The Brunswick Strike King replaces the Brunswick Slingshot line as the entry level performance bowling ball of choice in the venerable company’s marketplace assortment. Our Brunswick Strike King review will look at this pick-up-and-play bowling ball from every angle possible, giving you a wide lens view of the ball before you make a potential purchase decision.
How does the increased strength of the Brunswick Strike King in comparison to the Brunswick Slingshot line affect its overall versatility? What does the combination of a new pearlized coverstock and new symmetrical core design mean for this ball’s performance as a whole? Delve into our in-depth Brunswick Strike King bowling ball review for the answer to these questions and much more!
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Overview
The Brunswick Strike King is much stronger and more prone to flipping than its Brunswick Slingshot predecessor. While there isn’t a ton of overall hook to be had with this ball when oil conditions start to deepen, this ball has a deceptively strong move on the back end in drier conditions which gives you fantastic bang for minimal buck.
The real selling point for the Brunswick Strike King is its efficacy when lane oil conditions have depleted. While there are a ton of bowling balls out there which are much stronger overall, the Brunswick Strike King is made to outperform the vast majority of these balls on fried oil patterns. That’s a huge get for this ball’s cost-effective price tag.
The ball’s unnamed symmetrical core provides a fantastic steal for the budget-conscious bowler. Delivering much more oomph and overall performance than your standard 3-piece pancake core, it gives the ball some sneaky fire on the back end leading into good hitting power and continuation through the pins.
This ball also comes with a brand-new pearlized coverstock which is stronger and offers more pin impact goodness than the coverstocks on the preceding Brunswick Slingshots. This ball isn’t a hook monster by any stretch, but its straighter nature will prove beneficial to bowlers who prize straight-line accuracy over a depth and breadth of hook possibilities.
Features, Specs & Materials
FEATURES:
The Brunswick Strike King’s new SK13 Reactive reactive pearl coverstock provides good strength and fantastic durability for a price point that’s more than fair. This coverstock isn’t exactly volatile, but it has enough fire in it for some fun and productive back-end fireworks.
The ball’s reactive pearl coverstock pairs nicely with the ball’s new unnamed symmetrical core design, lending this ball good length and extra hitting power which will surprise you considering this ball’s entry level performance bowling ball designation.
The Brunswick Strike King’s 500 SiaAir / Rough Buff / High Gloss box finish is the perfect box finish to protect the coverstock from burnout. This is a great out-of-the-box finish for dry lanes and depleted oil patterns.
SPECS:
Color: Black Pearl / Red, Gold Pearl / Blue, Red Pearl / Purple, Pink Pearl
Core: Symmetrical (Unnamed)
Coverstock: SK13 Reactive (Reactive Pearl)
Finish: 500 SiaAir / Rough Buff / High Gloss
RG: 2.578
Differential: 0.028
Flare potential: Minimal
Recommended Lane Condition: Dry
MATERIALS
The Brunswick Strike King has an extremely long play life mostly thanks to the power and overall durability of the ball’s SK13 Reactive reactive pearl coverstock. Not only does this coverstock lend extra hitting power, it’s perfectly designed to absorb all sorts of punishment and still give you consistently solid performance on drier oil patterns.
The new fired ceramic symmetrical core has a high-RG design property which gives this ball some added explosiveness for those straight-lane bowlers who are lower with their overall speeds and rev rates.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages:
The Brunswick Strike King is a fantastic change-of-pace strike ball for dry lanes and depleted oil patterns. While it’s not a hooky ball by any stretch, it has great lane length and a deceptively angular reaction at the breakpoint. This ball does more down the lane for less money, and that’s always a great thing for those bowling on a budget.
The one thing we haven’t mentioned about the ball’s new symmetrical core is that it is perfectly balanced to allow for multiple drilling patterns. This means that the ball can be fitted to serve many different bowlers with many different needs and grips. Such versatility is usually unheard of in the realm of budget-friendly bowling balls.
What sets the Brunswick Strike King apart from other entry level performance bowling balls is how strong the back-end reaction is on drier lane conditions. Balls like this usually don’t allow you to open up your angles and still find solid tracking into the pin pocket. The Brunswick Strike King does just that and it’s a sight to behold.
In short, there’s an overload of value to the Brunswick Strike King for bowlers who need a dry lane ball in their arsenal and aren’t worried about overt angularity and hook potential. This ball does have a slight hook, but its real calling card is its easy length and late movement which will keep your shots consistent and your pin carry up.
Disadvantages:
The more oil that this ball finds on the lanes, the better chance that it will get submerged and lose its lane length and overall firepower. This is not the ball to pull out when conditions are fresh or patterns are longer and more complex. The Brunswick Strike King will lose its way in these conditions and will serve as more of a liability than anything else.
Those hook-dominant bowlers looking for a change-of-pace ball suited to their needs will be left wanting with the Brunswick Strike King. It does portend a slight hook, but there’s not enough there for bowlers who need earlier and more distinct motion. That’s the thing with entry level performance balls, and the price point trade-off may not be worth it to hook-heavy bowlers.
Our Thoughts
The Brunswick Strike King gets a high score from us for providing so much performance for such a small investment. This ball is a great ball to bring out when you’re okay sacrificing hook for length and hitting power on dry lanes and depleted oil patterns.
It’s not going to magically turn into a versatile high-performance bowling ball, but it’s sure has a ton of tricks up its sleeve and plays extremely well to its strengths as an entry level gem.
Overall Score: 9 out of 10
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