The Storm Match and Match Pearl are on Fire…

First Impressions
It’s hard to imagine these balls would do what they do but the Storm Match and Match Pearl roll so strong they almost seem like they are strong asymmetrical balls! That would offer unbelievable value in entry level pricing…

Our Testers:
Sean Jensen
RPM: 400 rpm
PAP: 5 & 1/2 up
Axis tilt: 2 degrees
Axis rotation: 40 degrees
Layout: 50 x 4.75 x 45

Thanks to Jeffrey Smith of Pure It Pro Shop, Lebanon, PA, our partner for ball reviews.
Thanks to Limerick Bowl in Limerick, PA.

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.

Test Patterns:
41ft THS, 24ml

Value
Storm Match: 9.5/10
Storm Match Pearl: 9.5/10
Balls that simulate high end asyms for entry pricing. Quite fascinating.

Specs
Both the Match and Match Pearl use the new Stinger™ Core with and RG of 2.55 and diff of .030 for a 15 lb ball. The Match has the Reactor™ Solid Reactive cover while the match uses the pearlized version. The cover is well known to Storm fans and has been around a while because of its reliability and consistent characteristics.

Overall
Match: 8.5/10
Match Pearl: 8.5/10
The biggest standout characteristic of the new Match balls is that they roll through the 3 phases very distinctly. In other words, you can easily see the transition from skid to hook to roll. In fact, it was so defined that you could speculate it was an asymmetrical ball if you didn’t know it. On top of that, both balls are strong. At least for Sean, he had to get pretty deep with both balls, so much so that the Match might be a little tricky for THS for him. The Match is just a very strong ball so if you have that much hand, it’s hard work. It really has such a defined transition between hook to roll in particular. Don’t mistake my description for skid/flip as I wouldn’t say that. They just have a strong defined transition. Sean’s end over end roll with a very high track really had this ball transitioning so strongly that he was trying hard to get it to the spot. On the other hand, the Match worked wonderfully on the USBC Nationals Team Pattern. The same characteristic that makes it sometimes too much on THS makes it perfect for tough patterns.
With the Match Pearl, it was a better match up on the THS because Sean didn’t have to force it through the mids. It rolls almost exactly the same way, but with some added length. That allows it to be used much more often on THS. For folks with less hand, I think these balls will be very usable. Just don’t expect them to react like low end pieces, not at all.
So if you have lots of hand, make sure your house puts out a decent volume. If you have less hand, you can probably manage to use these on medium conditions.