Roto Grip Outlaw

Roto Grip Outlaw Bowling Ball Review

A Strong Mid-Level Solid From Roto.
Roto Grip Outlaw

Kyle's Layout
Kyle's Layout

Eric's Layout
Eric's Layout

Remember that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core will create the dynamic shape. Your drilling will alter the shape to suit your game and conditions you bowl on. Kyle Hartzell of BowlerX is our tweener tester. Eric Filipovits is our high rev tester. Let me briefly describe the layout and what it’s intention is. Kyle’s layout is 66 x 4 x 33. Eric’s layout is 75 x 5 1/2 x 35. Generally speaking, both will delay the roll and have a quick transition at the breakpoint.
Please work with your local pro shop operator to find what best works for you.

First Impressions
This is a very aggressive ball. It rolls relatively early and is very predictable. It has a different shape as compared to the Nomad.

Value 8.5/10
The Roto Grip Outlaw and its linemate, the Bandit offer strong performance for the money. It’s no surprise what mid-line balls offer these days.

Core
The new Caliber core has an RG of 2.57 and differential of .048. This core really does store tons of energy for downlane motion. It really allows this ball to have a predictable and very defined move at the breakpoint. The core has a very defined transition and it’s important for some energy to be stored as this cover is pretty aggressive.

Cover 8.5/10
The Outlaw use the new Inception coverstock. It’s finished with 2000 abralon and it really bites pretty aggressively. Given how defined the motion of this core is, you can alter the cover to manipulate the overall ball reaction. You’ll always get a defined breakpoint, but you can make it early with aggressive abralon finishes or later with higher abralon or polish.

Reaction 8.5/10
Compared to the Bandit, this ball reads the lane much earlier. The cover creates traction, smoothing out the ball reaction. However, when the core finally flips, the move is clearly defined. The ball gets into a roll quickly after that transition. So you either get an amazing hit or complete roll out. Just hope that you get carry if it’s rolled out too soon. Despite this, I was surprised how often this ball made it back from way outside on mistakes. The cover dug in just enough to allow the core to get the right trajectory back to the pocket from those wide shots. Again, because of how aggressive the cover is and how flippy the core is, if the thing turns too soon, it will roll out. If you picture the Bandit with it’s long and flippy reaction, think of this one as an earlier version, with the cover smoothing things out a bit. I will tell you that I don’t really recognize the Nomad reaction when watching the Outlaw. They seem to be quite different beasts.

Overall 8.5/10
The Roto Grip Outlaw is an interesting offering. The cover is pretty strong and aggressive, especially at the 2000 grit finish. The core is a strong flippy core. On the right conditions, medium-heavy to medium shots, this ball will allow just the right amount of length, while the core makes a nice strong move. This earlier, smoother reaction is a perfect compliment to the real skid/flip reaction of the Bandit. A very nice one-two punch in a mid-line Sword line.