Storm Spectre Bowling Ball Review | With A Left & Right Hand Bowler

an in depth breakdown of storms newest bowling ball - the spectre

Hello and welcome to another review, this one is for the intriguing Storm Spectre Bowling Ball

Featuring the new symmetric Vector core and rarely seen R3S Pearl cover. Storm Products, Turbo Grips, Bowler’s Mart, Coolwick, SRGBBFS on Facebook, and Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence, KS sponsor the videos, wouldn’t be here without them, follow the links in the description and end of the video to BowlersMart for your bowling needs, that lets them know I sent you, my code Rosdahl10 gets you 10% off your purchases at Coolwick like the awesome jerseys we’re wearing, and the SRGBBFS group on Facebook is your one stop destination for all things SPI, specializing in used, rare, and international equipment.

The Spectre is the latest release in the Thunder line, which is a little surprising, it’s the first release we’ve had since the Rocket Ship I think that hasn’t been a Hyroad or urethane.

Last time we saw R3S Pearl was on the Intense, the hybrid version is currently on the Phaze 3. The Vector core is obviously related to the Tensor core from the Incite, but with a quite a bit higher RG at 2.54 and a slightly lower differential at .050 in 15 pounds. The RG is what I think puts it in the Thunder line, but this is definitely a bang for your buck line placement. R3S Pearl is uniquely earlier, smoother, and stronger than the hybrid version, the relationship of the Intense to the Intense Fire was interesting and bucked the prevailing notion that hybrids are always earlier and smoother than pearls. I myself have said the pearl-hybrid-solid relationship does actually exist and is relevant within the same formula, typically following the traditional idea, but the Intense for me was quite a bit earlier and chuggier than the Fire which was pretty clean and sharp, and the Phaze 3 with R3S hybrid is also extremely strong on friction. This cover core combo gives the Spectre kind of a wild reaction, the cover is pretty strong, but the medium and bordering on high RG keeps it from moving as early as it looks like it wants to. This gives the impression that it’s the traction and shape from the cover that’s winding the core up, and usually it’s the other way around, the core revs and then when the cover catches some friction, it takes off. This is the cleanest I’ve seen R3S pearl, and we’re both kind of stunned. It starts off pretty sharp out of the box, a bit over/under, but after 6 or 7 games it gets really nice, we’re both huge fans of this one already.

Think Zen that’s a couple feet longer and a bit weaker, or Hyroad Pearl that’s a bit earlier, stronger, and smoother.

The higher RG doesn’t really create any loping, it’s incredibly reminiscent of the Sky Rocket for those that remember that one. Stronger of course, but big time Sky Rocket vibes.

For Angel we’re comparing it to the Trend 2 for now, a Spectre vs Wolverine video is coming soon, I know there’s a lot of interest there. Same RG at 2.54, quite a bit lower diff at .041, and NRG hybrid is stronger than R3S Pearl, but not a ton. The Trend 2 rolls later, but is sharper, or at least it looks that way. The backend transition is definitely more pronounced, while the Spectre, once we got some games on it, got pretty round and almost blendy. The shapes are definitely different, I think the Trend 2 is also the stronger ball, and the Spectre is more at home from straighter angles while the Trend 2 was built to cover boards so I think this is another case of a couple great compliments rather than competition.

You two handers take note, I think this is going to be a god ball for the high rev crowd,

but it’s obviously pretty great for the lower speed and rev crowd too.

Also apparently for lefties, while we’re at it. This one fits well, and I wasn’t expecting it to at all, or I was on the fence about it anyway. I don’t get along with higher RGs on the left, with no track to speak of, I need control in the mids badly, higher RG balls are usually too much skid and too much shape and there’s already more shape on this side than is necessary. I was expecting a whole lot more strength out of this one due to the cover, which has always been pretty strong, early, and chuggy, but on this ball, it’s really clean and then smooth. It’s incredibly stable, and while it doesn’t really rev persay, it just rolls and rolls, very easy to control and while occasionally it never quite gets going or pushes too far, it’s not like it just blows through the breakpoint and that’s something I can work with. Stuff that’s too strong or too sharp usually doesn’t work out, but something this buttery just needs to be walked in right down the side, and especially especially if I have a little tug room, that’s a major perk because tug room doesn’t exist on the left side the vast majority of the time. On the right side, if you tug it 3 or 4 boards, you’ve got a chance, if you tug it 3 or 4 on the left, you’re going brooklyn, so any time a lefty has any kind of extra room in the middle, they’re going to be dangerous and not only does this ball give me that, it actually lets me play to fade or walk it out to a certain degree and that makes my righty brain relax. I do have to bang on it a little extra when I get deeper because it does want to breeze down the lane, but I’ve got other balls for that and have no reason to get this deep when it’s such a ridiculous look from straighter.

Comparing it to the Phaze 3, the P3 obviously revs up quicker and is stronger overall.

The P3 has a much lower RG at 2.48 but a similar diff at .051, and the hybrid version of the same R3S cover formula. Now while the Spectre is quite a bit cleaner and moderately weaker than I expected, you can still see that despite the Phaze 3 being stronger than the Spectre, it’s also sharper. I’m not surprised at the difference, I’m just surprised at how big the difference is, and it’s especially pronounced the deeper we get. I’m a huge fan of R3S period, I love the P3 on both sides of the lane, and the Spectre is the perfect compliment for if the P3 is too strong, sharp, or both.

The Spectre releases with the Nova on January 14th, make sure to check out our review for the Nova as well if you’re looking for a balanced daily driver asym. We’re both really big fans of this one, it reacts better than we expected, and I really hope it ends up being as popular as it should be. Thanks for watching and may the strikes be with you.

storm spectre bowling ball

Out of stock

Storm Spectre Bowling Ball

Color: Crimson/Iron
Coverstock: R3S Pearl Reactive
Weight Block: Vector Core
Factory Finish: 1500-Grit Polished
Flare Potential: Med-High
Radius of Gyration (RG): 15lbs – 2.54
Differential (Diff): 15lbs – 0.050
Intermediate Diff: NA
Fragrance: Candy Cane Cookie