The Hammer Black Widow series is known for some of the hardest-hitting bowling balls in the marketplace, and the new Hammer Black Widow Legend carries on that legacy. Our Hammer Black Widow Legend review will look at the newest Black Widow offering from every angle, giving you a panoramic view of the ball before settling on a potential investment or not.
What does the Hammer Black Widow Legend do that other Hammer Black Widows haven’t done before? Is the Hammer Black Widow Legend versatile enough to maintain firepower in a variety of different oil conditions? Dive into our extensive Hammer Black Widow bowling ball review for the answer to these questions and more!
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Overview
If you’re a Hammer Black Widow purist and loved the first in the company’s wildly successful series, you’re not going to be disappointed with the Hammer Black Widow Legend. In fact, the Hammer Black Widow Legend is the closest ball in the series so far when it comes to capturing the original’s overall mystique and hitting power.
Just like the original, the Hammer Black Widow Legend cuts through the fronts with ease before delivering with a powerful back end finish which continues all the way to the back wall! It’s an extremely versatile ball which can maintain its overall efficacy and reactivity on a variety of different oil patterns.
There is a bit of dissonance, though, when you’re faced with much drier oil patterns. Previous Hammer Black Widow releases handled the dry with a bit more length than the Legend, but it’s a small price to pay when it comes to the firepower you get out of the Legend in a multitude of other conditions.
What really takes the Hammer Black Widow Legend over the top is the carbon fiber shell which makes the ball even stronger than heavyweights like the original Hammer Black Widow and the Assassin. You’ll notice it as soon as the ball sets the pins alight on the back end. This ball hits the pocket with more force and more explosiveness than any high-performance ball in the marketplace today.
Features, Specs & Materials
FEATURES:
The Hammer Black Widow Legend’s NBT Reactive Hybrid cover stock is the same used on the First Blood. It’s an absolute hook-heavy dream which helps store up energy for a massive back end crash.
If you’re familiar with Hammer’s bowling ball oeuvre, you’re probably well acquainted with the infamous Gas Mask asymmetrical core. It’s a wild ride which carries the potential for some wild angles into the pin pocket.
The lower 1000 Grit finish underneath the Powerhouse Factory Finish Polish allows for you to get much more traction out of medium and heavy oil patterns than with previous releases. That means a sharper reaction at the breakpoint and a bit more overall burst.
SPECS:
Color: Black, Red Pearl
Core: Gas Mask (Asymmetrical)
Coverstock: NBT Reactive Hybrid
Finish: 500 / 500 / 500 / 1000 Abralon / Powerhouse Factory Finish Polish
RG: 2.50
Differential: 0.058
Flare potential: Moderate
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium
MATERIALS
The NBT Reactive Hybrid cover stock is much more durable than the majority of reactive hybrid cover stocks on the marketplace. That’s very much thanks to the ball’s carbon fiber outer shell. You’ll still have to be diligent about cleaning it, but you’re going to get a bit more overall play life out of the Hammer Black Widow Legend irregardless.
Those who have played with the Gas Mask asymmetrical core before laud it as one of the easiest asymmetrical cores to track and harness. If you haven’t played with it before, there is a bit of a learning curve with the core’s interesting weight placement. Once you get it, though, you’ll be happy you did.Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages:
The Hammer Black Widow Legend’s true calling card is its enormous back end reaction. The ball clears the fronts with ease and picks up energy in the mid-lane. Once it cuts at the breakpoint, this ball starts to unleash a fury which closely resembles the original Hammer Black Widow. The crazy thing is that this ball is even stronger!
The Legend has an early motion with an impressive amount of continuation down the lane. This ball is extremely aggressive, but the aggressiveness is tempered in such a way as to ensure you get solid lane length in a variety of different oil conditions. It feels smooth even when it gets angular.
Hitting power is a Hammer specialty and the Hammer Black Widow Legend takes that up a couple notches. The carbon fiber outer shell causes some insane pin trajectories at the point of impact, buoyed by the ball’s impressive energy-storing capacity. This ball picks up strength in the mid-lane and doesn’t quit until it hits the back wall.
If you want to increase pin carry on the spot, you’re not going to see a better investment out there than the Hammer Black Widow Legend. This is even more apparent in the ball’s ideal oil conditions of medium to medium-heavy. That’s the perfect amount of fuel to set the pins ablaze and up your strike counts.
Disadvantages:
While this ball can handle a bit drier conditions okay with lower-rev bowlers behind it, you are in danger of ruining the ball’s cover stock if you play dry lanes with a higher-rev style. The ball’s extremely durable within its comfort zone, but you risk burning the ball up if you don’t read a lane’s oil density correctly.
Some bowlers have lamented a lack of creativity with the Hammer Black Widow Legend when it comes to opening up your angles. The Hammer Black Widow Legend is less of a paint brush than it is a complete wrecking ball. If you’re a nuanced bowler who wants to get inventive with your approach, you may want a ball with a bit more overall finesse to its credit.
Our Thoughts
The Hammer Black Widow Legend is the most impressive overall effort in the Black Widow series since the original took the bowling world by storm.
Minor gripes aside, the Hammer Black Widow Legend is a perfect blend of lane continuation and otherworldly hitting power on the back end. It’s an extremely strong hook-heavy ball which only gets stronger as you become more comfortable with it.
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Overall Score: 9.25 out of 10
