around other balls that fit more squarely in their respective category.

Thanks for watching.