The Bowler: Motiv Staffer Dustin J. Markowitz

The Ball: Motiv Octane

The Weight: 15 lbs, 3oz

The Drill Layout: 75* X 5" X 35*

The Static Weight: 1/4 Side, 1/8th Finger

The Style: Power Stroker (Speed and Revs Untested since shoulder injury.)

The House: Riverside Lanes in Laughlin, Nevada

The Condition: 39‘ THS and Kegel Easy Street

The Quadfire is back baby! For anyone that has read my reviews or watched my game, they would know that I am a very big fan of the Quadfire core and in fact still have a blue QZ2 in my tournament bag. I was such a big fan of this core that when the Thrash Frenzy came out over one year ago, it quickly became not only my benchmark ball from the company but ranked as one of the top three balls I have thrown in my entire life. It stayed as my go to ball until the release of the Sigma Sting and only stopped being my benchmark because of the house shot change in my home center. Needless to say, the Octane was a ball I was very excited to throw.

So how does the ball stack up? Many of the other staffers have done some very good comparisons with the modern Motiv line but I wanted to try something different. I put the same pin up layout on my Octane as I have used in my Frenzy and Blue QZ2 and decided to do a little compare and contrast between the three. Now these are not out of the box punched Frenzies or QZ2s but rather two I have thrown for well over a couple hundred games with a baked out oil job and resurface on each. However, they still have life and move very closely to how they were out of the box. In fact, almost shockingly so. I also want to note that this review is based on my opinions and observations and is not designed to try and be a blanket statement of how these balls react for everyone. My job is to show you how they compare with my game and not to try and say how these are the best balls ever made.

...

I mean they are the best balls ever made but.....

ONTO THE REVIEW

I had a chance to throw the three on two different lane patterns, the Riverside Lanes House Shot and the Kegel Easy Street. The House Shot is a 39 ft block with a bit heavier mil than the Kegel pattern and is designed for hold on the high friction environment in Laughlin. A combination of outside heat, humidity from the Colorado River and the first floor valet lights under the 2nd floor bowling center causes oil to breakdown in some bizarre fashions so it is crucial to stay ahead of the changes. I started in with the House Shot first and was immediately surprised by the difference in breakpoint between the three balls.

The QZ2 had the earliest read out of the three, making the first movement and losing some of the momentum as it pushed down the lane. I found myself having to square up very quickly and push right in order to get the carry down lane. The Frenzy was quite a bit better with a slightly later move but a much more angular attack and retention of power. The Octane pushed the furthest of the three and when it smelled the dry it made a left turn. It was easily the most angular attack I have seen from anything in the series and hit like a train. I ended up about three boards deeper with my feet and the same mark as the Frenzy and just was awestruck at the way it came back from the dry like a bat out of hell. Easily, the Octane won the first battle of the balls.

The Easy Street pattern was a bit more of a struggle as the wide open outsides gave a little area than I would of liked for the Octane. I ran into the problem of too much ball on this condition and had to really keep pushing left in order to keep the ball on the right side of the head pin. The Frenzy rolled well although I started to see the same problem as we kept pushing down lane. The winner of this battle was my battle scarred QZ2 which kept the line and did not overreact whatsoever.

My final thoughts on this ball is that it is a killer for a standard house shot, a heavy short oil pattern or something that requires the ball getting down the lane before making a radical jump. In comparison to my Frenzy I would say that it is a step above in ball motion and reads the shift in conditions very well. I will be definitely throwing this ball on a regular basis and would highly consider this on just about any wet/dry pattern.

The Quadfire core wins again and I for one am pleased to have the Octane in my hand. Get Motivated and get yours today!!!