Storm Pro Motion Ball Review

Layout: 45 degrees x 4 1/2" x 70 degrees

RG: 2.52"

Differential: .049"

Surface: 2000 grit sanded (factory finish)

Core shape: Symmetric

What I wanted from this ball: This was the first ball I've drilled as part of a complete arsenal reset following last year's bowling season. I had a fairly good 2018-2019 season in league/local tournament play, but still wanted to freshen up the entire bag. You can see that I went back to the no finger inserts grip, as I prefer the sharp edges on the fingers. I'm also back to a very sharp thumb, trying to decrease grip pressure and get back to adding some axis rotation to the shot. If I can get softer at the bottom, it should allow my hand to more naturally rotate the ball. You can't use edges like this without being soft! So this Pro Motion is my standard pin down layout with the 2000 grit box surface. I expected it to be a benchmark type ball reaction, telling me where the oil is and where it isn't. I thought it would likely fall somewhere near the middle of my bag once I started drilling more equipment in the coming weeks.

What I ended up with in this ball: A lot of people read the marketing, watch the videos, talk to friends. Longer/stronger/more hit. Sometimes it starts to sound like Charlie Brown listening to the teacher in the classroom.....wah wah wah wah wah. If you've been in the store a few times, you know one thing we NEVER do it pressure sell on products. If we feel like there's something you could benefit from, and if you're looking to buy, we'll point you in the right direction. I'll be the first to tell people when I think they might be looking at the wrong product for their game. You'll rarely hear this from me.....it doesn't matter where you bowl, how you throw it, or what your skill level is. This ball is going to match up to everyone that walks in our store. If you don't have one of these, you truly are going to miss out on a fun and exciting product to bowl with.

The Pro Motion seems to clear the front of the lane far easier than most of the Storm/Roto 2000 grit sanded balls. Even though I'm using my standard layout here with the 2000 grit, I would attribute most of this length to the moderately strong symmetric core (versus their typically far stronger asymmetric cores with duller surfaces). Pro Motion gives every person I've seen throw this ball a very predictable mid-lane grab/bite, and then makes a hard transitioning arc all the way through the pins. While it's fun to throw those go long and flip hard balls, they don't hit the pocket as much as the heavy/sweeping arc-motion balls. Hit the 1-3 (or 1-2) more often, and you're more likely to strike. Pro Motion helps the bowler do that more often with a predictable but super strong transition from oil to dry.

I've seen no sacrifice in pin carry with the slower to moderate response Spec cover that Storm has used on Pro Motion. The Spec cover first appeared on the Crux Prime, a far stronger asymmetric core shape that was somewhat limited to heavy oil. The combination of the weaker symmetric core and the Spec cover make this version far more usable for a wide range of players. Finally, the solid blue cover makes this Storm ball very easy to read as it's travelling toward the pins versus multi-colored balls that are sometimes hard to pickup at the breakpoint.

All in all, this is a fantastic new product from Storm, and one I expect to compete for our best selling ball of the year. If you come to the store and find us recommending this product to you, don't worry about everyone else in the building already having one and you wanting something "different." We're recommending the products we feel are right for your game, and this one is going to be right for a lot of our customers this season.