I still remember sitting in my buddy Chuck's Pro-Shop in Wisconsin with every manufacturer's ball catalog open in front of me, looking for a couple of balls with a different reaction for my bag I had books all over the place, sheets falling out, and a pad of paper with cryptic notes and page numbers scribbled on it. I was thinking to myself, there MUST be a better way. Being a programmer by profession, I went home and spent a week extracting all the ball information from the manufacturer websites, and put it in an excel spreadsheet, this way I could just sort them by RG and Differentials, and find what I was looking for quicker. That little spreadsheet became quite a hit, friends at the pro-shop were soon looking at it to find equipment for themselves.
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| Hammer Jigsaw Trap |
| Written by Karl Ramonas | ||||||
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Hammer bowling has enhanced its Jigsaw line by adding the new Jigsaw Trap. The new Trap gets through the heads a lot cleaner, and retains even more energy on the back-ends than the previous Jigsaws for a really strong back end reaction.
The new trap has the same quick-corner coverstock as the other Jigsaw balls, but with a pearl finish and a Powerhouse factory finish. The medium Mass Bias jigsaw core remains virtually unchanged from previous balls. The Trap has a very low RG with a high differential, but it is still able to go long and get cleanly through the heads giving you that "go long and flip hard" look. 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.
The Trap is really a great versatile ball on the typical house shot. If you’ve ever had trouble getting a ball through the heads, the Trap might be your answer. This ball REALLY gets through the heads. Hammer recommends this ball for medium to heavy oil, but even on some pretty dry lanes, I was easily able to get this ball down the lane. Out of the box, the trap comes with a 1000 grit finish, shined up with their Powerhouse factory finish. Most times when you get a ball, I usually have to modify the surface to some extent, but Hammer really hit the mark with this one, the out-of-the-box finish is perfect for this ball. Just shows how Hammer’s research and development really takes the time to match the surface with the ball. The trap is a great ball to play deep with, you can easily get it through the heads to your breakpoint, and just watch it stand up and flip. On the typical house pattern, I lined up playing deep, crossing 25, and swinging it out to 10. The ball skated right to the breakpoint and turned over. The one thing to watch out for, and is true with all low-RG, high-Diff balls, is your speed. Unless there is a clear dry patch that will stop the skid, its very easy to throw through your breakpoint with this ball. High RG/Low Diff balls have very quick transitions, so you really need to be consistent with your speed, or you will overthrow the breakpoint.
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. I started out playing 25-15 with the ball, as I did the other balls I tested. Surprisingly, this ball actually opened up a little swing room on the pattern, I was able to miss several boards right and the ball recovered nicely. Usually a miss like that on this pattern would leave you a 2-8-10 at best, but the Trap just turned to the pocket like it knew where it was suppose to go, and really hit like a train. By playing in and tight, it also greatly improved the speed control needed to get to the breakpoint.
When to Use this Ball This is a great ball when you have to get deep and swing a lot. On a house shot, you can cover the whole lane and still get sufficient backend to smash the rack. Even when the heads are pretty burnt, the Trap gets down the lane, making this ball perfect for those long format tournaments where the heads get dry and the backends get carry down.
Conclusion Hammer’s saying that "Nothing hits like a Hammer" is an understatement for this ball, there is no doubt this is one of the hardest hitting balls in Hammers line, and likely one of the hardest hitting balls out there now. 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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