The Totally Defiant
Review Date: 5 August 2013
Reviewed by:
Roto Grip staffer John Brockland
Style: Stroker Rev Rate: 280-310
PAP: 5.25" over and 1" up
For several months I have felt that the Roto Grip lineup was badly in need of really good pearlized options in addition to the SHATTER. The microbite technology in the pearl cover of the DEFIANT EDGE had most often created a hook/stop reaction for me that I seldom found helpful. Consequently, along with the DERANGED, the TOTALLY DEFIANT is a ball I've been waiting for a while.
It is built around the same guts as the very successful DEFIANT SOUL (77H™ hybrid) - its standout companion in the HP-4 (highest hook potential) sector of the Roto Grip lineup. As in its hybrid counterpart, the assymetrical Paragon™ core of the TOTALLY DEFIANT performs as one might expect - clean through the front part of the lane, not sluggish at all at getting into a good roll, and providing strong entry angle into the pins when the ball makes its move. The TOTALLY DEFIANT's 74MH™ pearl cover is every bit as strong as its numbers indicate and, in my opinion, it is heads and tails a better pearl than its predecessor the DEFIANT EGDE. It is not bashful in the presence of a substantial volume of oil and when it catches some dry it reacts strongly and powerfully without wearing out before it hits the pins. No hook/stop ball reaction from this one! The MH (medium/heavy) grime rating that Roto Grip gives it is by no means an overstatement regarding the TOTALLY DEFIANT! Its 83 guts rating is right on target, too. It's every bit as strong as the DEFIANT SOUL.
My first outing with the TOTALLY DEFIANT was on a whim during a practice session on the 2013 InsideBowling.com Open pattern (29ml, 44 ft, 2.31 to 1 ratio). I was expecting the pearl cover of the TOTALLY DEFIANT to cause it to hydroplane and spank the 3-6 in the face, but I was really surprised instead by how it didn't simply squirt right but hung in there through the volume of the pattern and even moved through the pins effectively when it got to the end of the pattern. It was not covering boards on that heavy volume slick-playing pattern by any means, but it hung in there and created pop off the end of the pattern that was really impressive.
The next outing was another practice session - this time after a trio league had bowled four games on a hooking house shot on a beaten up wood surface. There was a puddle remaining from the house pattern around 20 board but the track was "fricticious," to borrow a phrase that others have coined. What was impressive about the TOTALLY DEFIANT in that instance was that it allowed me to get deep into the puddle in the middle of the lane - even to 25 board - and attack the dry down lane without the ball wimping out on its move through the pins once it made its turn back to the pocket!
During these first weeks of testing, in a few situations I've thought the TOTALLY DEFIANT was going to be the ball of choice and instead I found it reacting a little bit too early for my taste - something similar to what happens for me sometimes with the WRECKER. It definitely needs volume and some length in a lane pattern in order for it to perform optimally. Nonetheless, I believe that it's a solid high performance pearl option that provides a great compliment to the DERANGED and the SHATTER for anyone who does a good amount of tournament bowling on a variety of patterns. If you're a league bowler, if your center's house shot is a heavier volume/ longer length pattern, and if a solid coverstock just doesn't give you quite the amount of hit you feel you need down lane try the TOTALLY DEFIANT. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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