First Impressions
I feel like I took a Storm DNA and put some shine on it. Good or Bad? Let’s find out.
Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 330 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: 4 x 35
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: 5 x 40
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: 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 Storm DNA Coil uses the SuperCoil asymmetric core inside the Exo Pearl 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: Reactagloss
Overall
OK here we go. I’ll mention the usual resurface of the reactagloss first to 1000 and Step 2 compound, then light 3000 scuff. I start out the testing and I give it a go on the 2023 USBC Nationals DS pattern. I’ll say this was very tricky for a fresh flat pattern but the point here is less about the pattern matchup and more about getting a true read on the shape of the reaction. The high volume towards the outside means there is a big out of bounds and a shiny ball will not read that at all pretty much, regardless of how early the core rolls. I knew the correct breakpoint so hitting 7 downlane gets you to the pocket. You don’t get much room. Big thing is the ball had mixed reaction going through the pins, maybe a few too many deflecting shots. The ball is very controlled really. Just not enough traction to work particularly well here, despite it being a lower volume pattern. Quick look at the original DNA and you can see a very similar and familiar shape but earlier and less sensitive down lane.
I had a quick look with the DNA Coil on the house shot as well and boy was this long. I was surprised how much push the ball had but truth is the pattern is just terribly walled but also isn’t jumping off the outside. Yes weird but this is what we have. So the pattern really required the ball to provide traction of which the DNA Coil generates none. So I had to get pretty square. Ball pushed and had a controlled backend. I can see this working on tougher broken down conditions. It’s certainly not a fresh oil ball. The core gets into a stable point relatively quickly and the cover is clearly not the flippy variety. I was a bit disappointed I didn’t have a better look as I loved the original DNA. Here it is for a quick comparison. Shows you 2 things. 1, the pattern requires a cover that bites more. 2. the DNA Coil really is hard to distinguish as much more than a shiny DNA.
It immediately had me thinking this feels very much like a cleaner version of the original, which it is. Although many times we see vastly different reactions between the Solid and Pearl version. In this case, we don’t So it makes me wonder, why wouldn’t I just lane shine the original DNA and call it a day? The other thing I’ll add is for Motiv fans, this ball reminds me of the Trident Horizon. I might want to consider the DNA Coil a mid defined but I’m a little confounded as it feels a little too control for that. But I typically don’t put asyms in control often because of core limitations.
Power Player’s Perspective
Here we have Tyler testing the new Storm DNA Coil in Part 2 of our test. He’s testing on a house shot which is playing a bit on the heavier side and outside is not as forgiving as you would want on a house sheet. Nevertheless here is how the DNA Coil performs. First few shots show you how the outside doesn’t bounce like you would expect. Once Tyler gets the breakpoint in to no further than 6, the shot is there. This is an interesting roll to describe. You can feel the core chug. The cover is not snappy. so you do get length from the cover and a bit of a lumbering roll from the core. This is for sure a control pearl. It really looks wholly designed to roll just like the original DNA but some added natural length. As I mentioned in part 1, the ball almost rolls like a shined up DNA. Whereas you fill find at times big variations between the pearl and solid versions, say the Eternity and Eternity Pi. Those are vastly different pieces. The DNA and DNA Coil really feel like almost the same ball but one is reading a touch earlier while the other is shined to read later. Here you can see the original DNA. It looks a touch smoother and even more control than the Coil given the coverstock. But as you can see, very recognizable. Here is also a quick look at the Phaze II. I consider the P2 a good compliment to the DNA as a step down. It helps that it has the same colors but you see how much more contimuous the P2 is. It’s stores more energy overall and this seems to come down to the core behavior.
The DNA Coil has a unique shape for a shiny asym. It reminds me of the Trident Horizon shape from Motiv. I slot them both in Mid Defined but the Coil is pretty smooth in a way that could also fit in the control slot. It’s a bit of a tough call especially when looking at the original DNA and seeing how a shiny one of those won’t roll very different from the new Coil.
Stroker’s Stance
In part 3, we have Bryan testing the new Storm DNA Coil. we’ve discussed a bit about the ball in previous parts so I’ll focus on the ball reaction for Bryan. It was pretty easy straight away to get a good line to the pocket on this house shot. He was going through around 8 at the arrows with a very nice arc to the pocket with good carry. He thought it might hook a bit harder and go high a few times but it didn’t. Just held the length and arc. He called it a slow walk to the pocket. So this lines up with Tyler and my feeling of calling the motion controlled. He did make a small move left and did see a bit more angle which was a nice thing to see. There’s also still a clear out of bounds to the outside that Tyler and I saw which is a bit bizarre on the house shot. The clean shiny cover really didn’t help the ball manage that out of bounds edge at all. It was a nice shape and again theoretically a sort of mid defined ball with the limits of knowing it really is a bit smoother ball motion in that slot. But it did feel like it would have a fairly narrow window of space on lane. He had a quick look with the original DNA and it did look a touch earlier and smoother but again in his words it was “splitting hairs” which is the same feedback Tyler and I had. Is there a big enough difference to a lane shined DNA.