- Exotic Gem

First Impressions
The Roto Grip Exotic Gem immediately grabs everyone's attention with its striking color scheme in Citrine, Apatite and Amethyst. Inside works the mighty asymmetric Defiant LRG core, which already caused a stir in the original Gem. With a 2.47 RG, a 0.053 differential and a 0.016 intermediate differential (at 15 lbs), this core ranks among the strongest engines on the market. What's new is the cover: here the MicroTrax Pearl Reactive coverstock is used, finished with Reacta Gloss. This combination is special because the MicroTrax chemistry, despite the polished surface, contains nanoparticles that provide significant traction in oil. As a result, the ball doesn't come across like a classic "skid-flip" pearl, but rather like a hybrid with built-in traction.
Comparison
Compared directly to the original Roto Grip Gem, which has a massive solid cover, the Exotic Gem offers considerably more length through the heads. Where the solid Gem often starts digging in already in the heads, the Exotic glides more cleanly over the oil and saves its reaction for the last third of the lane. It provides a much more angular move at the breakpoint than the Roto Grip Gem, yet stays more controllable than extremely slick balls such as the Roto Grip RST X-2. Against a competitor like the 900 Global Reality (solid), the Exotic Gem is snappier and quicker to respond to friction. It fills the gap if you want the core strength of a super heavyweight but need the surface of a pearl ball.
On the Lanes
The Exotic Gem is made for medium to heavy oil patterns. It's the perfect complement once the "big" solid ball (like the original Gem or a Storm Proton Physix) starts hooking too early and losing energy for the carry. As soon as the heads open up a bit but there's still plenty of oil inside the lane, the Exotic plays to its strengths. It ignores the drying heads effortlessly, but thanks to the strong Defiant core it generates enough rotation through the midlane to get back to the pocket reliably even from steep angles. It's not suited to dry lanes, since the strong core would burn up too quickly there, but on volume it delivers an impressive mix of authority and backend motion.