First Impressions
For one of us, the Storm Physix Blackout just about looked like the best ball they’ve ever thrown!

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: 42ft, 23ml
Sport: TBD

Specs
The Storm Physix Blackout uses the Atomic AI Asymmetric core inside the NeX Pearl Reactive coverstock.

15 pound = RG of 2.47 diff of .055, mb of .018
14 pound = RG of 2.52, diff of .054, mb of .016
Coverstock finish: 2000 grit abralon

Stroker’s Stance
It was a bit of a trick but I’m starting with Bryan because he was that bowler. The Physix Blackout was just outstanding for him. We are on this typical house shot with the oob outside of 5 and the typical over/under cliff from this design. Despite being an asym, this was one of the most continous asyms Bryan has ever thrown. I’m not 100% sure why this almost perfect matchup happened but The physix Blackout had this to say. The video is almost self-explanatory. He did have to move away from the friction up the outside. So he did that and the ball looked great. Perfect distance in terms of lane read which was medium length but instead of rolling out, it just kept climbing and driving through the pins. OK it’s not the first time Bryan has had nice strikes. But what was special is he could keep moving and he kept having the continuous motion through the pins. Sometimes he gets a bit trapped into a small slot. Not so of this Physix Blackout. He kept going and it worked even beyond the 3rd arrow. Just a quick comparison to the Roto Grip Attention Star S2 which also comes with 2000 surface hybrid asym. It’s earlier and way smoother in shape. Theoretically they can both be fit in to the Strong Defined on paper but the S2 is way on the smoother end while the Blackout was more angular for Bryan.

Tweener’s Take
I don’t want to say tale of 2 balls exactly but the Physix Blackout was a lot more arcy for me. It was much more a control ball. Not a ton of side to side motion and more front to back control. This is the kind of shape that makes much more sense for sport shot than house shot for me. It’s hard to describe the cover reaction. It essentially doesn’t feel super early but the backend roll feels like it’s been smoothed out a ton, like it’s friction response has been tamed via the earlier read. It is pretty speed sensitive. I could get it to snap off the way Bryan’s ball shaped by slowing down the speed but then it’s almost uncontrollable. Perhaps this will bear out to be more about versatility than sensitivity. Hard to say for sure. What I can say is that I scored pretty well with it on Statue of Liberty but it didn’t look as good on the house shot for me. The bottom line is it’s a very controlled motion for me which I usually ask for as a lefty on sport shots. It’s more like a mid control asym for me which is a bit bizarre space if I’m being honest. I feel like I need this one to marinate before I can appreciate if it makes my bag or if it winds up a kind of specialty piece.

Power Player’s Persective
For those who’ve been with us for a while, Sean makes a guest appearance while Tyler is out temporarily. He was especially curious how this ball will work and fit around his trusty Proton Physix and Infinite Physix. This is a fascinating look as we have the Proton with NeX solid, Blackout with NeX pearl, and Infinite with ReX pearl. Firstly, the Blackout is a bit strong for the house shot with the 2000 grit finish. It’s a fairly smooth ball until you slow it down a touch and then it goes sideways. Same thing I saw. So it seems quite versatile to hand position adjustments. Roll it forward or with lots of speed and it almost feels urethane like. Get around it or slow it down, it makes a beeline to the pocket. Next to the Proton, even with similar surface finishes, the NeX solid clearly has more underlying traction and reads earlier. Definitely not a god match up to this med/light pattern but a good visual of how they compliment each other. With the Infinite, it’s extremely obvious how much longer the ReX pearl is. Still on the smooth side, i.e., doesn’t respond as fast to friction as R2S but an obvious step down to the Physix Blackout.

Bottom Line
At the end of the day, people who love the Physix line will want the Blackout. It is a bit of a specialty ball in the sense that I’m not fully sure what slot I’d put it in the bag but I think it will be versatile, a bit of a chameleon which may make it pretty popular somewhere in the medium to medium high volume part of the bag.

Thanks for watching.