Roto Grip Gem Bowling Ball

Drilled up my new Roto Grip Gem with a pin up layout of 5 x 5 x 1 1/2, as suggested by my ball driller. I am more of a speed dominant player and my axis tilt is about 20 degrees. We decided to put some polish on the ball before even throwing it down the lane, as I wanted it to compliment my Reality, which has very similar numbers, but wanted to see a different shape. Once I threw it a couple of shots, I cracked the polish with a 4000 pad and this ball just never quit! I was able to use it for most of my squads at the Southern Rhodman this past weekend and just kept moving left. This ball never seemed to lose energy and is exactly what I was missing in my bag!!

Ball Specs: Roto Grip Gem Micro Trax Solid Reactive Asymmetric Defiant LRG Core Finish grit 2000 Sanded Bowler Specs: Right Hand. PAP 5” Over 1/2 up Rev Rate 300. Tilt 20. Rotation 50. Speed at release 17 Review: This ball hooks! I am becoming more and more impressed with the Roto Grip Gem as I bowl with it. This ball out hooks everything I have including the Proton Physics. When I drilled my first Gem I left it at box finish and it was super strong and hit hard but I had to put it away quickly because as the lanes broke down it was too strong up front an lacked a bit of hit as I moved inside. I have since drilled another one weaker and polished it. The polish makes it look even better and makes it a more angular piece. This was after trying a 5000 wet sand finish which I really like also. The bit of polish helps me stay with this ball longer on heavy oil and I never loose angle. The Gem polished is still an early revving aggressive ball. I still have to ball down sometimes because this ball is so strong. The ball looks great going down the lane and even though it is multi-color I still can see the roll and motion very well on it. Strong balls are easy to sell and we have moved a good bit so far and the customer feedback it very good. This ball never seems to skid too far and reads the breakpoint easily due to the strong core and cover enhancements Roto Grip has made. I am very happy to have this ball and have already had some big numbers with it. Summary: The Gem hooks early and doesn’t stop. The Ball has a great look. This is a must have if you need a heavy oil ball. Glenn Wendel PBA Member Storm Pro Shop Staff gwendel@comcast.net www.stormbowling.com

I drilled my Gem with a pin under layout of 30 x 4.5 x 70. The intent is to have something that is smoother than my PROTON PHYSIX and NOVA when the condition calls for staying on line with a strong ball. I have only thrown it box finish. I threw my GEM on a 46 foot PBA pattern and on a league condition that always starts tight outside then breaks down in the fronts quickly. On the 46 foot pattern, the GEM was quick even with the pin down layout. I ended up having to separate my feet and target too much to carry well so I had to put it away. My NOVA was better on this pattern to carry with. On the league condition, the GEM's strong cover just ate thru the heavier oil. When it came time to move, the GEM was too much ball and just moving left into where everyone else had been playing made me have to get out of it quickly. So what I can see so far is the GEM is very strong. It is right on par with the PROTON and REALITY as far as big hitters go. The few pin up lay outs I have seen go down lane are very continuous and don't quit. So if you want a big cover/engine ball that will cover some boards and hit well, then drill a GEM up!

Solid ball. Good read of lane in the middle with a soft back that hits hard.

The Gem is Roto Grip’s newest HP4 line, which is a MONSTER. It comes with the Defiant LRG Core, the lowest RG asymmetrical Roto Grip has ever made, and it is wrapped around the MicroTrax Solid cover and is finished with 2000 Abralon. I drilled mine 5.5 x 5 x 5 which is a little weaker than I normally do because I knew how strong this ball was going to be. I’ve been throwing this ball for awhile now and even with the weaker drilling the ball is still super strong. I compared the Gem to my favorite pin down symmetrical heavy oil ball the Idol Helios. My Gem and Idol Helios are within a couple boards with the Gem being a little smoother on the back compared to the Helios. This also shows you how strong the Gem actually is since the Helios is a lot stronger than the Gem. If you are in the market for a new heavy oil ball, tournament ball or just wants something to hook a ton, well you need to pick up the Roto Grip Gem !

The Roto Grip Gem is a big, bright, flashy asymmetrical hook monster that was just released from Roto Grip. It’s the newest addition to the HP4 line and this ball hooks! The wizards at Storm headquarters developed the lowest RG asymmetrical core Roto Grip has ever created with the Defiant LRG core. On the outside, they wrapped it with the MicroTrax coverstock to create a strong, early hook, specifically designed for heavier oil conditions. With an RG of 2.47, differential of .053, and PSA of .016, the Gem is a perfect ball for straighter players who want to may need a ball to roll early for them, a tournament player for patterns with heavier volumes, or league bowlers who need a ball to blend the wet/dry conditions that house patterns can create. I’ve drilled one so far and think it rolls great. I mapped it out as 4 ½ x 3 ½ x 75. This puts the pin below my bridge and the mass bias about two inches to the right of my thumb. I’ve been able to use it in league as well as heavier volume tournament conditions. The Gem rolls early, heavy, and forward, which can be extremely useful in a tournament or league bag. If you feel like you’re missing a heavy rolling asymmetrical ball that can be used on several types of conditions and useful for all types of players, the Roto Grip Gem should be the next ball you drill!

This thing is Suuuuuuper Rolly This ball is extremely strong. It’s definitely earlier than the Proton Physix and Reality. This ball will be great to blend those super clipped house shots. This will also be a great piece on those patterns with a lot of volume in the front and not a lot of taper towards the end of the pattern. It will help control the breakpoint. Lastly I want to say that even though this ball is early and rolly, It still has some pop down lane to help get the corners out!. Other balls getting a lot of play: Dark Code-4x6x2 UFO Alert-4.5x5x3.75 Altered Reality-4.25x5.25x2 Phaze4-4x5x2

The Roto Grip Gem features the MicroTrax cover and the Defiant core. Out of the box this ball was a hook monster and forced me into the 4th or 5th arrow on a fresh house shot. After a few games the cover settled down a bit for me and this is where the ball really began to shine. It allowed me to play from different parts of the lane depending on ball speed and hand position. I could move left and slow wheel it or move right, add some speed, and take some hand out of the ball. I compared the Gem to the Reality, and it was earlier and smoother by 2-3 boards. The Reality had more down lane motion. I also compared to the Helios and the Helios was 5-7 boards weaker. Compared to the Nova, it was earlier and smoother and about 4-5 board stronger. The Nova has more down lane shape similar to the Reality but a step down from both. Overall, the Gem is going to allow you control the lane with its controllable reaction. Tobias Myers #RotoGrip

Cover: MICROTRAX™Solid Core: DEFIANT™ LRG Finish: 1500 Polish RG: 2.47 Diff: 0.053 Int. Diff: .016 Right-Handed Tweener Speed: 12-13 mph Rev Rate: 315 PAP: 4 7/8 Right 3/8 Up Ball Layout: Pin in Ring 4 1/2 X 4 1/4 X 3 VLS The Roto Grip Gem is going to live up to a pretty incredible amount of hype. I am always skeptical when I see "hookingest ball ever" type posts. I will say right now, I have never thrown a ball that hooks more than the gem. I was a big fan of the Defiant series balls so I was happy to see the Defiant core come back. Wrapping it in Micro trax has created an absolute hook monster. I am beyond grateful that my home center is using a high volume house pattern this year. First night out with the gem, it took me most of practice to figure out that I needed to stop trying to make my gem hook and just let it hook. Once I did that I felt like it could throw it anywhere to the right and get it back. My only 2 non strikes were both shots that I threw bad enough that the ball had no chance of getting right. On a pattern that has made me hyper aware of how the ball is coming off my hand it was unbelievably fun to just relax and let the ball go. The Gem is going to be the go to "hook in a box" in every shop. Tame the wettest conditions, get the max hook for your customers that struggle to get the ball to turn over. This ball has a huge footprint and you can't oil them too much for it.

Hey everyone, this is Storm staff member Josh Shoemaker here again with another ball review for the brand new Roto Grip GEM. As always, I would like to thank Storm for providing the equipment I use every time I step out onto the lanes and I Am Bowling for making sure I always look good no matter what! Today I will be bowling on a standard medium to higher volume house shot. This lane was just oiled with a fresh house shot. The GEM features Roto Grips lowest RG asymmetric core to date and is wrapped in microtrax solid. I will be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the color scheme on this ball. It’s a little tougher for my eyes to pick up ball motion when the colors are so vibrant. What I will say is I absolutely love what I see out of this ball so far. With how stable and early revving this core is, I expected it to slow down extremely quick and have next to no shape downlane. When balls do this, they tend to not go through the pins properly unless you’re on a ton of volume or crispy backends. The GEM provided me all the control I could need and wasn’t too lazy when it encountered friction downlane either. I’ve worked a lot lately on staying more compact as well as lowering the amount of axis rotation I use to help close down my angles more. The GEM does exactly what I want a ball to do on the fresh. It be amazing at blending out higher ratio patterns and controlling the pocket on tougher tournament patterns. I decided to go with a different layout than I usually do on my bigger and slower response asyms since I just recently drilled a fresh Proton PhysiX and didn’t want to see too much overlap. The GEM wants to go a little more forward off the end of the pattern and will play much better with closed angles whereas my Proton will do better from a little farther left. When compared to the RST-X1, the GEM is much earlier, stronger and creates a lot more friction overall. When compared to the Rubicon, the GEM is two steps up in terms of strength and friction created. Be sure to stop into your local Storm VIP Pro Shop and preorder your own GEM today for the March 11th release date! Review Video: https://youtu.be/M1czqgx23tc