Nomad Solid

[msherman]

Pin: 3 Inches
Top: 3 oz.

The Layout:

4 x 4, pin above the ring finger with a 1.5 inch buffer. Weight hole (3/4 Inch down 2.5 inches) 1 inch above axis to account for Finger Weight and to clear out some top weight.

The Motion:

This ball is a Silver Streak Solid on Steroids, there really isn’t much else to say about it. It is super clean through the heads and reads the mids great. It has a continuous backend motion. The ball is very versatile and can be used on a wide variety of patterns. You can definitely play a little more direct on a longer pattern without the over/under factor coming into play. On shorter patterns it can roll smoothly off the break point.

The Surface:

I have had this ball at multiple surface levels (OOB, 4000, 2000). Currently I have it at a 2000 Grit abralon to help it read even earlier and smooth out off the break point. A solid choice for any cranker.

Thoughts:

If you liked the Silver Streak, you will love the Nomad! The color scheme is fantastic. The fact there the ball is all cover and core without any filler makes it hit like a MACK TRUCK. A great addition to any arsenal!

[tonybowler]

WOW..that was my initial reaction from throwing my Nomad Solid. I drilled it with a 4.5” pin and a 50 degree layout. The pin to VAL is 3”. I threw this ball with the out of box cover. I was really surprised on the amount of back end reaction that the Nomad Solid has. I was bowling on a house shot. The ball made it through the heads with ease. When it made it turn, it looked like someone kicked the ball to the pocket; this is where the WOW factor came into play. I really like the ball as it drove through the pocket. I carried a lot of off pocket hits. I consider myself a tweener with about a 15 mph ball speed. I sanded the surface to 1000 with an abralon pad. I used the ball on the Shark pattern, for 4 games I was +90. With a sanded surface, it tamed the backend reaction but brought the break point closer to me. For those that are having a hard time controlling the backend might consider a little surface to smooth out the reaction to the dry.

[pbacanuck]

I decided when I drilled the Nomad I was going to try something a bit different. Having already drilled the Nomad Pearl and being surprised at how strong the backend was I wanted to drill the Nomad to hook less and give me something I could use on wet/dry or lanes that just plain hooked. I already had a Mars with the pin right on my axis to take the flare right out of the ball and it works great on wet/dry lanes but lacks the backend on drier lanes with a bit of carry down.

A few years ago I had drilled a high end ball from another manufacturer with the pin 6" from my axis and ended up with a really good spare ball, as the ball never would get into a roll unless I was using it on a gymnasium floor. After seeing how strong the backend was on the pearl I decided what the heck, so I drill the Nomad with the pin 6" from my axis which put it at about 2" left of the center of my grip and 2" above the grip center. I placed the CG right on my grip center.

When I was done the ball looked like it was drilled for the typical lefthander.
I really didn't know what to expect after my last disastrous attempt at this layout. When I first rolled the ball it loped for about 35 - 40 ft, but to my surprise once the ball hit dry boards you could see the core shift and the ball got into a really nice strong roll and killed the pocket.

After rolling both balls on a house shot I found all I had to do with the 6" Nomad was move my feet 10 boards right and my target 5 right on the same condition. The ball reads the lane really well, getting into a nice strong roll with very little deflection. While I wouldn't recommend this layout for everyone it just demonstrates the versatility of the Nomad. It works great on drier lanes and shorter patterns. I can't wait to try it on the Cheetah.

[cmsubowler]

Great rolling ball. If you ready my review on the Nomad Pearl I can relate this ball to that very easily. Background -- pin 4.5 inches to PAP Stacked drilling low weight hole directly in line with the Thumb hole and small. Surface taken down with 2000 abralon and repolished lightly. This ball allowed me to play further right into the track area of the lane than the Nomad pearl. Directly relates to a Cell or Rogue. Very clean through the front part of the lane picking up great midlane roll and strong arc on the backend. When the Nomad pearl is too much to control on the back half of the lane this ball destroyed the pins. Handles carry down easily and any breakdown found on the lane is easily translated into opening up the lane by moving a few boards inside. Controlling this ball is easy. Just let it do its job and let it go down the lane, the sudden explosion and dust from 10 pins will follow. Enjoy!!!!

[Mr Scary]

Drill angle – 35 Deg., Angle to VAL – 35 Deg., PIN to PAP distance – 3 3/8”, 15 lb, box finish

The person who said this ball is like the Silver Streak on steroids is right on. Same core, stronger cover stock, what more can you ask for. This ball is incredible. With the cover, it had no problems getting through the heads, reads the mid-lane great, and hits very hard going through the pins. This ball is more than what I thought it was going to be. I really liked my Silver Streak, but this ball, WOW!! I am looking forward to my tournament schedule to start.

[L.Hoffman]

The new Mid-Range & Priced Nomads should be a big hit with all levels of bowlers this season. The Solid Reactive with the Rotary Core I found not just a Med-Heavy oil ball, but is very smooth on league house shots as well. As a 72 yr. Old LH Stroker I had the Solid drilled with the 3-1/2 inch pin just below the ring finger & the CG kicked out 1-1/2 inches. Staying behind the ball on the house shot & at 15 mph, the ball had a very smooth re-action between 15 & 7 boards. My 1st league score with this ball was 269-747 with 2 open splits. All my Nomad scores have been out of the box..Action speaks louder than words...{Ball Layout Photo on Roto-Grip Web Reviews}....Larry Hoffman, Roto-Grip Advisory Staff

[PaulMc]

I drilled my first Nomad Solid with the pin 4 inches from the PAP at 45 degrees. The ball rolls really even, not too strong off the dry or too long in the oil. What is really impressive is how good the ball hits.

After struggling to carry in a four game summer league that saw me only averaging 210 after the first half, I drilled the Nomad and shot 980+ for the last three weeks of the league (only 890 the previous week). I was second high in the league each week and did pretty good in the side pots against some of the better bowlers in the Houston area.

I drilled a second Nomad Solid with a similar layout but dulled the surface to give me a different look on a tighter condition or a more severe wet / dry shot. In a SASBA (Senior) tournament over the Labor Day weekend in Lafayette, the ball reacted great, carried better than ever expected and my partner and I won the tournament. I was high qualifier, out-averaging even the kids (guys under 50).

[BShep]

I drilled my Nomad 5 x 4 pin under bridge. I did this because it's my favorite layout and always gives me great versatility, and because I wanted to compare with the Grand Illusion drilled the same. I also took the Nomad to 2000 abralon prior to drilling to match my Grand Illusions surface prep. The Nomad is a couple feet longer and much stronger in the backend for me than the Grand Illusion. Overall I have the Nomad 8 boards stronger than the Grand Illusion.

Our pro shop recently held a Storm/Roto Open House and the Nomad solid was the most popular ball by far and sold out. You can't beat the performance of this ball at this price point.

[bowl1820]

1) Rotogrip Nomad Solid

2) Ball Specifications

a) Gross Weight: 16#
b) Top Weight: 2.?? oz.
c) Pin Placement: 3.5"
d) Coverstock: Ultra Vision Solid Reactive
e) Core: Symmetrical (Rotary core from the Sliver Streak series)

3) Drill Layout/Pattern: label leverage

a) Pin to PAP distance: 4", Pin is 2 1/4" from the VAL.
b) CG to PAP distance: 4 5/8" with the CG 1" from grip centerline on the midline.
c) Extra Hole Placement (NONE)
d) Mass Bias Placement (NONE)



4) Surface Preparation

a) Surface Type: OOB 1500 polished
b) Surface Type: 800 grit wet sand finished with 4000 abralon.

5) Bowler Specifications

a) Right handed
b) Stroker
c) Ball Speed (estimated) 18mph
d) Rev rate (estimated): Medium rev’s
e) Positive Axis Point (PAP):5 7/8"> 5/8"^
f) About 13 degree axis tilt

6) Lanes

a) Type of lanes (synthetic) Brunswick Pro Anvil
b) Oil pattern Information (Typical House Shot “THS”)

7) Ball Reaction Characteristics

a) The ball is very clean through the heads, getting good length.
b) The mid-lane read was good
c) The ball made a nice move off the oil, and had a nice even reaction on the backend.
d) The ball retained energy well, The backend was a strong angular one, with good continuation to and through the pin's.

8) Miscellaneous Information

a) Used in two leagues (Mixed (4players), All men(5players) and open play.

9)Summary
I've used this ball for several weeks now, I could easily parrot other reviews. But I'll just focus on a couple of thing's that I was looking at Hold & Recovery, Lane read and pin carry.

The ball's recovery was amazing, throw the ball outside and it came back. Almost a problem for me, trusting the ball enough to send it to the outside. In the out of box condition, it would go just a little long on the mixed league (because it has a oilier condition, because theres a second league following it.). Hold was good on this shot, but with carrydown hit was problematic.

On the drier men's league recovery was almost spooky, it would come back from just about anywhere. Back as the lanes broke down it was just to much, the ball still reacted well and I didn't see it rolling out. But I couldn't get it down the lane. Hold was good at the beginning of the night, but as the oil goes so should the ball go to the bag.

Where the ball shined for me, was when I changed the surface to a 800 grit wet sand and finished it with 4000 abralon and used on the mixed league. This surface change evened the reaction and improved the lane read, but still retained most all of the recovery and hold reaction was more predictable.

The other thing I was watching was pin carry, I wanted to see if the ball having a thick coverstock changed how the pins reacted when hit.

The thinner coverstock balls I think have a little “give” when they hit, with the pins just bouncing off them. Which can cause them to fly around in the air more, which can lead to a lot of ringing leaves.

The Nomad gave the pins a better look when it hit. The pins stayed low and spinning, you could even hear a difference in the sound of the hit. It gave a feeling that more energy was being imparted to the pins.

I want to see now how the ball holds up over the long run. With the thinner covers cracking so much more lately, I want to see if these thicker one hold up more like the old time balls.

This is a good strong ball and I recommend it, but remember it's skid/flip type ball. So make sure that it will fit your game.

[Rotomike]

Layout:
Pin: 4" from pap
cg 4" from pap
pin: next to ring finger
xtra hole: on midline on val
Surface: Box finish
On the house shot I found the Nomad to be very strong with a strong read when the ball met friction. Compared to a Grand Illusion with the same layout I found the Nomad to be longer and definitely stronger in the backend.
What impressed me the most was the way the ball went through the pindeck and the pin carry. Very reminiscant of the Silver Streak except this new cover helps the ball come off of the spot harder. I found my track flare to be about 7".
Don't be afraid to throw this one away from the pocket it will definitely wheel back.
Bowling on the shorter PBA patterns like Viper and Cheetah I found that I could easily get the ball to the breakpoint with a very strong backend.
On the longer patterns like Shark and Scorpion I could play up the lane but found my best reaction when the lanes had broken down a bit. Once the fronts started to burn up and some oil was moved down the lane I found the Nomad was a great option for the longer and higher volume patterns.
I have yet to play with the surface and will report back when after I do.