| Brunswick Revolver |
| Written by Karl Ramonas | ||||||
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The Brunswick Revolver is one of Brunswick's 2010 releases that feature the very aggressive ConneXion Grip coverstock along with the Jack core. The Jack core gives the ball a low RG and a high differential increasing the balls flare potential thereby increasing its "read" of the lane. Of all the new release balls I am reviewing this season, this is THE most hooking ball overall. The medium/low RG gets this ball to start early, if you have a lot of hand, you really will want to polish this one up before throwing it. Bowlers with less hand can leave it factory finish as the ball really reads the lane well.
As always, we test all balls on 2 different patterns, the first being the typical house shot, and the second on the Earl Anthony sport pattern. The Earl Anthony pattern is 40ft and has a good amount of volume.
My initial reaction was that this ball hooks, and hooks ALOT. I found that its out of the box finish of 4,000 matte was just too much for me, so I had to add a little polish to it. Brunswick recommends this ball for medium to oily lanes, and although some people will be able to use this on medium lanes, the majority of bowlers will find this ball more adequate for oily to very oily lanes. That said, once you get the surface right, this ball has an awesome reaction. Great mid-lane read and a strong arcing backend. Because of the overall arcing motion of this ball, unless there is a lot of head oil, the ball will tend to burn up early if your in too deep, so I ended up playing a little right of 15, with a breakpoint of 5-7. Although I had to keep the speed up, the ball had a great reaction to the pocket with a great mid-lane read, and a backend that doesn’t quit. As the lane broke down, I was able to move left to an extent, but once I got past 20, the ball did start to burn up, and lose the backend. Make no mistake, this ball needs oil. If you have a very wet house shot, or less hand, then this ball will be ideal for you. It’s also a great ball for the early games of a tournament where you need to square up on the oil and still get a reaction.
Ball Test - Earl Anthony Pattern The Earl Anthony Pattern places a premium on execution and repetition, qualities which Earl Anthony exemplified. This 40 foot pattern has a unique design in which the oil widens, as opposed to narrows, down the lane. Generally, when a pattern requires more accuracy, the less boards you cover the better, and that where this ball shines. I started out playing 25 to about 15, keeping the ball very tight. Usually when you play that deep, you have to worry about getting the backend reaction. With the smooth arcing nature of this ball and aggressive backend, I was able to keep the speed up and still get the ball to stand up and drive on the backend. When to Use this Ball Because of the aggressive composition of this ball, it definitely needs some oil. I would recommend this ball for Heavy to VERY Heavy lane conditions, or on any wet pattern where you have to play straight up outside. Polishing the ball is going to be a must for most bowlers. But polishing doesn’t cause the ball to lose its backend reaction, just tames down the read in the heads a little.
Conclusion This is clearly the most hooking ball Brunswick has made to date. The overall aggressiveness of this ball makes it a great ball for very heavy oil. I can see using this ball to start out many a tournaments, but its window of opportunity is limited to the fresher patterns after which you will have to switch to something with a little less hook. But this ball definitely has a place in anyones bag. I would be interested in hearing other comments if you have this ball, what you like and dislike. Login and Comment below!
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