The Honey Badger Extreme Pearl has the same three-piece version of the Grapnel Asymmetric core discussed in the Honey Badger Extreme Solid review, but in this ball it is wrapped in a polished and pearlized coverstock. The S74R Pearl cover on this ball comes out of the box at a 1500 grit polished finish, providing more length, a stronger move off the dry, and less total hook than the Honey Badger Extreme Solid. While the dull solid-covered Extreme gave our testers their best looks on the heavy oil pattern, this ball’s glossy pearl cover was best on the medium pattern.

The lower RG and higher differential core design gets this ball started earlier than the Honey Badger and Money Badger, providing more control for all three testers. Cranker liked this ball more than previous asymmetrical Badger releases. Where the Money Badger provided a little too much length and the Honey Badger was too over/under, this ball provided much more traction in the midlane. The added control and hook was an easy trade for losing the more ...