10 Years of Success Yields the T10…

First Impressions
Why Motiv, why?? Why make such a good ball a limited edition??

Our Testers:
Cody Shoemaker (Righty)
Style: Power player
RPM: 435 rpm
PAP: 4 5/8; 5/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: 12
Axis rotation: 60
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 45 x 5 x 50
Intent: Medium roll with a medium transition at the breakpoint

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

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 Motiv T10 Limited Edition 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 Don Johnson: 40ft, 26.6 ml, 2.5:1 ratio

Value
A-
The Motiv T10 is a top notch benchmark ball. It looks like it will have excellent versatility. I guess the only mark against its value will be its limited status which limits availability and may affect price.

Specs
The Motiv T10 uses the Thrust symmetrical core inside the Coercion MFS Reactive Solid coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.54, diff of .052
14 pound = RG of 2.57, diff of .048
Coverstock finish: 3000 grit LSS

Overall
THS: A
Sport: B+
Plain and simple, the T10 is a great piece from Motiv. How disappointing for it to be Limited Edition. The interesting thing here, everything Motiv says about the T10 is really spot on from a technical standpoint. The T10 is versatile. Motiv said, “this core is ideal for creating a benchmark motion that is deliberately smooth with a powerful backend reaction.” This is accurate. In my opinion, this is one of if not the best covers ever developed by Motiv. It’s on another one of my favorites, the Villain. There are 2 core shapes that translate consistently to great ball motion, the light bulb and the hour glass. The Thrust is like the latter. It creates enough smooth lope to get decent length which then seems to transition at the same time as the cover which makes this ball really pop downlane to get consistent strong backend. Short version, this is the symmetric version of the Villain. Perfect compliment if you need a more continuous motion when the asym sets a bit too much and runs out of steam. You now also have the Scorn as a pearl version of the Villain but that’s for another review.
For Cody, the ball is definitely not weak. The core is very continuous and really offers the same shape as the Villain but more of that symmetric pop. It really went through the pins noticeably well. The interesting thing is even when he got it out to the friction, it still came roaring back. He’s pretty close to the 5th arrow mind you. It’s great to find a ball with excellent midlane control but great pop downlane as well. Usually you give one up for the other to some extent.
For myself with the lower rev rate than Cody, I don’t see as big motion but it’s relationship to the Villain is the same. Control symmetric if the Villain is too much. Of course the have the same cover so the core is completely responsible for the delta. It looks fairly smooth in the video and it is but what doesn’t totally show is the downlane movement. This seems like an easy benchmark ball that you could actually use since it will carry. You can see the inside balls held very nicely and still carried in the flood zone while the shots to the outside really came back strong, almost over hooking. Really confidence boosting when you can trust a ball that way.
You know a ball is good when it works for every style tester. Obviously there are no guarantees this translates 100% but Bryan had a good look like the rest of us. Not much more to add for him. Just like us, he can get the ball out and get it to bounce back nicely. Or he can just stuff it and crush the pocket.

Sport Shot
We tested on the 40ft PBA Don Johnson pattern. The T10 looked almost identical here as it did on the House shot. Obviously it’s the same length but it made the shot almost look easy. That speaks to it’s control characteristics. For me, I also found it very similar. The Sport shot gave me a bit more backend bite which I really didn’t need. Still looked good. And not much different for Bryan.

Final Thoughts
Oh the frustration. The T10 should be a regular lineup ball and not a limited edition. This ball is an excellent symmetric benchmark ball with both a reliable midlane read and good backend. You trust it and it repays you. It’s worth picking up while they are available.