58.5 Hook 11 Length 16 Breakpoint Shape

Manufacturer’s Intent: “The intent behind the Reign of Power was to expand our Thunder line with a strong symmetrical shape that would handle heavier oil, especially tournament shots like the Open Championships — hence the strong 1000-grit surface preparation and the PFT solid coverstock, which really reads the midlane,” says Steve Kloempken of Storm Products.

Core Design: The Cam symmetric core, which powers the ball, also was used in the Reign (October 2009) and Reign of Fire (February 2010). The RG is 2.57 and the differential .048. We saw nearly 6 inches of track flare during testing. The shape and core numbers scream “aggressive back-end motion.”

Coverstock: The Reign of Power’s PFT solid reactive coverstock is aggressively factory sanded with 360 grit, then with a quick hit of 1000 grit. Both of our test balls measured 1365 effective surface grit with a 48.25 Ra value. Colors are a mix of sky blue and purple. Oil traction is well above average and response time is moderately quick.

Test Results: The Reign of Power handled any and all of our heavily oiled patterns. The motion shape was strong in the midlane due to the aggressive low-grit sanding, yet the breakpoint had surprising angularity. This version hooked 3 to 5 boards more overall with a stronger mid-lane presence than an old Reign of Fire. Hitting power and pin carry were very good until we blew the pattern wide open, which didn’t take all that long. Once blown open, we found our typical 2-and-1 lane adjustments weren’t enough; we had to make 4-and-2 moves inward with feet and target. Eventually, our lateral moves gave way to “balling down” to help conserve down-lane energy.

When to Use: With the strong mid-lane and back-end read afforded by the PFT cover and low factory grit, our speed-dominant testers were unable to overshoot their breakpoint. Our lower rev tester also found extended uses as the ball displayed above-average continuation though fresh and carrydown-laden heavier oil patterns. Our higher pin at 5 inches gave us a couple of feet more length than our 4-inch pin positioned below the fingers.