Coverstock Durability?

[Fuzzifus]

Well, this came up in one of the coversations I had at league tonight......

We somehow came up on the idea of coverstock durability. The fellow I was talking with said he was talking to a rather prominent bowler....(he's been on TV). The story goes that this guy gives Storm the best rating, as for overall durability (knicks, dings, scratches) Storm seems to have the most durable covers in the buisness. He went on to say that Columbia has some of the weakest/most damageable pieces around. Upon thinking about this, I ALMOST agree. I have a Frantic that seems invincible.....cover is in remarkable shape. I have a Nexxxus and DV8 HR Terror that has some damage, but nothing crazy. Lastly, I have a Vow that I LOVE, but does seem to have some noticable dings for only being a week and a half old.

Opinions?

[JerseyJim]

When they were in business, LaneMasters/Legends had the most durable covers out there. They soaked up less oil, and I never had one of their balls die on me. I own a Terminator, Absolute Power, and Sure Strike all with 400+ games on them with nary a loss of reaction.

[Greenday]

I've thrown a lot of games with my Frantic and I don't think its coverstock is the most durable. My dull balls definitely seem to be extremely durable though.

[ecub]

Not sure about that. I resurface bowling balls at home and normally do one of my friend's who uses Storm (Virtual Energy, Gravity, Nano) and I'd normally have to repair some nicks and scratches.

[CeKnauss]

Every lane is different. Every bowling center will have a different atmosphere. Not every ball will get the same treatment (although some people will try). Not all balls react to all the different lane conditioners or ball cleaners the same. There are so many things affecting how "durable" balls are. I've seen balls of all different brands with cracks, scratches, dings, chips, etc. I don't really classify each manufacturer into categories, I would rather base this on chemical makeup of the ball. Even then, it's hard to say.

[swingset]

Agree with the above - too much going on during the handling of the return to ascribe it to covers. One lane with a bad return or a bolt laying in the wrong place, and you have a gouge in even the best coverstock.

[e-tank]

Agree with the above - too much going on during the handling of the return to ascribe it to covers. One lane with a bad return or a bolt laying in the wrong place, and you have a gouge in even the best coverstock.

agree with this. I got a couple nicks on my crossroad on the first day i got it but i would attribute it to the lane/return as i havent been to that lane since and as a result i havent had any major nicks

[I suck at bowling]

From my experience, my pearl balls always get dinged up more, but that may be happening because I throw them more often. It also has to do where I throw them. Some alleys have good ball return systems, and others don't 0__0

I've been to a alley where the return took a chunk out of my Nano Pearl.

[RoccoRock]

All I know is all of my Track, and Ebonite stuff had major dings, dents and scratches, my Storm and RotoGrip stuff doesn't. I only have one Dv8, and so far so good, although it does seem to attract more belt marks than my other balls.

[CeKnauss]

In general, I do believe my more aggressive equipment acquires dings, scratches, and scuff/belt marks more often than my weaker equipment, but this can be attributed to the more porous nature of the coverstock. It will happen eventually to your bowling balls if you use them enough.

As USBC performs extensive tests on bowling balls, I might point out one is an abrasive test. A bowling ball coverstock must not scratch their special piece of glass. USBC specifies a coverstock may not have a Mohs' Hardness above 6.0. Wikipedia states glass is appx. 5.5 and sand particles that are most likely in gutters or in the air may consist of material up to 7. Look here for reference material from USBC on the topic:

http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/equipandspecs/pdfs/2012-equip-and-specs-manual.pdf

In the video, it talks about the hardness around 5:25.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2wKCSRw3WA