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Storm Super Nova

1 year ago

The Storm NOVA has been a favorite of mine on both house shots and tough patterns since I drilled one about a year ago, as I wrote in my review.

If I made a list of my top Storm Products balls since I became a staffer in 1996, the NOVA would  make it.

When I reviewed the NOVA, I wrote that “I can’t wait to see what Storm wraps around the Ignition next!”

The answer is the NeX Solid Reactive coverstock that was used in the Storm PROTON PHYSIX. 
The SUPER NOVA uses the same asymmetric Ignition core as the NOVA. The Ignition has an RG of 2.5 for 16s, 2.49 for 15s, and 2.53 for the 14s I use. The differential is 0.51, 0.52, and 0.49. And the MB differential is .018, .019, and .018. (The closeness in these numbers should mean my review is applicable for 16s and 15s.)  

I chose a drilling I have had success with on several balls over the years, most notably a MARVEL-S: pin under the middle finger with the CG kicked right. It controls a strong ball really well.
With my PAP of 4 7/8 over and 5/8 up, the numbers are: 5 5/8 pin-PAP, 4 7/8 MB-PAP, and 5 1/2 pin buffer.

The SUPER NOVA comes with a box finish of 2,000 and not surprisingly it ended up producing similar reaction for me as the PROTON PHYSIX: too strong/early with the box finish. 

Simply put, I had little down lane motion and weak 10s were plentiful. 

I had shined my PROTON PHYSIX up and it instantly became one of my favorites on house shots, with a heavy rolling motion and strong, but controlled move down lane. 

So it made sense to shine up my SUPER NOVA as well, which my guy Gregg Goldstein did at Ten Pin Alley Pro Shop.

The result is basically a smoother version of my PROTON PHYSIX that works well playing more direct angles on softer shots than the PROTON. (I have not had a chance to try it on any Sport patterns, but would expect it work well on moderate volumes or broken down Sport patterns.)

Even shiny, the SUPER NOVA doesn’t overreact excessively on wet-dry conditions for me, which always is a benefit on house shots. 

I would imagine that with a stronger pin over drilling, the SUPER NOVA would be almost a carbon copy of the PROTON PHYSIX.

The best thing I have seen out of the SUPER NOVA is that it goes through the pins with heavy roll, digging out 10s almost as well as the NOVA.

I have seen some people doing well with the SUPER NOVA in the box finish or close to it, but they tend to be players with lower revs and/or high speed than me.

I simply don’t have much occasion to use strong solid coverstock balls with rough finish.  

But if you’re someone looking for a really strong ball that handles any volume of oil, the SUPER NOVA should be a great ball for you. I would say the SUPER NOVA handles oil as well as any ball Storm has ever made.


ball layout
ball cover
ball core
Coverstock:NeX Solid Reactive
Core: Ignition Asymmetric
Box Finish:2,000-grit Abralon
LbsRgDiffMb
162.500.051
152.490.052
142.530.049
132.570.032
122.590.029