The Hammer Hazmat Solid features the symmetrical Hazmat core design and the Semtex Solid coverstock. Bowlers will remember Semtex Solid as a high-end coverstock used on older balls like the Scandal and the Dark Legend Solid. The Hazmat Solid’s cover comes out of the box with a sanded 500/2000 SiaAir finish, allowing it to dig into the oil easily. In our testing, this ball performed its best with oil in the front of the lane, as well as on longer patterns.

Stroker liked the amount of traction he saw from the Hazmat Solid on the fresh heavy oil pattern. Even with his lower rev rate, the ball had no trouble revving up strongly in the midlane and providing a strong and continuous motion at the breakpoint and back end. He was able to have his angles open slightly off his hand, and he didn’t see the ball push too far down the lane or get lazy through the pins while the pattern was still on the fresher side. As oil started pushing downlane and was removed from the front, he saw the Hazmat Solid start hooking early and hitting weaker at the pins. He moved both his feet and his target at the arrows farther left to keep the ball in the oil longer. Keeping the ball in the oil more allowed it to retain some energy and kick out the 10 pin better than when trying to use a steeper launch angle. The box finish was the best choice on this condition, as it provided a good motion that helped open up the track area. This allowed him to change into something cleaner, like the Black Widow 2.0 Hybrid, if he wanted ...