- Black Widow Nasty

First Impressions
Released in December 2009, the Hammer Black Widow Nasty marked a radical technical step in the legendary Widow series. Visually, it comes in a dark mix of black, purple and red sparkle. The technical highlight, however, is the introduction of the so-called "Cover-Puck" technology. Here, part of the outer core was drilled out and filled with the aggressive Violent Wheel Reactive material. This construction changes the physics of the ball massively: with an RG of 2.56 — unusually high for this series — and a differential of 0.056 (at 15 lbs), the ball produces a great deal of length. Despite the factory-sanded 4000-grit Abralon surface, the Nasty skids surprisingly far through the heads before it releases its energy. As a result, it feels less like a classic, early-rolling solid ball and more like a hybrid that reacts late, but all the more violently.
Comparison
Compared with its direct predecessor, the Black Widow Venom, the Nasty is clearly more aggressive on the backend. Where the Venom describes a rounder and more controlled shape, the Nasty generates more movement at the breakpoint thanks to the Cover-Puck technology and the higher RG. Compared with one of its biggest competitors of that era, the Storm Virtual Gravity, the Black Widow Nasty gets through the heads a bit cleaner. The Virtual Gravity reads the lane earlier and rolls heavier in the midlane, while the Nasty saves that energy to show a sharper reaction to friction in the last third of the lane. It behaves almost like a symmetrical ball in the heads, but offers the entry angle of an asymmetrical ball at the pin deck.
On the Lanes
The Hammer Black Widow Nasty is a weapon for medium to heavy oil conditions where length and angle are called for. It is ideal when "normal" solid balls start rolling too early and lose energy before they reach the pocket. Its high RG lets it ignore the first several feet of the lane almost completely, which makes it especially strong when the heads are already broken down a bit but there is still plenty of carrydown down lane. If you like playing deeper angles and sending the ball well out to the right (for right-handers), you'll appreciate the confidence that the Nasty comes back even from wide angles. It is less of a ball for fresh, flat oil, and instead shines in transition, when you have to open up the lane and need a ball that takes the corner without compromise.