Very interesting discussion to listen to. As a lefty with a similar rev rate to Luke the Xponent has been my go to “benchmark” ball. Granted I don’t have a Tour Dynamix so I understand not wanting overlap. I had an IQ and never really loved it. It was smooth and controllable but I feel like I left way too many corner pins with it. The extra kick of the Xponent is really what I was looking for without going to a Phaze 2.
Great report card Luke. Only 1 guy in my league rolls with an Xponent and it seems to work well for him. It is drilled for his style, which is low speed / low revs, but it drives through the pins pretty well. Drinking the Kool Aid on this one. 💪 😎 👍
They just keep putting out good balls that never really get time to shine or they get over shadowed like revanent phaze 5 2 balls i wish i had for a collection at least
Nope, the pearl version will still be the sharper one. When dealing with different formulas, you can throw solid-hybrid-pearl out the window when comparing to other formulas, because the pearl Exotic Gem for example is MUCH stronger than the solid Absolute Power, however in the case where you're dealing with the same (or very similar) cover formulas, the solids will typically be the earliest and smoothest, pearls will be the longest and sharpest, and hybrids will be in the middle even at the same surface prep. It doesn't say as much on the website, very vague actually, but I'd expect that the XP and XP Pearl covers are basically the same thing, so at the same surface, I'd expect the XP Pearl to be the cleaner, sharper, and weaker ball overall.
I am shocked you didn't drill this one! I would have loved to hear about your personal xperience (see what I did there 😂) with this one, as well as some perspective from a higher rev/speed bowler.
Lol yeah . . but with a Hyped Solid, IQ Tour Solid and a Tour Dynam-X already, I didn't need yet another ball on top of all that, and they didn't send us global stuff so we had to buy those. Definitely would have drilled one if they'd have sent it, but wasn't going to go out of my way to buy one just for a video and especially when I already had so much overlap
@LukeRosdahl I totally get that! I've already mentioned in other reviews how I've become kinda jaded on the new ball market, ESPECIALLY SPI, bc there are sooo many releases that are so similar to eachother. And at the same time, there are certain holes that could stand a new release that are ignored. I know you've said the same thing too. I personally have the XP and think it is fantastic. I've heard people describe it as a weaker Phaze II. It's been a good one for me. It also makes me a little sad I sold my old Dare Devil Danger (one of my fav mea culpa reviews you did 😄), since they seem to share some similarities. Oh well.
I have the Summit and ended up getting the Xponent to have a bit more separation than the Phaze 2 would give me. Very happy with the decision, although the P2 would be great too.
@@LukeRosdahl thanks for the advice. Been watching your videos since the Hyroad Nano came out. I still appreciate all the things you have done, and for the technical thought
We actually did that for a year or two, but the problem there is that you can't really as much of a difference on camera as you might think, plus there are HUNDREDS of different sport patterns as well. Beyond that, they generally they tend to make the ball look worse than it actually is, and very few balls are actually designed for tougher conditions, so trying to do a review for a ball on a condition it's not designed for is unfair. Chromium splits the gap across the board, it's tough enough to keep us honest but be scorable with good shots, and generally reflect the ball reaction "truly," there's enough oil that stronger balls are still in play, but weaker balls can hang out too, so it gives us a really good idea where everything fits. Everything hooks on a house shot, so it makes everything look closer than it actually is, and balls that were designed for sport patterns will look great on tougher stuff, but trying to review the XPonent Pearl for example on a fresh sport pattern just wouldn't be fair or give anyone any kind of accurate information.
I try to reference them as often as possible, and I used to drop the charts into the reviews, but we haven't had one in a while, and nothing with the new Global covers on them either, so it's a little bit of a crapshoot at the moment.
@@LukeRosdahlI watch a ton of ball reviews and still can’t keep it straight. Balls like the !Q Ruby can be very misleading if you go by their stats alone. Why do you think the manufacturers don’t publish this info any more? With so many releases, it seems more important than ever.
Because it's better for business if people don't know what they're buying. However, pretty well every other brand has placement charts, ratings, rankings, advice on how the ball would fit for different styles etc., but Storm doesn't, just a ton of ego stroking and marketing buzz.
@@LukeRosdahlthat is incredibly frustrating, especially considering how expensive the balls can be. The ball descriptions they provide are quite vague and a lot of them sound the same.
I have been on the fence adding the Xponent to my bag. I have an undrilled Wolverine Strike overseas ball which is S70 Solid. Would there be a noticeable difference between the Strike and Xponent? The Xponent has a lower RG and the Strike has a higher Diff.
Yes, the RG difference between the two cores is pretty large, so is the diff technically, but you'll notice the RG difference much more. XPonent will roll quite a bit earlier.
Luke- general question about cleaning with Reacta Skuff. I have a ball that is at 2000 Abralon Grit. Should I not clean it with Reacta Skuff because it will change the surface to 3000 grit? I don't use a spinner, just hand cleaning. Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you!
What you'd do there is clean it with the Skuff first, and then finish it with the 2000 pad. The Skuff will get all the surface dirt and junk off much easier than basically having to just sand it off with the pad. For duller balls I recommend using the Skuff first and then finishing it to wherever you want it to be.
I'm not really sure actually, and if they are it's not intentional! She went through a stretch where she couldn't stay behind the ball that well, but has gotten better recently.
Very interesting discussion to listen to. As a lefty with a similar rev rate to Luke the Xponent has been my go to “benchmark” ball. Granted I don’t have a Tour Dynamix so I understand not wanting overlap. I had an IQ and never really loved it. It was smooth and controllable but I feel like I left way too many corner pins with it. The extra kick of the Xponent is really what I was looking for without going to a Phaze 2.
Great report card Luke. Only 1 guy in my league rolls with an Xponent and it seems to work well for him. It is drilled for his style, which is low speed / low revs, but it drives through the pins pretty well. Drinking the Kool Aid on this one. 💪 😎 👍
They just keep putting out good balls that never really get time to shine or they get over shadowed like revanent phaze 5 2 balls i wish i had for a collection at least
I love mine. I'm a two finger, no thumb bowler, and this ball is great on our house shot. I do change by game 3, but it's a great first ball for me.
If you polished one of these to 6k wouldn't it be just like the pearl version coming out soon?
Nope, the pearl version will still be the sharper one. When dealing with different formulas, you can throw solid-hybrid-pearl out the window when comparing to other formulas, because the pearl Exotic Gem for example is MUCH stronger than the solid Absolute Power, however in the case where you're dealing with the same (or very similar) cover formulas, the solids will typically be the earliest and smoothest, pearls will be the longest and sharpest, and hybrids will be in the middle even at the same surface prep. It doesn't say as much on the website, very vague actually, but I'd expect that the XP and XP Pearl covers are basically the same thing, so at the same surface, I'd expect the XP Pearl to be the cleaner, sharper, and weaker ball overall.
I am shocked you didn't drill this one! I would have loved to hear about your personal xperience (see what I did there 😂) with this one, as well as some perspective from a higher rev/speed bowler.
Lol yeah . . but with a Hyped Solid, IQ Tour Solid and a Tour Dynam-X already, I didn't need yet another ball on top of all that, and they didn't send us global stuff so we had to buy those. Definitely would have drilled one if they'd have sent it, but wasn't going to go out of my way to buy one just for a video and especially when I already had so much overlap
@LukeRosdahl I totally get that! I've already mentioned in other reviews how I've become kinda jaded on the new ball market, ESPECIALLY SPI, bc there are sooo many releases that are so similar to eachother. And at the same time, there are certain holes that could stand a new release that are ignored. I know you've said the same thing too.
I personally have the XP and think it is fantastic. I've heard people describe it as a weaker Phaze II. It's been a good one for me. It also makes me a little sad I sold my old Dare Devil Danger (one of my fav mea culpa reviews you did 😄), since they seem to share some similarities. Oh well.
Ball looks good! Thinking about the exponent. But then never had a phase 2. What would you get or prefer for a benchmark ball ??
I have the Summit and ended up getting the Xponent to have a bit more separation than the Phaze 2 would give me. Very happy with the decision, although the P2 would be great too.
I have the exponent. Was wondering what would be a good ball to ball down to. Had to drop down in ball weight.
A Hustle RIP would be a really good ball down from an XP
@@LukeRosdahl thanks for the advice. Been watching your videos since the Hyroad Nano came out. I still appreciate all the things you have done, and for the technical thought
Thanks for the video. Do you guys use or thought about testing on sport shots?
We actually did that for a year or two, but the problem there is that you can't really as much of a difference on camera as you might think, plus there are HUNDREDS of different sport patterns as well. Beyond that, they generally they tend to make the ball look worse than it actually is, and very few balls are actually designed for tougher conditions, so trying to do a review for a ball on a condition it's not designed for is unfair. Chromium splits the gap across the board, it's tough enough to keep us honest but be scorable with good shots, and generally reflect the ball reaction "truly," there's enough oil that stronger balls are still in play, but weaker balls can hang out too, so it gives us a really good idea where everything fits.
Everything hooks on a house shot, so it makes everything look closer than it actually is, and balls that were designed for sport patterns will look great on tougher stuff, but trying to review the XPonent Pearl for example on a fresh sport pattern just wouldn't be fair or give anyone any kind of accurate information.
Have you ever done a video on the relative strengths of SPI covers? Can’t seem to find any charts that are less than 4 years old.
I try to reference them as often as possible, and I used to drop the charts into the reviews, but we haven't had one in a while, and nothing with the new Global covers on them either, so it's a little bit of a crapshoot at the moment.
@@LukeRosdahlI watch a ton of ball reviews and still can’t keep it straight. Balls like the !Q Ruby can be very misleading if you go by their stats alone. Why do you think the manufacturers don’t publish this info any more? With so many releases, it seems more important than ever.
Because it's better for business if people don't know what they're buying. However, pretty well every other brand has placement charts, ratings, rankings, advice on how the ball would fit for different styles etc., but Storm doesn't, just a ton of ego stroking and marketing buzz.
@@LukeRosdahlthat is incredibly frustrating, especially considering how expensive the balls can be. The ball descriptions they provide are quite vague and a lot of them sound the same.
I have been on the fence adding the Xponent to my bag. I have an undrilled Wolverine Strike overseas ball which is S70 Solid. Would there be a noticeable difference between the Strike and Xponent? The Xponent has a lower RG and the Strike has a higher Diff.
Yes, the RG difference between the two cores is pretty large, so is the diff technically, but you'll notice the RG difference much more. XPonent will roll quite a bit earlier.
You mentioned you don’t change your bag much. What’s in it at the moment?
Summit, Summit Peak, Pro Motion, spare, and then ball 5 rotates depending on what I want to have in there.
Luke- general question about cleaning with Reacta Skuff. I have a ball that is at 2000 Abralon Grit. Should I not clean it with Reacta Skuff because it will change the surface to 3000 grit? I don't use a spinner, just hand cleaning. Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you!
What you'd do there is clean it with the Skuff first, and then finish it with the 2000 pad. The Skuff will get all the surface dirt and junk off much easier than basically having to just sand it off with the pad. For duller balls I recommend using the Skuff first and then finishing it to wherever you want it to be.
Thanks man, makes sense.
Luke, I like the roll your lovely wife gets on the ball. Are her fingers around 2o’clock at release?
I'm not really sure actually, and if they are it's not intentional! She went through a stretch where she couldn't stay behind the ball that well, but has gotten better recently.