oldschoollefty
10-24-2010, 07:36 PM
and now from the left side of the big dot...
These two balls may have been the most anticipated releases of the year for me. The Reign series has been very prominent in my ball arsenal for more than a year with their versatility on both house and various sport patterns their main attraction.
While I liked the Invasion on a narrower spectrum of patterns, I never quite wrapped my arms around this ball the way I did the Virtual Gravity. I had high hopes for the Anarchy and my optimism was not wasted.
First, the Reign Supreme.
This is another of the successful line of R2S covers, this one being a hybrid, like the Hy-Road, one of my all time favorites. I drilled mine 60 x 40 with a 4 7/8 pin, weight hole 2" down from PAP. The pin is about 11 o'clock to the ring finger, CG 2" left from grip center.
My first ball to compare it to was a similarly drilled Hy-Road. This was on an almost fresh house shot on newly resurfaced wood lanes. The Reign Supreme made a noticably stronger move in the midlane than the Hy-Road, so much so I moved 3 and 2 right immediately. Much better results then, with the heavier oil in the middle blending out the sharp breakpoint and giving the RS a smoother but still strong heavy roll into the pocket. How strong? In two games, I left three solid nine pins. That means folks, the five pin is going straight back. Not bad for my <300 rev rate.
Next outing for the RS was at a regional in Richardson, Texas on HPL lanes, Cheetah pattern. Early in qualifying, I was able to use a weaker drilled Prodigy and/or a weaker Furious. After about a game and a half when the heads started to toast, out came the Reign Supreme. I was surprised to see how well the RS handled the wet/dry look that Cheetah offers, especially after it responded so strongly on the house shot. I consistantly piped the ball up 4/5 at about 16 to 16 1/2 MPH and the ball gave me a great hook/set move to the pocket. I wound up at +129 and made it to Sunday. In the semis, I shot another +140 and moved up from 23rd to 19th missing match play by about 25 pins. I used the same ball combinations as Saturday.
Now, the Anarchy.
My info is going to be a little more limited for now since I couldn't get mine drilled in time for the regional.(I have been too busy drilling customers stuff to get to my own. Nice problem. :))
The Anarchy is drilled 65 x 50 with a 5" pin. The weight hole is 1" down from PAP. Pin is nearly above the bridge, CG about 1 1/2" left of grip center.
My first time with the Anarchy was on nearly the same house shot as the RS. I can honestly say I've never seen a pearl move as strongly off the dry as this one did. I was at least 5-6 boards right of where I played with the RS and very little deflection at the pins. I want to throw this ball on a CATS lane and see if it can boost my puny rev rate a little.
Two days later, I used the Anarchy in league, on old HPL, second shift house shot. Again, good push through the somewhat burned heads and a big move off the spot. I could get in deeper than where I usually play here where there was still some head oil and still get a great entry angle to the pocket. I shot about 900 for a four game set. I really think this ball is going to be great for a broken down longer sport pattern like Chameleon or Scorpion or one of the longer Kegel patterns as well. I'll try to send along an update when I can throw either of these balls on more varied conditions.
Overview:
Both balls proved to have stronger more angular movement than those I was comparing them to. The Reign Supreme to the Hy-Road and Reign, the Anarchy to the Virtual Energy and Invasion. With the calendar year for regional tournaments about to end and some important events coming up like the RPI, Tournament of Champions, and Playoffs coming up, I feel better equipped than ever.
Thank you again, Storm.
Kurt Gengelbach
Storm PBA Regional Staff (4 years)
These two balls may have been the most anticipated releases of the year for me. The Reign series has been very prominent in my ball arsenal for more than a year with their versatility on both house and various sport patterns their main attraction.
While I liked the Invasion on a narrower spectrum of patterns, I never quite wrapped my arms around this ball the way I did the Virtual Gravity. I had high hopes for the Anarchy and my optimism was not wasted.
First, the Reign Supreme.
This is another of the successful line of R2S covers, this one being a hybrid, like the Hy-Road, one of my all time favorites. I drilled mine 60 x 40 with a 4 7/8 pin, weight hole 2" down from PAP. The pin is about 11 o'clock to the ring finger, CG 2" left from grip center.
My first ball to compare it to was a similarly drilled Hy-Road. This was on an almost fresh house shot on newly resurfaced wood lanes. The Reign Supreme made a noticably stronger move in the midlane than the Hy-Road, so much so I moved 3 and 2 right immediately. Much better results then, with the heavier oil in the middle blending out the sharp breakpoint and giving the RS a smoother but still strong heavy roll into the pocket. How strong? In two games, I left three solid nine pins. That means folks, the five pin is going straight back. Not bad for my <300 rev rate.
Next outing for the RS was at a regional in Richardson, Texas on HPL lanes, Cheetah pattern. Early in qualifying, I was able to use a weaker drilled Prodigy and/or a weaker Furious. After about a game and a half when the heads started to toast, out came the Reign Supreme. I was surprised to see how well the RS handled the wet/dry look that Cheetah offers, especially after it responded so strongly on the house shot. I consistantly piped the ball up 4/5 at about 16 to 16 1/2 MPH and the ball gave me a great hook/set move to the pocket. I wound up at +129 and made it to Sunday. In the semis, I shot another +140 and moved up from 23rd to 19th missing match play by about 25 pins. I used the same ball combinations as Saturday.
Now, the Anarchy.
My info is going to be a little more limited for now since I couldn't get mine drilled in time for the regional.(I have been too busy drilling customers stuff to get to my own. Nice problem. :))
The Anarchy is drilled 65 x 50 with a 5" pin. The weight hole is 1" down from PAP. Pin is nearly above the bridge, CG about 1 1/2" left of grip center.
My first time with the Anarchy was on nearly the same house shot as the RS. I can honestly say I've never seen a pearl move as strongly off the dry as this one did. I was at least 5-6 boards right of where I played with the RS and very little deflection at the pins. I want to throw this ball on a CATS lane and see if it can boost my puny rev rate a little.
Two days later, I used the Anarchy in league, on old HPL, second shift house shot. Again, good push through the somewhat burned heads and a big move off the spot. I could get in deeper than where I usually play here where there was still some head oil and still get a great entry angle to the pocket. I shot about 900 for a four game set. I really think this ball is going to be great for a broken down longer sport pattern like Chameleon or Scorpion or one of the longer Kegel patterns as well. I'll try to send along an update when I can throw either of these balls on more varied conditions.
Overview:
Both balls proved to have stronger more angular movement than those I was comparing them to. The Reign Supreme to the Hy-Road and Reign, the Anarchy to the Virtual Energy and Invasion. With the calendar year for regional tournaments about to end and some important events coming up like the RPI, Tournament of Champions, and Playoffs coming up, I feel better equipped than ever.
Thank you again, Storm.
Kurt Gengelbach
Storm PBA Regional Staff (4 years)