First Impressions
Wow the Evoke is colorful. Still think it rolls nice with all that neon bubble gum stuff going on!
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: 45 x 4.75 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 4.5 x 45
Tyler Church (Righty)
Style: Power Player
RPM: 450 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 Motiv Evoke uses the Overload asymmetric core inside the Leverage MXC solid coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.48 diff of .050, mb of .015
14 pound = RG of 2.51, diff of .045, mb of .015
Coverstock finish: 2000 grit LSS
Overall
The colors make a statement. Question is what statement remains when we roll the ball down the lane. Happy to say we mostly enjoyed this strong asym. So I’ll first note that the pattern played a little more medium than it did the last couple of reviews which played a little slick. So I see a ball this dull out of box with an asym core and you kind of expect a strong heavy rolling piece. You more or less get that with the Evoke. It’s slotted on the far left of the chart under the smooth motion and I think that’s fair. Motiv puts it between the Jackal Ambush and Pride Dynasty in strength. If you go further to the right at the top, you have the Raptor Fury and Jackal Ghost which become more angular. Questions from me as someone who preaches simple arsenal building. Is there enough space between the Ambush and Dynasty to put an Evoke? How would something like the Evoke, Fury, and Ghost compare and can they be in the same bag? Stay tuned and I’ll come back to that at the end of the video.
Tweener’s Take
In terms of evaluating the pure reaction, you can see that it has decent midlane reaction but doesn’t feel super early. It also has a nice downlane punch considering how much it reads. What I will say is that I don’t think I can massively open up the lane with this ball. It doesn’t store enough energy. But it is had an excellent punch and motion when I’m basically in the track, for me that’s maybe just left of the 3rd arrow out to the breakpoint. From there, I really liked that heavy barrelling role through the pins. And my findings line up to where it fits in the Motiv ball guide.
Power Player’s Perspective
For Tyler, the ball looked very good. It’s closer to 4th arrow for him so that’s his typical area on the normal house shot. It has a nice grip or read of the midlane and really a heavy roll through the pins. It looks continuous and with excellent control. If he went 20 at the arrows to about 8 or 9, it looked fantastic. Everything you want from a fairly strong piece to control the lanes. It’s the mistake of getting it out to 5 too late downlane where it really stops and dies. Now this is a walled house shot and balls that get out too late simply die so no surprise there. However, if you get it out a little earlier, like near 40 ft, it will go and you can see that in the right part of the lane, the ball works very well also. As Tyler gets deeper, you start to see the ball’s weakness which is really opening up the lanes. With that said, that’s not what this ball is for so no harm no foul. It’s just important to understand that this is a ball from your typical trajectories but not when it’s drier and need deeper lines.
Stroker’s Stance
Next up is Bryan and the look was interesting for him. The last few tests, the condition played heavier so balls like the Harsh Reality looked fantastic because they better matched the intent and he was able to play close to the friction line and get a nice blend. With this condition being more medium, it pushed him a couple of boards away from the friction line as it would react too strongly. However, as we’ve seen in the past, it creates some hang for him because if he doesn’t get it to the friction, the ball floats too long. So the match up on this pattern was a little tricky for him. So he had to catch some more oil in the fronts but push it to the friction early to get motion and then really flirt with the 50/50 chance at a 10 pin. Ultimately, his best look was getting in around 12 or 13 and slowing it down. Here’s where the Evoke really did a nice job of turning over and not feeling very forward and stoppy, going through the pins nicely.
Final Thoughts
So let’s come back to the thoughts about arsenal fit. Firstly, I feel like the Evoke could fit in some place near the Strong Defined or Strong Control. I know the idea of Defined and Control can seem a little tricky but I describe Defined as a Core that wants to right itself. That could still lead to a relatively smooth motion on lane but it means the core heavily dictates the relative motion. But back to the ball guide, I personally do not see enough space between the Ambush and Dynasty. If you do decide this looks smooth enough to be a strong control, fine but that is the same spot as the Raptor Fury even though it does it a little differently. The Ghost is also theoretically between the Ambush and Dynasty so what do you do there? So long story short, there’s too much going on in terms of what’s available and how to fill in 2 spots in the bag. I do like the Evoke but it’s unclear if it differentiates itself enough to take a spot in the bag. However, if you’ve already had the Pride Dynasty for a while, than sure throw the Evoke in there to replace.
Stroker’s Stance
For Bryan you will see why it also warrants some serious consideration for a permanent spot. The Harsh Reality really made a clear impression as a strong defined ball. Bryan got lined up around 13 to 7 so not much less board coverage than Tyler believe it or not. As I mentioned in previous description now, the ball gets just enough length with excellent midlane read while still creating a very strong continuous motion for Bryan. He had above average carry for sure. It was too strong to be as direct as the 2nd arrow. You’ll see Bryan experiment with deeper and deeper trajectories to the point where he was able to still make it shape going 17 to 8. He has been hardpressed to find something that works as well as his Storm Lock. Despite the multitude of balls we’ve tested and he’s put in his bag over the years since, nothing quite lived up to the reaction he had with his Lock. Sufficed to say the Harsh Reality caught his attention.
Final Thoughts
There should be no question the Harsh Reality is a Strong Defined piece. I really want to test this on a sport condition to see if it shows off that motion. House shots really bring shapes close to each other but the motion is very clear in its intent. While I don’t love the colors, I’m still going to give this one some time in my bag.
Thanks for watching.