Storm Hy-Road Pearl review - Mark Tarkington

[gutterline]

Right Handed
Ball weight: 14
Rev Rate: 378
Ball Speed: 18.2
Axis Tilt: 6.67
Axis Rotation: 45*
PAP: 3 7/8 horizontal, 1 ¼ up
Layout: 3 7/8 Pin to PAP, 4 1/8 PSA to PAP, 1 5/8 pin buffer

I’ve had two of the original HyRoad and loved both of them. I was very curious to see what a full pearl version would do.

Before drilling mine, I had talked to another shop operator that had drilled one and he had nothing but great things to say about it.

I decided to drill mine for when sport patterns open up and there is some bump right.

I’ve used it on a beat up Dick Weber pattern and a fresh house pattern.

On the Dick Weber pattern, I used it from games 3-6 and it was a great option. I had serious problems trying to keep the ball far enough right. More operator error than ball issues. As long as I gave the ball room to the right, it recovered quite well. There was NO hold in the middle, so if I tugged it (which is my normal M.O.), it was through the nose or even runaway Brooklyn. It was very clean through the oil, but around game 6, the middles started burning up, so it started checking up early.

On the house pattern, the ball was quite clean through the heads and recovered so well that I was surprised that it made the corner. It glided to the breakpoint and was sharper than any ball I’ve thrown in a few years.

Of the few games I’ve put on this ball, I can say it reminds me of the first Thunder Road Pearl more than any ball I’ve rolled since that one was released. It’s sharper than anything in my bag, but it’s not an uncontrollable flip. It reads the lane so well, that the movement on the friction is not unpredictable. Of course, with a ball this sharp, the carry is pretty spectacular.

I’m looking forward to using this one on a variety of patterns and seeing how it matches up with different volumes, but I can say that as a first ball out of the bag on a THS, it could be a little strong, but the rewards could outweigh the risks.

Storm made a very good decision to put this cover around this core!

Mark Tarkington
Storm Amateur Pro Shop Staff Member
Roto Grip Amateur Pro Shop Staff Member
Turbo Grips Regional Staff Member
Manager, GutterLine Pro Shop
gutterline@gmail.com

[Aslan]

If I won one (hint)...I could also review it.