December 6th, 2011 | Published in Ball Reviews
46 Hook 15 Length 14 Breakpoint Shape Core Design: The 2011 edition of the venerable Blue Hammer houses a different symmetric core compared to the 1980-90 version. This time, the core shape is found in the popular Vibe series, but Hammer’s design team tweaked the numbers. They raised the RG from 2.51 to 2.57 and [...]
July 8th, 2011 | Published in Ball Reviews
47 Hook 16 Length 15.5 Breakpoint Shape Core Design: The hour-glass shaped symmetric core has been since the first Vibe we tested — the blue pearl in July 2006. The core is still rated at 2.51 RG and .042 Diff in 15-pounders. Bowlers will typically see nearly 4.5” of track flare with strong 3-4” pin [...]
March 9th, 2011 | Published in Ball Reviews
55 Hook 14.5 Length 15.5 Breakpoint Shape Core Design: The Biohazard asymmetric core boasts a medium RG level of 2.50. The Diff comes in at .055 and the intermediate Diff is .011. We saw nearly 6” of track flare with the 4 and 5” layouts. The core also is used in Hammer’s heavy oil Plague. [...]
January 12th, 2011 | Published in Ball Reviews
52 Hook 15 Length 16 Breakpoint Shape Core Design: The Taboo has yet another strong asymmetric core design sharing the original Black Widow core. The RG is medium at 2.50 and the Diff strong at .060. Mass bias measures in at .016, which helps define motion shape. We saw both skid/flip and arcing motions, contingent [...]
November 12th, 2010 | Published in Ball Reviews
51.5 Hook 14.5 Length 15 Breakpoint Shape Core Design: The symmetric Bullet core shape mirrors the Hammer Grind’s (July 2010). The medium RG of 2.56 promotes later midlane revs, while the .045 Diff will offer about 5” of track flare with aggressive layouts. This taller core shape allows for easier length. Coverstock: The Violent Flip [...]
November 12th, 2010 | Published in Ball Reviews
54 Hook 14.5 Length 15.5 Breakpoint Shape Core Design: Hammer’s brain-trust decided to re-enlist its original asymmetric Gas-Mask core, first used in the Black Widow (July 2006). This powerful core delivers the goods with its medium RG of 2.50, a 6” flaring Diff of .060 and an intermediate Diff strength of .016. This core offers [...]
July 1st, 2010 | Published in Breaking News
Perttu Jussila of Tampere, Finland had two great games of 264 and 278 included n his 1388 total to win squad five of the dream Bowl Open Thursday morning, finishing 15 pins ahead of second-placed Chris Loschetter of the United States. The 19-year-old lithe Finn, a member of the Finnish national youth team for the [...]
June 7th, 2010 | Published in Ball Reviews
The Midnight will provide many uses on light-mediums to medium volumes when players desire length and an aggressive arc downlane. Heavier volumes will require surface adjustments or the use of stronger pieces such as Black Widows, Raw line balls or power Hammer Jigsaws.
June 7th, 2010 | Published in Ball Reviews
The RP Backlash is a later and tamer version of the BS Backlash. We saw an average of 2-4 boards less total hook and 3-4 feet later reaction with the RP version. With similar surfaces the two Backlashes become more closely related but still differ slightly.
June 7th, 2010 | Published in Ball Reviews
The BS Backlash offers a smooth midlane breakpoint with excellent control off drier boards. It matches up best on light to medium volumes of oil and will handle moderate oil carrydown.
