- Swerve FX

First Impressions
The Columbia 300 Swerve FX comes in an extremely eye-catching red, gold and black pearl color combination. At the heart of this model beats the asymmetric Swerve Core, which carries a 2.470 RG, a strong 0.052 differential and a 0.007 intermediate differential. The outer layer is the Reflex Pearl coverstock, sanded at the factory with 500 and 1000 Abralon and then polished to a high gloss. This combination of an early-rolling engine and a polished cover should let the ball glide through the heads extremely easily and deliver a very sharp reaction at the breakpoint.
Comparison
Compared to the original Columbia 300 Swerve, which uses an early solid cover, the Swerve FX offers noticeably more length and a far more angular backend reaction. Against the Storm Snap Lock, the Swerve FX provides a somewhat smoother but still asymmetric change of direction thanks to its lower intermediate differential. When friction on the lane increases and the transition dries up the front part of the lane, this ball benefits enormously from its pearl cover. It stores its energy excellently for a powerful backend move.
On the Lanes
The Columbia 300 Swerve FX is ideally suited to lane conditions with medium oil volume. For strokers and tweeners it opens up the option of playing deeper lines on broken-down patterns, since the surface finds very little traction in the heads. The strong asymmetric drive toward the pocket should deliver convincing carry, as the ball keeps accelerating through the pin deck. Once the lane is extremely wet, however, the ball can slide through the front. In those situations a duller cover is the better call.