- Phaze V

First Impressions
The Storm Phaze V (Five) continues one of the most successful lines in bowling history and brings back a much-anticipated combination. Visually, it shows up in a very bright, clean look made up of "Arctic," "Shim" and "Slate" (white/silver/gray), which makes it extremely easy to see on the lane. And of course, the fragrance is not missing: "Blueberry Crumble." Technically, the Phaze V unites two of Storm's most legendary components: inside works the extremely rev-happy, symmetric Velocity core (RG 2.48, diff 0.051 at 15 lbs), the same one found in the Phaze II. On the outside, the proven R2S Pearl Reactive shell is used, finished with what was then the new Reacta Gloss Finish. This combination of an early-revving core ("low RG") and a very clean cover promises the best of both worlds: effortless length through the heads and a controlled but powerful backend reaction.
Comparison
The most important comparison is to the Storm Phaze II. The Phaze V is the direct counterpart ("step-down") to the Phaze II. Where the Phaze II (solid) reads the lane early and draws a rounded arc, the Phaze V skids right past that spot and only reacts at the end of the pattern. It behaves very similarly to the (short-lived) Storm Spectre or the earlier Phaze 4, since it uses the same core/cover combination. Compared to the Storm Hy-Road (original), the Phaze V is noticeably stronger and revs up earlier, as the Velocity core is more aggressive than the Hy-Road's Fe² core. Next to the Storm Fate (Belmo), the Phaze V often comes across as a bit snappier and more direct, because the R2S cover responds to friction faster than the Fate's ReX cover, which offers a little more traction in oil.
On the Lanes
The Storm Phaze V is the ultimate "house shot killer" for medium oil conditions. It's the perfect choice if you started with a Phaze II or another strong solid ball and the heads begin to dry up. The Phaze V ignores that friction up front and saves its energy for an explosive hit into the pins. It lets you move left and send the ball well out to the right. Thanks to the strong Velocity core, it maintains a stable roll while doing so and doesn't jerk around as much as balls with weaker cores. It is not suited to heavy oil, though, since the R2S Pearl cover would skid too much there, and on extremely fresh backends it can sometimes react a bit too abruptly.