Storm Intense Bowling Ball Review

The Intense joins the Code Red, Code Black, and Snap Lock as the fourth polished coverstock ball in the Storm Premier line. It shares the same R3S Pearl Reactive coverstock with the Snap Lock, but on the inside it uses the brand new RAD-E asymmetrical core. This new design gives the Intense an RG of 2.49″, a total differential of 0.050″, and an intermediate differential of 0.017″. We found the Intense to cover more boards than the other polished balls in this line, while also providing more hook through the oil. It provided added control over balls that respond harder at the breakpoint, such as the Code Red.

The Intense was best for our testers on our medium oil test pattern. The added read in the middle of the lane that we saw from this ball allowed all three of our testers to start farther left with their beet and breakpoints than they did with the Code Red. Stroker was setting his ball down on 16 on the fresh and he had the most room for error downlane of our testers, using a breakpoint around the outer range finder on 10. His lower rev rate allowed him to get his ball farther right than the other two testers could on this pattern. The Intense’s R3S Pearl cover dug plenty through the oil on this pattern, giving him enough traction to hit light in the pocket when he missed inside of target. Tweener and Cranker saw more hook at the breakpoint, so they had to keep their balls in the middle of the pattern longer than Stroker did. Tweener had to make sure his Intense was left of the 15 at the arrows and inside the range finder at the breakpoint. If he leaked his ball right, it hooked too much in the middle of the lane and went high into the headpin. Cranker was crossing between the fourth and fifth arrows, but he also saw too much hook if he got it right of his target at the breakpoint. By keeping their balls in the oil longer, they both saw the corner pin get snapped out much more than they saw when they played the same part of the lane with the Code Black or Snap Lock.

Even with its polished box finish, the Intense offered enough traction to be used on our heavy oil test pattern. All three testers played straighter up the lane on the fresh, letting the low RG core rev up and the R3S cover dig through the midlane to their balls into the pocket. Cranker was the farthest left and was just inside the third arrow, Tweener was in the middle crossing between the second and third arrows, and Stroker was the straightest with his line just inside the second arrow. On this pattern, they all three needed to stay straighter up the lane, as they risked seeing the polished Intense push too far down the lane on this longer pattern when they used more angle. Stroker wanted to see his ball pick up a few feet sooner, so he improved his ball reaction by removing the polish with a 3000 grit pad. Tweener did the same to his Intense so he didn’t have to slow his speed down like he needed to with the box finish.

The strong read in the midlane and smoother continuation downlane allowed the Intense to be a viable option for Stroker on our flatter sport pattern. He felt that the polished box finish gave him hold when he missed left of target, while the RAD-E weight block provided enough track flare through the oil to get back on shots that were just a bit right of target. Tweener and Cranker didn’t have quite as much room for error with the box finish as Stroker. Cranker saw too much total hook playing straighter up the lane. When he moved left to open up the lane, he lost any hold on shots left of target and saw his ball not make it back when he leaked it right. Tweener saw the same thing and tried to overcome this reaction by throwing it harder, but increasing his speed made the Intense more prone to blowing past the breakpoint. They both found that removing the polish with a 4000 grit pad was the best way to improve their reactions on this pattern. This rougher surface picked up heaver in the midlane, bleeding off some energy and smoothing out the reaction off the breakpoint, making it easier to stay in the pocket on this pattern.

Strengths

This ball provides plenty of back end continuation without being as snappy off the dry as other bowling balls in the Storm lineup. When length and a slightly smoother reaction off the end of the pattern are desired, the Intense fits the bill.

Weaknesses

The Intense's polished cover will keep lower rev bowlers from seeing enough traction on heavier volumes of oil. Its aggressive cover and core combination will also cover a large amount of boards on short or dry patterns.

Overall Summary

The Intense uses a new core shape and the same coverstock that was found on the Snap Lock. The new high flaring asymmetrical RAD-E core design offers a slightly higher RG than the RAD-X core in the Snap Lock.