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The Match Up(solid)
Review Date: 22 August 2017
Reviewed by:
Storm/Roto Grip staffer John Brockland
Style: Stroker Rev Rate: 280-310
PAP: 5.5" over and 1" up
A few years back I had
become a big fan of the WIPE
OUT, a part of the Hot Line
in the Storm arsenal with a
simple symmetrical Turbine
core and Storm’s famous R2STM
solid reactive
coverstock.
The ball was great
for me on STL house shots as
well as lighter volume and
some versions of PBA Cheetah
and other short sport
patterns.
The one I had
eventually cracked and I
have been looking for a
replacement for it in my bag
for quite some time without
much success.
The MATCH UP solid, however, is
a different story.
It's a tweak on the
Stinger core as the original
MATCH series – a relatively
simple symmetrical core shape.
The tweaking that results
in the Stinger 2.0 core seems to
have occurred in the disc or
puck at the bottom of the core
as pictured.
Whatever the specific
difference in design may be,
Storm says it “offers more flare
potential…more entry angle and
better pin carry.”
That’s exactly what I’ve
seen and, for me, it seems to
make just enough difference.
The RG only differs 2.55 to 2.57
but more impactful for me is the
increase in the Diff from 0.030
to 0.035.
This is what produces
the increased flare.
Compared to the WIPE
OUT's 2.53 RG and 0.040 Diff it
makes sense that I'm seeing more
of what I was looking for than I
did with the original MATCH
(solid).
In part because the MATCH UP
comes at a factory finish of
1500-grit polish, I get easy
clean motion through the front
part of the lane even on older
and very worn STL wood lane
surfaces.
The Reactor solid cover,
which Storm rates as weaker than
R2S solid, is still strong
enough with the companion flare
potential produced by this core
that it will sufficiently
navigate the sometimes extra
volume in the middle of the lane
which STL proprietors often
provide to compensate from some
of the challenges of their worn
wood surfaces.
Most importantly, as a
result, I'm getting shape down
lane and good motion through the
pins that one needs for scoring.
I have exactly the same layout on my MATCH UP as I had on the WIPE OUT which I was looking to replace. All in all, the MATCH UP is fitting in the arsenal right where I needed it to. The layout specs come to 60x5x70.
A regular league bowler in the STL would find the MATCH UP useful if you’re looking for something on the medium to weaker end of your bowling arsenal. It would help someone who prefers to take a pretty much down and in approach to the lanes to be able to stay in the same zone throughout a league set if a stronger, higher performance ball which with you might start the night begins to get you into trouble.
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