Top 10 Bowling Balls Since 2005 (Balls 6 – 10)

By Michael Cousins

Today, we’re going to be looking back at some of the best bowling balls of all-time. Now, compiling a list that extensive would be very difficult to do, so we decided to look at more of what I would like to call “modern legends.” All of these balls were released in 2005 or later.

We are going to start our countdown at number 10 and work our way up. In this article, we will be counting down from 10-6 and in tomorrow’s article we will reveal our top 5! But before we get started, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions that narrowly failed to make it into our top 10:

Roto Grip Cell/Cell Pearl, Motiv Venom Shock and Primal Rage, Brunswick Versa Max, Columbia 300 Momentum, Track 505c and 505a
Now, let’s begin our countdown!

10) Hammer Blue Vibe/Onyx Vibe; released 2006/2009

Hard to break these two up. In terms of overall performance, they were very, very close. I had an equal amount of success with both of them. The entire Vibe series was an amazing value, but these two stand above them all. These covers, with the right amount of surface, were, without a doubt, the strongest covers ever put on low end, entry level bowling balls. There were plenty of tournaments that I used both the Onyx and Blue vibes on the fresh.

9) Ebonite Mission; released 2010

The original Mission was an incredible bowing ball. From a personal standpoint, I probably had more success with this ball than any other bowling ball. It was a very strong, predictable, even rolling ball. Also, there was just something magical about seeing the ruby red pearl rolling down the lane.

8) Brunswick Vapor Zone; released 2005

Without a doubt the most underrated and undervalued ball on this list. Talk about incredible ball motion. It was the Hyroad of its time. Every company wanted to have one in their line. And they all tried, but they all failed. This ball was so ahead of its time that it is hard to put into perspective.

7) Storm Marvel Pearl; released 2011

Bowlers, you’re lucky; this one is coming back! The strongest symmetrical pearl I have ever thrown. This ball reads the body of the lane as well as any pearlized ball ever produced. When people ask me about this ball, I always same the same thing: “it’s perfect.”

6) Storm IQ Tour; released 2012

Other than the Gamebreaker, this is easily the next most versatile ball I have ever personally owned. Again, like the Gamebreaker, you can use this ball on literally anything. Personally, I’ve probably owned 10 of these by now, and I can’t remember a single one of them not being incredible.