The max may suck for you . But for a low track player speed dominant. At 1000 with carry down the high rg and strong cover saves energy and destroys pins when the proton physics stops carrying.
Is the Night road gonna be a bust like the Hy Road Max or Does the REX pearl as the 3rd strongest on the chart make it completely different than the 1st on the chart NEX with the same core
Nah, once I got the surfaces sorted out, it's reaaaally good. The new one I drilled is great too, it's in my bag for a tournament out of town this weekend
Really? Weird, this is like the only one for me. And it's not that I'm trying to soften this at all, it's that I didn't have time before posting the video to resurface it, go back and film more, get stuff written down about that, etc., and several other people weren't having my experience, theirs were just fine. I don't really concern myself with the politics, I just want to make sure I get correct information out there. Ended up just being weird out of the box, was fine when I resurfaced them and I made a video about that. I get it, and I've dumpstered other balls before, so I'm not afraid or concerned about saying something negative, I'm concerned about saying something inaccurate. I wasn't sure in this case whether it was going to be accurate or not, so I stayed on the fence.
We think it does once we got them adjusted. The Max almost fought itself, it wanted to be early and smooth but also wanted to be a Hyroad, this one just acts like a really strong Hyroad Pearl
Luke great review my daughter uses this as a step down from her iQ tour solid when it is a little over reactive, Problem for her is shes a pretty straight bowler Lefty up 8 but very consistent . She and i also see the same type just being a dud down lane, im gonna try to adjust surface with Polish as that is how her iQ rolls best, i know much different balls, i won it in a ball raffle so i ll try anything i can to make it work :) , ill give feedback later when i find out results. Thank you for the very good comparisons and your always TOP SHELF reviews
I would definitely take it down to 1000 first to kind of reset the surface before you polish it, but mine looks great since I did that, so I think you'll be in great shape
I recently bought the Night Road. My first outing with it was during league. Used it out of the box and wasn't impressed. I found it difficult to figure where to stand and aim. Didn't get much reaction as I expected. Switched to another ball after about 14 frames. Before trying it again this next week I felt I needed it to slow down earlier and took a watered 3000 grit pad to it by hand. Didn't work hard on the cover but it took a bit of any shine off. The next time out I could now see movement, but still not finding the right place to play. Bowled a game with it and changed balls. In game 3 I picked it up and gave it another try. This time I moved 3 or 4 boards with my feet to the left putting me on board 29 and I was looking at board 11 just behind the 2nd arrow. Whoa! I found it. I've got plenty of other Storm balls, but this one is likely the strongest ball I have now. It's just a senior league house shot and this ball is mean. One shot I leaked it too far right and it still came back like gangbusters. I'm glad I didn't try polishing it up or try a 2000 grit pad either. I'm almost convinced this will be my go to ball. Thanks for all your videos Luke! Great work...
I still don't understand ball reaction some days. Ball (not a Night Road) never hooks from 3rd arrow then hooks at the arrows if I try 2nd. Reverse for sport shot 🙄 Maybe my game got further screwed up somewhere and I need stronger covers now to hide that?
Nah that's how stuff is these days, house shots are crazy high ratio so they're a flood in the middle and nothing outside, then yeah, tougher patterns are the opposite.
Yeah definitely, cover is a lot stronger. Check out the other videos I did for this one after we resurfaced it and I drilled a new one, totally different ball from how it is here
Love the night road! Straight out of the box. Hits good with a smooth reaction. Exactly what i envisioned this ball to do. Compared to a hyroad pearl its a litlle more versatile with a better cover. The lanes suck here but this ball is fire
Nah it's not the lanes here, it's the ball. Had to resurface it and now it's amazing, but it was really weird out of the box. I did another couple videos on it and drilled another one too and now it's all good!
Yep, you got the little nod there lol. Would love to have one of those again but they're loooong gone. I think the Wolverine DM is really similar though, I can't remember the Lights Out numbers off the top of my head
Just watched back your wild streak video and from what I saw it was extremely similar to the night road and every think that was a positive in that video you saw as a negative in the night road video I think the night is like a shot makers ball kind of like what you said in the wild streak video That is just my opinion though
The wild streak actually hooked and drove though . . there's a difference between being a shot makers ball and absolutely having to ace it to have a chance. Night Road and Wild Streak are nowhere close
I respect how honest you are. Not editing to make balls look good or trying to just sell them. Tell it how it is good or bad from your perspective and leave it to the bowler to decide and form an opinion. ✊
Thanks! We did end up getting them fixed, just had to reset/change the surface and now they're great, but if I'd have done that in the first place to make them "look good" on video, if someone else gets a Night Road and has the same experience out of the box that we did, then they wouldn't have any idea what to do. By putting it all out there, at least there's something that says hey we had this problem, but this is what you do to fix it, and we really like them now
Interesting, this is the first time I've heard quite a few of these comments about this ball. The opposite of what this review says, now I'm confused LOL
It ended up being an issue with their new polish, Reacta Gloss. It had a slip agent in it that prevented balls from absorbing oil, and was even cross contaminating other balls that weren't polished. Turns out that a resurface fixed all the issues, this was just the very first ball this happened on and it's been resolved a while ago.
@LukeRosdahl awesome, thank you for the info. That must be why I hadn't heard or seen that yet, I've been watching videos from after the fix I'm guessing.
I throw 14, and I haven’t gotten any of Roads because of the drastic dip in differential from 15. Legitimate concern or nothing to really worry about? I have a Zen and Wine so I’ve been looking for something in the middle. I go back and forth between a HyRoad Pearl or a Dark Moss.
I pulled a few punches, almost called it NightMARE Road . . but don't worry, its "in all seriousness, you're awesome and I really respect your work," moment is coming ;)
Do you think this has anything to do with layout? I noticed yours is a 4 inch pin to PAP but Barnes is more like 5.25 or 5.5 from PAP. Maybe you were trying to match the core up to the cover better and it just didnt work out? I know you typically use the same layout or similar layout on all these reviews. But maybe this is one time the layout didnt match up well? Just speculating of course.
I'm going to drill a new one with a different layout, but not optimistic. Barney also has an extra 150 revs over me, but with as high RG as this core already is, it wants to go long, and I don't want stuff being long and sharp, plus the longer the pin is, the faster the ball wants to lose axis rotation and go straighter off the end of the pattern. Barney loves longer pins so he can really roll the ball without it driving or continuing too much, he can control the shape better with longer pins. I need stuff to pick up early and then continue. If I drill stronger symmetrics weaker than this, they want to be longer and quicker than I want them to be. I thought that with this core wanting to go longer, that this would be a nice balance. Not as early and round as my stronger stuff, but not as long and flippy as Hyroads typically are. Plus, I've established this as my test layout for symmetrics because it looks good on everything else, people don't like when I change up layouts, and of all the balls to consider a layout change on, this definitely wouldn't be one of them. In addition, yeah, this is already kind of a cover core mismatch, and going with a weaker layout would further exaggerate that. With as good as my Dark and Infinite look, I thought this was going to be an easy ace. With the cover/core mismatch, it's likely a surface thing, with the stronger layout as well, I could see the cover trying to do more than the core wants to, so in this case, maybe a weaker layout with shine is the way to go. So instead of trying to beef the core up to where the cover is, pull the cover back a bit closer to where the core is.
I would loooove that, I actually thought that's what this was going to be to replace the Spectre, but I guess this was in the works before that whole situation went down.
From what I'm seeing so far, yeah, the reaction improved significantly as the lanes transitioned, and we're going to try some polish too, that's been looking good for other people. It's a pretty strong cover, so cover, core, and the box surface might not all be jiving together. Plenty more videos to come, but it's controllable and it handles friction really well, so it could definitely be a college burn killer
What are your thoughts on this being medium for Angel & awful for you compared to others *cough*Barnes*cough*. Do you think higher friction centers will make this more playable or is it restricted to, not rev-dominant but, higher rev players on walled/cliffed shots?
I'm not really sure, because I laid it all out in the troubleshooting. What I'm seeing is quite different from what my experience says should be happening, but we're going to keep after it, surely there's something that's out of whack. Other people have had great luck polishing theirs, so we're going to check that out, I also ordered another one to put a different layout on. Generally I lay my Hyroads out pretty strong, but they also have weaker covers, so I need to juice them a little to help out. In this case, there's plenty of cover, so with a strong layout and strong cover, plus the box surface, the cover might be trying to do more than the core is ready to, so they might be fighting each other. However, with as good as they handle friction and as much as they seem to like friction, I don't think they're burning up. However again, with as strong as this cover is, it's not really supposed to like friction, so I'm still unsure what to think at the moment. This layout is fine on all my other symmetric balls, I haven't had an issue with this cover period, at this surface or otherwise, and while I can't use my Hyroads much because they're just not strong enough, they react well and definitely do great when I actually have some friction, so I'm not quite sure in this situation. We're going to try some stuff out tho, we'll get it figured out.
Good honest review! I didn't like my Dark Code after I got it. But after I added a different polish, I loved it. I'm amazed how much of a difference a core makes!
It probably doesn't fit your eye because it's not the normal storm roll. It looks more like a mid range Brunswick ball. Like a Versamax or a Melee. Probably a killer on low volume sport patterns
I like the proceed with caution advice. It’s a pretty ball but I think I’ll do the green Wolverine ball instead. Comparison for the mid late balls in the future? Thanks.
Yeah we're going to try to get the reaction sorted out first before we proceed with comparisons. Plenty of others out there that the Night looks good for, so we'll get it figured out, probably post a video about that process and then when it's in fighting shape, we'll do several comparisons
I don’t think strong covers match up well with the Hy Road core because the ball doesn’t know what it wants to be, the cover wants to get started early and the core wants to get down the lane so I think that’s what causes the somewhat confusing ball reaction… saw this on the Hy Road Max as well… I think a high road pearl is amazing and if you need something slightly stronger go to a Dark Moss… and one step up from that go to a Zen or a Cosmos
Couldn't agree more with the last statement. Never thought of getting a Zen Master because Zen was too snappy and thought a solid would be too over under for a solid. Got a Zen Master given to me, and have been lights out with it every time I find the right time to throw it
Hot take on this ball, this being just my opinion. This ball is gonna be really good on burnt up lanes, just stand left (or in your case luke stand right) and let the friction do the work cause this reaction is just so meh
Yeah it seems like it, it blends stuff really well, I just don't ever have consistent enough burn to be able to take advantage of something like this. Unfortunately because I'm always bowling on the fresh, I'm pigeonholed into a few balls and a few types of reactions generally
Way to go to put it back up my question is to Storm why did you polish it rather than the 4K fast in your video seems like a miss representation of the ball? I would understand a review with 4K fast then show it with polish so we could see for ourselves the reaction differences?
im excited for this ball. tried it at a current matchmaker event. and even though the drilling was a half inch shorter than my drilling it looked really good on our house shot. and im a high speed high rev player. low 18mph and between 475-500 rpm. And i loved my hyroad maxx lol
ReX has looked really inconsistent reaction wise to me, maybe even depending on the batch. Sometimes it wants to be R2S and other times it wants to be NeX. It's why I ended up getting a Code Master instead of going with a Dark Code.
I got mine 3-4 weeks ago here in the UK, mine was at 1500 Polish and look too jumpy, took a 4k pad to it and just knocked a bit of the shine off and it looks great now
I haven't exactly said it like that, but I have said before that there's a break in period for stuff. You usually have to throw stuff for several games to get it broken in. If you remember back to the days of urethane, people would always say you had to get a track in the ball, it's still the same way. Stuff breaks in, the edge gets taken off that box surface, then you really see what you have.
I really expected this ball to boom a little, I mean, a LOT more, kinda like the Spectre. Not that the spectre was the fastest ball but the Night Road is just spec slow. Maybe the weird hipsters who wanted a Spec Hyroad are happy now.
Angel's experience with the Night Road is very similar to my experience with the Hy-Road X. It was insanely inconsistent on fresh oil, and there were times it would randomly pick up early for no reason and boom through the face. What I figured out with that one is that it's actually far better in "carrydown" situations where it can stabilize itself. Unfortunately, as you said, it's tough when balls are expensive and they wind up pigeon-holed into a small "niche" role.
REX is weird. It seems like the cover itself was designed with polish in mind. I don't like polished stuff. Tend to go 4000 on most things I want to be cleaner, 5000 on burn balls. But the Dark Code I had was amazing polished on fresh. My Infinite is good at 3000, but it looks even better with polish, and once again, I can throw it polished on fresh oil. And I don't like polished balls I've seen a few reviewers get more downlane kick by polishing the Night Road, but the OG and HRP still pick up sooner and drive more. Then Chris Barnes had that thing absolutely flying off the spot. I feel like REX is very blendy and allows the core to really dominate the reaction, so it comes down to matching up the core/layout to the bowler (though Angel's experience contradicts that theory). My reasoning though is how vastly different the reactions reviewers got from the Dark Code were. Looks great for you, super over/under and inconsistent roll for other people. And then look at Tamer's videos of the Infinite. Looks good for him and Bryan, but their high rev guy, it looks like the Night Road does for you and Angel. Wants to roll out or lazily hit, with the occasional overhook. Some good ones mixed in. Night Road looked good for all 3 of them. It's weird. All 3 balls with REX so far have some people absolutely loving them, and other people struggling to get the same reaction twice out of them. I would like to see the Parallax cover on something else though and see if that has similar problems as the REX or not
100% agree with you on ReX being strange. Left my own comment about it, but then just saw yours. All 3 releases so far in my eyes have been inconsistent with their reactions. With the box finishes being really inconsistent lately, makes you wonder if there could also potentially be a batch issue for ReX. At this point I'd rather see Traction X7 again before another ReX ball
Looks like such a mixed bag- good for some but awful for others. It’ll probably look good for me cause I throw it like Angel and I bowl on high friction lanes. But I have a lot of stuff that’ll be better in situations the Night comes into play, and that’s more versatile. Just seems like strong covers on the Fe2 core aren’t good matchups. I would however love the U1S cover on the Fe2 core- call it the Mix Max. Really want a spare ball with a core without having to spend $200 for the Belmo one.
That's an idea, or even have Roto dig up the late roll 69 core from the Hysteria; almost the same numbers. Call it the versatile road or late track, idk
I know this is weird as it was a niche ball, but if I'm looking for a replacement for the HyRoad Max, would this work well? The Max worked well in the lanes that had high friction.
Shapes are a little different but it does have a similar kind of feel really, and I definitely think this will be good on higher friction because of how blendy it is
Man are you so right’ I can tell you did your homework in school😀 Basically it’s like my hi roads that I have now, I use to use mine when I rolled up 10 all the time because it found dry and oil, but since I’ve changed my bowling style I get the under/over as your describing the hy road as the same as the night road
I'm fairly certain polish and a rev rate putting it to the friction instead of up the friction is the key to the lock in this situation, I couldn't miss with it as long as my feet were lined up on the lane same goes for the rstx3 though for me. That balls oob surface was not at all for my taste hit the midlane and wanted to catch it quick but never did anything spectacular on the back end of the lane polish was the key. At least in the centers I've used it in so far. Too early to really get a grasp but the oob surface like I said didn't work for me from the get go
This is what the hyroad pearl did for me. Great for a few shots and then it puked. I used it for 15 games and it never got better in fact it got worse. The only hyroad that has matched up with me is the OG..
Thank you for telling us for awhile now to try different cover fininsh's before u give up on a ball. I love my iQ emerald but wanted something like it for earlier in the block. Got a iQ nano pearl and it was kinda eehhh for me at 1st plus I found when the conditions were right for it they were also right/better for my Phaze 2. After not using it much for a month or 2 I tossed 4k fast on it and while subtle change it gets way more use now.
I firmly believe y’all got a bad batch. Mine is NOTHING like this. What’s really infuriating is some of these slapdicks parroting what you said and they don’t even have the damn ball.
This thing was lights out for me at the demo day. Have a good feeling about it for me - I slow roll it too, but unlike Angel it also reacted well. I threw it once some of the stronger stuff had been used on the lane, not on fresh.
Yeah that's why I recommended talking to other people and hitting up matchmakers, I'm not sure our experience is representative of the ball as a whole, but some balls are like this, they can be kind of polarizing.
This was one that I decided to pass on... I haven't gotten along well with Road-series balls for a while now (really favoring the Hyped line instead for weaker resin pieces, especially the Hyped Pearl on the crispy-crispy stuff) and I was spooked enough from the HQ video (looked like a shape I'd get 9 with a whole lot) that I didn't see a pressing need to order one. If mine acted at all like Luke and Angel's I probably would have thrown it in a dumpster halfway through filming LOL
@@LukeRosdahl I haven't thrown a 4K Fast ball yet but honestly that's not happening anytime soon. The Reacta Gloss is probably gonna have me skeptical at first as well.
This ball has been so polarizing and every video of it seems to make it look different. I wonder if there was a bad batch and maybe you guys got ones from that batch? Certainly seems like the REX cover is not very consistent from ball-to-ball or even across multiple pours of the same ball. I watched Luis‘s video and this ball looks amazing, and Chris Barnes‘ video makes it look amazing too. However, then I watch your video and a few others and there’s no denying that for whatever reason this ball does not look good for a lot of people. Great video as always, and hopefully this is just the result of a manufacturing mistake or something like that.
Your description of the Night Road matches what I've seen with the Hy Road Max to a T. It's great some shots. But it's inconsistent overall. Sometimes it hooks like a pearl being quick down lane. Other times it hooks more like a solid being smoother. I also tried more surface and it didn't change much. But maybe using polish will make it consistently hook like a pearl. I'll give it a shot since the ball is falling out of my bag anyway after giving it multiple tries already.
Why didn't James test it? Does the core not work for him or what? I think it would be great for higher rev people like James that can create their own power.
I haven't gotten along with Road-series balls for a while now tbh... and I was spooked enough from the HQ videos (super pretty shape, but that type of shape is one I get 9 with a TOOOOOOON) that I didn't really want to pay up to get my own. Luke and Angel tend to like Roads a lot more than I do so it made sense to have them test this one. Personally, I like more early-rolling tumbley shapes so when Luke and Angel would be reaching for a HyRoad or HRP i'm usually pulling out my Hyped Pearl.
Unfortunately every time they release a Road ball with a stronger cover you can’t help but think that for that niche spot it looks good there’s also a more versatile ball that I’d rather be throwing
The R2S cover formulation and the Fe2 core in the original Hy-Road and the Hy-Road Pearl match up very well together. I had an All-Road and the Hy-Road X with the stronger covers, NRG Hybrid and R2X. But I never liked either of them. The cover and core just doesn't match up very well together. The stronger covered variants, Hy-Road X, All-Road, Hy-Road Max, and now the Night Road, are all pretty mediocre in comparison to the original Hy-Road and Hy-Road Pearl.
Very strange-it looks so different in all the other videos I’ve seen from people. I agree it doesn’t seem to roll well for either of you, but it also just looks so different compared to how it’s rolling for others. Interesting.
Well there's a handful of videos out there too that have it doing the same thing ours are, BUT yeah there's plenty out there that look great, so that's why I didn't crucify it. I had to be honest about what we're seeing, but I'm definitely not sold on ours being representative of the ball as a whole
@@LukeRosdahl I appreciate the honesty from what you 2 independently saw. I’d be really interested to see you polish yours, with Storm Step 2 compound, with Reacta Shine, and with their new Reacta Gloss there coming out. Seems like a ton of people are really loving the Night Road polished
Yep we're going to try all kinds of things. The shots that looked good looked really good and are exactly what I was hoping for, so I definitely want to try to get it sorted out
Thanks for showing this ball for all of us Southpaws. This ball looks way too unpredictable. Luke, there gave been comments that it just may be a bad batch, and that other reviews show a totaly different look/shape. Do you think that could be the problem? This will be a love/hate ball.
Eh, every once and a while there's stuff that's kind of polarizing and end up being more matchup dependent, this might just be one of them. Might be just a surface adjustment too, who knows.
Maybe a 1500 grit polish or the new compound will look better. This is the second review I’ve seen showing this slow reaction. But I still have faith in this ball lol.
Lol for now . . but damn, it looks too good on the shots it looks good on to just dumpster it and move on. We're going to make some surface adjustments and keep playing with them, plus have a couple more on the way to do some different things with.
Buddy of mine was testing this out during a ball demo. I couldn't get it to move. He was standing next to the ball return throwing 20 to 8 and still leaving the 9 pin And his speed is 20+ mph. Of course he has more hand than I do.
I'm curious how this will work out for me, I average 14.6 mph ball speed and the Dark code is my favorite ball out of the bag. I love my hyroad pearl and I have a feeling despite the inconsistencies I will have fun with this ball. Well until the USBC casting couch gives this ball the banhammer because they are brand racist against storm/Roto grip/900 Global
Heh, they ban a ball outright too easily because a _few_ balls are _slightly_ too soft. Minor Rex D discrepancies mean nothing among all the 'engines' and fancy aggressive covers balls have now. Those silly rules came back when people would soak plastic until it had a hardness of what, 35?
What's wrong with a niche. Hyroad max sanded to 1000 when there is carry down has paid for the ball 10 times over in winning all the brackets. Every one is different but it might be worth a try
Slightly stronger layout for the night road just to help that core get going or get into a roll in comparison to the OG HYROADS. Maybe a pinch stronger on that pin to make up for the laziness of the cover 🤔
I know I honestly don't think it's a core issue I think that cover isn't it. It needs some help. 4x2 looks good on the other roads in your video its just this one ball its needs some help I think that 4000 finish is part of the problem its lazy for that core but at the same time you hit it with 2000 meh made it gain some traction but I just think it needs a little more snap on the back not that much but just a pinch more to help make it a little more versatile since it's allergic to oil
I would try a fresh one out of box with a slightly stronger pin placement. It just seems like this ball doesn't understand what a hyroad is or understand how the family lineup of hyroads ot to work its having a midlife crisis. One minute it's a hyroad the next it's something else
I can't get any stronger with the pin without getting into an unfavorable zone though, stronger pin is just going to make it earlier and smoother. It flares plenty, so I don't think a little stronger on the layout is really going to accomplish anything
@@LukeRosdahl this is gonna sound crazy but maybe it's intended to be a smooth hockey stick..maybe not so much mid because even with angel it starts to flare nice in the mids on some shots but loses momentum at the pins..but at the same time it really doesn't like being played straight. Guessing 70x3 3/4" goes a little long sees some mid has some energy left kicks moderately hard at the break point to compensate for the 4k surface.
Geez. I’m not gonna lie. That looked terribly inconsistent. Something always seems off when they do a weak core and strong coverstock. Even on paper, this ball just doesn’t fit anywhere.
From what I've seen, the Night Road needs a lot of friction to look good. Since REX performs well on the Dark Code and Infinite Physix, it seems like the high RG FE2 core is just not a good match. REX needs a strong core to get the most out of it.
I see what you mean by the random weak hits or strong hits. Looks like sometimes it just doesn't want to get into a roll and sometimes it wants to do it too early. Looks ok for others but we will see how it is for general consumers hands. I'm guessing super high friction houses will make this ball look good.
The max may suck for you . But for a low track player speed dominant. At 1000 with carry down the high rg and strong cover saves energy and destroys pins when the proton physics stops carrying.
Night Road just left my wish list. Thanks!
Is the Night road gonna be a bust like the Hy Road Max or Does the REX pearl as the 3rd strongest on the chart make it completely different than the 1st on the chart NEX with the same core
Nah, once I got the surfaces sorted out, it's reaaaally good. The new one I drilled is great too, it's in my bag for a tournament out of town this weekend
in other words you don't want to bite the hand that feeds you ......I have had this issue with about every storm ball....All 10 of them....
Really? Weird, this is like the only one for me. And it's not that I'm trying to soften this at all, it's that I didn't have time before posting the video to resurface it, go back and film more, get stuff written down about that, etc., and several other people weren't having my experience, theirs were just fine. I don't really concern myself with the politics, I just want to make sure I get correct information out there. Ended up just being weird out of the box, was fine when I resurfaced them and I made a video about that.
I get it, and I've dumpstered other balls before, so I'm not afraid or concerned about saying something negative, I'm concerned about saying something inaccurate. I wasn't sure in this case whether it was going to be accurate or not, so I stayed on the fence.
Does the Night Road respond better on the lanes compared to the Hy-Road Max?
We think it does once we got them adjusted. The Max almost fought itself, it wanted to be early and smooth but also wanted to be a Hyroad, this one just acts like a really strong Hyroad Pearl
Luke great review my daughter uses this as a step down from her iQ tour solid when it is a little over reactive, Problem for her is shes a pretty straight bowler Lefty up 8 but very consistent . She and i also see the same type just being a dud down lane, im gonna try to adjust surface with Polish as that is how her iQ rolls best, i know much different balls, i won it in a ball raffle so i ll try anything i can to make it work :) , ill give feedback later when i find out results. Thank you for the very good comparisons and your always TOP SHELF reviews
I would definitely take it down to 1000 first to kind of reset the surface before you polish it, but mine looks great since I did that, so I think you'll be in great shape
I recently bought the Night Road. My first outing with it was during league. Used it out of the box and wasn't impressed. I found it difficult to figure where to stand and aim. Didn't get much reaction as I expected. Switched to another ball after about 14 frames. Before trying it again this next week I felt I needed it to slow down earlier and took a watered 3000 grit pad to it by hand. Didn't work hard on the cover but it took a bit of any shine off. The next time out I could now see movement, but still not finding the right place to play. Bowled a game with it and changed balls. In game 3 I picked it up and gave it another try. This time I moved 3 or 4 boards with my feet to the left putting me on board 29 and I was looking at board 11 just behind the 2nd arrow. Whoa! I found it. I've got plenty of other Storm balls, but this one is likely the strongest ball I have now. It's just a senior league house shot and this ball is mean. One shot I leaked it too far right and it still came back like gangbusters. I'm glad I didn't try polishing it up or try a 2000 grit pad either. I'm almost convinced this will be my go to ball. Thanks for all your videos Luke! Great work...
I forgot to add this. In the third game when I picked up the Night Road again I closed out the sheet with a five bagger. 😀
I still don't understand ball reaction some days. Ball (not a Night Road) never hooks from 3rd arrow then hooks at the arrows if I try 2nd. Reverse for sport shot 🙄 Maybe my game got further screwed up somewhere and I need stronger covers now to hide that?
Nah that's how stuff is these days, house shots are crazy high ratio so they're a flood in the middle and nothing outside, then yeah, tougher patterns are the opposite.
Would you say that the NR is earlier than the OG hy-road?
Yeah definitely, cover is a lot stronger. Check out the other videos I did for this one after we resurfaced it and I drilled a new one, totally different ball from how it is here
Love the night road! Straight out of the box. Hits good with a smooth reaction. Exactly what i envisioned this ball to do. Compared to a hyroad pearl its a litlle more versatile with a better cover. The lanes suck here but this ball is fire
Nah it's not the lanes here, it's the ball. Had to resurface it and now it's amazing, but it was really weird out of the box. I did another couple videos on it and drilled another one too and now it's all good!
@@LukeRosdahl What was the revised
drill specs?
@@IronChef313 5x2 instead of 4x2, I've got those videos up if you want to check them out
Here's a tip...Avoid pink eye by not breaking wind right as you're about to sit down on the toilet.
Funny enough, given the title, you could have even thrown a Storm Lights Out in there. Mild core numbers and R2S hybrid
Yep, you got the little nod there lol. Would love to have one of those again but they're loooong gone. I think the Wolverine DM is really similar though, I can't remember the Lights Out numbers off the top of my head
@@LukeRosdahl Lmao, there's a lights out on eBay. Looks to be drilled righty
Just watched back your wild streak video and from what I saw it was extremely similar to the night road and every think that was a positive in that video you saw as a negative in the night road video
I think the night is like a shot makers ball kind of like what you said in the wild streak video
That is just my opinion though
The wild streak actually hooked and drove though . . there's a difference between being a shot makers ball and absolutely having to ace it to have a chance. Night Road and Wild Streak are nowhere close
I respect how honest you are. Not editing to make balls look good or trying to just sell them. Tell it how it is good or bad from your perspective and leave it to the bowler to decide and form an opinion. ✊
Thanks! We did end up getting them fixed, just had to reset/change the surface and now they're great, but if I'd have done that in the first place to make them "look good" on video, if someone else gets a Night Road and has the same experience out of the box that we did, then they wouldn't have any idea what to do. By putting it all out there, at least there's something that says hey we had this problem, but this is what you do to fix it, and we really like them now
Interesting, this is the first time I've heard quite a few of these comments about this ball. The opposite of what this review says, now I'm confused LOL
It ended up being an issue with their new polish, Reacta Gloss. It had a slip agent in it that prevented balls from absorbing oil, and was even cross contaminating other balls that weren't polished. Turns out that a resurface fixed all the issues, this was just the very first ball this happened on and it's been resolved a while ago.
@LukeRosdahl awesome, thank you for the info. That must be why I hadn't heard or seen that yet, I've been watching videos from after the fix I'm guessing.
With my idol syn i never liked it, I finally put it back in my bag after trying it for a few games, Put a light 1k on it and its great
Me also
Is the victory road just a Hy-Road pearl with a slightly higher diff? I used to think it set itself apart more
Lower RG too
I throw 14, and I haven’t gotten any of Roads because of the drastic dip in differential from 15. Legitimate concern or nothing to really worry about?
I have a Zen and Wine so I’ve been looking for something in the middle. I go back and forth between a HyRoad Pearl or a Dark Moss.
This sounds like a "Comedy Central Roast Of..."
I pulled a few punches, almost called it NightMARE Road . . but don't worry, its "in all seriousness, you're awesome and I really respect your work," moment is coming ;)
Luke, do you think a zen and night road could fit in the same bag? Will they be too close with the stronger cover on the night road?
Oh definitely, the cores are so different that those two balls feel and act nothing alike
Do you think this has anything to do with layout? I noticed yours is a 4 inch pin to PAP but Barnes is more like 5.25 or 5.5 from PAP. Maybe you were trying to match the core up to the cover better and it just didnt work out? I know you typically use the same layout or similar layout on all these reviews. But maybe this is one time the layout didnt match up well? Just speculating of course.
I'm going to drill a new one with a different layout, but not optimistic. Barney also has an extra 150 revs over me, but with as high RG as this core already is, it wants to go long, and I don't want stuff being long and sharp, plus the longer the pin is, the faster the ball wants to lose axis rotation and go straighter off the end of the pattern. Barney loves longer pins so he can really roll the ball without it driving or continuing too much, he can control the shape better with longer pins. I need stuff to pick up early and then continue. If I drill stronger symmetrics weaker than this, they want to be longer and quicker than I want them to be. I thought that with this core wanting to go longer, that this would be a nice balance. Not as early and round as my stronger stuff, but not as long and flippy as Hyroads typically are.
Plus, I've established this as my test layout for symmetrics because it looks good on everything else, people don't like when I change up layouts, and of all the balls to consider a layout change on, this definitely wouldn't be one of them. In addition, yeah, this is already kind of a cover core mismatch, and going with a weaker layout would further exaggerate that. With as good as my Dark and Infinite look, I thought this was going to be an easy ace. With the cover/core mismatch, it's likely a surface thing, with the stronger layout as well, I could see the cover trying to do more than the core wants to, so in this case, maybe a weaker layout with shine is the way to go. So instead of trying to beef the core up to where the cover is, pull the cover back a bit closer to where the core is.
If Storm wants a stronger Hy Road why not do a solid with r3S or something close to that.
I would loooove that, I actually thought that's what this was going to be to replace the Spectre, but I guess this was in the works before that whole situation went down.
Hey Luke, would you expect this ball to be good on college burn with a couple of games on the ball?
From what I'm seeing so far, yeah, the reaction improved significantly as the lanes transitioned, and we're going to try some polish too, that's been looking good for other people. It's a pretty strong cover, so cover, core, and the box surface might not all be jiving together. Plenty more videos to come, but it's controllable and it handles friction really well, so it could definitely be a college burn killer
What are your thoughts on this being medium for Angel & awful for you compared to others *cough*Barnes*cough*. Do you think higher friction centers will make this more playable or is it restricted to, not rev-dominant but, higher rev players on walled/cliffed shots?
I'm not really sure, because I laid it all out in the troubleshooting. What I'm seeing is quite different from what my experience says should be happening, but we're going to keep after it, surely there's something that's out of whack. Other people have had great luck polishing theirs, so we're going to check that out, I also ordered another one to put a different layout on. Generally I lay my Hyroads out pretty strong, but they also have weaker covers, so I need to juice them a little to help out. In this case, there's plenty of cover, so with a strong layout and strong cover, plus the box surface, the cover might be trying to do more than the core is ready to, so they might be fighting each other. However, with as good as they handle friction and as much as they seem to like friction, I don't think they're burning up. However again, with as strong as this cover is, it's not really supposed to like friction, so I'm still unsure what to think at the moment. This layout is fine on all my other symmetric balls, I haven't had an issue with this cover period, at this surface or otherwise, and while I can't use my Hyroads much because they're just not strong enough, they react well and definitely do great when I actually have some friction, so I'm not quite sure in this situation. We're going to try some stuff out tho, we'll get it figured out.
Night road vs Hyroad X when I did the demo of night road I got hyroad x vibes
Good honest review! I didn't like my Dark Code after I got it. But after I added a different polish, I loved it. I'm amazed how much of a difference a core makes!
It probably doesn't fit your eye because it's not the normal storm roll. It looks more like a mid range Brunswick ball. Like a Versamax or a Melee. Probably a killer on low volume sport patterns
Good fair information
I like the proceed with caution advice. It’s a pretty ball but I think I’ll do the green Wolverine ball instead. Comparison for the mid late balls in the future? Thanks.
Yeah we're going to try to get the reaction sorted out first before we proceed with comparisons. Plenty of others out there that the Night looks good for, so we'll get it figured out, probably post a video about that process and then when it's in fighting shape, we'll do several comparisons
I don’t think strong covers match up well with the Hy Road core because the ball doesn’t know what it wants to be, the cover wants to get started early and the core wants to get down the lane so I think that’s what causes the somewhat confusing ball reaction… saw this on the Hy Road Max as well… I think a high road pearl is amazing and if you need something slightly stronger go to a Dark Moss… and one step up from that go to a Zen or a Cosmos
I think if they want a stronger Hy Road why not do a solid with maybe r3s
Couldn't agree more with the last statement. Never thought of getting a Zen Master because Zen was too snappy and thought a solid would be too over under for a solid. Got a Zen Master given to me, and have been lights out with it every time I find the right time to throw it
Hot take on this ball, this being just my opinion. This ball is gonna be really good on burnt up lanes, just stand left (or in your case luke stand right) and let the friction do the work cause this reaction is just so meh
Yeah it seems like it, it blends stuff really well, I just don't ever have consistent enough burn to be able to take advantage of something like this. Unfortunately because I'm always bowling on the fresh, I'm pigeonholed into a few balls and a few types of reactions generally
Way to go to put it back up my question is to Storm why did you polish it rather than the 4K fast in your video seems like a miss representation of the ball? I would understand a review with 4K fast then show it with polish so we could see for ourselves the reaction differences?
im excited for this ball. tried it at a current matchmaker event. and even though the drilling was a half inch shorter than my drilling it looked really good on our house shot. and im a high speed high rev player. low 18mph and between 475-500 rpm. And i loved my hyroad maxx lol
Just adding a comment when you got the ball out to the 2/3 board it came back strong.
ReX has looked really inconsistent reaction wise to me, maybe even depending on the batch. Sometimes it wants to be R2S and other times it wants to be NeX.
It's why I ended up getting a Code Master instead of going with a Dark Code.
I got mine 3-4 weeks ago here in the UK, mine was at 1500 Polish and look too jumpy, took a 4k pad to it and just knocked a bit of the shine off and it looks great now
I cannot remember the last time you said, “some stuff needs to warm up” on a review. Hmmm
I haven't exactly said it like that, but I have said before that there's a break in period for stuff. You usually have to throw stuff for several games to get it broken in. If you remember back to the days of urethane, people would always say you had to get a track in the ball, it's still the same way. Stuff breaks in, the edge gets taken off that box surface, then you really see what you have.
I really expected this ball to boom a little, I mean, a LOT more, kinda like the Spectre. Not that the spectre was the fastest ball but the Night Road is just spec slow. Maybe the weird hipsters who wanted a Spec Hyroad are happy now.
Angel's experience with the Night Road is very similar to my experience with the Hy-Road X. It was insanely inconsistent on fresh oil, and there were times it would randomly pick up early for no reason and boom through the face. What I figured out with that one is that it's actually far better in "carrydown" situations where it can stabilize itself. Unfortunately, as you said, it's tough when balls are expensive and they wind up pigeon-holed into a small "niche" role.
REX is weird. It seems like the cover itself was designed with polish in mind. I don't like polished stuff. Tend to go 4000 on most things I want to be cleaner, 5000 on burn balls. But the Dark Code I had was amazing polished on fresh. My Infinite is good at 3000, but it looks even better with polish, and once again, I can throw it polished on fresh oil.
And I don't like polished balls
I've seen a few reviewers get more downlane kick by polishing the Night Road, but the OG and HRP still pick up sooner and drive more. Then Chris Barnes had that thing absolutely flying off the spot.
I feel like REX is very blendy and allows the core to really dominate the reaction, so it comes down to matching up the core/layout to the bowler (though Angel's experience contradicts that theory). My reasoning though is how vastly different the reactions reviewers got from the Dark Code were. Looks great for you, super over/under and inconsistent roll for other people. And then look at Tamer's videos of the Infinite. Looks good for him and Bryan, but their high rev guy, it looks like the Night Road does for you and Angel. Wants to roll out or lazily hit, with the occasional overhook. Some good ones mixed in. Night Road looked good for all 3 of them.
It's weird. All 3 balls with REX so far have some people absolutely loving them, and other people struggling to get the same reaction twice out of them.
I would like to see the Parallax cover on something else though and see if that has similar problems as the REX or not
100% agree with you on ReX being strange. Left my own comment about it, but then just saw yours.
All 3 releases so far in my eyes have been inconsistent with their reactions.
With the box finishes being really inconsistent lately, makes you wonder if there could also potentially be a batch issue for ReX. At this point I'd rather see Traction X7 again before another ReX ball
Looks like such a mixed bag- good for some but awful for others. It’ll probably look good for me cause I throw it like Angel and I bowl on high friction lanes. But I have a lot of stuff that’ll be better in situations the Night comes into play, and that’s more versatile. Just seems like strong covers on the Fe2 core aren’t good matchups. I would however love the U1S cover on the Fe2 core- call it the Mix Max. Really want a spare ball with a core without having to spend $200 for the Belmo one.
That's an idea, or even have Roto dig up the late roll 69 core from the Hysteria; almost the same numbers. Call it the versatile road or late track, idk
I know this is weird as it was a niche ball, but if I'm looking for a replacement for the HyRoad Max, would this work well? The Max worked well in the lanes that had high friction.
Shapes are a little different but it does have a similar kind of feel really, and I definitely think this will be good on higher friction because of how blendy it is
Man are you so right’ I can tell you did your homework in school😀
Basically it’s like my hi roads that I have now, I use to use mine when I rolled up 10 all the time because it found dry and oil, but since I’ve changed my bowling style I get the under/over as your describing the hy road as the same as the night road
I'm fairly certain polish and a rev rate putting it to the friction instead of up the friction is the key to the lock in this situation, I couldn't miss with it as long as my feet were lined up on the lane same goes for the rstx3 though for me. That balls oob surface was not at all for my taste hit the midlane and wanted to catch it quick but never did anything spectacular on the back end of the lane polish was the key. At least in the centers I've used it in so far. Too early to really get a grasp but the oob surface like I said didn't work for me from the get go
This is what the hyroad pearl did for me. Great for a few shots and then it puked. I used it for 15 games and it never got better in fact it got worse. The only hyroad that has matched up with me is the OG..
Thank you for telling us for awhile now to try different cover fininsh's before u give up on a ball. I love my iQ emerald but wanted something like it for earlier in the block. Got a iQ nano pearl and it was kinda eehhh for me at 1st plus I found when the conditions were right for it they were also right/better for my Phaze 2. After not using it much for a month or 2 I tossed 4k fast on it and while subtle change it gets way more use now.
I firmly believe y’all got a bad batch. Mine is NOTHING like this. What’s really infuriating is some of these slapdicks parroting what you said and they don’t even have the damn ball.
This thing was lights out for me at the demo day. Have a good feeling about it for me - I slow roll it too, but unlike Angel it also reacted well. I threw it once some of the stronger stuff had been used on the lane, not on fresh.
Yeah that's why I recommended talking to other people and hitting up matchmakers, I'm not sure our experience is representative of the ball as a whole, but some balls are like this, they can be kind of polarizing.
I'm hoping for some Storm Fate news in the future.
It would be nice to see James throw the Night Road.
This was one that I decided to pass on... I haven't gotten along well with Road-series balls for a while now (really favoring the Hyped line instead for weaker resin pieces, especially the Hyped Pearl on the crispy-crispy stuff) and I was spooked enough from the HQ video (looked like a shape I'd get 9 with a whole lot) that I didn't see a pressing need to order one.
If mine acted at all like Luke and Angel's I probably would have thrown it in a dumpster halfway through filming LOL
4K Fast = garbage.
1500 grit polished = goated. Shine it up and see what's good. I typically hate sanded pearl balls anyway.
Yep that's definitely happening
@@LukeRosdahl I haven't thrown a 4K Fast ball yet but honestly that's not happening anytime soon. The Reacta Gloss is probably gonna have me skeptical at first as well.
I love this reaction
Luis napole absolutely killed it with this ball and was playing all over the lane so this ball is going to be a try it for yourself I guess
This ball has been so polarizing and every video of it seems to make it look different. I wonder if there was a bad batch and maybe you guys got ones from that batch? Certainly seems like the REX cover is not very consistent from ball-to-ball or even across multiple pours of the same ball. I watched Luis‘s video and this ball looks amazing, and Chris Barnes‘ video makes it look amazing too. However, then I watch your video and a few others and there’s no denying that for whatever reason this ball does not look good for a lot of people. Great video as always, and hopefully this is just the result of a manufacturing mistake or something like that.
Your description of the Night Road matches what I've seen with the Hy Road Max to a T. It's great some shots. But it's inconsistent overall. Sometimes it hooks like a pearl being quick down lane. Other times it hooks more like a solid being smoother. I also tried more surface and it didn't change much. But maybe using polish will make it consistently hook like a pearl. I'll give it a shot since the ball is falling out of my bag anyway after giving it multiple tries already.
Use the max in the 3rd game at 1000-1500 with carry down and clean house on your brackets
Why didn't James test it? Does the core not work for him or what? I think it would be great for higher rev people like James that can create their own power.
I haven't gotten along with Road-series balls for a while now tbh... and I was spooked enough from the HQ videos (super pretty shape, but that type of shape is one I get 9 with a TOOOOOOON) that I didn't really want to pay up to get my own. Luke and Angel tend to like Roads a lot more than I do so it made sense to have them test this one.
Personally, I like more early-rolling tumbley shapes so when Luke and Angel would be reaching for a HyRoad or HRP i'm usually pulling out my Hyped Pearl.
Unfortunately every time they release a Road ball with a stronger cover you can’t help but think that for that niche spot it looks good there’s also a more versatile ball that I’d rather be throwing
The R2S cover formulation and the Fe2 core in the original Hy-Road and the Hy-Road Pearl match up very well together. I had an All-Road and the Hy-Road X with the stronger covers, NRG Hybrid and R2X. But I never liked either of them. The cover and core just doesn't match up very well together. The stronger covered variants, Hy-Road X, All-Road, Hy-Road Max, and now the Night Road, are all pretty mediocre in comparison to the original Hy-Road and Hy-Road Pearl.
Very strange-it looks so different in all the other videos I’ve seen from people. I agree it doesn’t seem to roll well for either of you, but it also just looks so different compared to how it’s rolling for others. Interesting.
Well there's a handful of videos out there too that have it doing the same thing ours are, BUT yeah there's plenty out there that look great, so that's why I didn't crucify it. I had to be honest about what we're seeing, but I'm definitely not sold on ours being representative of the ball as a whole
@@LukeRosdahl I appreciate the honesty from what you 2 independently saw. I’d be really interested to see you polish yours, with Storm Step 2 compound, with Reacta Shine, and with their new Reacta Gloss there coming out. Seems like a ton of people are really loving the Night Road polished
Yep we're going to try all kinds of things. The shots that looked good looked really good and are exactly what I was hoping for, so I definitely want to try to get it sorted out
Thanks for showing this ball for all of us Southpaws.
This ball looks way too unpredictable.
Luke, there gave been comments that it just may be a bad batch, and that other reviews show a totaly different look/shape. Do you think that could be the problem?
This will be a love/hate ball.
Eh, every once and a while there's stuff that's kind of polarizing and end up being more matchup dependent, this might just be one of them. Might be just a surface adjustment too, who knows.
Maybe a 1500 grit polish or the new compound will look better. This is the second review I’ve seen showing this slow reaction. But I still have faith in this ball lol.
So just to recap, it’s going in your #1 bag with Zen Master and Fever Pitch…
Lol for now . . but damn, it looks too good on the shots it looks good on to just dumpster it and move on. We're going to make some surface adjustments and keep playing with them, plus have a couple more on the way to do some different things with.
Buddy of mine was testing this out during a ball demo. I couldn't get it to move. He was standing next to the ball return throwing 20 to 8 and still leaving the 9 pin And his speed is 20+ mph. Of course he has more hand than I do.
Imagine taking your ball to 4k fast on purpose!!
I'll be zillionth to ask Wolverine. Dark Code.
I'm curious how this will work out for me, I average 14.6 mph ball speed and the Dark code is my favorite ball out of the bag. I love my hyroad pearl and I have a feeling despite the inconsistencies I will have fun with this ball. Well until the USBC casting couch gives this ball the banhammer because they are brand racist against storm/Roto grip/900 Global
Heh, they ban a ball outright too easily because a _few_ balls are _slightly_ too soft. Minor Rex D discrepancies mean nothing among all the 'engines' and fancy aggressive covers balls have now. Those silly rules came back when people would soak plastic until it had a hardness of what, 35?
The Hyroad core and stronger covers never seem like a good combo. Feels like a niche reaction.
What's wrong with a niche. Hyroad max sanded to 1000 when there is carry down has paid for the ball 10 times over in winning all the brackets. Every one is different but it might be worth a try
Deja Vu.
Slightly stronger layout for the night road just to help that core get going or get into a roll in comparison to the OG HYROADS. Maybe a pinch stronger on that pin to make up for the laziness of the cover 🤔
Stronger than 4x2?? And it's the same core . .
I know I honestly don't think it's a core issue I think that cover isn't it. It needs some help. 4x2 looks good on the other roads in your video its just this one ball its needs some help I think that 4000 finish is part of the problem its lazy for that core but at the same time you hit it with 2000 meh made it gain some traction but I just think it needs a little more snap on the back not that much but just a pinch more to help make it a little more versatile since it's allergic to oil
I would try a fresh one out of box with a slightly stronger pin placement. It just seems like this ball doesn't understand what a hyroad is or understand how the family lineup of hyroads ot to work its having a midlife crisis. One minute it's a hyroad the next it's something else
I can't get any stronger with the pin without getting into an unfavorable zone though, stronger pin is just going to make it earlier and smoother. It flares plenty, so I don't think a little stronger on the layout is really going to accomplish anything
@@LukeRosdahl this is gonna sound crazy but maybe it's intended to be a smooth hockey stick..maybe not so much mid because even with angel it starts to flare nice in the mids on some shots but loses momentum at the pins..but at the same time it really doesn't like being played straight. Guessing 70x3 3/4" goes a little long sees some mid has some energy left kicks moderately hard at the break point to compensate for the 4k surface.
Maybe the Max sucked because the cover is too powerful for the “weaker” core?
The max is a dream at 1000 for low track players when you have carry down and the proton physics stops carrying.
And the core isn't necessarily weak it's just high rg .
It might look good on a short pattern? Or am I reaching🤣
Geez. I’m not gonna lie. That looked terribly inconsistent. Something always seems off when they do a weak core and strong coverstock. Even on paper, this ball just doesn’t fit anywhere.
Man that's disappointing I don't like REX. I have higer tilt I normally like quicker response balls
Very thorough review Luke. Really appreciate the honesty.
Damn, looks like me with my Helios. No thanks.
From what I've seen, the Night Road needs a lot of friction to look good. Since REX performs well on the Dark Code and Infinite Physix, it seems like the high RG FE2 core is just not a good match. REX needs a strong core to get the most out of it.
She don’t look real excited to be rolling it
It was a struggle to get through lol . .
@@LukeRosdahl I’m sure she needs to get that zen soul out and have happy shoots lol
I see what you mean by the random weak hits or strong hits. Looks like sometimes it just doesn't want to get into a roll and sometimes it wants to do it too early. Looks ok for others but we will see how it is for general consumers hands. I'm guessing super high friction houses will make this ball look good.
Yeah I think so. More friction will be better for this one it looks like
@@LukeRosdahl it looked the same to me on the bowlingballdotcom video. Some of them came back hard and some barely clipped the head pin.
The youtube algorithm found your channel. I really like it but you speak too fast with too many words.
Eh, may not be the channel for you then, pretty much every video is like this lol . .
@@LukeRosdahl no its great content. The bowling is good, good comparisons, good camera positions. Good editing. Just a bit too much verbage.
@@Daniel-cp2ps Yep I get it, it's definitely pretty heavy . .