Replacing Messenger

[jpc1284]

The last ball I bough was around 2001. It was a Columbia 300 Messenger Ti Pearl. This is possibly the greatest ball I ever had. Problem is the finger holes are all busted up. I have contemplated just filling and redrilling them but I also am looking at getting a new ball. Sadly the ball is no longer in production. Can anyone recommend a ball similar to the Messenger. I have a Tornado that I got from a league but I can't get the same back end snap I do on the Messenger. I tend to go for around 14.5lb on my ball. For my stroke I hit the pocket much more consistantly with the lighter ball.

[jmartin27407]

I would take a good look at the Storm Tropical Heat. Do note that technology has changed a ton since the Ti Messenger came out, so most likely whatever you get is going to be somewhat stronger down lane. The Tropical has a similar core design to the messenger so the overall ball motion should be close. I have drilled a ton of these in my shop and not one person has disliked it.

[The Mayor]

Totally agree with Jimmy! The Reactor core in the Heat is almost identical to the Messenger core.

[jpc1284]

What do you think about the Columbia Freeze. It says it is a modified version of the Messenger core. A buddy of mine has one un-drilled and is hooking me up. Also it described as ideal for medium to dry lanes which ends up being the case becuase I can't get my friends to join a sport league and we are stuck at weak houses with poor lane conditions.

[Drano]

What do you think about the Columbia Freeze. It says it is a modified version of the Messenger core. A buddy of mine has one un-drilled and is hooking me up. Also it described as ideal for medium to dry lanes which ends up being the case becuase I can't get my friends to join a sport league and we are stuck at weak houses with poor lane conditions.

The freeze is a great ball for burnt up lanes. Being a lower end ball, it's going to go really long before it hooks.