First Impressions
The new Storm Ion Max Pearl looks like how a pearl asym should look going down the lane.
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Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 365 rpm
PAP: 5 1/8 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 50 x 4.5 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: low
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 50 x 5 x 50
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: 55 x 4.75 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: 44ft, 25.8ml, 12:1 ratio
Sport: TBD
Specs
The Storm Ion Max Pearl uses the new Element Max™ A.I. asymmetric core inside the new NRG™ Pearl 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: Power Edge
Tweener’s Take
Storm brings us the pearl version of the big Ion Max stateside. It’s a shinty asym and if you’ve been with us long enough, you know that at least I typically like these balls. They provide some natural length while allowing me to take advantage of that big core hit. Sometimes they are a little too round. Occasionally too sharp. The Ion Max Pearl is just right more or less but let me explain. For me, I like when balls fit the traditional bill of intent. This one fits right in the Mid Defined category. I’ll let you decide if you like the colors as it goes down the lane. What I know is I struck a lot. I feel like the white pigmentation gives the ball a little less cover bite, there’s been some discussion out there about different colors providing different motion. This matches the type of shape we saw from the original. It’s deceptively stronger than it looks and I think we felt the same way about the solid. It looks smooth but has good punch. It’s not as obviously strong until you compare it to something else. For example, I had my RST Hyperdrive pearl, which is one of my favorite shiny asyms right now and you can see now that the Ion Max Pearl is actually a smidge stronger. The RST Pearl needs just a touch more friction to go but when it does pop, it has stronger pop than the Ion Max Pearl.
Power Player’s Perspective
When I asked what Tyler thought, he said, it’s a bowling ball. It doesn’t mean what it sounds like. He was actually complimenting it meaning it does exactly what he expected it to do. We test a lot of equipment and sometimes we are wowed, sometimes surprised. In this case, he was confident in saying, this is exactly what he expects out of a mid defined ball in terms of shape and overall motion. I will say generally Tyler doesn’t keep shiny asyms in the bag. They tend to be a little too clean for the big motor for his slightly rev dominant game so he gets a bit more over/under and less consistency from say a shiny symmetric. The stability of a symmetric core is beneficial for him in shiny equipment. As you watch and even as I watch back, I was a little surpised how many 9 pins he left. The ball really looks like it has giddy up. The trouble is that on a cliffed house shot, small moves in especially on the asym this is, meant the shape broke just a bit. Meaning it becomes prone to flat corners. If the pattern was better blended, this type of motion would work better for Tyler. But his high track and rev dominance means a hard read of the lane and small moves on a cliff can mean big changes. But overall the Ion Max Pearl Motion is pretty.
Stroker’s Stance
For Bryan, I feel like shiny asyms can be hit or miss. Typical issue on a cliffed shot again is that he is playing close to that friction line. So many times the balls are too strong to play right in the friction but then when he opens up, the shiny asyms don’t read early enough while the cores just kind of stand up and quit so he doesn’t get good hit or margin for error. I feel like big picture, that was pretty much the case for Bryan with the Ion Max Pro. You will see that he was able to strike pretty nicely a bunch but he had to find a specific way of striking. In this case, it was less about location as he tried in, out, into the friction, etc. and nothing really changed. It looked lazy until he really tried to get on it. Meaning he had to roll it as pure as he could and then it absolutely transformed. However, that just doesn’t give him a lot of confidence.
Final Thoughts
The Ion Max Pearl goes straight into the Mid Defined category. A lot of people liked the Ion Max Solid and those people will recognize the look and motion with a cleaner and punchier motion. It would be a really nice 1-2 there. Of our testers, I’d say myself as the tweener/high track had the best look in terms of consistency and carry. It feels like the motion is more suited to bowlers with higher tracks and the more speed/rev matched you are, the better.
Thanks for watching.