

First Impressions
Guess what, Storm releases another shiny asym with the new Equinox. We shouldn’t be surprised but this ball feels quite nice.
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: 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: 425 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: 38ft, 23ml
Sport: TBD
Specs
The Storm Physix Blackout uses the Solarion AI Asymmetric core inside the new A1S Pearl Reactive coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.48 diff of .054, mb of .018
14 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .053, mb of .017
Coverstock finish: Power Edge
Tweener’s Take
While being the latest Storm pearl Asym, the Equinox introduces a new core and coverstock from Storm. It’s an early rolling core with a moderately strong mass bias. That seems to help it create the familiar forward roll from an asym. There’s also this new coverstock A1S pearl that Storm says is designed to be playable on 39-44ft. Not surprising being a shiny big asym which slots it into Mid Defined in my arsenal building. Now I have to say while we have a fresh shot here, Bowlero Limerick has once again adjusted their house shot and funny enough it looks to be about 37-38 ft with high friction. What luck for us. So as you can see the ball hooks an insane amount. It’s honestly very strong for this pattern and pushes me way in beyond my normal area from the left side. However, we have to show you what we have and perhaps we if we get a chance on a different pattern we’ll come back to that. You can see that it really doesn’t get into it’s real groove until I’m around 4th arrow. But while the pattern makes the ball look like it hooks a ton, it’s also a characteristic of pretty forward aggressive roll at the end of the pattern. I didn’t get a chance to put many shots in with it but the Zen 25 is a little rounder off the spot but still hooks similar amount of boards.
Power Player’s Persective
Tyler shows the shape from his side. He did use a trick 55 x 5.5 x 50 layout which is meant to calm the ball and make some of these balls a little more usable for him. I’d normally expect the ball to cover some more boards with a different layout but you see the same type of characteristics in terms of transition. It’s still on the forward side. He still had to get deeper due to the shorter pattern which was a little frustrating for our test but it is what it is.
Stroker’s Stance
For Bryan, he could take advantage of the hooking pattern and can get very nice drive with the Equinox. You can see the most effective zone was 3rd arrow to about 10. Can’t comment much on length. Yes it’s a cleaner look but also very reactive to friction so off this shorter pattern it looks explosive. As tends to happen for Bryan, asymmetric balls that push him deeper tend to have a limit of how much he can move in. So he has a nice look for a small window but once he moves in a bit more, it just starts to quit. The forward nature of the ball limits that angle which then creates more deflection.
Bottom Line
I don’t want to be swayed by the obvious free hook we had with this latest house pattern but we can still take away the balls shape. Yes, I’ve bowled on lighter or shorter house patterns that push you deeper than you normally have to but with that, the Equinox still looked like it could play the part if someone chose that much angle. It’s clearly a Mid Defined ball and we may come back to it on a longer pattern to give you a different prespective.
Thanks for watching.