The Lightning Blackout is the second remake from Storm under the Blackout nameplate. With a name that is reminiscent of the past, the Lightning Blackout features the symmetrical Warp AI weight block, giving it an RG of 2.53″ and a differential of 0.029″. It uses ReX Pearl for the coverstock, which has been used recently on the Virtual Energy Blackout, Dark Code, Night Road, and Infinite PhysiX. As a lower differential polished pearl, it sits on the lower end of the total hook spectrum, which helped it match up nicely to our medium oil and dry test conditions.

Cranker had an excellent reaction with the Lightning Blackout on the fresh medium oil pattern. The ball cleared the front very easily, but it wasn’t ever at risk of missing the breakpoint. It had plenty of downlane motion without being too jumpy off the spot. From the same part of the lane, his IQ Tour Ruby would hit flat and The Road would jump left and go high through the nose. He liked how the Lightning Blackout let him stay in the same part of the lane longer than he could with more aggressive bowling balls. When he did have to move farther inside, the ball still had plenty of drive to keep on striking throughout the test session.

The dry test pattern offered a pretty good look for Cranker with the Lightning Blackout at its Reacta Gloss box finish. This is a pattern he struggles on with most resin bowling balls, particularly when it is fresh. The Lightning Blackout cleared the front of the lane very well, and as long as he didn’t grab it at ...