Storm Natural

[videoballreviews]

Hi all,

I'm proud to present to you my new Storm Natural video.

http://www.videoballreviews.com/natural.html

Or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT91BR0BuCE

The natural is truly a unique reaction that was absolutely needed in the storm lineup. Anyone who sees high friction oil patterns, or broken down conditions will want and need this ball.

As you can see in the video the reaction is about as smooth as it gets. I compared to a furious because they have the same Surface and core. I also put the same layout on both. The only difference between the two is that the natural is Urethane and the furious is Reactive Resin. Its amazing how far we have come with coverstock technology and hook potential, and this is proof.

While the natural doesn't have an extremely aggressive core, it matches up very well with the urethane shell, and gives you plenty of power and drive at the pins.

This ball is gonna find its way into a lot of bowlers bags, and most likely bail them out of some tough situations...

Thanks for reading!

--------------------
Britton
Owner/Operator of Videoballreviews.com
Multi Media Consultant
Storm Products, Inc.
www.stormbowling.com
www.rotogrip.com

[Riggs]

NATURAL

5 1/4 pin to PAP, 6 1/4 "MB" to PAP, 4 1/4 pin buffer
Drilling is pin over bridge with CG about grip center. No hole.
That's a drilling I generally like for balls designed to get down the lane on hooking or burned out patterns. Other balls I have this drilling in include T-ROAD PEARL and TROPICAL.

The NATURAL is Storm's "blast from the past" urethane -- "U2S" coverstock – ball using the Turbine core found in the FAST, FURIOUS and the STREET RODS.

My expectation for the NATURAL was that it would be similar to an old-time urethane like a Blue Hammer or Black U-Dot but a little more dynamic with the Turbine core.

My first experience with it was on a wet/dry house shot on 6-year-old Brunswick Pro Anvilane synthetics.

As expected, the NATURAL has essentially zero flip. DO NOT EXPECT TO SEE THIS BALL MAKE A SHARP MOVE ANYWHERE! When I tried going in and out my reaction was bucket/face.

However, when I got my feet to the right and went direct up about 10 board, the NATURAL rolled hard and true to the pocket, taming out the wet/dry. The result was six straight dead flush strikes. This ball rolls through the pocket very strong if you have it rolling. I did leave one classic 5-7 when I was trying to be in the oil hooking it.

I brought a BARBED WIRE (the straightest reactive Storm ball I've ever thrown) along as a comparison and it was fairly close. I could play the house shot exactly the same with the only difference being slightly more reaction from the BARBED WIRE, which is what you'd expect.

I would expect the NATURAL to be popular for those trying to tame down a wet/dry reaction. And I think it will have use on certain short Sport patterns, such as PBA Cheetah. I will have a chance to try it on Cheetah at a regional July 10-12 and will update my review after that.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

I had my Natural drilled today. Went with a very basic label drilling with the pin above the bridge and the CG directly below in the center of the palm... I threw the ball on a fresh oil THS and I must say it did want I was looking for.. NOTHING..lol Wellnot really nothing but it had a very slight hook and NO snap at all. This is what I was looking for the dry lanes.This ball will not over hook.. I even tried taking speed off and could not get snap oout of this ball with this layout.. Storm finally came out with a dry lane ball that isnt aggressive. I really like this ball and when it hits,it hits hard!..Great ball for those dry shots!

[mrbill]

I See why good bowlers need there Arsenal to have diffrent rolls.
I Know some day I will get to that point and have a great time doing it.:)
Gratz on the new ball Storm

[dougb]

I was thinking of picking one of these up for the exact same reaction, but for use on reverse block situations or when the plastic ball bowlers in the leagues before me move the oil all over the place. How do you think that would work?

I have a Lane #1 Bullet for the dry, so don't really need the Natural to fill that gap.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

I was thinking of picking one of these up for the exact same reaction, but for use on reverse block situations or when the plastic ball bowlers in the leagues before me move the oil all over the place. How do you think that would work?

I have a Lane #1 Bullet for the dry, so don't really need the Natural to fill that gap.


with playing a reverse block, where are you wanting to play the lanes? if looking to play the outside down and in shot I dont really thing that this would be the right ball. I was shooting on a fresh house shot that is known throughout the city to be very blocked up. I was not able to get the ball back with playing anyhing 10 or out. Now the layout does have alot to do that as well. with a more aggressive layout you may be able to get what you are wanting though.

as for bowling after the plastic balls.... I am really not too sure how this ball would react in carry down if it would really react at all.. for something like that i would probably go to a low-mid range ball that will get through the oil that has been pushed down the lanes.. I have been throwing my Furious more since friday when it was drilled and tha is a very good low end ball.. usually around 90-95 online.. same as the natural and in the same line, but has a very good reaction.. I currently have my furious drilld 3 3/8 x 3 3/8 and is hooking and flairing more than some of my higher range ball..

Hopefully i helped out in some way... also if you want to see the furious, i have a reaction video that i made on youtube.. just use the link under my userid

[dougb]

with playing a reverse block, where are you wanting to play the lanes? if looking to play the outside down and in shot I dont really thing that this would be the right ball. I was shooting on a fresh house shot that is known throughout the city to be very blocked up. I was not able to get the ball back with playing anyhing 10 or out. Now the layout does have alot to do that as well. with a more aggressive layout you may be able to get what you are wanting though.

as for bowling after the plastic balls.... I am really not too sure how this ball would react in carry down if it would really react at all.. for something like that i would probably go to a low-mid range ball that will get through the oil that has been pushed down the lanes.. I have been throwing my Furious more since friday when it was drilled and tha is a very good low end ball.. usually around 90-95 online.. same as the natural and in the same line, but has a very good reaction.. I currently have my furious drilld 3 3/8 x 3 3/8 and is hooking and flairing more than some of my higher range ball..

Hopefully i helped out in some way... also if you want to see the furious, i have a reaction video that i made on youtube.. just use the link under my userid


Thanks for the advice. I am a low revs stroker who likes to play the second or third arrow, depending on lane conditions. I usually start around 10-12 and move left as the evening progresses. We rarely get oil outside the 10 in our house but often get carrydown and reverse blocks.

My two benchmarks are a T-Road Pearl and a Columbia 300 Rival. I picked up a used Rapid Fire Solid and I think I'm going to have my shop drill it specifically for these conditions, so I can do a down-and-in shot up the 10. I expect the RFS to be able to cut through any carrydown.

The Fast and Furious seem like great balls for the price!

[JaxBowlingGuy]

to be honest the rapid fire is very tempermental (spelling).... i had one for a few games and gave it away... i would throw 2 exact same shots and get totally different reactions... sometimes it would take off and other would do nothing at all.. it was v ery strange and the layout i used was a layout that i put on like 85 percent of my balls...

with the style your described the natural could actually be a good ball for you if you stay inside. the only "issue" i would see is if you got the ball outside it may not come back... with lower revs and urathane ball i would suggest a high flair layout. a good large flair layout i have found is the pin 3 3/8 from PAP and the mb 3 3/8 from PAP... you will need a longer pin ball for this usually.

or even the furious drilled rather weak would be a good fit.. it has the same coverstock as the rapid fire but a little weaker weight block.

keep me posted on how you like your rapid fire...

[dougb]

to be honest the rapid fire is very tempermental (spelling).... i had one for a few games and gave it away... i would throw 2 exact same shots and get totally different reactions... sometimes it would take off and other would do nothing at all.. it was v ery strange and the layout i used was a layout that i put on like 85 percent of my balls...

with the style your described the natural could actually be a good ball for you if you stay inside. the only "issue" i would see is if you got the ball outside it may not come back... with lower revs and urathane ball i would suggest a high flair layout. a good large flair layout i have found is the pin 3 3/8 from PAP and the mb 3 3/8 from PAP... you will need a longer pin ball for this usually.

or even the furious drilled rather weak would be a good fit.. it has the same coverstock as the rapid fire but a little weaker weight block.

keep me posted on how you like your rapid fire...

I don't expect the Rapid Fire to move much because of the layout: pin over middle finger and mb in a pretty straight line just a little left of the grip center. See pic here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2CwObpYdZrCTkYiK-TzJRg?authkey=Gv1sRgCMLCvOHE_rubEg&feat=directlink

Bowling This Month talked about the advantages for low rev strokers laying a ball out like this in the June edition. They suggest you can use it for spare shots, inside direct shots on drier lanes, and for shooting from the right side in reverse block conditions. I got the ball for very little on Ebay and want to try this layout. Will let the Board know how it works out!

[JaxBowlingGuy]

Yeah, That layout is borderline negative. You should get Very long length before it starts to react. I have a ball laid out that that as well. Good luck and let us know

[dougb]

Yeah, That layout is borderline negative. You should get Very long length before it starts to react. I have a ball laid out that that as well. Good luck and let us know

Indeed the Rapid Fire with that layout goes very long, and makes a very slight turn at the break point. I had the opportunity to try this on both dry lanes and on a THS that was breaking down quickly. In both cases, this was a good move when my T-Road Pearl wanted to come in high. I laid this ball on the 13 board and watched it come in to the pocket over and over again at the end. And the Twin V core delivers the carry that people say... I knew when my first 4 shots with it were strikes that I made the right move with this ball. And for $40 (I didn't need to redrill it either) how could I go wrong?

I also found this layout extremely helpful for making right side spares, especially buckets. Only thing I couldn't pick off was the 10 pin, even with hand adjustments. StormBowler13, what do you use your ball with this layout for?

[JaxBowlingGuy]

its a street rod solid... i use it for the drier lanes.. well i did.. i shot like 4 games with it and i dont think i will be throwing it anymore.. since i got the natural i dont have a need for it.. i will be gettin another natural here within the next couple weeks to put a little more aggressive layout on it.

[JBuford300]

A blast from past with a modern touch! I am too young to know what it was like to truly compete with Urethane bowling balls back in the day. But now I see why my father still loves his urethane ball. I've always had an issue with lane conditions once they break down. The Natural has definitely filled a hole in my bag that I have been trying to fix for a couple of years now.
I drilled my Natural with a dual angle layout of 60 x 2 ½ x 40. Out of box the ball would skid a down lane and have no real movement at all even with the lane being fried. I hit the surface a burgundy scotch brite pad and this ball came to life for me. What it allowed me to do was stay playing down 10 instead of moving deep inside to try to bank off the friction.Of my hand the Natural made gentle move to the left and continued towards the pocket. I had little to no backend motion which is going to serve me well when I hit the shorter patterns or fall into a situation when the lanes are just completely destroyed. The hitting power of the Natural was phenomenal, I am so excited to see this ball in tournament action. I posted a video at the end of this review.

This ball may not be for everyone, but for tournament bowlers and bowlers who have a hard time with drier conditions, you will want to have this ball in your bag. In my honest opinion the combination of the Fast, Furious, and the Natural, make an awesome and reliable 1-2-3 punch for any bowler on today’s lane conditions.

The Natural is a ball for the Young and Old. A blast from the past (Urethane) with a modern touch (Turbine Core).


Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96K0myV7iyE

[dougb]

its a street rod solid... i use it for the drier lanes.. well i did.. i shot like 4 games with it and i dont think i will be throwing it anymore.. since i got the natural i dont have a need for it.. i will be gettin another natural here within the next couple weeks to put a little more aggressive layout on it.

I used this ball again last night and loved it. As long as I kept on the oil line, it was tame. If I threw it out into the dry, it moved a little too much for my liking. The ball delivered, but by the end of the 3rd game I was playing more of an inside line than I prefer.

It seems like you can stay on the outside with the Natural when the lanes dry up. The ball seems to have that smooth, tame, predictable reaction I want.

Also, my understanding is you can use it on more than dry lanes, too. I think it's time to save money for a Natural!

[Riggs]

Updating my NATURAL review with some FIGJAM -- made the semis at the regional in Belton, MO this weekend on Cheetah using the NATURAL almost the entire weekend.

NATURAL is everything I hoped it would be -- absolutely awesome control with plenty of power.

Details are in my blog:

http://77square.com/sweat/blog/frame11/entry_458157

[GRstorm]

Hand: Left
Ball Speed: 16-17mph
Ball Weight: 15lbs
Pin: 2-2.5
Layout: Pin under ring finger and cg in the middle

The Natural is an awesome urethane ball! It is a great ball for the dry lanes or when you bowl on a sport shot when the heads are gone especially when it is a shorter sport shot or if there is too much backend and you need something to stay in line and not over react. Great for the high rev dominant bowlers. It hits really hard for a urethane due to the same weight block that is in the Fast and Furious.

I have used it so far on a house shot at my center at AMF Pinole Valley Lanes where its always dry and this ball never over reacted. If I do get it in a little patch of oil it is going to slide further before it makes a move. It is also a great ball to practice with to see how consistent you are since there is really no room for error with this ball.

Good luck to everyone that grabs his or her hand on this ball its awesome!

I have a picture of my Natural drilled in my photo album on myspace! Also I have a video up on videoballreviews.com. If you have any questions about the Natural email me at grichardson7716@aol.com.

Garrett Richardson
Storm Staff
Al Louie's Pinole/Diablo Valley Pro Shop
www.myspace.com/grstorm
www.myvemma.com/grstorm
www.stormbowling.com

[caseyccg]

Name: Casey Murphy
Style: Right handed, 425 rpm, 16 mph ball speed
Axis: 4 13/16 over, 5/16 up

Ball: Natural
Layout: Dual Angle Layout (35 degree drilling angle, 4 13/16 inch from axis,70 degree angle to the val) The pin is below and centered between my fingers, cg is kicked out quite a bit with a balance hole.

Playing around just after drilling the ball
Location: Sunshine Lanes, Springfield, MO
Lane Surface: Synthetic Heads, Wood Backends
Condition: House Condition, High volume. A lot of oil from 10 to 10, just a little less oil from 9 out to the gutter
Was interested to see this modern version of a urethane ball. Didn't really know what to expect going into drilling the ball, but my first shot in practice surprised me. The ball hooked quite a bit more than i expected. I was able to play pretty straight around the track the ball fed to the hole every time. Carrying the corners was a bit difficult on the longer house pattern, but for short patterns the Natural would be a great weapon!

Weekly League
Location: Sunshine Lanes, Springfield, MO
Lane Surface: Synthetic Heads, Wood Backends
Condition: Kegel Challenge Pattern - Middle Road
The Middle Road pattern is somewhat challenging. There's not a lot of room to the right and bowler's really need to keep the ball in the track area. I started the first game with a different ball and was having trouble staying in the 1-3. Decided to give the Natural a try and all of sudden i couldn't miss the pocket. Finished out with a 4 bagger in the first game and shot 667 for the next 3 games.

Overall
The Natural is a great ball for controlling tough lane conditions and fresh backends. It is an absolute MUST BUY for lefthanders. Lefties will tear up shorter patterns off the outside with this ball.

[Pbaramos]

The NEW Storm Natural really makes me appreciate the game more with the 1980's type motion it gives me. I layed mine out 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 with a hole on my axis (4 3/4 x 1 up) This ball is a must have for real short pba or sport patterns. The Natural will keep you out of trouble on those grind type of conditions. The turbine core has turned into one of my FAVORITE core designs with my proven success with the fast, furious, and both street rods. I was extremely surprised that this ball still flared about 4-5 inches. There is also no such thing as deflection with this ball, it is just like any other STORM ball on the market, very continuous through the pins. A must have for all Tournament Bowlers!!! Bowl Up A Storm
--------------------
Erik Ramos
PBA Storm Regional Staff