Storm Dark Code Bowling Ball Video Review by Luke Rosdahl | 2 Testers (4K)

Storm Dark Code Bowling Ball Review 

Hello and thanks for joining us for another review, this one is for the Storm Dark Code.  We’re here once again at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence, KS on the house shot, all I have to do is send a text and they get us whatever we need, so thanks to Larry, Jessy, Rocky and the rest of the team, they’re a big part of helping us bring the reviews to everyone.

RAD 4 Asymmetric Core Is Back!

Angel’s layout is the same as always, 5 x 3 ½ x 3 ½, puts the pin above her bridge and kicks the psa out, and as a quick note here, the cherry delight scent is perhaps the best to ever come out of Utah.  The details on this one are all over the place, first of all the Code line is back, so the core is the super popular big asymmetric RAD 4 core.  At a 2.50 RG, .058 differential, and a .020 split or intermediate differential, this core is crazy strong, and creates an incredibly strong but round, rolly, and continuous motion on the lanes.  It gives you the consistency, stability and feel of a stronger symmetric ball, but with extra strength and torque. 

A New ReX Coverstock

The curveball is the new ReX cover, thought it was a typo, turns out it’s not a typo, it’s a blend of the NeX pearl cover from the Axiom Pearl, and the legendary R2S pearl cover from balls like the Hyroad Pearl, IQ Emerald, Code Black, and Astro Physix just to name a few.  As you can see, it’s really strong, but also pretty quick down lane.  What it really feels like to me, and to give people a more recent comparison, is a several board stronger Astro PhysiX.  I’m gonna fanboy here, but the blending of these two covers is genius.  NeX is really responsive for how strong it is, and R2S is really CONSISTENT for how responsive it is, so what they did is take a very strong and blendy cover with an extra helping of friction response, and give it more friction response without really losing much, if any of the strength and blend, so basically what we have here is the Axiom Pearl cover with more boom, or if this perks your ears up more, it feels like the Zen cover on the Code core, that’s really what we’re dealing with here.  

Dark Code VS Overseas Code Extreme

Sliding sideways into the first comparison, we have the overseas Code Extreme.  The Code Extreme has NRG2 Pearl on it, NRG2 pearl is an evolution of the NRG or nano cover formula, very strong, it’s still very obviously the RAD4 core, but with the Dark’s ReX cover being so strong, we wanted to test it against another really strong cover with the same core to see exactly how strong it is.  These two look pretty similar, but the Dark is even a bit stronger and blends friction a little more, which indicates that it IS actually stronger than NRG2.  The Extreme is still pretty strong, I think the shape is a little more defined when it hits friction, but it slows down a little more after that, so more defined or visible, but not necessarily sharper.  

Dark Code VS Roto Grip UC2

The next comparison is to the UC2, because it seems like the UC2 is what everyone wants to compare the new stuff to, it seems to have become kind of the new default benchmark pearl ball.  The UC2 on video looks somewhat similar, but it’s really just because the amount of boards it covers down lane.  Angel has zero trouble getting the UC2 down the lane, but the Dark Code is a lot stronger overall, it’s SMOOTHER, but the amount of traction and strength it has makes it several feet earlier than the UC2 in addition to being a couple boards stronger.  The backend strength of the UC2 can hide a lot of the strength difference visibly, but traction or hook and friction response aren’t the same thing by a long shot.  

On the other side of the lane, the Dark Code was really difficult to get down the lane from straighter.  I actually had to learn a new feel which I think will be pretty beneficial in the long run, but I really had to work at getting the ball to stay on the left side of the head pin from this straighter zone.  I eventually got it worked out, but it was really uncomfortable.  The little softer 3rd arrow swing zone was more comfortable, but again, this is a really deceptively strong ball.  Like I said earlier, it reminds me of the Zen, just asymmetric, which adds even more strength.  It’s shiny, and it kicks off the friction, but it’s already digging quite a bit through the oil.  Compared to a lot of the other videos, I’m really laying out of the Dark even as I get deeper.  I’m being very soft and very easy out of the ball to get it to do what it’s doing.  Other balls from this zone, even stuff like the RST, either because they’re easier down the lane or blend the friction more allow me to roll them a bit more, to get a little slower and put more hand into it, but if I do that with the Dark, it’s moving, and then when it hits friction it’s moving faster.  Again, like the Zen, it’s round enough that it doesn’t look like it’s as strong as it actually is, but it’s getting work done.  

Code Zero VS Dark Code

Now we’re going to take a look at the Code Zero, which like the Code Extreme is an overseas ball, but it’s virtually a Code Black.  RAD4 core and R2S Pearl instead of the much stronger covers that are on the Dark and Extreme, just with different colors from the Black which should help you tell the difference between the two a bit easier.  The Zero is a lot easier to get down the lane from straighter.  It pops a bit more down lane than the Dark, but that makes sense, much weaker and more responsive cover.  It’s going to clear the fronts easier and have more energy stored for a sharper move.  It’s still strong, don’t get me wrong, but I think it’s obvious how much less I have to fight it from straighter angles.  Once I move in a little it looks even better, but again, I’m able to put a lot more on it, I’m able to roll it and keep my rev rate up, where even at 3rd arrow I was having to kind of fluff it with the Dark.  From deeper angles, the Dark felt more comfortable, the Zero still would boom, but I had to help it a lot more.  Again, this all makes sense.  Cleaner and weaker cover on the Zero makes it more effective or easier to use from straighter angles, but the core keeps the overall ball motion, shape, and feel between the two very familiar.  

Dark Code VS Parallax Effect

Now because the most recent release in the Premiere line was also a strong asymmetric pearl, I’m going to show some shots of the Parallax Effect.  The RAD4 core is stronger and earlier overall than Aeroflo, but Aeroflo creates a more shape, or at least in the Effect.  Both very diggy covers, both very difficult for me to play straighter with, but the shapes couldn’t be more different.  The Dark at least wants to be cleaner, and is definitely rounder, it hits the lane rolling strong but is still a pretty even arc throughout the lane, or it has the same general look from the line to the pins.  The Effect lopes for the first 25 or 30 feet, but as soon as it hits the midlane and sniffs any friction, it immediately tries to stop and go sideways.  I think it’s even a bit more dynamic than the Dark, the higher RG of the core makes it try to get down the lane a little easier, but there’s still a ton of torque there, and with the Traction X7 cover being of similar strength to ReX, it’s still getting “traction” as early as the Dark is, the cores just create the major differences in shape between the two balls.

Storm Dark Code Ratings For Hook, Length and Backend

For ratings, the Dark is a 9 for hook potential, I’m actually going to bump the Effect up to a 9 while we’re at it, even shiny these covers are just so strong, a 5 for length, and a 7 for backend strength.  The Dark Code is that Code Black, Astro PhysiX type shape people have been missing amped up to 9000, and it releases with the UFO Alert on June 18th.  It’s closest to the RST X-1 on hook, the Parallax Effect on length, and the Zen on backend strength.  Select the next comparison you’d like to see from the links on the screen or scroll down to the description to find links to other choices.  Thanks for watching and may the strikes be with you.