Does The Bark Match the Byte?

Our testers:

Layne Sandt (425 rpm)
Brad Crouse (450 rpm)

Lee Sandt of BowlerX drilled our test equipment.

Layne’s layout is intended to get into a medium roll with a slower transition and high track flare potential.  For Brad, his layout will allow for more of a skid snap reaction where he’ll have strong motion and quick transition off the dry.

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.
Please work with your local pro shop operator to find what best works for you.

Test Pattern:
THS: Modified Main Street, 41 ft, ~20 ml

First Impressions
Nice rolling pearl ball which seems to be as expected, a good compliment to it’s solid linemate, the Sync. Actually, it’s a good compliment to the Lucid which gives a different look even though the Byte has the same ERG cover.

Value 7/10
I always scrutinize high end pieces since they command a hefty price and tend to be less versatile than midline balls on the whole. Pearlized balls are even a little less versatile so I knock the value down here.

Core
Storm has modified the Sync core for the Byte, now calling it the G2+. It has the same shape so generally also creates a similar shape on lane. However, the G2+ has an RG of 2.52, diff of .043 and mass bias of .020 for a 15 pound ball. Compare that to the G2 which has an RG of 2.47, differential of 0.058, and mass bias of 0.028 for a 15 pound ball. Both balls still have high flare potential. The G2+ is specifically designed to go a little longer and with a slightly lower diff, I think makes it a little more versatile. It’s still a fairly strong asymmetrical design.

Cover 8/10
We’ve experienced the ERG cover on the Lucid previously. The Storm Byte uses the ERG Pearl with a 1500-grit polished finish. The Lucid used the ERG pearl with a 4000 grit finish. The ERG moves back to the more traditional coverstock which has no particle-like additives. This allows it to push down lane longer and store a bit more energy for bigger backend motion.

Reaction
Layne/Brad
7.5/7.5

As you can see from the Digitrax Analysis, both bowlers had over 7 degrees of entry angle.  Brad is playing deeper and has Track #1 above.

Clearly, the Byte is a capable bowling ball which can be tossed away from the pocket.  It does stand up a bit as it enters the pocket, which means as the players get deeper, it will not be quite as continuous through the pins.  This could affect carry for a bowler who’s got to get very deep with it.  We also noticed some over/under due to the a fresh shot with a pearlized ball on synthetics which do not have the crispest backends out there.  At times, the ball would push and others it would grab.  On this particular condition, it fairly good but not first ball out of the bag.  There will definitely be conditions where this ball could easily be 1st out of the bag.

Basically, the bowlers saw good length with the polished pearl cover but the core offers a good amount of midlane motion while still being pretty strong on the backends.  It’s a fairly strong asymmetric so it will not be as smooth as a symmetric counterpart.  I’d like to see this ball with some surface but we didn’t get a chance to test anything other than out of box.

Overall 8/10

The Storm Byte has a strong asymmetrical core which will offer that revvy midlane look while still offering that strong backend motion.  The pearl polished ERG cover allows for good length.  If you’re going to get in deep, make sure you’ve got the right layout or the ball might quit through the pins.  If you already have the Sync, it’s probably a no-brainer to get the Byte as the 1-2 compliment.