Dustin Markowitz
04-02-2013, 09:19 PM
The Ball: MOTIV Venom Toxin
The Layout: Traditional Stacked Leverage. 3“ Pin with it set above the ring finger. Just under 1/2 Side and 1/4 Finger with no weight hole.
The Style: Power Stroker. (Speed 16.5-17, Rev rate untested since shoulder was injured.)
The Conditions: Riverside Lanes in Laughlin, Nevada. 40 FT House. Cerbat Lanes in Kingman, Arizona 41 FT Kegel Main Street. Both high friction environments.
The Plus: Blends the wet/dry and gives a very smooth transition through the lane. Retains power even as the lanes breakdown.
The Minus: Ball motion may be too weak for lower rev players.
The Score: 5 out of 5.
The Review: After the glowing review I gave to the Thrash Frenzy I was eagerly anticipating the next in the line to come to my door. Unfortunately, when I heard that it was to be a hybrid I was a little discouraged. I had bad luck in the past with matching hybrids to my own game and didn’t have much hope for this one. However, when I was told that it was going to be built on the symmetrical Gear weightblock, my interest was peaked once again. I can honestly say that the Toxin has lived up to the same expectations I had for the Frenzy and has established itself as the step-down ball in my bag.
I drilled the Toxin very similar to my Frenzy as that has quickly become my new benchmark and I wanted to gauge my reactions to how I viewed it. I began by taking the ball down and bowling on the standard 40 FT house shot which was out during our Men’s League in Laughlin. With not so much as a ball of practice before throwing it in the league, I was able to dial-in quickly and averaged 235 for the night. It was extremely easy to distinguish the motion of the Toxin and the difference it had from the Thrash.
The Toxin has a much smoother downlane motion than the Frenzy and blends the oil well for my style of game. It is a bit more arcing than the Frenzy but still has that backend reaction that allows players to move a little deeper without losing entry angle. I actually found myself scoring higher as the lanes broke down and was able to easily stay ahead of the changing oil. While for my game it is a stepdown from the Frenzy, I can see where a higher rev player may see this as a harder hooking ball based solely on the difference in coverstock reaction.
On the Main Street pattern, I found that the Toxin continued to read the same with a very smooth transition both inside and out. The only negative I could see with this ball would be if you were someone who wasn’t able to put much lift on the ball at all. I found flathanding the ball caused the hybrid to spin in the oil as again it blends the transition. All-in-all, this ball is a great arsenal ball for me and could be a great piece of equipment in nearly every bowler’s bag.
While this is not by go-to ball as of yet, this is definitely going to be the step-down ball in my bag regardless of condition. Versatile and pretty fun to look at on the lane, the Venom Toxin is sure to please any who throw it.
The Layout: Traditional Stacked Leverage. 3“ Pin with it set above the ring finger. Just under 1/2 Side and 1/4 Finger with no weight hole.
The Style: Power Stroker. (Speed 16.5-17, Rev rate untested since shoulder was injured.)
The Conditions: Riverside Lanes in Laughlin, Nevada. 40 FT House. Cerbat Lanes in Kingman, Arizona 41 FT Kegel Main Street. Both high friction environments.
The Plus: Blends the wet/dry and gives a very smooth transition through the lane. Retains power even as the lanes breakdown.
The Minus: Ball motion may be too weak for lower rev players.
The Score: 5 out of 5.
The Review: After the glowing review I gave to the Thrash Frenzy I was eagerly anticipating the next in the line to come to my door. Unfortunately, when I heard that it was to be a hybrid I was a little discouraged. I had bad luck in the past with matching hybrids to my own game and didn’t have much hope for this one. However, when I was told that it was going to be built on the symmetrical Gear weightblock, my interest was peaked once again. I can honestly say that the Toxin has lived up to the same expectations I had for the Frenzy and has established itself as the step-down ball in my bag.
I drilled the Toxin very similar to my Frenzy as that has quickly become my new benchmark and I wanted to gauge my reactions to how I viewed it. I began by taking the ball down and bowling on the standard 40 FT house shot which was out during our Men’s League in Laughlin. With not so much as a ball of practice before throwing it in the league, I was able to dial-in quickly and averaged 235 for the night. It was extremely easy to distinguish the motion of the Toxin and the difference it had from the Thrash.
The Toxin has a much smoother downlane motion than the Frenzy and blends the oil well for my style of game. It is a bit more arcing than the Frenzy but still has that backend reaction that allows players to move a little deeper without losing entry angle. I actually found myself scoring higher as the lanes broke down and was able to easily stay ahead of the changing oil. While for my game it is a stepdown from the Frenzy, I can see where a higher rev player may see this as a harder hooking ball based solely on the difference in coverstock reaction.
On the Main Street pattern, I found that the Toxin continued to read the same with a very smooth transition both inside and out. The only negative I could see with this ball would be if you were someone who wasn’t able to put much lift on the ball at all. I found flathanding the ball caused the hybrid to spin in the oil as again it blends the transition. All-in-all, this ball is a great arsenal ball for me and could be a great piece of equipment in nearly every bowler’s bag.
While this is not by go-to ball as of yet, this is definitely going to be the step-down ball in my bag regardless of condition. Versatile and pretty fun to look at on the lane, the Venom Toxin is sure to please any who throw it.