The Katana Slash rolls into Radical’s Top Shelf line of performance products as the second ball to carry the Katana name. This ball features the new Forged 2 hybrid coverstock that comes out of the box finished with 500 and 1000 SiaAir and Crown Factory Compound. This cover will read the middle of the lane stronger than the Forged pearl cover that was used on the original Katana. The Katana Asymmetrical core remains unchanged from the Katana, with an RG of 2.503″, a total differential of 0.050″ and an intermediate differential of 0.020″.

The Katana Slash was best on our medium oil test pattern for all three players. Stroker and Tweener were able to line up two boards left with their feet and one left with their targets off their strike lines with the Katana. They both saw the same strong downlane angle that they liked from the original, but with more room for error left of target. As the track started to hook, they could either increase their ball speeds or make small moves left to keep the Slash in the pocket. Cranker saw the biggest difference between this ball and the original Katana on the fresh. Shots that he got left of target that would leave the flat 10 pin with the ...