The Roto Grip X-Cell brings back the fan-favorite Nucleus core design from the original Cell with an upgrade to the AI outer core system. The result is a slightly lower RG of 2.50″, a total differential of 0.056″, and an intermediate differential of 0.019″. The coverstock has also been upgraded from the original Cell’s Cytoplasmic Solid to eTrax ULTRA Solid in order to match up better to today’s oils. The new coverstock comes out of the box sanded with 2000 Abralon. We found the X-Cell to easily handle heavy volumes of oil while still providing a strong back end motion with lots of continuation.

The X-Cell’s strong overall motion allowed Cranker to demolish our heavy oil test pattern. The ball easily dug into the oil, giving him tons of recovery on this slick condition. He could be aggressive with both his speed and his release without the ball over-hooking at the end of the pattern. As good as the ball was on the fresh, he was worried about it burning up as the pattern broke down. This worry was short-lived, though, as he had no trouble getting his ball to continue to split the 8 and 9 pins as he got deeper with his laydown point in transition. The box finish easily chewed through the oil in middle of the lane, providing tons of continuation and lots of hitting power. He preferred the motion and shape this ball provided over the Magic Gem on this condition, even though it covered fewer boards. The way the X-Cell went down the lane later in the session was also very impressive. Cranker didn’t change the surface at all on this condition, as he was able to simply move his laydown point farther left to find more oil in the front to keep ...