Mars Review

[precisionrotoguy]

Layout- Pin 5” from PAP, hole wide/shallow 1” up the VAL

I was actually pretty surprised on how weak this ball was, but I’ve noticed that when you drill them stronger than I did (my layout is pretty weak) they roll pretty strong, so this tells me it’s pretty much par for the course for the Planet line- flexible and a good value in comparison to many other companies’ product lines. I polished mine and it looks great up the lane, I sanded it and it looked good from further left- still maintaining its motion through the rack. Honestly, who couldn’t use that kind of flexibility from a middle-entry type ball? The cool thing is (and those who know me know that I almost never reference this sort of thing) how awesome this ball looks. Don’t let the description fool you, yes it is black and orange, but the ball looks like it has a chameleon paint job. When the light hits it it looks purple, but the sides still look orange and black. This thing looks super on the shelf, on the rack, going down the lanes and in the black light. Who doesn’t wanna look good when they’re bowling? Plus, from a pro shop perspective, balls that look good on the shelf and grab people’s attention sell like gangbusters, which is good for local business and the industry as a whole. Personally, I see this ball as a great fit for Medium to dry for your scratch bowler, but also a sweet looking entry ball for everyone.

Jason Hoff
Area 300 Pro Shop

[RonCase823]

My Axis is 5 5/8 right, ¼ up, my speed is average and I would consider myself with higher revs but more up the back. So not a cranker but not really straight either.

This ball I put the pin under my middle finger and kicked the CG out positive just slightly. This ball works well when you hit the desert or dry conditions. However if you like to play out but can’t on house shots because of too much friction this will suit you well. High rev players or slower speed will love it also. With my release I seem to get the ball rolling early which on dry lanes is a killer. This ball, even on the driest lanes I’ve seen, goes great through the heads and really kicks hard on the backend. Now I can’t wait for the lanes to get fried because this ball can handle that.

Ron Case - RotoGrip Staff

[MoonsLefty]

What can I say about Mars? Well, it is a very clean rolling ball through the heads which is what you have come to expect from the planet line, but it does give you more backend than the rest of the line. Even in a house with very soft heads. It is stronger than the Neptune, which for me was really over /under, its cleaner through the fronts than the Pluto. Hopefully this is a planet I will be able to throw with more consistency, which I haven't been able to do since the Saturn.

[Bucko the Bowler]

First time using this ball was on a very tough house shot where most bowlers only average in the 2-teens. The lanes have no recovery outside and a medium amount of oil in the middle. The oil pattern runs approx 38 ft and has a lot of over/under to the lane condition. The Mars read late in the mid-lanes off the back of the oil pattern and picked up an aggressive roll, not a snappy reaction and it also has a great drive through the pins. My first game with the Mars I bowled a 300 with an overall 787 series. I thought the Neptune was a great ball and then Roto Grip came out with the Pluto, which raised the bar for a great entry level ball; However the Mars goes over and above both of those balls in comparison to ball reaction. This ball is going to work great on every type of lane surface and the light to medium oil patterns.
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BRANDON HARRIS
Amateur Roto Grip Staff

[cmsubowler]

Drilled up a Mars to help out through some tough transitions. This ball is very predictable and gets to the pins with energy leftover. Drilled one up with a initial drilling angle of 45 degrees with a 3.75" pin to PAP and VAL angle of 55 degrees. Brought my game back to the right about 12 boards and was able to throw it to and through the "dirt" and leftovers on the right side of a wood lanes house that I am usually starting with my feet somewhere between 24 and 32 keeping the ball tight online to stay in the oil. Slight surface change will allow you to keep the speed up and start with this ball on a fresh shot. Ball will read the end and bank off of the dry boards with zero hesitation while still getting through the front half of the lane very clean.

[tbs1]

Drilled 5"pin to pap x 4" mb to pap w/ 3" pin buffer.

Initial thoughts- I had a big hole between my Pluto and Neptune. Since the Rogue cell fits in so good for me in between the Cell and Cell pearl, I was optimistic about the Mars filling this gap. On THS, without surface modifications the Pluto would be a little early, and the Neptune wouldn't get back off the spot.

The Mars is just what the doctor ordered for my needs. It's super clean through the heads with enough pop off the spot. Easily fits in between the other two planets. THe ball is most definitely more bang for the buck, and the shelf appeal doesn't hurt.

For those of you interested, I should have a video coming soon...

Thanks,

[John Brodersen]

Ball specs – 15 lbs 2 oz, 3.10 top weight, and 2.50-inch pin.

Let me start by saying the Mars is a much better looking ball than the various photos illustrate. The dark purple / orange combination really provides for customer shelf appeal.

The symmetrical Mars was drilled using the dual angle method. The layout is a 6-inch pin, 55-degree drill angle and a 70-degree VAL angle. This put the pin just under the middle finger and the CG under and about 1.5 inches below the ring finger. No X-hole was required and the surface was hit lightly with a 4000 abralon pad.

I was still looking for a ball when the lanes become extremely black and white side to side later in the day during tournament play. (A shout out to Storm’s technical director Ernest Goedicke for his time and layout suggestion) The Mars hybrid cover provides easy length down the lane and a very smooth move off the friction. With this layout the Mars only flares about 1.5 inches but still provides crisp hit and carry. With this layout the Mars does need to see some friction to get it going and will be some what condition specific.

The Roto Grip Shield line has had the best entry-level performance products in the industry. The Mars continues to improve upon this impressive line up.

John Brodersen

[Tess7654]

I drilled my Mars with a 4" pin from pap, cg slightly kicked out with a hole 2" below my pap on my val. I have used the Mars on a house shot and on the viper pattern and it was very predictable and carried very well. On a typical house shot I was able to play fairly straight right up 6-7 or move into 12 and throw it out to 5....what i was most impressed with was how it didn't over hook if thrown into the dry to quickly. On the viper pattern I was able to play very direct straight up 4-5. I've also noticed with the Mars I am able to increase my tilt and create 3-4 more boards of backend and still have a predictable motion. All in all this is my favorite planet ball yet...just when you think RotoGrip can't get any better they do.



David Tessman
Roto Grip Staff

[PaulMc]

I had no idea what to expect from the Mars when I got it. My first shot with the Mars told me that this ball is a condition ball for when the lanes are pretty dry. That was not entirely accurate. The ball goes really long but has a strong finish (as long as you keep it out of the puddles!).

While practicing today on a house condition, I started with my Cell Rogue and was swinging the ball crossing eight going out to about five. After getting lines up and throwing some strikes I switched to the Mars. I ended up moving six and two left which allowed me to play way outside the oil line. At first I was leaving some 7 pins as the ball was going pretty long. I moved my target a little closer to me and …wow. I struck forever. A guy in the league next to me asked if I had 15 or 20 in a row. I didn’t know but it was a lot. I then threw about eight more strikes after that. On today’s house shots, its not a big deal to see people strike but I actually had people back there mumbling I was striking so much.

I can’t wait to throw this ball in competition! I know on certain shots it will give me an awesome reaction others won’t have.

[Mikelj]

I have my Mars drilled with the pin above the fingers 3" from the PAP. This ball is great out of the box. 679 my first series bowling on 36' house shot.

I love the true roll of this ball. From the first game to the last the ball kept striking and the carry was great. I was able to bounce the ball off the dry and and watch it make a easy turn toward the pocket. The ball cleared the heads cleanly. Nine strikes my third game only broken up by a 7-10 in the sixth frame.

This ball hooks much more than I expected.