52 Hook   14 Length   14 Breakpoint Shape

Core Design: The Serpentine symmetric core design also is used in the other two new Breeds (solid and pearl). The RG is medium at 2.52 and the Diff strong at .056. We saw 5” of track flare with the 3.5 and 4.5” pin distances.

Coverstock: The Leviathon particle pearl coverstock is factory-sanded with a 2000-grit Abralon. Coloring is a mix of neon green and black pearl. Responsiveness off dry was moderately slow and traction in oil was slightly above average.

Manufacturer’s Intent: “Our intentions for this ball were to create something that would fit between our New Breed Solid and New Breed Pearl,” says Jason Wonders, Visionary President. “The low-load non-abrasive particle allows the ball to create more friction in the oil than the pearl, yet still provide easier length than the solid. One of the ball’s best features is that you can make small surface adjustments to create significantly different reactions. With surfaces up to 1,000 Abralon, this ball will react similarly to a solid particle; adding a little polish will make the ball react like a pearlized reactive, so this Particle Pearl is like having three balls in one.”

Test Results: The New Breed Particle Pearl offers a smooth-rolling, hard-arcing breakpoint motion for most release styles. We saw no signs of skid/flip with any layout, nor with high polish applied. The high polishing reduced total hook and created more length, yet the breakpoint shape remained arcing. Even our higher rev rate testers saw smoothness off the breakpoint with higher pin locations located above the fingers. The ball also was very release friendly; we still saw similar ball path motion even with slightly missed releases.

When to Use: With the factory out-of-box finish of 2000, our best looks were on medium to medium-heavy volumes, and lengths of 42’ or less. On longer patterns, we didn’t quite see enough reaction off of the dry boards. On patterns between 35 and 42’, the NBPP read the fronts, midlane and backend portions of the lane much more favorably for our test group.

-- Joe Cerar Jr.