Storm IQ Tour Pearl Bowling Ball Review

The Storm IQ Tour Pearl uses the same C3 core found in the IQ Tour. The bright gold pearl cover is a pearlized version of one of the most successful coverstocks in the history of bowling, R2S.

The 1500 grit polished box finish matched up exceptionally well on our medium test pattern. The IQ Tour Pearl provided more length and offered a bigger punch at the back end than its solid counterpart. All three testers saw easy length without ever having a worry about throwing it through the breakpoint. This ball continued to go through the pins the right way even as we moved right and left to see how much room we really had.

We had our next best reaction on our heavy test pattern. All three testers moved to the right to get closer to the track. All three were able to get to the pocket with the ball at the box finish with the move right and slowing down their ball speed. We removed the polish with a 2000 Abralon pad to see what the IQ Tour Pearl could do. We were able to move back almost on top of where we played on the medium pattern and, even without the polish, the IQ Tour Pearl still retained enough energy to see a distinct back end movement.

We had a little trouble on our dry test pattern. We just had too much hook from this ball. We hit the three test balls with a 4000 Abralon pad and then used Storm’s Reacta Shine polish but still could not tame down the total hook.

The IQ Tour Pearl offered a consistent reaction on our sport pattern for all three testers. We had the same total hook as we did with the IQ Tour, but the pearl was cleaner with a more defined move at the breakpoint.

Strengths

We loved how versatile the IQ Tour was and the IQ Tour Pearl gives us the same amount of hook, while being cleaner through the front and more angular at the breakpoint. The Pearl also offered more continuation through the pins when we moved farther left.

Weaknesses

Bowlers who expected the IQ Tour Pearl to have less hook because of the pearlized cover are in for a disappointment. The Pearl still provides a big move at the dry.

Overall Summary

The IQ Tour Pearl had some big shoes to fill as the follow up to the highly successful IQ Tour. The Pearl is up to the challenge and will offer the same amount of hook while providing a totally different shape than the IQ Tour.