Only show reviews for Storm Sync
It's never been as easy as it will be with the Storm Sync!
Pin to PAP(5 1/8" over 1/8" up) - 5 1/4"
PSA Layout - 5 1/4" x 4" x 3"
Balance Hole - N/A
Surface Preparation - Out of Box (4000 grit Abralon)
What I Was Looking For In This Ball Layout:
The Storm Sync is the new release in Storm's Premier Line. With that in mind I used a pretty simple layout to allow me to see what the all new Sync could do. Storm is saying that the Sync will allow you to fine tune the layout to the desired reaction and work for many different bowler styles and conditions.
With the layout I used I expected to see a really clean motion through the heads with a strong revving motion from the mid-lane on through the backends. Depending on the finish I am sure I could tweak the motion a little but like all of our review videos I am using this out of box.
What I Ended Up With in the Ball and Layout:
I got a really strong ball motion from my Sync. I will say with the layout I used and the pattern we bowled on I did not see a lot of change in direction but the ball rolled super strong from front to back.
Off my hand the Sync got into a really heavy roll without reading any friction early. it maintained a really strong motion through the mid lanes and on through the backens just as I wanted. I could tell that with subtle tweaks in my release I could make the ball really turn off the corner downlane or smooth
it out.
I think the Sync will offer a great ball motion for a variety of bowler styles and all though it may not look like the ball motion of the Nano for example, it will not take long for everyone to fall in love with this ball.
Pin to PAP(6 3/16" over 1/2" down) - 5"
PSA Layout - 5 x 5 x 2.5"
Balance Hole - n/a
Surface Preparation - Out of Box (4000 Grit Abralon)
What I Was Looking For In This Ball Layout:
From what I had been hearing, this ball is supposed to be the closest to the original Virtual Gravity that Storm has released since that ball was in their current line. Needless to say, this ball has some pretty ginormous shoes to fill!
What I Ended Up With in the Ball and Layout:
The Sync certainly is reminiscent of the original VG with the ability to clear the heads, start making its move in the mid lane and a super heavy roll on the backend. This is a unique reaction shape that made the Virtual Gravity so special. The Sync is the only other ball that I've ever thrown with this sort of reaction.
Those of you who loved the VG will absolutely LOVE the Sync! This ball is going to make some waves on heavy oil conditions. You won't be disappointed with the Sync!
SYNC review by Storm staffer Jeff Richgels
The SYNC specs are here:
http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/sync
A picture of my SYNC is the review in my blog here:
DRILLED Jan. 21, 2013
I loved my first SYNC so much that I drilled two more.
SYNC (strong NANO copy) - 4 3/4 Pin-PAP, x 4 1/2 Pin-PSA, x 3 1/4 pin buffer = pin over ring finger, drilling angle about 75 degrees, PSA to right of thumb. Copies my favorite strong NANO that I used the last 2 games of the 2011 USBC Open Championships team event that we won. It's a ball I still use often on heavy oil.
SYNC (very high pin drilling) - 4 1/2 Pin-PAP, x 5 1/2 Pin-PSA, x 1 1/2 pin buffer = very high pin, PSA down near thumb. This is a control drilling that Hank Boomershine gave me for an ANARCHY for the USBC Open Championships. I loved the roll of that ball but I just could not carry with it.
DRILLED Dec. 13, 2012
ORIGINAL (pin in palm) - 5 1/4 inches Pin-PAP, 4 inches Pin-PSA, x 5 1/8 inches pin buffer with a 1 1/8 weight hole in the PSA 1 3/4 deep.
UPDATE: I now have thrown all three SYNCs on both Sport and house shots and it is proving to be everything I said it was in my original review after small tests on a Sport and a house shot.
It starts up early and is strong, but it's also smooth and continuous.
The cover comes 4,000 Abralon but lane shines quickly. At 4,000, it labored some in heavy oil like the 27.5 mL, 41-foot Team USA Montreal pattern with my moderate rev rate (300-325). I experimented with a rougher surface of 1,500 using the Turbo sandbagger system and it picked up much earlier so it's a very tunable cover.
I think my pin-in-the-palm will end up being best for me with a smoother surface to tame down reaction on patterns like Cheetah and hooking house shots. (I had a pin-in-the-palm FURIOUS that was a favorite of mine on Cheetah for years.)
The NANO copy at 1,500 worked great on a fresh, fairly heavy oil house shot in a tournament, but when the pattern transitioned after a couple of games it started losing energy a little early for my relatively slow speed (17-18 mph).
The very high pin SYNC at 1,500 somewhat surprisingly (considering my experience with that ANARCHY) has been the best performer for me. It got me a 279 game the last game in our league on Team USA Montreal, as I blogged here and it rolled excellent in the house shot tournament when I switched to it after the NANO copy started laboring some.
The one warning I would give people about the SYNC is that if you are a high-rev player you probably don't want to drill it to start up quick. I tried that with a young cranker friend and it "wouldn't hook" for him, although what it actually was doing was losing so much energy so quickly that it would make little movement in the back end. When he used rougher surface, it hooked "less," which is a key indicator. (He is plugging it and will change it to a high-pin drilling.)
I also have decided that the SYNC won't be retiring my trusty favorite NANO or VICTORY ROAD SOLID, since they are oil balls that give me much different motion. The NANO makes a quicker, sharper move at the breakpoint and the VR SOLID gets down the lane more and makes a curvier move on the back-end. But it has retired my LUCID, which has a similar motion without being as continuous through the pins.
Adding the SYNC and the new REIGN OF POWER to the NANO and VR SOLID I think gives me all the different motions I need for oily conditions.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: The one thing I think any bowler would love to have in their lineup is a fresh heavy oil ball that is early, smooth, strong and continuous.
Yes, I know that is a lot to ask of a bowling ball — early tends to quit and not be continuous, and smooth and strong don’t often go together. But a bowler can dream, can't he?
And maybe Storm has answered this bowler's dream with the new SYNC, which Storm recently sent out to a select group of testers that I was privileged enough to be in. They didn't include much information and asked for honest assessments of the ball, which is scheduled to be released to all staff and pro shops in mid-January and the public in early February. (I had to agree to put mine away until mid-January after testing it last week.)
All I know is what is on the box it came in: the cover is NRG solid (the same as the NANO) and the core is something new called G2. The RG is 2.47, just under the NANO's 2.48 and the differential is 0.58, much higher than the NANO's 0.52. The mass bias is 0.28; the LUCID's is 0.17.
The one ball I had that was closest to a fresh heavy oil ball that is early, smooth, strong and continuous was a VIRTUAL GRAVITY with a pin-in-the-palm drilling. The problem with that ball is that it was a little too early and a little too strong to be usable on more than fairly defined conditions. I often had to get too left and it went too early and left more than its share of flat 10s.
When I got my SYNC and it had a fairly short pin, I decided that it was time to give the drilling another shot. I figured if it worked, it would say a lot about the SYNC that a standard strong pin up or down drilling wouldn’t.
I left it the 4,000 Abralon box finish.
My first effort was on a fresh house shot at Ten Pin Alley, a Brunswick synthetics house that opened in 2003. The house shot there is very wet/dry.
With as much restraint as I can muster, I must say that the SYNC’s reaction astounded me – and it takes a lot for a skeptical journalist to say that. After 4 frames to get somewhat loose I reeled off 13 strikes in a row that were all pretty much flush with the last few shots intentionally moving my feet in and opening up my angle from the fairly direct shot up about 12-board that I started with. That just made the ball turn the corner and roar back to the pocket flush.
The SYCN was early, smooth, strong and continuous. I literally had a breakpoint maybe an arrow wide with the same result at the pins. In 20 or so shots I think I struck 18 times with one ring 10 and one flat 10.
I compared it first to my trusty pin-up strong VIRTUAL GRAVITY at 1,000 Abralon by hand with an old pad – the ball I used when we won the 2011 USBC Open Championships team event. That NANO was much more volatile, jumping off the breakpoint to sometimes go through the pins too hard or plaque. It struck but not near as much as the SYNC.
I love that NANO but it's one of those balls that is very touchy for me when it comes to carry. I often find myself seeing a flat 10/solid 9 reaction with it that has me switching to a smoother option.
I also compared the SYNC to a pin-in-the-palm TROPICAL HEAT PURPLE/BLACK at 2,000 Abralon by hand with an old pad. As expected, that ball was much weaker and I had to get my feet more to the right and go very direct to get it flush. I definitely did not have the room I had with the SYNC.
I tried the SYNC again after our Bullseye Masters league last week. We are bowling this round on Team USA Montreal, a fairly playable 41-foot, high volume Sport pattern. By the end of the night we had turned our pair into a wet/dry shot about 15-board.
During that night's league session, that NANO was the clear choice. It bucketed a couple of times in the last game-and-a-half on shots I got in and I also went high at least once. My last 2 games were 214 and 222. The overall reaction was good but the shot was touchy and my carry was mediocre.
The SYNC made the pattern read much less wet/dry. My first shot dove high off the dry, which didn't surprise me due to the difference between pin-in-the-palm and pin-over-fingers drillings. I had to move in 3-and-2 from where I was playing with the NANO. From there, I could get it in the oil and it would still roll up to the pocket and I could swing it and it wouldn’t totally over-react.
I only missed the pocket a couple of times in a dozen to 15 shots. I wasn’t striking like I was on the house shot — there were a couple of flat 10s and a weak 7 — but I definitely had a much better reaction than what I had with the NANO and could have shot some big scores, I believe.
On a scale of 1-5, I'd give it a preliminary 5 – with the caution that this was a tiny sample size and I need to see more of it before making any definitive conclusions. But I have been telling people I know who ask that they should wait to buy a strong ball until the SYNC comes out.
I would put it between the NANO and the LUCID, with the best characteristics of both balls. It's early and strong like the NANO but smoother like the LUCID and more continuous.
I plan to order a couple more when I can and am anticipating retiring my LUCID and perhaps my NANO. I am more excited about this ball than any ball Storm has released since the original VIRTUAL GRAVITY.
Other Products Reviewed by Riggs
I got the Storm Sync from a friend who went to a demo, but I usually buy from this website. It was a challenge to get a layout I could use. I am a low Rev “stroker” (about 250 RPM) and throw in the 16 to 19 MPH range. The typical house shot (THS) that I bowl on has a long pattern 43 feet due to all the “crankers” that need lots of oil. I never have enough hook and on some days, I have no hook at all. Using the Storm drilling system a 4 x 4 x 1 was the best match. However, when I laid this out the PIN ended up 3+ inchers above the fingers – so I went with the 4 x 4 x 2 layout (PIN 3/4 inch above fingers). In dual angle terms this equates out to a 38° x 4” x 32° -- to get the PIN below the fingers (early revs) requires a large VAL angle and large angles = late revs – so stuck with the PIN up and small angles. In a house with a short backend and pushdown, large angles do not work for low rev guys.
Right out of the box I could tell the NRG cover was something special. I think NRG should stand for Nano Rugged Grip because it grabs the wood much better than any ball I have thrown to date. The feel of the NRG cover is noticeably different (more friction) I just hope the cover lasts a long time. I have used the ball now 2 days and 22 games. In today’s vernacular my impressions is “OMG” this ball out hooks every ball I have ever used. To get my other bowling balls to “finish” and not “roll-out” I have had to put a lot of surface on them 360 grit (abralon pad) or lower. After the SYNC was drilled I took the surface down to 2,000 grit knowing that I am low rev. The SYNC at 2,000 out hooks some of the top rated balls at 360 grit and lower. The SYNC is amazing. In 2 days of league play I threw a 664 and next day a 683. I even threw a 289 – hit the first 10 – then left the 10 pin (went high). Everyone who knows my usual track was amazed how much this ball hooks and even more impressive is how it hits. The way the pins fly and mix is a thing to behold.
Even though I have small angles for the layout of this ball it clears the mid-lane easily then at the backend the ball turns on the blinker and makes a big left turn into the pocket. Going through the head and mid lane the ball barely looks like it has any revs on it at all (skid), then at the backend it suddenly switches on and that nano-cover does it magic as it grabs the wood – the revs appear and the ball makes the left turn and explodes the rack. I am very impressed with this ball.
Other Products Reviewed by Capt K
Was able to throw this ball at a demo, then was lucky enough to be able to purchase/drill my own.
During the demo, the pin was just above the ring finger and the ball had some games on it so the surface was pretty shiny. I was amazed how clean the ball was through the heads - for as strong a ball as it was billed to be, it stayed in a skid for a long time. I was a bit underwhelmed with the backend response. HOWEVER, once I hit the ball with some 2000-grit abralon, I took it back out on the lane and was ASTOUNDED with the performance. On a THS, I threw 8 consecutive strikes lining up between 13 and 25 board, moving a couple boards left with each shot.
Got mine drilled up with a 1" pin buffer - so the pin is high above my ring finger. This drilling has been great for me with asymmetrical pearl and hybrid. At the OOB surface, the ball was very clean and very responsive. The color scheme of the ball permits you to really read what the ball is doing down the lane.
BOTTOM LINE - this ball will stay home on a typical league night, but I would anticipate it being the 1st ball out of my bag on most sport shot/tournament patterns. Extremely versatile ball - might be best Storm strong solid since the original VG.
Other Products Reviewed by davkarsports
BALL SPECS
Pin Length: 3”
Starting Top Weight: 2.73oz.
Ball Weight: 15lbs. 4oz.
DRILL PATTERN
Dual Angle: 65 / 4.5 / 40
X Hole (if there is one): None
SURFACE PREP
Grit:
Type: (Matte, Polish, Sanded):
LANE CONDITION
Length: 40ft.
Volume: Medium Heavy
Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc): THS
BALL REACTION
Storm Sync Review
What else can I say except this ball is an absolute BEAST! As I have seen in various tournaments, this ball is can compliment all different bowler types and styles. For me personally, this is the most hooking asymmetrical ball I have ever had.
This ball just wants to hook right out of the box literally! This straight out of the box finish proved to be just a little too much for me as it ate up the front half of the lane. After hitting the ball with a 4000 pad to get a little shine, gave me an unbelievable strong hooking reaction without being too snappy. It also was very smooth mid lane that continued through the pins. This ball is perfect fresh out of the blocks type ball and is versatile enough to last for a while, that it until the lanes start to burn.
COMMENTS
Likes: Ball Strength and Hitting Power
Dislikes: A little too much ball out of the box
Storm Amateur Staff Member
T.J. Calara – Calgary, Alberta Canada.
Other Products Reviewed by TenJaye
Pretty amazing ball. I already increased my bowling scores by 40 pins instantly....I really didn't think that was even going to be possible...but I'm a believer. The Storm Sinc is an amazing ball and I have only bowled a few games with it. Can't wait until I am really used comfortable with the ball. I foresee my average increasing in the next several weeks by a minimum of 50 pins.
COVERSTOCK: NRG™ SOLID REACTIVE
WEIGHT BLOCK: G2™ CORE
LIGHT WEIGHT BLOCK: MODIFIED SHAPE-LOCK™ HDCORE
FACTORY FINISH: 4000-GRIT PAD
BALL COLOR: CRANBERRY/TANGERINE/BLACK
DUROMETER: 73-75 REX D-SCALE
FLARE POTENTIAL: 6” PLUS (HIGH)
FRAGRANCE: ICED CRANBERRY
WEIGHTS: 12-16 LBS.
SKU: TSY
My layout: 55 x 4 "x 2 1/2
My PAP: 4 3/4" over 1 5/8 up
The Sync is the newest ball in the Premier line from Storm. It comes equipped with a very strong asymmetrical core, which creates a very strong ball motion, even for straighter players such as me. The ball rolled a lot the Nano for me but it seems to clear the heads a little easier before starting its powerful roll.
My benchmark ball is the IQ Tour and has been for about a year now. I have run into situations in tournaments when I needed a stronger shape and entry angle into the pocket and the Sync was there to bail me out. I believe it is important to have two solids in your tournament bag, with one having a symmetrical core, and the other having an asymmetrical core. This combination helps me match up to more conditions while traveling from one bowling center to another in tournaments.
I was at a tournament a few days ago {6/2/13} and the tournament leader used a highly polished Syn,c and lead the field by over 50 pins in a 5 game block. That makes the Sync very versatile in terms of playing with the coverstock. That polished ball motion looked so good going down the lane that I am going to try that myself, with my second Sync this week.
In closing I feel Storm has succeeded once again by adding another weapon to my arsenal.
Other Products Reviewed by Tony Reynaud
i thought this ball would hook like crazy but it shocked me how perfect this ball rolls.. i think i have found the ball of my dream!!!
Customer Reviews Average: 4.79Write a Review Read all 33 reviews
| I Love It |
|
82% (27 of 33) |
| I Like It | 15% (5 of 33) | |
| It's Ok | 3% (1 of 33) | |
| I Don't Like It | 0% ( of 33) | |
| I Hate It | 0% ( of 33) |
Storm Sync Reviewed By: bowlingball.com reviews by Tony Ruocco 01/14/2013 11:47 ( stars)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| Experience | Advanced (I have bowled in a league) | |
| League Average | 225 | |
| Ball Speed | Medium | |
| Style | Cranker | |
| PAP | 5 1/8" over 1/8" up | |
Pin to PAP(5 1/8" over 1/8" up) - 5 1/4"
PSA Layout - 5 1/4" x 4" x 3"
Balance Hole - N/A
Surface Preparation - Out of Box (4000 grit Abralon)
What I Was Looking For In This Ball Layout:
The Storm Sync is the new release in Storm's Premier Line. With that in mind I used a pretty simple layout to allow me to see what the all new Sync could do. Storm is saying that the Sync will allow you to fine tune the layout to the desired reaction and work for many different bowler styles and conditions.
With the layout I used I expected to see a really clean motion through the heads with a strong revving motion from the mid-lane on through the backends. Depending on the finish I am sure I could tweak the motion a little but like all of our review videos I am using this out of box.
What I Ended Up With in the Ball and Layout:
I got a really strong ball motion from my Sync. I will say with the layout I used and the pattern we bowled on I did not see a lot of change in direction but the ball rolled super strong from front to back.
Off my hand the Sync got into a really heavy roll without reading any friction early. it maintained a really strong motion through the mid lanes and on through the backens just as I wanted. I could tell that with subtle tweaks in my release I could make the ball really turn off the corner downlane or smooth
it out.
I think the Sync will offer a great ball motion for a variety of bowler styles and all though it may not look like the ball motion of the Nano for example, it will not take long for everyone to fall in love with this ball.
Storm Sync Reviewed By: bowlingball.com reviews by Dustin S 01/14/2013 15:34 ( stars)
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| League Average | 215 | |
| Style | Cranker | |
| PAP | 6 3/16 x 1/2 down | |
PSA Layout - 5 x 5 x 2.5"
Balance Hole - n/a
Surface Preparation - Out of Box (4000 Grit Abralon)
What I Was Looking For In This Ball Layout:
From what I had been hearing, this ball is supposed to be the closest to the original Virtual Gravity that Storm has released since that ball was in their current line. Needless to say, this ball has some pretty ginormous shoes to fill!
What I Ended Up With in the Ball and Layout:
The Sync certainly is reminiscent of the original VG with the ability to clear the heads, start making its move in the mid lane and a super heavy roll on the backend. This is a unique reaction shape that made the Virtual Gravity so special. The Sync is the only other ball that I've ever thrown with this sort of reaction.
Those of you who loved the VG will absolutely LOVE the Sync! This ball is going to make some waves on heavy oil conditions. You won't be disappointed with the Sync!
Storm Sync Reviewed By: Riggs 01/27/2013 16:30 ( stars)
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| Experience | Advanced (I have bowled in a league) | |
| Ball Speed | Medium | |
| Style | Tweener | |
The SYNC specs are here:
http://www.stormbowling.com/products/balls/sync
A picture of my SYNC is the review in my blog here:
DRILLED Jan. 21, 2013
I loved my first SYNC so much that I drilled two more.
SYNC (strong NANO copy) - 4 3/4 Pin-PAP, x 4 1/2 Pin-PSA, x 3 1/4 pin buffer = pin over ring finger, drilling angle about 75 degrees, PSA to right of thumb. Copies my favorite strong NANO that I used the last 2 games of the 2011 USBC Open Championships team event that we won. It's a ball I still use often on heavy oil.
SYNC (very high pin drilling) - 4 1/2 Pin-PAP, x 5 1/2 Pin-PSA, x 1 1/2 pin buffer = very high pin, PSA down near thumb. This is a control drilling that Hank Boomershine gave me for an ANARCHY for the USBC Open Championships. I loved the roll of that ball but I just could not carry with it.
DRILLED Dec. 13, 2012
ORIGINAL (pin in palm) - 5 1/4 inches Pin-PAP, 4 inches Pin-PSA, x 5 1/8 inches pin buffer with a 1 1/8 weight hole in the PSA 1 3/4 deep.
UPDATE: I now have thrown all three SYNCs on both Sport and house shots and it is proving to be everything I said it was in my original review after small tests on a Sport and a house shot.
It starts up early and is strong, but it's also smooth and continuous.
The cover comes 4,000 Abralon but lane shines quickly. At 4,000, it labored some in heavy oil like the 27.5 mL, 41-foot Team USA Montreal pattern with my moderate rev rate (300-325). I experimented with a rougher surface of 1,500 using the Turbo sandbagger system and it picked up much earlier so it's a very tunable cover.
I think my pin-in-the-palm will end up being best for me with a smoother surface to tame down reaction on patterns like Cheetah and hooking house shots. (I had a pin-in-the-palm FURIOUS that was a favorite of mine on Cheetah for years.)
The NANO copy at 1,500 worked great on a fresh, fairly heavy oil house shot in a tournament, but when the pattern transitioned after a couple of games it started losing energy a little early for my relatively slow speed (17-18 mph).
The very high pin SYNC at 1,500 somewhat surprisingly (considering my experience with that ANARCHY) has been the best performer for me. It got me a 279 game the last game in our league on Team USA Montreal, as I blogged here and it rolled excellent in the house shot tournament when I switched to it after the NANO copy started laboring some.
The one warning I would give people about the SYNC is that if you are a high-rev player you probably don't want to drill it to start up quick. I tried that with a young cranker friend and it "wouldn't hook" for him, although what it actually was doing was losing so much energy so quickly that it would make little movement in the back end. When he used rougher surface, it hooked "less," which is a key indicator. (He is plugging it and will change it to a high-pin drilling.)
I also have decided that the SYNC won't be retiring my trusty favorite NANO or VICTORY ROAD SOLID, since they are oil balls that give me much different motion. The NANO makes a quicker, sharper move at the breakpoint and the VR SOLID gets down the lane more and makes a curvier move on the back-end. But it has retired my LUCID, which has a similar motion without being as continuous through the pins.
Adding the SYNC and the new REIGN OF POWER to the NANO and VR SOLID I think gives me all the different motions I need for oily conditions.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: The one thing I think any bowler would love to have in their lineup is a fresh heavy oil ball that is early, smooth, strong and continuous.
Yes, I know that is a lot to ask of a bowling ball — early tends to quit and not be continuous, and smooth and strong don’t often go together. But a bowler can dream, can't he?
And maybe Storm has answered this bowler's dream with the new SYNC, which Storm recently sent out to a select group of testers that I was privileged enough to be in. They didn't include much information and asked for honest assessments of the ball, which is scheduled to be released to all staff and pro shops in mid-January and the public in early February. (I had to agree to put mine away until mid-January after testing it last week.)
All I know is what is on the box it came in: the cover is NRG solid (the same as the NANO) and the core is something new called G2. The RG is 2.47, just under the NANO's 2.48 and the differential is 0.58, much higher than the NANO's 0.52. The mass bias is 0.28; the LUCID's is 0.17.
The one ball I had that was closest to a fresh heavy oil ball that is early, smooth, strong and continuous was a VIRTUAL GRAVITY with a pin-in-the-palm drilling. The problem with that ball is that it was a little too early and a little too strong to be usable on more than fairly defined conditions. I often had to get too left and it went too early and left more than its share of flat 10s.
When I got my SYNC and it had a fairly short pin, I decided that it was time to give the drilling another shot. I figured if it worked, it would say a lot about the SYNC that a standard strong pin up or down drilling wouldn’t.
I left it the 4,000 Abralon box finish.
My first effort was on a fresh house shot at Ten Pin Alley, a Brunswick synthetics house that opened in 2003. The house shot there is very wet/dry.
With as much restraint as I can muster, I must say that the SYNC’s reaction astounded me – and it takes a lot for a skeptical journalist to say that. After 4 frames to get somewhat loose I reeled off 13 strikes in a row that were all pretty much flush with the last few shots intentionally moving my feet in and opening up my angle from the fairly direct shot up about 12-board that I started with. That just made the ball turn the corner and roar back to the pocket flush.
The SYCN was early, smooth, strong and continuous. I literally had a breakpoint maybe an arrow wide with the same result at the pins. In 20 or so shots I think I struck 18 times with one ring 10 and one flat 10.
I compared it first to my trusty pin-up strong VIRTUAL GRAVITY at 1,000 Abralon by hand with an old pad – the ball I used when we won the 2011 USBC Open Championships team event. That NANO was much more volatile, jumping off the breakpoint to sometimes go through the pins too hard or plaque. It struck but not near as much as the SYNC.
I love that NANO but it's one of those balls that is very touchy for me when it comes to carry. I often find myself seeing a flat 10/solid 9 reaction with it that has me switching to a smoother option.
I also compared the SYNC to a pin-in-the-palm TROPICAL HEAT PURPLE/BLACK at 2,000 Abralon by hand with an old pad. As expected, that ball was much weaker and I had to get my feet more to the right and go very direct to get it flush. I definitely did not have the room I had with the SYNC.
I tried the SYNC again after our Bullseye Masters league last week. We are bowling this round on Team USA Montreal, a fairly playable 41-foot, high volume Sport pattern. By the end of the night we had turned our pair into a wet/dry shot about 15-board.
During that night's league session, that NANO was the clear choice. It bucketed a couple of times in the last game-and-a-half on shots I got in and I also went high at least once. My last 2 games were 214 and 222. The overall reaction was good but the shot was touchy and my carry was mediocre.
The SYNC made the pattern read much less wet/dry. My first shot dove high off the dry, which didn't surprise me due to the difference between pin-in-the-palm and pin-over-fingers drillings. I had to move in 3-and-2 from where I was playing with the NANO. From there, I could get it in the oil and it would still roll up to the pocket and I could swing it and it wouldn’t totally over-react.
I only missed the pocket a couple of times in a dozen to 15 shots. I wasn’t striking like I was on the house shot — there were a couple of flat 10s and a weak 7 — but I definitely had a much better reaction than what I had with the NANO and could have shot some big scores, I believe.
On a scale of 1-5, I'd give it a preliminary 5 – with the caution that this was a tiny sample size and I need to see more of it before making any definitive conclusions. But I have been telling people I know who ask that they should wait to buy a strong ball until the SYNC comes out.
I would put it between the NANO and the LUCID, with the best characteristics of both balls. It's early and strong like the NANO but smoother like the LUCID and more continuous.
I plan to order a couple more when I can and am anticipating retiring my LUCID and perhaps my NANO. I am more excited about this ball than any ball Storm has released since the original VIRTUAL GRAVITY.
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Storm Sync Reviewed By: Capt K 02/23/2013 00:36 ( stars)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| League Average | 200 | |
| Ball Speed | Medium | |
| Style | Stroker | |
| PAP | 4 1/4 x 1 1/8 | |
Right out of the box I could tell the NRG cover was something special. I think NRG should stand for Nano Rugged Grip because it grabs the wood much better than any ball I have thrown to date. The feel of the NRG cover is noticeably different (more friction) I just hope the cover lasts a long time. I have used the ball now 2 days and 22 games. In today’s vernacular my impressions is “OMG” this ball out hooks every ball I have ever used. To get my other bowling balls to “finish” and not “roll-out” I have had to put a lot of surface on them 360 grit (abralon pad) or lower. After the SYNC was drilled I took the surface down to 2,000 grit knowing that I am low rev. The SYNC at 2,000 out hooks some of the top rated balls at 360 grit and lower. The SYNC is amazing. In 2 days of league play I threw a 664 and next day a 683. I even threw a 289 – hit the first 10 – then left the 10 pin (went high). Everyone who knows my usual track was amazed how much this ball hooks and even more impressive is how it hits. The way the pins fly and mix is a thing to behold.
Even though I have small angles for the layout of this ball it clears the mid-lane easily then at the backend the ball turns on the blinker and makes a big left turn into the pocket. Going through the head and mid lane the ball barely looks like it has any revs on it at all (skid), then at the backend it suddenly switches on and that nano-cover does it magic as it grabs the wood – the revs appear and the ball makes the left turn and explodes the rack. I am very impressed with this ball.
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Storm Sync Reviewed By: davkarsports 01/17/2013 11:23 ( stars)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| League Average | 220 | |
| Sport Shot Average | 205 | |
| Ball Speed | Medium | |
| Style | Tweener | |
During the demo, the pin was just above the ring finger and the ball had some games on it so the surface was pretty shiny. I was amazed how clean the ball was through the heads - for as strong a ball as it was billed to be, it stayed in a skid for a long time. I was a bit underwhelmed with the backend response. HOWEVER, once I hit the ball with some 2000-grit abralon, I took it back out on the lane and was ASTOUNDED with the performance. On a THS, I threw 8 consecutive strikes lining up between 13 and 25 board, moving a couple boards left with each shot.
Got mine drilled up with a 1" pin buffer - so the pin is high above my ring finger. This drilling has been great for me with asymmetrical pearl and hybrid. At the OOB surface, the ball was very clean and very responsive. The color scheme of the ball permits you to really read what the ball is doing down the lane.
BOTTOM LINE - this ball will stay home on a typical league night, but I would anticipate it being the 1st ball out of my bag on most sport shot/tournament patterns. Extremely versatile ball - might be best Storm strong solid since the original VG.
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Storm Sync Reviewed By: TenJaye 04/01/2013 18:11 ( stars)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| Experience | Advanced (I have bowled in a league) | |
| Ball Speed | Medium | |
| Style | Tweener | |
Pin Length: 3”
Starting Top Weight: 2.73oz.
Ball Weight: 15lbs. 4oz.
DRILL PATTERN
Dual Angle: 65 / 4.5 / 40
X Hole (if there is one): None
SURFACE PREP
Grit:
Type: (Matte, Polish, Sanded):
LANE CONDITION
Length: 40ft.
Volume: Medium Heavy
Type (THS, Sport Pattern etc): THS
BALL REACTION
Storm Sync Review
What else can I say except this ball is an absolute BEAST! As I have seen in various tournaments, this ball is can compliment all different bowler types and styles. For me personally, this is the most hooking asymmetrical ball I have ever had.
This ball just wants to hook right out of the box literally! This straight out of the box finish proved to be just a little too much for me as it ate up the front half of the lane. After hitting the ball with a 4000 pad to get a little shine, gave me an unbelievable strong hooking reaction without being too snappy. It also was very smooth mid lane that continued through the pins. This ball is perfect fresh out of the blocks type ball and is versatile enough to last for a while, that it until the lanes start to burn.
COMMENTS
Likes: Ball Strength and Hitting Power
Dislikes: A little too much ball out of the box
Storm Amateur Staff Member
T.J. Calara – Calgary, Alberta Canada.
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Storm Sync Reviewed By: japonte@southtrustlending.com 06/10/2013 11:17 ( stars)
Storm Sync Reviewed By: Tony Reynaud 06/04/2013 11:13 ( stars)
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| Experience | Advanced (I have bowled in a league) | |
| League Average | 239 | |
| Style | Tweener | |
| PAP | 4 3/4 over 1 5/8 up | |
WEIGHT BLOCK: G2™ CORE
LIGHT WEIGHT BLOCK: MODIFIED SHAPE-LOCK™ HDCORE
FACTORY FINISH: 4000-GRIT PAD
BALL COLOR: CRANBERRY/TANGERINE/BLACK
DUROMETER: 73-75 REX D-SCALE
FLARE POTENTIAL: 6” PLUS (HIGH)
FRAGRANCE: ICED CRANBERRY
WEIGHTS: 12-16 LBS.
SKU: TSY
My layout: 55 x 4 "x 2 1/2
My PAP: 4 3/4" over 1 5/8 up
The Sync is the newest ball in the Premier line from Storm. It comes equipped with a very strong asymmetrical core, which creates a very strong ball motion, even for straighter players such as me. The ball rolled a lot the Nano for me but it seems to clear the heads a little easier before starting its powerful roll.
My benchmark ball is the IQ Tour and has been for about a year now. I have run into situations in tournaments when I needed a stronger shape and entry angle into the pocket and the Sync was there to bail me out. I believe it is important to have two solids in your tournament bag, with one having a symmetrical core, and the other having an asymmetrical core. This combination helps me match up to more conditions while traveling from one bowling center to another in tournaments.
I was at a tournament a few days ago {6/2/13} and the tournament leader used a highly polished Syn,c and lead the field by over 50 pins in a 5 game block. That makes the Sync very versatile in terms of playing with the coverstock. That polished ball motion looked so good going down the lane that I am going to try that myself, with my second Sync this week.
In closing I feel Storm has succeeded once again by adding another weapon to my arsenal.
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Storm Sync Reviewed By: jetson22@yahoo.com 05/23/2013 19:53 ( stars)
| About the Bowler | ||
| Bowling Hand | Right Handed | |
| Experience | Advanced (I have bowled in a league) | |
| League Average | 185 | |
| Ball Speed | Medium | |
| Style | Tweener | |