Roto Grip Idol Helios, Storm Phaze 2 & Axiom & 900 Global Zen Master Bowling Balls on USBC Open Pattern – Sport Gauntlet

This is a comparison of the Idol Helios to the Axiom, Phaze 2 and Zen Master on the 2019 Open Championships doubles and singles pattern!

Roto Grip Idol Helios Bowling Ball Comparison 

Hey everybody, welcome to a video featuring the Idol Helios vs the other big symmetric solid heavy hitters throughout the SPI lines on the 2019 USBC Open Championships doubles and singles pattern.  BowlersMart links in the description and end of the video, Rosdahl10 for 10% off at Coolwick, the SRGBBFS group on Facebook is the best place for used, rare and international balls, thank you Storm, thank you Turbo, and a special thanks to Royal Crest Lanes for going out of their way to accommodate us with all this video stuff.  

Storm Phaze 2 Bowling Ball on the USBC Pattern

Apologies for the camera angle for the straighter shots, not used to being able to play the rail.  First we’re going to start with the birthday ball, the Storm Phaze 2 bowling ball recently turned 5 and that’s 3-4 years longer than most balls make it.  It’s a legend, it’s not going anywhere any time soon, and it’s a vitally important reaction on tough conditions like this.  The pattern is 42 feet long, 28.4 mils which is pretty heavy, and at a 2.02 to 1 ratio, it’s sport compliant and very difficult, good thing I’ve been throwing it so great lately.  Something like the Phaze 2 would be one of the first balls out of the bag on the fresh for this pattern, you need traction for sure but the blend is more important.  You could use balls like the Proton or Reality on this, you might need to depending on your speed and rev rate, but for most people, those will probably be too much.  The traction would be fine, but generally when the conditions are this tough and tight, the extra torque from the asymmetric core isn’t really an aid to control, and again, I think control is what’s most important on this pattern.  The Phaze 2 just controls the lane and does virtually everything right, I mean it’s been around for 5 years now, everybody knows about it and there’s not much more to say

900 Global Zen Master Bowling Ball on the USBC Pattern

Next we’ll look at the 900 Global Zen Master bowling ball, really just to get it out of the way.  Holy bad words I hate this ball, this is my second one, different layout, I’ve tried different surfaces on a few different conditions now and it’s just impossible to get to the pocket, let alone knock anything down.  I’ve gotta absolutely ace it, then pray, toss some salt over my shoulder and hope I don’t hit sea bass, and sacrifice a goat or something just to get this thing close.  If I get it in a touch, it’s gone, if I give it a bit of room, it’s gone, if I speed it up a bit, it’s flat or lazy, it wants to almost stop and go backwards, and I’m throwing it pretty good here, this thing almost killed all the progress I’ve been making.  I’d say at least this is proof that I’m on a sport pattern, but it doesn’t look any better on a house shot.  This is about as far away from Zen as I can get, both the original ball and the state of being, walking around here sounding like Samuel L Jackson trying to get through this nonsense.  Fortunately this is the last time I ever have to throw it, and my bag was one ball lighter coming home.  

Storm Axiom Bowling Ball on the USBC Pattern

Next we’ll look at the Storm Axiom Bowling Ball, although it hasn’t had a lot of fanfare, it’s very quietly been in the lineup for almost two years now.  It was unfortunately released last year right as the country was shutting down due to covid, but Belmo won the world championship with it, it’s showed up on tv a handful more times, and it’s hard to argue the ball reaction, I’ve got a ton of room left to right from straighter which is illustrated even more starkly by the prior abomination.  The NeX cover debuted on the Axiom, and it shapes quite a bit for as much as it hooks, I think it’s the strongest ball of the 4.  I’m still stunned at how NeX increases both traction and shape at the same time.  It’s both stronger and sharper than the Phaze 2.  This one came out of the box a little chalky, so I think it’s a little earlier and smoother than is typical, but it rolls great, I was probably the most confident in this ball throughout filming here, and going back to my original review, I also featured some shots on this pattern.  Different center where reaction is sharper, but that reaction I think was a little more representative of the typical Axiom reaction if you want to go check that out, definitely need to get some more games on this one, but that’s going to happen, I’m gonna get some time in with it.  

Roto Grip Idol Helios Bowling Ball on the USBC Pattern

Finally, the Roto Grip Idol Helios Bowling Ball, and is this more orange than you’ve ever seen all in one place in your life or what.  The Helios is definitely the sharpest or quickest of the 4, that makes it a little tricky from straight though.  It does however give me the most forgiveness in the shape department, and it allows me a little more comfort overall in that direction.  The Phaze 2 and Axiom made me pay attention to keeping my speed up, I wasn’t going to get away with being a little slow but they gave me the most miss room up front.  The Helios won’t let me get away with getting it in, and while I can’t just chuck it at the ditch, it gave me the biggest wheels to get back.  Several of these shots I thought were gone before it picked up and didn’t just get back to the pocket, it got back with authority.  Sometimes stuff kind of loses energy, or uses too much of it getting back up the hill, but that’s not the case with the Helios, it actually prefers to just get sent, I have quite a bit more forgiveness on misses out than misses in, and we saw that in the review also.  he very close relationship of XtremeTrax to the Axiom’s NeX cover I think is what makes this happen because it wasn’t really a trait of any of the other Idols.  Usually if you got one of those wide, it was a flat corner unless you threw it really bad and got away with a mixer.  Not to say the NeX balls never hit flat, but if they do it’s usually for other reasons, the cover doesn’t burn up, jerk, or quit on friction like the Zen Master or something, it reads it and keeps walking up, it doesn’t stop and try to roll the other direction.  The extra traction helps keep it stable and from slipping, and the extra shape gives it just that bit of extra to make it back.  This one I think is my favorite blend of traction and shape, definitely plenty of hook, but also the kind of shape that helps you execute with confidence instead of being tentative or feeling like you need to help it.  

Comparing These Bowling Balls on the Fresh USBC Pattern

Moving to a fresh lane and throwing a shot from each zone with each ball for a quick and more equal comparison, that other lane did get kind of beat up, the Phaze 2 I think is the most balanced and refined, it’s not going to be outclassed.  The Zen Master . . I’m just gonna take a moment of silence here for a few different reasons, dear lord help me I don’t have the strength.  The Axiom is almost like a Phaze 2 with more shape, they both control the early half of the lane really similarly, it’s just down lane is where they differ.  Phaze 2 is more arcy and climbing, the Axiom is punchier.  Last but not least, the Helios.  For me on this pattern, just a bit too much shape, I favored the Axiom or Phaze 2, but the Helios definitely looks the sexiest, I’ll give it that.  A bit heavier on the surface I think would have helped, but if you look at the 3, there’s some arsenal building lessons in here.  Fairly similar balls, but big symmetrics own patterns like this, and with a couple different surfaces, you cover a lot of looks with these 4 within the same general window.  I wanted to show the 4 of these because on paper, the overlap is staggering, but once you get them on the lane, that’s when you see the separation or the differences and throwing them on the lane conditions they were designed for illustrates it better, house shots tend to muddy things up and make them run together.  I think it’d be tough for them to all fit in the same bag together, but if you toss the Zen Master in the dumpster, the other 3 would fit perfectly in one of our sharp metallic blue trimmed black tournament triple totes.

Future Video Comparing Roto Grip Rubicon UC3 & Storm Pitch Black Bowling Ball

I’m gonna add a teaser here and show the UC3, I also filmed for a comparison between it and the Pitch Black while I was here, I’ll have that up in a few days, and dear sweet 8 pound 6 ounce newborn baby Jesus . . I don’t even know the words for this yet.  Thanks for watching and may the strikes be with you.  

roto grip idol helios bowling ball

The Roto Grip Idol is back, and this time its set to light up the lanes! Introducing the Roto Grip Idol Helios, featuring the proven Ikon core, wrapped in a new XtremeTrax™ Coverstock. This high performance bowling ball will be a great match up on medium to heavy oil patterns.

On the inside you will find the low RG, higher differential symmetrical Ikon™ Core made famous in the original IDOL™. But on the outside, it’s the coverstock of this ball that is going to help you outshine and outscore your competition. Our newest coverstock technology known as XtremeTrax™, features “chemically charged” nano particles which create the highest amount of responsiveness to friction we have ever seen from a nano particle material. But don’t worry, the nano particles will still provide plenty of traction in oil before the “chemical charge” kicks in down lane to provide more change of direction than the original IDOL before it.

Originally introduced in the IDOL™ back in March of 2018, the Ikon Core has become a fan favorite and staple in the arsenals of all the top professionals around the globe. This low RG, high differential symmetrical core revs up in the midlane while providing outstanding continuation down lane which allows it to be used by all styles of players from any angle on the lane.

XtremeTrax™ Coverstock
Derived from countless hours of mixing, formulating, and testing, the Xtreme Traction (XtremeTrax™) material pushes us into boundaries of scientific chemistry. We started with the base materials of our MicroTrax™ coverstock and went down a new path in terms of chemistry by adding different chemicals which in turn created “chemical charges” to the nano-particles, thus making a material that not only digs in on heavy oil, but also provides more responsiveness and reaction down lane than traditional nano materials.

Coverstock: XtremeTrax™ Solid Reactive
Sku: BBMRDH12
Weight Block: Ikon Core (Symmetrical)
Color: Radiant Orange
Factory Finish: 2000-grit Abralon
Flare Potential: High
Condition: Medium/Heavy Oil
Radius of Gyration (RG) 15lbs – 2.49
Differential (Diff) 15lbs – 0.052

Storm Phaze 2 bowling ball

The new Phaze II features both innovative core and coverstock technology, proving again that Storm is the leader in bowling innovation. Advancements in the core shape are easily seen with the naked eye. This fast-revving shape, the aptly-named, supercharged Velocity? Core helps you crush pin after pin as it produces more ball motion than any other shape in our Master Line. It smooths out the backend reaction without over-reacting and avoids creating an undesirable last-second movement.

TX-16 (Traction-X 2016) is what emerges from countless hours in R&D to develop the finest coverstocks on the planet. This solid reactive blend leaves an incredible footprint on the lane. The marriage between the core and the cover produces the strongest motion of any symmetrical Storm ball to date.

– Color: Red/Blue/Purple

– Coverstock: TX-16 Solid

– Core: Velocity Core

– Finish: 3000 Grit

– Lane Condition: Heavy Oil

– RG: 2.48 (15# ball)

– Diff: 0.051 (15# ball)

– Fragrance: Red Velvet Cake

storm axiom bowling ball

Design is thinking made visual. In Storm’s case, it’s design materialized. We understand that the perceptible is as important as the tangible. NeX (Nano Extreme) is Storm’s earliest reading cover to date. NeX Solid was remarkably earlier hooking than NRG on any pattern, or any surface we tested it on. We love all things new at Storm, and the Orbital Core is no exception. This modern take on an established concept has us stirring with excitement. The Orbital Core has a distinctly low RG axis which further complements the midlane read for which NeX was developed.

NRG™ has become a staple in Storm’s lineup of coverstocks for nearly a decade. It’s due time for an upgrade! NeX (Nano Extreme) is Storm’s earliest reading cover to date. NeX Solid was remarkably earlier hooking than NRG on any pattern, or any surface we tested it on. Our standardized durability and longevity tests showed NeX created 11% more entry angle and 9.6% more overall hook after 50 shots compared to a fresh NRG cover. Simply put, NeX gives more midlane read than ever WITHOUT sacrificing any backend! Wow.

Weight Block: Orbital Core
Cover: NeX
Finish: 3000 Grit
Flare Potential: High
Radius of Gyration (RG): 2.48
Differential (Diff): .050
Fragrance: Blueberry Muffin

900 global zen master bowling ball

The S77 Response™ Solid Coverstock was the obvious choice to follow up on the success of the S77 Response™ pearl coverstock. The Solid version of this cover will provide the most overall hook we have ever put in the 800 Series. The Zen Master™ will be a great ball to use on medium-heavy patterns.

The Meditate™ Core is the biggest core we have ever put into a bowling ball!! A bigger core means more hitting power combined with a more consistent reaction. Throughout testing the Meditate™ Core provided that wide “footprint on the lane that all bowlers love to see. The Zen Master™ pushes the limits of core dynamics.

Coverstock: S77R™ Solid
Weight Block: Meditate™ Symmetric
Factory Finish: 3000
Flare Potential: 4-5″
Radius of Gyration (RG): 15lbs – 2.49
Differential (Diff): 15lbs – .051
Intermediate Differential (Diff): 15lbs – N/A

roto grip bowling Balls

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