If you’re a beginner looking to evolve and improve your game, you’re going to need a reliable reactive resin bowling ball in your arsenal. Bowling lanes have changed over the past few decades, with heavier oil conditions and more complex oil patterns becoming the norm. For any novice bowler who is serious about taking the next step with their game, only the best reactive resin bowling balls will do.
For those unfamiliar with reactive resin bowling balls, we’ve created this ultimate primer. Not only will we highlight the 5 Best Reactive Resin Bowling Balls for Beginners in just a moment, but we’ll also dive into all the particulars about reactive resin bowling balls to ensure you know what you’re buying and why.
Let’s start with the good stuff. Here are the five reactive resin bowling balls which are the ultimate best bet for any beginning bowler.
5 Best Reactive Resin Bowling Balls for Beginners
1) Storm Code Red Bowling Ball
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The perfect balance of pure aggression and a more forgiving learning curve than most reactive resin bowling balls, the Storm Code Red is a fantastic first reactive ball for any beginner ready to make their move. The back-end reaction of this ball is absolutely bonkers, but it’s the remarkable lane length and easy traction it gets in the slicker stuff which makes it an essential grab for a novice bowler.
Specs
Color: Two-Tone Red Pearl, Red Solid
Core: RAD4 (Asymmetrical)
Coverstock: R2S Hybrid Reactive
Finish: 1500 Grit Polished
RG: 2.50
Differential: 0.058
Flare potential: Moderate
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium to Medium-Heavy
Pros
- The Storm Code Red tempers its fantastic hook potential with amazing traction and a unique ability to slot into the pocket on off throws.
- There are very few other reactive bowling balls which offer the kind of back-end boom that the Storm Code Red does. Beginners will see a definite increase in pin carry once they get this ball figured out.
- This is the kind of ball which a bowler can use at different steps of their learning process. It’s aggressive enough to stay as a strike ball once you learn the game a bit more.
Cons
- Stay away from dry and medium-dry lane conditions with the Storm Code Red. It goes from aggressive to insanely erratic when there’s little oil present.
- The overall angularity and aggressiveness of the Storm Code Red can be a bit daunting for some beginners. It can be tamed, but it may prove too much for some.
2) Brunswick Rhino Bowling Ball
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For a completely different feel than our previous entry, there’s the Brunswick Rhino bowling ball. This is a true beginner’s reactive resin bowling ball. Made for dry and medium-dry lanes and sacrificing traditional aggressiveness for peak control and straight-line accuracy, the Brunswick Rhino is built for beginners who want a tamer reactive resin bowling ball experience.
Specs
Color: Red/Black/Gold Pearl, Black/Blue/Silver Pearl, Purple/Pink/White Pearl, Green/Silver Pearl, Black Pearl
Core: Light Bulb (Symmetrical)
Coverstock: R-16 Reactive (Reactive Pearl)
Finish: 500 SiaAir / Royal Compound / Royal Shine
RG: 2.524
Differential: 0.030
Flare potential: Minimal to Moderate
Recommended Lane Condition: Dry to Medium-Dry
Pros
- The Brunswick Rhino offers unbeatable lane length in dry and medium-dry oil conditions, while also offering enough hook potential to give beginners space to grow.
- Control is the name of the game with the Brunswick Rhino. The ball feels like a natural extension of you when you get it dialed in. There’s very little sharpness and inconsistency to worry about.
- One of the most budget-friendly reactive resin bowling balls out there today.
Cons
- This ball is not made for medium oil conditions on up. While it can absorb some of the slick stuff, it’s simply dead weight when patterns get too long or too deep.
- Offers the weakest back-end reaction of the balls on this list. You’re not going to get a lot of late help from this one.
3) Motiv Venom Shock Bowling Ball
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The Motiv Venom Shock is one of the most welcoming high-performance reactive resin bowling balls ever to be released. There isn’t a smoother reactive resin bowling ball to be had on a normal house shot pattern. Yet, that doesn’t mean there isn’t aggressiveness and angularity to be had! This ball simply does it all and does it well, giving beginners the bowler ball equivalent of a Swiss army knife.
Specs
Color: Purple, Purple Solid
Core: Gear (Symmetrical)
Coverstock: Turmoil MFS (Reactive Solid)
Finish: 4000 Grit Sanded
RG: 2.48
Differential: 0.034
Flare potential: Minimal to Moderate
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium
Pros
- The Motiv Venom Shock works extremely well in a wide variety of different oil conditions. Whether oil patterns are fresh or depleted, this ball stays long and strong.
- Consistency and control are hard to come by with high-performance bowling balls, especially when beginners are using them. The Motiv Venom Shock is a rare exception.
- Whatever your shot style, the Motiv Venom Shock is built to work with you and give you something.
Cons
- The hook potential of this ball is less than that of the more celebrated reactive resin bowling balls on the market. Bowlers who want a more aggressive ball for heightened angularity and firepower will need to look elsewhere.
- While the Motiv Venom Shock handles well in most oil conditions, it will start to veer erratically and lose lane length when lanes are at their driest.
4) Storm Hy Road Bowling Ball
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The Storm Hy Road is a very similar ball to the aforementioned Motiv Venom Shock, but it sacrifices even more overall hook potential in favor of maximum lane length and traction in the slick stuff. This ball is all about balance and provides an easy transition into the world of reactive resin bowling balls for those unfamiliar with them. If you’re looking for a calm approach to reactive resin, this ball is it.
Specs
Color: Black, Ultramarine Blue
Core: Inverted Fe2 Technology (Symmetrical)
Coverstock: R2S Hybrid Reactive
Finish: 1500 Grit Polished
RG: 2.57
Differential: 0.046
Flare potential: Minimal
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium
Pros
- There is no ball on this list which dominates the middle of a house shot pattern like the Storm Hy Road. This ball is at home in the deep middle of those patterns, offering unparalleled length and impressive friction capabilities.
- Like the Motiv Venom Shock, the Storm Hy Road is a true Swiss army knife on the lanes. It’s so versatile and so malleable to a wide swath of different oil patterns and circumstances.
- The back-end reaction of the Storm Hy Road serves two functions for beginners. Firstly, it adds a ton of oomph and potential pin violence. Secondly, it’s powerful enough to forgive off throws and do damage anyways.
Cons
- If you begin to realize you’re in need of maximum hook potential or dialed-up aggression as you evolve your bowling game, you’ll likely need a different strike ball to work with.
- This ball is all about balance. That includes oil patterns. The more that oil conditions verge towards the extreme (either wet or dry), the worse this ball performs.
5) Brunswick Kingpin Rule Bowling Ball
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If you don’t want to mess around and want a reactive resin bowling ball with the potential for maximum total hook and all kinds of angular goodness, there’s no better option for the discerning bowling novice than the Brunswick Kingpin Rule. This ball is built for the deepest oil and provides enough control and plenty of length to welcome those beginners who aren’t afraid of messing with pure bowling firepower.
Specs
Color: Maroon, Orange, White
Core: Kingpin Ultra Low RG (Asymmetrical)
Coverstock: ECA-XR (Reactive Solid)
Finish: 500 / 2000 SiaAir
RG: 2.483
Differential: 0.055
Flare potential: Moderate
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium-Heavy to Heavy
Pros
- Mixing fantastic total hook with great continuation through the pins, this ball gets angular before hitting the pins extremely hard and with purpose.
- The Brunswick Kingpin Rule swims in oil and loves it! If your local bowling alley dumps the oil on the lanes without thinking twice, this is the perfect weapon to combat that.
- This ball saves a ton of energy going down the lane for one of the most impressive back-end reactions we’ve ever seen or tested. If you can harness this ball’s power, it rewards you with some otherworldly pin impact theatrics.
Cons
- This ball is extremely aggressive and comes with a bit of a learning curve. Beginners who want an easier introduction to reactive resin bowling balls will do better with another option on this list.
- Dry and medium-dry oil patterns chew the Brunswick Kingpin Rule up and spit it out. There’s no reason to have this ball out in such conditions.
FAQs
What is a reactive resin bowling ball?
Reactive resin bowling balls are basically an evolution of the urethane bowling balls which dominated the marketplace in the 1980s. The vast majority of reactive resin bowling balls have a polyurethane coverstock which has been treated with multiple additives to increase the coverstock’s porosity to allow it to absorb oil from the lanes.
With more and bigger pores on its coverstock, a reactive resin bowling ball can create friction and traction in heavier oil conditions. This is an essential tool for ensuring your ball will stay on the lanes when oil patterns are at their slickest.
What are the advantages or disadvantages of a reactive resin bowling ball?
The major advantages of a reactive resin bowling ball lies in its hook potential and ability to read and react to lanes with higher oil densities. If you’re looking to get any sort of regular angularity or hook out of a ball with lane oil conditions at medium or heavier, you’re going to need a reactive resin bowling ball and its oil absorption properties to have any sort of luck.
In addition to this, each reactive resin bowling ball is tuned and calibrated with additives which offer different boosts to a beginner’s game. Some reactive resin bowling balls are made especially to gain mid-lane traction in the slickest conditions while others are all about angularity and hitting power on the back end.
These different nuances are thanks to the advancements of reactive resin bowling ball technology.
As for disadvantages, the aggressiveness of reactive resin bowling balls will be a problem for any bowler who throws a straighter shot or isn’t familiar with a ball reading a lane on its own. Reactive resin bowling balls take awhile to get used to, and some of them have a learning curve which can be prohibitive for certain bowlers.
In addition, reactive resin bowling balls have softer coverstocks than their polyester and urethane predecessors. That makes them less durable overall and more prone to cracks and chipping. You’ll need to do a lot more regular maintenance on a reactive resin bowling ball than you would with a urethane or plastic ball.
What is the recommended bowling ball weight for beginners?
We’ve covered all of the ins and outs in our ultimate bowling ball weight guide, so definitely give that a look before choosing your first reactive resin bowling ball.
To put it in simplified terms, there is no true recommended bowling ball weight for a beginner. The best bowling ball for you is one you can throw repeatedly without undue stress and strain, but also one which is heavy enough to do the damage you’re looking to do on the back end.
A good way to test what bowling ball weight is right for you is to pick a couple house balls and play a few games with different weights. Find which weight feels the best and keeps you from burning out too quickly and that very well could be your optimum weight.
Closing Thoughts
If you don’t want to be a beginner forever, you’re going to need a trusty reactive resin bowling ball as your strike ball of choice. The best reactive resin bowling balls are built for a variety of different styles and experience levels, giving any bowler a leg up when oil conditions are at their deepest and most complex.
With any of the five reactive resin bowling balls on our list in your bowling bag, you’ll have a massive advantage over the vast majority of other bowling novices. You’ll have a true tool for success which will help you learn the game and have much more fun doing it.
