I’m Making a Statement…

First Impressions
The Hammer Statement definitely made one. Its strong all around. Good traction, strong in the midlane, strong downlane. No shying away from making a huge piece.

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

Sean Jensen (Righty)
Style: Power player
RPM: 475 rpm
PAP: 5 1/2 & 1/4 up
Average Speed: 18.5 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

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 Statement 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 Dick Weber: 45ft, 23.45 ml, 3:1 ratio

Value
B
Despite being a top line strong solid asym, this ball feels like it will be pretty usable for many bowlers on a lot of conditions, earning it decent marks.

Specs
The Hammer Statement uses the new Statement asymmetrical core inside the Aggression CFI Solid coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.47, diff of .054, mb of .015
14 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .053, mb of .015
Coverstock finish: 500/2000 abralon

Overall
THS: B+
Sport: B+
I thought hard about what Hammer was looking to do with the Statement when the RipD line was just released. When throwing these pieces, I can immediately tell you we were impressed. When comparing the lines, the covers are identical and the specs are similar. However, the ball reaction is different so what gives? In a brief conversation with EBI, the technicalities are that the majority of the mass has been moved to the bottom on the Statement vs top heavy on the RipD. What does that mean? Simple, mass towards the bottom stores more energy while mass towards the top expends energy faster. That was easy to see in ball reaction. While the overall strength is quite similar, we did feel the Statement had more punch downlane. To me, that extra pop can help the average bowler take out the corners just one or two more times and who wouldn’t want that. All I said above leads to higher scores for the Statement over the RipD Solid. You’ll see why as we go through our testers.
For me, this was a lot of ball and I took a little bit until I realized it’s just super strong and I needed to move. Generally, I could be between the 3rd and 4th arrow. The ball showed off its backend capability when I occasionally missed out. It’s still a solid so you have to take care there. At the same time, forget about missing in. Down lane motion is too strong to hold from there.

Sean is next and surprise, surprise. He really enjoyed throwing the Statement and loved the overall motion. There is something about the way this core transitions. It’s visible in the color swirls. It has a smooth transition but one that just keeps coming. You generally feel like it’s still going and just slices right through the pins. It really is a shape that was very well matched to Sean. And despite being a solid asym which is typically too much, it had the shape that made him comfortable throwing the bigger piece. Only thing Sean saw occasionally was the weak corner pin which is not all that surprising with the balls intended for heavier conditions.

Bryan was next and again, that extra backend punch on the high end piece meant this thing really looked good for him. He enjoyed the heavy rolling RipD Solid as well so it’s not surprising. In fact, the Statement rolled so hard down lane that he left a couple of stone 7 pins. Generally the ball barreled through the pins for him. It puts him closer to the 3rd arrow and could notably open up the lane more than he typically can. Again no major surprise the big oiler can plac corners at times as they can run out of energy.

Sport Shot
We’re testing on the 45ft Dick Weber Pattern. Normally I like to play 6 to 5 or so but the Hammer Statement was so strong it promptly nosed up. SMall move and I can strike but it’s a tight fit. This pattern can be playable from multiple angles and 13 to 9 also worked quite well. What’s even more interesting is that even 19 to 10 worked for me. The ball shape gave it tons of versatility.
For Sean, here the ball is too much. He had to get quite deep but also had to take care not to get too wide. It wasn’t making sense until he got past the 5th arrow and then the motion looked really good. But he doesn’t want to have to play that deep.
For Bryan, the Statement was a good match up on the 45ft sport pattern. It gave him maybe an extra board of forgiveness from other balls and who wouldn’t want more space on a sport shot.

Final Thoughts
Hammer made a Statement with this ball. It is a strong ball but they also showed you can still get big backend while still running snow tires. The value and THS scores were higher on average than the RipD primarily because of the shift of having more downlane pop. Every bowler saw added value in that dynamic core change. The RipD may offer a bit more control due to the smooth downlane motion.
Ultimately, they are subtle but nice compliments. I think Hammer fans will be very pleased with this addition to the lineup.