The new Storm ROCKET is a pretty easy ball to describe: if you like the HY-ROAD (and I might be the only person in the world who doesn’t), you probably will like the ROCKET.

And even if you didn’t like the HY-ROAD, you may like the ROCKET, which describes me.

The coverstock is the same in both balls: the hybrid version of the popular R2S, one of the most successful coverstocks in bowling history.

The difference is in the ROCKET’s new Booster core. For 15 pounds, the differential is identical to the HY-ROAD at 0.046 while the RG is slightly lower at 2.54 to 2.57 for the HY-ROAD.

As Storm describes it, “the Rocket is cleaner through fronts, with a more defined motion down lane,” compared to the HY-ROAD.

I agree.

I tried three or four different drillings and a myriad of surfaces in HY-ROADs and it got me one stellar performance: nearly 250 over the last five games of minor events at the 2009 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas.

Other than that, the HY-ROAD was pure frustration for me because it was easy to get to the pocket and hard to get to strike. It was a ring 10/4-pin ball for me.

The ROCKET motion seems to be just a tad stronger and that is making all the difference in carry for me.

Mine is pin over my middle finger, with the CG about at my grip center, producing values of 5 inches pin-PAP, 3 7/8 MB-PAP and 3 1/8 pin buffer, based on my PAP of 4 inches over and 5/8 up. No weight hole was necessary.

I’ve used it on house shots, the Kegel Turnpike and Boardwalk and PBA Cheetah Sport patterns.

The ROCKET is clean down the lane, with a strong motion that is almost a snap, but not to the extent of the REIGN SUPREME, my all-time favorite go-long-and-turn-strong ball. The ROCKET's motion isn't quite what I would call skid/snap, but it is close. And it’s stronger than the HY-ROAD. It's not quite as strong as the FRANTIC, another of my all-time favorites, but it's close.

On the broken down Turnpike in game three of our 4-person league, I was able to get inside fourth arrow and have no problem getting it to make a strong move into the pocket.

On a fresh Cheetah, I started a PBA50 Regional with a 257 game crossing between 5- and 10-board at the arrows and having strong but controllable motion to the pocket. I had to put it away and go stronger once the lanes transitioned some and the back-ends no longer were crisp — it was a very slick Cheetah.

I think the ROCKET will be a very good ball for almost all players once lanes have transitioned and you need something weaker, or on shorter length and/or lower volume fresh shots.

If there's significant fresh oil, keep the ROCKET in your bag — unless you have a ton of hand or want to rough it up.

As I said, if you like the HY-ROAD I can almost guarantee you will like the ROCKET. And it might even work if you don’t like the HY-ROAD.

I wouldn't call the ROCKET a must-have ball if you have a HY-ROAD or something in that range of motion, but if you don't have that in your arsenal, I'd definitely recommend it.

I haven’t changed the surface yet and am not sure if I will since I like the motion with the box shiny so much.