The Asylum
Review Date: 6 January 2014
Reviewed by:
Roto Grip staffer John Brockland
Style: Stroker Rev Rate: 280-310
PAP: 5.25" over and 1" up
One of the things I most appreciate in a bowling ball manufacturer is when they know they have something that works and the spend their energy enhancing that already good thing in a new release. I prefer a pattern of reliability in a company's new releases - where what comes next just makes sense - rather than always being left guessing whether some crazy new core shape they've released is going to perform well for me or not.
With the ASYLUM Roto Grip has again proven themselves the bowler's trustworthy friend by taking two balls that have proven to be great performers for many of us and combining them in a new release that is even more versatile and useful! The guts of the new ASYLUM is the Middle Roll70TM core - the same smooth-rolling, continuous shot-shaping guts as the DISTURBED (solid) and the DERANGED (pearl). In the ASYLUM it is wrapped with a hybrid coverstock - the grit here is the 63MH TM - numerically rated a little weaker than the DISTURBED and a little stronger than the DERANGED. The new hybrid cover comes at box finish of what I'd call a strong 3000-grit abralon.
I found both the DISTURBED and the DERANGED so useful for my stroker game that I automatically drilled two ASYLUMS with the same favorite layouts I have on the others. One is stacked under the ring finger - a layout which for me creates a good smooth controllable reaction with just a little pop through the pins. The other is an old favorite layout of mine for more length and more angle (pin about 1 inch above the ring, 4.25 from PAP, with about a 601 drilling angle). The result couldn't have been more predictable, or more satisfying to me. The ASYLUM is exactly what I'd envision a hybrid of the other two balls to be! I adjusted the cover on both of mine with a wet 4000 grit abralon pad applied over box finish. That's made them nice and clean through the front part of the lane, even on some burned up wood heads I've had to deal with in recent tourneys. Maybe even a little more than its HP-3 line relatives, the ASYLUM will for sure turn some heads with the way it goes through the pins.
For the most part, on both sport and house patterns, when the DISTURBED just isn't cornering enough for me the ASYLUM has been a great go-to ball. Vice-versa when the DERANGED has been a little too jerky off the breakpoint and gotten me into high/light or wet/dry kinds of carry problems or when the DERANGED is just a little too clean in getting to the break point, an ASYLUM with the same layout has been the right thing at the right time. The release of the ASYLUM makes the HP-3 sector of the Roto Grip lineup a pretty darn good, complete arsenal in itself for most moderate range lane conditions!
For an average league bowler, it's become my opinion over time that hybrids prove to be the best benchmarks balls. They are not hyper-resistant to oil and they are also not hyper-reactive to dry. If you've been finding yourself a little frustrated with the ball you have in your hand and if you want something new that will be trustworthy, perform well, give you some great carry power with those corner pins, and at the same time not go crazy on you --- drill up an ASYLUM. I predict you'll be crazy about it!
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