How long should I expect my ball(s) to last?

[HowDoIHookAgain]

I recently got a new ball, a Track MX10 (15 lbs). So far, I really like it. Having a bit of a problem adjusting to it still, but I suppose that's what can be expected when you change balls (that, and the fact that I only bowl once a week right now). I'm using my old ball, an Ebonite Cyclone (14 lbs), as my spare ball so I don't have to spend $80 on a new spare ball. I've had that one for just about a year now. I really like what I have because the MX10 has what I want in a ball, and my Cyclone can be used for not only my spare ball, but my strike ball if there's little/no oil on the lanes. Both seem to fit me well and I don't have many complaints with either.

As you probably could have guessed from the thread title, I want to know how long I should expect these balls to last. I'm really not talking about when I should get a new ball in terms of progression (though if you could estimate that as well, that would be nice), I'm talking about when will the ball start to not perform at its max potential anymore, when the surface starts to become worn down, and all that stuff.

Since you'll probably need to know how much I'm going to be bowling, from November to January I'll be bowling 2-5 times a week (3 games), and every other month only about once or twice a week (3 games also). Thanks in advance for the help :D.

[Amyers]

It's really impossible to say some balls last a long time others not long at all. Taking good care of it cleaning after each use refreshing the cover every 10-20 games resurfacing every 40-50 will help prolong it's life. I know some guys who throw the same balls for years without complaint. My Asylum has 450-500 games on it it has lost some reaction but still a useful ball.

[jab5325]

The first tip is to get a spare ball at the same weight as your strike ball.

Beyond that, anecdotally, I've read that Storm balls last the least, and EBI products generally last longer.

[Amyers]

The first tip is to get a spare ball at the same weight as your strike ball.

Beyond that, anecdotally, I've read that Storm balls last the least, and EBI products generally last longer.

EBI has had their fair share of early deaths along with everyone else.

[John Anderson]

The cyclone is good until the coverstock cracks if you are using it as a spare ball. That should be a quite a few years away if you only bowl once a week. As for the MX10, it should last a few years as well if you take care of it. If you get 5 years out of it, that's pretty good imo. Usually you want to replace before that point anyways.

[Amyers]

The cyclone is good until the coverstock cracks if you are using it as a spare ball. That should be a quite a few years away if you only bowl once a week. As for the MX10, it should last a few years as well if you take care of it. If you get 5 years out of it, that's pretty good imo. Usually you want to replace before that point anyways.

If he is bowling as much as he states average it out to 2 or 3 times a week 2=312 games, 3=468 games he'll be doing good if the ball lasts a year even with proper upkeep which most people don't do.

[NewToBowling]

Yeah the Cyclone coverstock is made out of butter. Mine has cracks, scratches, deep gouges. My Unhinged has none of that. All it needs is to be resurfaced and polished to bring it back to OOB condition.

Heck, my wifes new DV8 Hooligan has two hairline scratches on it already and we basically bowl together most of the time on the same lanes.

[J Anderson]

I think that the cover stocks designed for heavy oil are probably shorter lived than the ones meant for dryer lanes.

As far as cracking goes, the main thing is to avoid extreme temperature swings.

[John Anderson]

I think that the cover stocks designed for heavy oil are probably shorter lived than the ones meant for dryer lanes.

As far as cracking goes, the main thing is to avoid extreme temperature swings.

I completely agree with both statements here. My old ball is now officially dead after it sat in the trunk of my car for two hours today. Car thermometer said 102 degrees. The ball was sitting in air conditioning (75ish) prior, and when I pulled it out of the trunk, the coverstock between the middle and ring finger holes cracked. Granted, the ball is 6 years and one month old though, with at least 300 games on it.

As for heavy oil balls, they are much more porous to get more lane traction, but this also means they absorb oil faster. Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious you don't want a ball designed for heavy oil to suck up oil and remain oil soaked as it's going to be doing that a lot.

[RobLV1]

I hate to say this, but you can expect a modern ball to maintain the same level of reaction for about 100 games (based on my own experience and observations), as long as it is properly maintained: cleaned after each use, refreshed after every ten games, and resurfaced after every 35 games. Many believe that the number is much smaller. I've heard from reliable sources, for instance, that when Brian Voss was actively bowling on the tour, he would use a ball for one seven-game block and then give it away. Small scratches on the surface can be expected as pin setters are mechanical devices with metal parts, and can be easily removed during resurfacing, and often during refreshing. They don't harm the ball reaction in the least.

[Aslan]

I've always used the 400-game target. But I also de-oil my bowling balls every 9-25 games or so.

As for actual experience...

- My Frantic (Storm) lasted about 450 games before it started to "die"...where I couldn't really get it back to OOB performance even with re-surfacing/de-oiling...and it cracked less than 6 months later.

- My Rhythm (Hammer) started to die at about 350 games.

- My Slingshot (Brunswick) was still going strong after 175 games.

I replace arsenals all at once. I treat them like car insurance...I may say I want to get 700 games on this arsenal...but that's knowing that I won't always be throwing every ball at once. By the time I hit 700 games...I may have 300 games on one ball, and 175 on each of the other 3 (adds up to over 700 because you sometimes use more than one ball over the course of a game).

I've heard numbers as low as 10 games...to as high as 1000 games. Unfortunately, ball manufacturers fail to release that data...for obvious reasons. Does frequent de-oiling extend the life? Maybe. Maybe not. It might kill it faster. Hard to say. But I generally aim for about 9 months. I aim to bowl 1000 games/year...I figure 700-1200 games on an arsenal is about all I can ask of it.

[Mike White]

I hate to say this, but you can expect a modern ball to maintain the same level of reaction for about 100 games (based on my own experience and observations), as long as it is properly maintained: cleaned after each use, refreshed after every ten games, and resurfaced after every 35 games. Many believe that the number is much smaller. I've heard from reliable sources, for instance, that when Brian Voss was actively bowling on the tour, he would use a ball for one seven-game block and then give it away. Small scratches on the surface can be expected as pin setters are mechanical devices with metal parts, and can be easily removed during resurfacing, and often during refreshing. They don't harm the ball reaction in the least.

Lets assume 100 games is correct.

That means a $200 balls + cleaning fluids, plus 3 resurfaces at approximately $20 each means you paid about $3+ per game to use that ball.

I'll stick with my $60 ball, that still has OOB finish, and only towel cleaning that rolled 240 games last season, and still works like a champ.

That works out to about $0.25 per game and diminishing.

As for Brian Voss, your reliable sources aren't quite as reliable as you think.

When he was on tour, there were three 6 game blocks, a cut, then three 8 game blocks of match play.

Voss effectively left the tour in 2007, and the 7 game blocks didn't begin until 2009.

The more important part is A) Voss didn't pay for those balls, and B) by giving them away, he wouldn't need to arrange transportation of them to the next tour stop.

[RobLV1]

Lets assume 100 games is correct.

That means a $200 balls + cleaning fluids, plus 3 resurfaces at approximately $20 each means you paid about $3+ per game to use that ball.

I'll stick with my $60 ball, that still has OOB finish, and only towel cleaning that rolled 240 games last season, and still works like a champ.

That works out to about $0.25 per game and diminishing.

As for Brian Voss, your reliable sources aren't quite as reliable as you think.

When he was on tour, there were three 6 game blocks, a cut, then three 8 game blocks of match play.

Voss effectively left the tour in 2007, and the 7 game blocks didn't begin until 2009.

The more important part is A) Voss didn't pay for those balls, and B) by giving them away, he wouldn't need to arrange transportation of them to the next tour stop.

More like $160 + Isopropyl Alcohol + spinner purchased 5+ years ago that has paid for itself at least three times over = $0.26 per game. I realize that's a whopping $.01 per game more than you're paying, but I do get the added benefit of using balls that aren't plastic or urethane. As for Brian Voss, whether it was seven games, six games, or eight games, the point was that he thought that a fresh ball was enough of an advantage to change after each set. The fact that he wasn't paying for them doesn't change the fact that his impression of the importance of a new ball gives those of us who do pay for them the perspective of a hall of famer. No one in their right mind whould buy a new ball to use after under ten games, but then, no one in their right mind would think that a ball with three or four hundered games on it would yield the same reaction as when it was new. That's not to say that noone would, or should use a ball with that many games on it, only that it should be done with a clear perspective of what is being sacrificed.

[Mike White]

More like $160 + Isopropyl Alcohol + spinner purchased 5+ years ago that has paid for itself at least three times over = $0.26 per game. I realize that's a whopping $.01 per game more than you're paying, but I do get the added benefit of using balls that aren't plastic or urethane. As for Brian Voss, whether it was seven games, six games, or eight games, the point was that he thought that a fresh ball was enough of an advantage to change after each set. The fact that he wasn't paying for them doesn't change the fact that his impression of the importance of a new ball gives those of us who do pay for them the perspective of a hall of famer. No one in their right mind whould buy a new ball to use after under ten games, but then, no one in their right mind would think that a ball with three or four hundered games on it would yield the same reaction as when it was new. That's not to say that noone would, or should use a ball with that many games on it, only that it should be done with a clear perspective of what is being sacrificed.

You've said in the past you were a school teacher.

Lets just hope the subject you taught wasn't math, otherwise you need to refund to your students most of your salary.

First lets address the ball spinner, and estimate it's cost per use.

Estimated outlay, $200.

If you've used it 10 times, you didn't have to pay a pro-shop $20 per use, so at that point it's a break even deal.

Now you say it's paid for itself 3 times over.

That would imply about 40 uses.

So for that $200 outlay, you've got 40 uses, at $5 per use.

Lets assume the alcohol is free (it's Vegas after all).

$160 for the ball, and $5 per use of the spinner (3 times) is a total of $175.

$175 for 100 games is still $1.75 per game.

I have no idea what kind of made up math you must have used to get $0.26.

Aslan, maybe you can explain it, since made up math is in your wheel house.

As for Voss, rather than needing a NEW ball, more likely he needed a DIFFERENT ball for each squad due to oil pattern wear.

And since those balls most likely won't be right for those same squads at the next tournament, giving them away makes the fans happy.

Some of the less successful pros are known to bring the balls home, and sell them to the locals.

[dougb]

I don't know. I wipe down my balls, clean them after every outing, de-oil in them in a homemade ball oven (made from a Nesco dehydrator) and resurface them regularly. I only use Brunswick. Haven't seen any issues with balls losing their performance. I also had some older stuff from other brands that seemingly wanted to last forever (Faball and AMF).

[bubba809]

I don't know. I wipe down my balls, clean them after every outing, de-oil in them in a homemade ball oven (made from a Nesco dehydrator) and resurface them regularly. I only use Brunswick. Haven't seen any issues with balls losing their performance. I also had some older stuff from other brands that seemingly wanted to last forever (Faball and AMF).

Exactly (or roughly) how many games are on these balls?

[HowDoIHookAgain]

Thanks for all the responses. Based off of what everyone has said, I guess I can expect my Cyclone to last at least another year or two, three at the most, and my MX10 the rest of high school (going to be Sophomore), maybe a little longer, maybe not as long as that. Seems like it all depends on the proper management and upkeep of my balls.

[Amyers]

I don't know. I wipe down my balls, clean them after every outing, de-oil in them in a homemade ball oven (made from a Nesco dehydrator) and resurface them regularly. I only use Brunswick. Haven't seen any issues with balls losing their performance. I also had some older stuff from other brands that seemingly wanted to last forever (Faball and AMF).

The loss of performance happens slowly at least from what I've seen. It's easy to miss I wasn't aware of home much my asylum had lost until I bought a new ball that should have been less aggressive and it wasn't. Truth is with most of these cover stocks we are loosing performance every time we take them out of the bag it just happens in slow enough increments that we don't notice it. Then it gets noticeable and we resurface and get back 80% and think it's 100%. Rinse and repeat, eventually you've got half of what it was originally.

[NewToBowling]

How long should I expect my ball(s) to last?

Up until you get married...ZING!!!

[dougb]

Exactly (or roughly) how many games are on these balls?

Some of them several years. I just sold my stuff off but I had a Brunswick Melee that also doubled as my spare ball and that ball just never quit or diminished despite constant use.

In addition to what I mentioned, I've had great success with Neo Tac Renew It to refresh my equipment and give it that zing on the pin deck. I also don't see a lot of oil. More dirt, unfortunately. Maybe that helps.

I think there is some truth to what Amyers said and maybe I just don't notice the gradual loss. Since I just bought new stuff I'll try and watch closely.

[Tony]

I had a Storm Fired Up and still have a Brunswick Fury that have over 500 games on them, the Storm still looked like new when I gave it away and the Fury is also in good cosmetic shape, while I'm sure the performance is degraded somewhat from when they were new they were still getting down the lane and getting strikes when thrown properly. Between the lanes being changed, the oil pattern changes and changes in my game I can't really say how much the balls changed in performance.
On the other hand I got a Hyper Cell Skid and could notice some change in less than 100 games, the ball also got more scarred and chipped than any ball I've ever owned but when I had it dialed in it blew the pins away. The older 2 balls were polished and the Hyper cell was a matte finish, it came polished OOB, but was modified by my PSO to better handle the heavy oil used in the league.
when I got the ball only one other guy in the league had one by the end of the season close to 20 guys were using them. Today I was talking to the manager of one house and he said he loves his hypecell and it's the first ball out of his bag.

I have to wonder if the current balls are not made to last as long anymore or if the lane conditions and ball technology have become advanced enough that smaller changes are more noticeable than they used to be....

[Amyers]

I had a Storm Fired Up and still have a Brunswick Fury that have over 500 games on them, the Storm still looked like new when I gave it away and the Fury is also in good cosmetic shape, while I'm sure the performance is degraded somewhat from when they were new they were still getting down the lane and getting strikes when thrown properly. Between the lanes being changed, the oil pattern changes and changes in my game I can't really say how much the balls changed in performance.
On the other hand I got a Hyper Cell Skid and could notice some change in less than 100 games, the ball also got more scarred and chipped than any ball I've ever owned but when I had it dialed in it blew the pins away. The older 2 balls were polished and the Hyper cell was a matte finish, it came polished OOB, but was modified by my PSO to better handle the heavy oil used in the league.
when I got the ball only one other guy in the league had one by the end of the season close to 20 guys were using them. Today I was talking to the manager of one house and he said he loves his hypecell and it's the first ball out of his bag.

I have to wonder if the current balls are not made to last as long anymore or if the lane conditions and ball technology have become advanced enough that smaller changes are more noticeable than they used to be....

Depends on what your referring to. Modern balls actually hold thier surface better than the older urethane balls (try keeping a ball at 400 grit for a couple of games) but they soak oil up much faster than urethane. I also tend to think the thicker covers on older balls tended to crack less. Now how the softer plastics held up that were popular before urethane was before my time. I think rubber balls basically lasted forever.

[Tony]

Depends on what your referring to. Modern balls actually hold thier surface better than the older urethane balls (try keeping a ball at 400 grit for a couple of games) but they soak oil up much faster than urethane. I also tend to think the thicker covers on older balls tended to crack less. Now how the softer plastics held up that were popular before urethane was before my time. I think rubber balls basically lasted forever.

These balls were purchased in the 2003 to 2008 time frame, both were reactive type balls, I believe. The Fury cover was called High Octane pearl, I'm not sure if these balls are considered modern ?

[Amyers]

When I say modern in this instance I am referring to resin type balls so yes they would be modern balls although I do believe porosity of the cover stocks have increased since 2003 and 2008 so they wouldn't be effected as much as newer equipment. I do believe balls from the 2003 era especially are weaker than a ball bought today a ball that was considered aggressive back then would struggle to be much more than medium today.

[dougb]

When I say modern in this instance I am referring to resin type balls so yes they would be modern balls although I do believe porosity of the cover stocks have increased since 2003 and 2008 so they wouldn't be effected as much as newer equipment. I do believe balls from the 2003 era especially are weaker than a ball bought today a ball that was considered aggressive back then would struggle to be much more than medium today.

The Fury certainly is weak compared to some of today's hook monsters, but as you said is just fine for mediums and THS shots.

[Tony]

Yes the fury was on the higher end back 8 years ago and funny enough Bowlingball.com compared it and rates it the same as the Diva Divine, the ball I'm currently using.

[dougb]

Yes the fury was on the higher end back 8 years ago and funny enough Bowlingball.com compared it and rates it the same as the Diva Divine, the ball I'm currently using.

And how do they compare? That Brute Strength the site is giving away might fit in nicely!