- Halo Star

First Impressions
The Roto Grip Halo Star is an exclusive high-performance ball that was originally conceived as a limited OEM release for the international and primarily Asian market. Visually, the ball stands out thanks to its glossy color combination of Gold, Silver and Blue. The technological foundation is the proven Centrum Core, an asymmetric weight block that catches the eye with its characteristic cube shape and a radial disc in the center. At a ball weight of 15 pounds, this core produces an RG of 2.49, a differential of 0.050 and a mass bias differential of 0.018. Wrapped around this powerful engine is the MicroTrax-H18 Hybrid Reactive cover. This particular material blend is formulated so that it should provide good traction in oil even with the factory 1500-grit polished finish. Thanks to this construction, the ball is designed to deliver a very clean motion through the heads and to release the stored energy only late, in the form of a strong, continuous rotation.
Comparison
Within its own product family, the Roto Grip Halo Star serves as a direct complement to the Roto Grip Halo Vision. While the Halo Vision works with a matte surface and therefore builds traction noticeably earlier, the Halo Star glides considerably more easily over worn boards thanks to its polished cover and creates a distinctly sharper change of direction at the breakpoint. Compared with the original Roto Grip Halo, which features an aggressive solid cover, the Halo Star shows itself to be more agile and more versatile as soon as the oil volume on the lane decreases. Bring in a classic benchmark ball like the Storm Phaze II and the typical differences between asymmetric and symmetric designs become apparent. The symmetric Storm Phaze II offers a very even, controllable arc. The Roto Grip Halo Star, by contrast, reacts far more explosively to dry areas because of its asymmetric Centrum Core and initiates the hook much more steeply. Compared to pure pearl models such as the Roto Grip Halo Pearl, the hybrid cover of the Halo Star provides a somewhat more reliable footprint in the midlane, which makes the ball reaction less susceptible to slight carrydown.
On the Lanes
The ideal application range for the Roto Grip Halo Star is medium to medium-heavy oil volumes, where it works very well on typical house shots as well as on moderate sport patterns. The ball should play its biggest strength when a noticeable transition takes place on the lane. As soon as the front boards dry up and matte balls lose energy too early, the polished MicroTrax-H18 cover allows effortless length through the heads. Once the ball reaches the backend, the combination of asymmetric core and hybrid cover delivers a massive reaction to friction. If you have a high rev rate, you can play the ball deep from the middle and rely on it retaining enough power to come back to the pocket dynamically. For bowlers with a lower rev rate the ball is also very attractive, since the asymmetric weight block actively stands the ball up and drives it into the roll phase, which significantly optimizes carry. In practice, the Roto Grip Halo Star proves to be an extremely valuable tool for the later games of a series, since it generates the necessary length without having to give up hitting power in the pins.