The Brunswick Rhino is one of the most intriguing entry-level performance bowling balls on the market. Our Brunswick Rhino review will look at the ball from all sides, giving you a panoramic view of one of the most enticing budget bowling ball options out there from one of the most trusted brands in the entire bowling world.
If you’re in the market for an entry-level bowling ball and have Brunswick circled as a potential brand of interest (which, you probably should!), then the Brunswick Rhino may be one of the first bowling balls of theirs worth checking out. Why is that? Well, let’s take an in-depth look with our Brunswick Rhino review and you can judge for yourself!
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Our Impressions
With five attractive color combinations which swirl through the cover stock with an eye-popping overall presentation, the Brunswick Rhino is a rare case of a budget-friendly bowling ball that also a has great aesthetic to its credit.
The Brunswick Rhino is an extremely well put together entry-level performance ball which is perfect for bowlers either just starting to fine tune their hook shots or who are entrenched in a straight-shot setup, or for advanced bowlers who find themselves playing either on dry lanes or in marathon match-ups where the oil pattern gets sopped up by repeated use.
Combining solid torque and overall reaction with an unbeatable lane length perfect for bowlers who need a boost of added control, the Brunswick Rhino is by no means a hook monster. It does have some hook potential, but it’s mostly a control bowler’s dream.
As either a graduation ball for a beginner on their way to becoming an intermediate bowler, or as an added weapon in an experienced bowlers’ arsenal, the Brunswick Rhino combines a great price point with some very valuable specs worth both your time and investment.
Brunswick Rhino Features, Specs & Materials
As stated before, there are five different color combinations available for the Brunswick Rhino. They are as follows:
- Red/Black/Gold Pearl
- Black/Blue/Silver Pearl
- Purple/Pink/White Pearl
- Green/Silver Pearl
- Black Pearl
Each come with an R-16 Reactive Pearl cover stock box finished with a 500 SiaAir/ Royal Compound/ Royal Shine treatment. The reactive pearl cover stock has a very smooth reaction to it, especially on dry and medium oil lanes. It’s not as porous and blatantly reactive as most of Brunswick’s reactive resin offerings, though.
The Brunswick Rhino has a symmetrical light bulb core which combines a lower RG (2.524) with a low differential (0.030). The light bulb core is a pretty traditional offering, providing fantastic lane length while cutting hard into flare potential.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages:
The Brunswick Rhino is built for the driest part of the lane. You’ll get your best overall reactions from it when the oil starts to get depleted on a medium-oiled lane, or when you’re playing on an exceedingly dry pattern.
Out of all of the Brunswick reactive resin balls we’ve seen, this one has the best overall lane length. It never hooks early, sliding down the lane with efficacy and consistency. If you like your ball to go long and arc comfortably and easily off the spot, the Brunswick Rhino is definitely for you.
Are you a bowler in need of a control burst? Struggling to find your mark as a hook bowler? Even right out of the box, the Brunswick Rhino’s breakpoint control is better than most entry-level performance balls you’ll find out there.
Its traditional, symmetrical light bulb core gives you enough rev potential to get a solid hook shot off, but it keeps things tracked so there isn’t a ton of variant sharpness which will pull you out of the pin pocket.
With an affordable price on Amazon, It’s an extremely worthwhile investment for any straight-line bowlers who are prone to bowling multiple games or playing on dry lanes, along with hook bowlers of all types who want a good switch strike ball when the oil on the lanes starts to deplete.
Disadvantages:
The Brunswick Rhino’s biggest weakness is simply, in a word, oil. It’s a fantastic dry lane bowling ball meant for attacking pin pockets head-on. However, it gets submerged in medium-heavy and heavy oil patterns, gumming up and losing its reactivity.
The cover stock/core combination wasn’t built for nuanced pin attacks and hook sharpness, so you’re not going to get a lot of variance out of your hook shot on any lane oil pattern. This is a no-nonsense, straight-ahead ball which will give you a good off-the-spot hook on dry and medium oil lanes – and little else.
Because of the Brunswick Rhino’s extraordinary lane length, there isn’t a ton of lane room left for a back-end reaction worth mentioning. Therefore, you won’t see a lot of late sharpness and breaking which will change your angle coming into the pins.
This could lead to decreased pin carry and pin violence for bowlers who are used to a ball conserving energy for a late, back-end burst.
In short, the Brunswick Rhino is an entry-level performance ball for a reason. It’s one of the lowest hooking balls in the Brunswick family, sacrificing potential for diverse hook angles in favor of a fantastic overall control mechanism.
It’s also not the first ball that any advanced bowler should pull out of the bag when the oil is fresh on the lanes. If you have a Brunswick Rhino in your bag and you’re not a beginner or studious intermediate, wait until the lanes get chopped up from repeated use.
Otherwise, you’re likely to be underwhelmed with what the Brunswick Rhino has to offer.
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Closing Thoughts
If our Brunswick Rhino review taught us anything about the ball, it’s that there aren’t much better entry-level performance bowling ball options out there for dry and depleted lane conditions. It’s a control powerhouse for those bowling on a budget.
While it definitely has its share of limitations when it comes to overall hook potential and its efficacy on heavier oiled lanes, the Brunswick Rhino more than makes up for it as a great niche ball when conditions get dicier and you need more length than overall reactivity.
Beginners will definitely get a kick out of the Brunswick Rhino, as will intermediate bowlers who want a more consistent hook while they learn. As for advanced bowlers, it’s a great arsenal addition as the games start to mount and the lanes start to lose their overall oil density.
