First Impressions
The DNA name is apropos as it appears to be the source of life.

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Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 350 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: 50 x 5 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 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 Roto Grip TNT uses the Torpex symmetric core inside the eTrax + Solid coverstock.

15 pound = RG of 2.47, diff of .053, mb of .023
14 pound = RG of 2.53, diff of .048, mb of .020
Coverstock finish: 2000 grit abralon

Overall
Cheesy, fine I’ll grant you that but it should give you more than a hint what we thought of it. Look, I’m going to get this surface issue out of the way. We haven’t been finding the factory finishes usable, even when it’s a gritty finish. So to avoid wasting time, I simply did a full resurface with a hard 1000 and then 2000 finish. At least this way I know how to replicate it. With that said, from the word go, the DNA simply looked spectacular. Even though I’m only sharing the house shot footage here, I tested on sport shot as well. It has a heavy roll for sure, not dissimilar to the Storm Proton Physix or Roto Grip Gem. It doesn’t read too early but enough to start up before the end of the pattern. It has a round continuous motion that doesn’t feel extremely forward like some asyms typically do. And to be totally honest, my experience with balls that have this big of a intermediate differential isn’t typically very good. They do roll heavy but tend to be pretty limited in use case because of the heavier forward roll. What I can say is that I didn’t see any issues at all with the DNA. It gave me some miss room in and out. I started direct as you saw and it worked beautifully in the outside friction, blending it perfectly. The DNA is capable of strong angle so I had to be careful of hitting it or slowing it down as it will overhook if I did that. I left the occasional 7 pin which isn’t unexpected. I was able to continue to migrate to test out how deep I can go before it started to quit. I got into 4th arrow and it still looked fine. Of course this is tricky land for a lefty with lower revs like myself but the ball made me feel like it would be possible if I wanted to be there. The Gem for example quit long before the 4th arrow. Again somewhat surprising given the core shapes. I haven’t discussed the new Exo solid coverstock but I won’t get into the technicals. What I can say it works. The DNA really gives supreme midlane control while still being very capable downlane and that’s a great combination. It has to be said that after about 2 games worth of shots, the spot appeared to be burned up and I started to get some flat hits but still excellent pocket control. It’s simply a sign of transition.
Here you can see it against the Proton Physix which has been my mainstay Strong Defined ball. It’s in my personal bag so I can subjectively say I love it. Objectively, it looks similar to the DNA but with a touch longer and sharper move downlane. It’s a bit more forward but still having a very heavy roll. While they are slightly different, I see no issues replacing the Proton with the DNA as my Strong Defined ball.

For Bryan, he also had an outstanding look with the Storm DNA. Really the most obvious thing we can see is the great midlane control. Bryan is playing initially close the the friction line. Like I saw there, it was a great line to play as the DNA really blended the wet/dry really well. Honestly if we didn’t know how obnoxiously wet dry this house pattern typically is, we would’ve thought this is a bit more tapered. The DNA just did so much business in the midlane that it made the pattern just about feel tapered. For bowlers like Bryan who are very accurate, it will feel like the world opened up. He doesn’t need a ton of forgiveness in terms of miss room so when a ball blends this way, it opens things up. Add to that midlane read a nice strong developing arc and you get nice hit as well. The DNA did a great job that he almost felt he really didn’t have to migrate but he did a bit to see what happens. It still worked albeit increasing the risk of 10 pins because really the pattern isn’t quite calling for a deeper move in. But the shape of the reaction gave him confidence that if the pattern did call for it, the DNA would work.

Here’s Tyler testing the new DNA. I’ll just let you take a look but essentially he gets the same mid lane control and smooth strong arc. It doesn’t look jumpy just very predictable. Very high pocket control. This is drilled with a 5.5″ pin to tame a bit of the huge motion he typically gets from these strong top of the line balls and hence the more direct trajectories which he likes. The bottom line is that with the same control we had, it blends this typically very wet/dry pattern and makes it look easily playable. Tyler doesn’t typically need balls this strong. The previous strongest ball he kept in his bag was the Roto Grip RST X1 which wasn’t the strongest ball in Storm’s lineup. He just doesn’t need things that big. So the layout was our way of calming the motion of the DNA to where it’s something he could see using. He still likes the symmetric shapes and the Idols fit him perfectly. But no surprises.

Final Thoughts
In the end, the Storm DNA in my mind is truly a worthy release. I was thinking so what now? The Proton Physix has quietly slipped into the ether now but the Super Nova is still around. Roto Grip has the Gem and 900 Global has the Reality which isn’t all that different from the DNA. Bottom line is you have some pretty strong options for the Strong Defined part of the bag and the DNA is likely to stay in my bag. Doesn’t hurt it physically looks so much like a Phaze II which is also still in my bag. Great compliment as well.

Thanks for watching.