In a market where bowling balls often come and go after less than a year, the Storm Hy-Road has stood the test of time and remains in production nearly 16 years after its initial release. Over the years, Storm has made numerous coverstock alterations to release new bowling balls into the Hy-Road line. The Road utilizes the ReX coverstock with a hybrid formulation for the first time after having been used previously in ReX Pearl form on several balls, including the Dark Code, Virtual Energy Blackout, and Infinite PhysiX. Additionally, the introduction of the new AI outer core system slightly reduces the RG and differential of the Inverted Fe2 core compared to previous Hy-Road balls. The Road is finished with Reacta Gloss, providing easy length and a strong downlane motion that our testers liked best on medium to dry conditions.

Cranker had just a slightly better look on the fresh medium oil pattern than the other two testers. He had a bit more recovery from his higher rev rate compared to the other two testers on shots that were missed to the outside downlane. Cranker started just outside of his line with the Summit Peak, and The Road was angular and strong when it found the friction. Even though it is more angular than a typical benchmark ball, The Road is still a ball that Cranker could use from start to finish on a normal league night.

The Road’s strong move at the breakpoint was a bit more difficult for Cranker to control on the dry test pattern. While he could alter his release to smooth out the reaction, The Road was simply much better as ...