You can tell summer is here. This writing shows only five new bowling balls slated for July/August release, and we'll get right to it. But first, we would like to extend a sincere apology to the manufacturers for our very limited time at Bowl Expo. Our Florida trip had to have been arranged by National Lampoon.

BTV: SLATE BLUE QUANTUM
This one did not arrive in time for a full shot, so we will pass along the tech skinny.

Distinguishing characteristics - Two key points here which potentially may set this one apart from other Proactive balls: ETX 5 (a new aggressive Proactive cover formulation) and a new mushroom core with a massive high-density stem.

The ETX 5 cover is formulated to deliver a heavy arcing reaction, which falls between the original ETX and MTX covers. The Slate Q-ball will be dull out of the box. This cover may be sanded or scuffed for more bite or polished for more length.

Caveat - Notice we didn't say "easily polished" in that last description. Proactive requires some work to polish.

At the heart of this 12- to 16-pound ball is a core change that should help with the other Proactive weak spot: length on drier heads. BTV uses the classic mushroom shape (which has been around from the first Q-Ball) with a new twist. The entire stem is a much higher density than the top of the mushroom. This offers a high Rg (2.629) and a medium/high Rg differential of .047. This motor should help the ball clear the heads better and deliver more backend with higher flare potential. This reaction potential should be available in all weights, thanks to the unique core design in each weight for dynamic integrity. These balls will have pin-in and pin-out construction to allow layouts and drills. Apply your favorite two-piece drill, but Brunswick also supplies seven popular layouts.

FABALL: SYNTACTIVE SLEDGE HAMMER
No ball to analyze, so light tech skinny only this issue.

Distinguishing characteristics - Reportedly, this is Hammer's entry into the "non-traditional or active" covers. This Pro Purple (with red pin and red and green logos) Sledge Hammer will come with a dull textured matte finish that will allow the ball techie to tune the cover as needed. The Syntactive Sledge Hammer cover will feature Hammer Particle Technology (H.P.T.) And you already have as much info as we have received about the high-friction cover stock.

The core of this ball is from the Jack Hammer. The 1500cc "boomer" core offers medium/high Rg with medium Rg differential. The 13- to 16-pound balls will use the "boomer" core with pin distances from 1- to 4.5-inches, and should be drilled as a two-piece ball with one of the box drills or the bowler's preferred two-piece drill for roll and reaction. The mass bias of this "boomer" core is approximately 8 inches past the pin on a line drawn through the pin and Cg; this is not as strong an influence as the Off Set cores, but may be used to assist ball motion. The 10- to 12-pound Syntactive Sledge Hammers will use the Hammer Light Elliptical core and should be treated as three-piece balls for drill purposes.

More next month when we actually see the ball and Hammer's "active" cover.

AMF: NIGHT HAWK MENACE
Distinguishing characteristics - At the core of the Menace is the original Night Hawk motor. A four-piece compound core with Medium/high Rg (2.52), medium Rg differential (.045) for about 6 inches of flare potential and AMF's PowerRing allow the ball technician to fine-tune ball reaction by placing the ball's mass bias in the desired position. The 12- to 16-pound models will be offered in pin-in and pin-out constructions to cover virtually all bowler needs. AMF offers easy-to-follow box drills for roll and reaction, or use your favorite drill application.

The big news on the Menace is the Super Particle Technology cover (SPT). This is AMF's own formulation of the Tec cover used by Columbia. The 1000-grit wet sand sheen finish out of the box offers great traction, and this cover sands easily for more traction. Another plus with the Menace is in how easily the cover polishes to increase length, yet still recover strongly without the reactive over-reaction in the dry. The neon red logos on the deep blue (almost black) cover make it look as "Menacing" as Darth Maul.

Caveat - Be prepared to adjust your line or move your feet on the approach. We applied the same drill to our Menace as the Night Hawk. Label-drill with a leverage pin and power ring positioned to add to the arcing reaction of the ball.

Surface to surface - Dull to polished, the Menace has at least an arrow more range than the original Night Hawk. With the box finish, we could move four to five boards left and loop the ball through the oil and get excellent recovery on the backend. We applied a light polish to the ball (easy to do, we might add; the cover tunes effortlessly) and kicked up the length 5 to 6 feet, had a stronger arc with no jerk in the dry, or a "stand-up" when the ball hit the dry. This ball gives a big heavy arcing hook, which is easy to judge and to play.

The left-side ball received a 5-inch pin from PAP and the PowerRing was placed to help the ball "lay-up" on the backend. Dave, our heavy-handed lefty, could not use the box surface on any house pattern; this was too much ball for a big rev player. A light polish brought the ball close to playable, but Dave's release strength still delivered more hook than expected. A high polish made this ball a favorite. This heavy hitter could go deep and swing the ball on heavy head oil, tighten up on carrydown, bump the wall on the top hat, or hit up behind the ball and play up the outside. The look of the ball movement stays consistent, and the ball hits very hard.

These balls got enough play in less than two weeks that they needed a surface touch-up; i.e., refinish. This ball does not show a violent move in the dry (like reactives), and when dull, the Night Hawk does not hook early and set up prematurely. The cover is aggressive enough to recover on oil and carrydown, but still play longer than other "active" cover balls as the lanes go through transition. The Menace is a very playable, heavy-moving ball. This is a nice cover - maybe AMF could come up with a jingle. Like "SPT is the bowler's edge!" Hey - it worked for Granitelli and STP.

TRACK: TRITON T.K.O. CONTENDER
Where's Stella? She has got to see this ball. Track has never been afraid to add some "magic foo-foo" for flare and hook potential - this is the hookingest Track ball yet!

Distinguishing characteristics - The Contender uses the Core2 system from the Triton Elite, the No. 1 selling core in Track history. The inner core uses a dense Rev Dome to lower Rg (2.503) and a flip arm to kick up Rg differential (.0476) and flare potential. The inner core is wrapped in a lighter-density balance core to help harness the core power. The 12- to 16-pound models will use pin-in up to 4- to 5-inches pin-out construction and should be drilled as two-piece. This can be accomplished with Track's box drill sheet, or by applying a favorite drill for roll and reaction. The 10- and 11-pound Contenders will have a traditional three-piece pancake weight block, and should be drilled in a three-piece manner.

The new ProTracktion cover is the meat and 'taters of this one. ProTracktion is Track's exclusive formula of particle technology cover material, as in "active" covers. Track addressed the reactive cover tendency of squirting on oil, and the problem of some "active" covers hooking too early on anything short of a flood. ProTracktion will deliver playable length on almost any amount of head oil and turn the corner with a big arcing hook on any kind of back-end condition. The Royal Purple cover is dull sheen out of the box (yellow pin and logos), sands easily, and polishes with much less effort than most "active" cover materials.

Caveat - Move! This ball flat moves and covers more boards than any Track ball we have used. If you have a semblance of a hand and can get a suggestion of ball rotation, the Contender can hook. We slapped straight up the back of the ball with minimal axis tilt and rotation up second arrow (on a 40-foot, flat, heavy lane pattern) and had to move left to play the backend. We drilled the comp ball label with the pin at leverage below the ring finger. After several games (with different lines) on the 40-foot, heavy pattern, we decided not to get this ball near sandpaper. As far left as we wanted to move, we could not throw this ball out of bounds... except the time we hit that big curved board on the edge of the lane. Want to pitch it wider? Just lean on the ball a little more. Phil Cardinale likes to tell us, "This new Track ball hooks an arrow more than the last one!" It ain't hype. The Contender hooks over an arrow more. The motion is a big hooking arc, which is like throwing a big curve ball down the lane. This ball's backend increases the entry angle and offers great mix and carry - even the rev-challenged had a few scouts looking for something to knock down. We applied a medium polish to the ball, tightened up maybe three boards, and still had area to miss right. We hit a gloss polish and were forced to play up the boards due to our release strength (or lack thereof). We used a gray and then white pad on the ball to get back to box, and left the ball there. One of the impressive things about this ball (besides the hook and hit) was how long we could use this ball as the line dried up. We could get almost three games in an area before we had to move in search of oil. The Contender does not stand up as early as some "actives" we have used, as head oil gets lighter. And the ball reads the dry very easily with a powerful and readable hook.

Track-heads looking for a "hook monster" that gives away nothing to the competition will love this one. If you're looking for good length, oil recovery, strong/consistent hook and powerful hit, this is the real deal from Track.

VISIONARY BOWLING PRODUCTS: SCORCHER
Distinguishing Characteristics - The Scorcher utilizes Visionary's strong directional control core with three different density flip blocks and a built-in marked mass bias to assist in fine-tuning ball motion. The Scorcher will be available in 13- to 16-pound weights, and can be drilled as two- piece, or use box drills for roll and reaction. This medium Rg core offers medium Rg differential for up to 6 inches of flare potential.

The big motion of this ball is courtesy of the new high-friction Visionary Retro Reactive urethane formulation. At press time, the folks at Visionary were not ready to release detailed info about the cover formulation and makeup. The friction and motion of the Scorcher come from the new cover, which we've been told is a move away from the reactive families of urethane. This black ball (orange pin and orange & green logos) is 320-grit from the factory; the cover has a "fuzzy" feel to it. The cover retains the fuzzy feel with fine sanding or polishing. We felt the ball had the feel of an old Weber 5-Star Power Ball. John Wonders chuckled and told us the cover is nothing like the old Power Ball. This ball rolls up easily in oil, hooks in oil, and reads any dry on the backend very smoothly.

Caveat - This ball loves oil; it's designed for heavy oil. Polishing will get you a few more feet of length on light patterns, and the ball still hooks a bunch smoothly. But, on too-light head oil, the Scorcher loses too much in the pines and lacks the pin-scattering hit that comes on oil. The cover also has an oil-repellent additive which keeps the oil on the ball surface longer, so it may be wiped off between shots; no quick soak-in-and-disappear on this one. The ability to wipe oil off before it is "absorbed" by the ball will allow for most consistent reaction potential.

This one arrived the day we left for Bowl Expo. With no time to drill and play, we opted to have our left-handed power player drill it up and shake it down the week we were gone. In the two weeks the ball has been used, it has about 100 games of use with box, 600- and 100-sand and stages of polish. After all this use, the Scorcher had barely discernible track wear. This ball not only hooks, but is also one of the more durable balls we've seen.

We applied the No. 3 drill from the box sheet, which put the pin 4 1/2 inches from the PAP and the mass bias below the thumb. The first use was on 40 feet of oil with a flat heavy pattern. The Scorcher did not care about the oil; it revved and rolled quick off the hand and gave a heavy-duty arc in the dry to the pins. Switch to a house-shot pair, and the ball was too much. This is when the trips were made to the spinner for fine sanding and polishes. These steps would allow the ball to go a little longer and require less hand, but the look of the ball reaction stayed the same. After about 20 games on the heavy oil and 12 games on the house shot (with much polishing effort), the left side of the lane was pretty much gone. The aggressive nature of this cover requires consistent moving to chase the oil. The Scorcher stays pretty clean up front (with some oil) and reads very well going into the dry on the big end. This is one heavy-rolling, big-arcing hook ball. It will stay in 600 wet/sand condition for ready reserve for tournament oil and scratch-league nights. The Scorcher is just not built for the typical "bumper bowling for adults" league conditions.