Wipe Out
Review Date: 24 June 2014
Reviewed by:
Storm/Roto Grip staffer John Brockland
Style: Stroker Rev Rate: 280-310
PAP: 5.25" over and 1" up
The WIPE OUT is the newest solid addition to Storm's Hot Line. Along with the PUNCH OUT (pearl) it is a follow up to the successful hybrid LIGHTS OUT. The coverstock is R2S™ solid reactive which is also found on the very popular 1Q TOUR EDITION as well as the soon to be released HYROAD SOLID.
What makes the WIPE OUT different from those other solid options from Storm is that it is built around the Turbine™ core. This is the same medium RG core that provided steady, controllable performance in the TROPICAL HEAT. It has a lower differential producing less flare and a less dynamic ball reaction than the upcoming HYROAD SOLID and a higher differential producing more flare than the !Q TOUR EDITION. With a higher RG, though, it doesn't read nearly as early as the !Q TOUR always has for me.
The layout I put on my WIPE OUT is one that has most often provided me a pretty smooth rolling ball reaction over the years but one that I had never really experimented with on a solid with a somewhat less dynamic core. The pin is under the center of the bridge and the CG is kicked out just a bit with a 1" weight hole at approximately P2. The specs come out to 60 x 5 x 70.
My first test drive with the WIPE OUT was on a house shot with heavy volume in the middle and somewhat tight back ends. The WIPE OUT performed just as I hoped. It allowed my to negotiate some of that heavy volume in the front part of the lane and still get it into a good enough roll through the midlane. The ball continued nicely and kept the pins relatively low which created some really nice carry particularly on half pocket and wall shot mixers. If I leaked it right and caught more dry than intended the combination of the somewhat tamer core and the layout resulted in good enough recovery without anything crazy happening. The WIPE OUT may be a first ball out of the bag for me when the time comes for house shot leagues to start this fall.
I also had opportunity to give the WIPE OUT a whirl on the Shark pattern on original Pro Anvilane after a PBA Experience league session was completed with six on a pair. My guess was that the WIPE OUT might be a little too weak for me to get the best look in that circumstance but it actually performed pretty well. Given the way it handled that volume on that hard surface, it may be a good weapon on medium to medium-heavy volume flat patterns when more dynamic balls are a little too volatile and something smoother and more controllable is the ticket. In some ways it reminded me a little of my pin in the palm DISTURBED from Roto Grip.
At its price point, I think the WIPE OUT is a good recommendation for a league bowler if you're looking for something new for this fall and your bowling center tends to be a little more on the slick side.
 
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