A Strong Control Solid from Storm
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. Kyle Hartzell of BowlerX is our tweener tester. Eric Filipovits is our high rev tester. Let me briefly describe the layout and what it’s intention is. Kyle’s layout is 66 x 4 x 33. Eric’s layout is 75 x 5 1/2 x 35. Generally speaking, both will delay the roll and have a quick transition at the breakpoint.
Please work with your local pro shop operator to find what best works for you.
First Impressions
I can tell right away that this will be a control-type ball. It kind of reminds me of the Ebonite V2 or Gamebreaker. I wouldn’t say it has the same teeth in the front, but it definitely offers a control ball motion which appears to target the benchmark type reaction.
Value 8.5/10
The Storm Victory Road Solid offers good performance for the money.
Core
The Inverted Fe3 Technology core has an RG of 2.56 and differential of .052. It follows in the tradition of the Fe cores Storm has used in years past. The RG allows the ball to lope a bit through the fronts, allowing for more stored energy. I’m not convinced this is a step up from the Inverted Fe2 in the HyRoad but it is very similar. It offers a higher differential, but how that affects any individual bowler will depend on how it’s drilled to maximize or minimize the flare potential. Still, from the shape of this core, you can tell it is capable of making a strong, yet smooth move at the breakpoint.
Cover 8.5/10
I feel like I’ve written about the R2S cover many times…oh wait, I have. This cover has been used numerous times and continues to reappear in Storm’s lineup. This is an extremely tweakable cover. It used to be in the high end balls in Storm’s lineup years ago, but continues down into the lower end now. In fact, the 2Furious uses the same cover. Of course, being around for so long, you can talk about its longevity. My personal experience is that because it is a relatively aggressive cover, you want to maintain it well if you want to have consistent roll beyond 75 games or so. Since that’s a whole season, I can’t complain too much.
Reaction 8.5/10
Storm has decided to give the Victory Road Solid a 3000 abralon finish. This seems to be a new trend as it offers an in-between grit which helps fit more bowlers’ games right out of box. Many times, higher rev players don’t like the 2000 grit or lower balls because they simply dig in too hard, while lower rev bowlers aren’t extremely fond of 4000 grit or polish because they may go too long. This finish allows both to feel comfortable right out of the gate. My take is that you have to tweak any cover to find what you like and you shouldn’t feel at all obligated to stick with the factory finish. In fact, some might say change it immediately since it’s almost impossible to reproduce.
The Storm Victory Road solid really does offer a control motion. It gets relatively decent length. It doesn’t jump off the spot. It sees the friction, and begins to transition smoothly back to the pocket. It still has a more than respectable move on the backends. It will give you some margin for error, but being a solid, it will not respond with extreme ferocity if you miss outside. It seems to offer plenty of energy at the pocket. The video will show you exactly what I mean. You would think on paper the core would go a bit longish, but added to this cover, it starts to slow down it’s outward trajectory early allowing for a very smooth, booming move.
Overall 9/10
The Victory Road Solid really is a respectable control piece for those who like a bit more backend motion as compared to say, the Marvel. With it’s higher RG, yet solid cover, it reads the lanes nicely, transitioning smoothly but still allowing for a nice booming move on the backends. It seems to have decent energy at the pocket most of the time and can easily be a fresh shot ball on anything from Medium-heavy to medium-lighter conditions. It reminds me a lot of control balls like the Gamebreaker, even though on paper, the specs are quite different. I don’t think it’s a replacement for the Hy-Road nor is it as versatile, but fits in Storm’s lineup very well right now.