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Searching For The Best Bowling Balls
Bowling is a sport filled with iconic sights, sounds, and smells. It’s an immersive escapade for all of our senses.
Consider the bright strobe lights of the bowling alley, the cartoonish animations that play when you hit a strike, the smack of the pins hitting the hardwood, and the smell of overpriced hot dogs.
Yet there’s nothing as intrinsic to bowling as the feeling of your fingers slipping into a bowling ball that feels like it was built for you. Not every bowling ball can give you that feeling, but we’ve found the few that stand out from the pack.
We’ll run down our list of the 20 best bowling balls, assessing them on their finish, their price, their scale rating, and more.
What Features Make the Best Bowling Balls?
There are a few features that elevate a good bowling ball to the level of greatness that Pete Weber would expect.
The most obvious factor is the ball’s weight. This varies based on the user’s weight, but you’re going to want a ball that’s light enough for you to control while still being heavy enough to knock over the pins.
Other features include the ball’s coverstock – or protective skin – that affects how it interacts with the lane, its core, and the price.
These are all subjective qualities that change from bowler to bowler, but they’re all vital to how well you’ll perform with a given ball.
20 Best Bowling Balls
Unless you’re already enough of a bowling fanatic that you stream the NCAA bowling championships through pirated means, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to purchasing a bowling ball.
Why settle for less than the absolute best? Keep reading our ranking of the best bowling balls and find out which ones catch your eye.
#1 – Hammer Black Widow Ghost 15lb
Price: $149.95
Description
- CORE: Gas Mask
- COVERSTOCK: Aggression Pearl
- FINISH: 500, 1000, 1500 Siaair / Crown Factory Compound
#2 – Pyramid Path Bowling Ball
Price: $54.99 – $74.99
Description
| Sport Type | Bowling |
| Color | 1-Pink/Blue/Teal |
| Material | Polyester |
| Brand | Pyramid |
| Item Weight | 9 Pounds |
About this item
- Perfect for all ages and skill levels
- Polyester coverstock for straight shots
- Pyramid quality
- Perfect Scale Rating: 5.0
#3 – Radical Bigfoot 15lb
Price: $144.95
Description
- Coverstock: TP-1+ Pearl
- Core: Symmetric (DynamiCore)
- Finish: 500, 1000, 1500 Siaair / Crown Factory Compound
#4 – Brunswick Tzone Deep Space Bowling Ball
Price: $58.00 – $77.94
Description
- Coverstock: plastic/polyester
- Ball Finish: High Gloss Polish
- Hook potential: 25 (low) on a scale of 10-175 low-high
- Ball color: many colors available- product color of this ball is listed in the title of this ball
#5 – Motiv Venom Blue Coral 14lb
Price: $157.95
Description
- Weight Block: Gear APG
- Factory Finish: 4000 Grit LSS
- Coverstock: Coercion MFH Reactive
#6 – Motiv Mythic Jackal Bowling Ball- Black Solid/Bronze/Turquoise Pearl
Price: $214.95 – $275.46
Description
- Meet the Mythic Jackal, a new kind of hybrid, Our engineering goal with this ball was to create as much angle as possible while still providing true heavy oil performance attributes
- So often, shiny asyms are only ideal for moderate conditions so we set out to create a different kind of animal
- Now, when high volume patterns begin to transition and you need to create angle, the Mythic Jackal with 2:1 hybrid technology delivers exactly what you need
- The Predator V2 is the gold standard for high performance core design and it’s at the center of the Mythic Jackal
- It’s the same core found in the Jackal Ghost, the longest running asymmetrical bowling ball in the industry, now celebrating a 5-year anniversary
#7 – Motiv Pride 12lb
Price: $184.95
Description
- WEIGHT BLOCK: Dominion
- COVER STOCK: Coercion UCS Solid Reactive
- FINISH: 4000 Grit LSS
- Additionally, now that weight holes are illegal in competition, the asymmetric Dominion core will enable players to control ball motion more than most symmetric cores
#8 – Brunswick Tzone Frozen Bliss Pink/Blu/Wht 6lb
Price: $59.08
Description
- This Bowling Ball Ships Undrilled With No Holes Unless You Add Drilling Services, It’s Always Good To Have A Spare, And With T-Zones Being So Affordable, You Can!
- Just Pick Your Favorite Color, Or Two, Or Three! Great Ball For Kids, Beginners And Spare Shooting Cover Stock: Plastic/Polyester Ball
- Color: Many Colors Available- Product Color Of This Ball Is Listed In The Title Of This Ball Ball Finish: High Gloss Polish Hook Potential: 25 (Low) On A Scale Of 10-175 Low-High
- Recommended Lane Conditions: Any
#9 – Roto Grip Rubicon UC3 14lb
Price: $144.95
Description
- Weight Block: Rondure Core (Asymmetrical)
- Coverstock: Tour-ethane Pearl
- Factory Finish: 1000-grit Abralon
#10 – Storm Phaze 4 Bowling Ball – Royal Purple/Gunmetal/Medallion
Price: $169.95 – $242.76
Description
- Being one of the most aggressive symmetrical balls ever devised, your shots become more comfortable so you can bowl with effortless focus on your shot quality
- The Velocity Core is designed to help you play at pace with more revs, power and control, for true consistency
- This time, it focuses its power on the backend, where it matters most
#11 – Roto Grip Gem 14lb
Price: $197.00
Description
- Core: Defiant LRG Core
- Coverstock: MicroTrax Solid Reactive
- Factory Finish: 2000 Grit Abralon
#12 – Roto Grip Hyped Hybrid Bowling Ball – Chrome/Pink/Purple
Price: $114.95 – $176.96
Description
- Coverstock Name: VTC
- Core Name: Hyped
- Factory Finish: 1500 Grit Polished
#13 – Hammer Purple Pearl Urethane 15lb (BSFB21295052)
Price: $144.95
Description
| Brand | Hammer |
| Color | Purple |
| Item Weight | 15 Pounds |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 10 x 10 x 10 inches |
About this item
- Coverstock: Urethane Pearl
- Core: LED
- Lane Condition: Light to Medium Oil
- Item Package Weight: 17.0 pounds
#14 – Hammer Scorpion 13lb, Black/Red/Gold
Price: $134.99
Description
- CORE: LED 2.1
- COVERSTOCK: Semtex Hybrid
- LANE CONDITION: Medium to heavy oil
- Sport type: Bowling
#15 – Storm Trend 2 15lb
Price: $184.95
Description
- Coverstock: NRG Hybrid Reactive
- Core: Piston LD Core
- Factory Finish: 1500 Grit Polish
- Fragrance: Orange Meringue
#16 – Brunswick Rhino Bowling Ball
Price: $87.95 – $112.74
Description
- Product Type: Sporting Goods
- Item Package Dimensions: 22.86 L X 24.637 W X 21.843 H (Cm)
- Country Of Origin: Mexico
- Item Package Weight: 4.876 kgs
#17 – DV8 Hell Raiser Blaze Bowling Ball – Orange/Yellow/Black
Price: $155.04 – $218.16
Description
- CORE: Hell Raiser D. O. T.
- COVERSTOCK: Inciter Max Traction
- COVER TYPE: Solid Reactive
- FINISH: 500, 1000 Siaair Micro Pad
#18 – Brunswick Bowling Products 3D Offset Bowling Ball- Blazing Violet 15lbs
Price: $179.95
Description
- This is the 25th anniversary of the 3-D Offset, and we are excited to pay tribute to one of the greatest balls ever, The 3-D Offset offered new technology and outstanding performance
- We’ve taken a lot of time and effort to introduce a ball worthy of the same name, We’ve strategically re-created this ball to remind you of the original while excelling on today’s conditions
- We started with the core shape, creating a single density inner core with the same shape as the original
- The original was a thick-shell ball, and we modified today’s version with a carbon fiber outer core
- These modifications create more dynamic core numbers for increased ball motion potential and a durable, harder-hitting product
#19 – Ebonite Maxim Bowling Ball – Peek-A-Boo Berry
Price: $65.95 – $94.67
Description
- Coverstock: Polyester
- Reaction: Straight
#20 – 900 Global Zen Bowling Ball
Price: $159.95 – $191.94
Description
- Core: Meditate Symmetric
- Coverstock: S77R Pearl
- Finish: 1,500 Grit Polished
- This responsive pearl cover is wrapped around the monster Meditate core, This is the biggest core produced by 900Global to date
What Bowling Balls Do Professional Bowlers Use?
According to our research, most professional bowlers favor the Storm’s Pitch Black. This is taken from a study of the 2018 World’s Men’s Bowling Championships that analyzed which balls were played the most.
The second most popular ball was another Storm ball, the IQ Tour. The third most popular was the Hammer Purple Pearl Urethane.
Another interesting finding was that half of the most popular balls in the top 10 had urethane covers. This is an insightful tidbit because it implies that a ball’s cover may be the most important aspect that pros consider more than anything else.
What Bowling Balls Hook the Most?
Building off of what we just said, one reason why so many professional bowlers flock to balls with urethane covers is that they tend to hook the most. The urethane cover can create more friction than two teenagers playing 7 Minutes in Heaven.
However, a ball’s weight increases the probability of it gathering more hook. A heavier ball is more likely to hook than a lighter ball, so you may want to opt for a heavier one if you want more hook.
Is It Worth It to Spend the Money on the Best Bowling Balls?
The best things in life never come cheap, and if they do then they’re usually stolen. That’s how we feel about spending money on the best bowling balls. If you’re a casual bowler then you likely don’t need to splurge on the best balls in the medium.
That being said, if you’re serious about proving to people who you are on the professional bowling circuit, then it’s definitely worth it to drop the cash. A good bowling ball could be the difference between victory and defeat, and you don’t want to leave that up to chance.
How We Chose The Best Bowling Balls
Before choosing any brand, we scour the web and all the biggest e-tailers to ensure we know all the available options on the market. We look at customer reviews, star ratings, brand ethos, processes, materials, accessibility, and so much more. We weigh the pros and cons, so you don’t have to, helping you make informed shopping decisions.
Next, explore other interesting products from our curated lists:
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