Radical Zing Hybrid Ball Review

Layout: 45 degrees x 5 1/4" x 70 degrees

RG: 2.49"

Differential: .051"

Mass Bias: .020"

Surface: 500 / 1000 Crown Factory Compound

Core shape: Asymmetric

What I wanted from this ball: In the coming weeks you'll see several Brunswick/DV8/Radical ball reviews coming from the store. The majority of these balls weren't drilled with any specific lane condition or ball motion in mind. Instead, I wanted to broaden the spectrum of ball reactions and get a little more firsthand knowledge of other products in the industry. You'll see lots more ball reviews in 2020 coming from our store as we drill far more products and get more in tune with what each manufacturer is doing in their latest products.

What I ended up with in this ball: I knew this ball would be a very high revving, strong core motion with the high differential and mass bias characteristics built in to the engine. For that reason, I chose to use the same layout as the Roto Grip UFO that I've had some success with. I went with the same layout angles I typically use to try out new stuff (45 and 70), but I used the 5 1/4" pin to PAP distance to calm down the track flare a little bit. When I use my 45 x 4 1/2" x 70 layout in higher differential balls (especially asymmetric cores), the balls tend to hook very early and then fade in the backend. So I went with the longer pin distance to reduce the track flare. I still see over 5" of track flare with the Zing Hybrid.

The midlane motion of this ball is the key signature that stands out. This ball is very fast revving off the bowler's hand. The attractive color scheme makes the breakpoint easy to read. With a Factory Compound surface on this ball, I noticed just enough length to get through the heads, without it having that slippery feel that some of the high gloss coverstocks can have. I tend to prefer this type of finish on the ball, as the high gloss finishes tend to give you more that check-mark shape that gets hard to control in the backend.

I've thrown the Zing Hybrid on 3 different patterns so far. This ball has a hard-charging backend motion that isn't matched by many balls out there. If I had to rank the backend continuation against the other balls in our store, it would certainly be in the top 5-10 on the wall. I feel like Zing Hybrid is going to be best on medium to slightly heavier oil conditions for most of our customers. There's too much core here for this ball to be used in drier environments. I also believe this has the potential to be a great sport condition or tournament condition type of product. Balls with that higher revving midlane motion tend to work well on those patterns because they add predictability to the overall ball path.

Overall this was an enlightening surprise from the Radical brand. I'll certainly be looking forward to drilling more throughout the year. Radical fans can look for a Squatch Hybrid review in the coming weeks. Brunswick fans can check out our new Uppercut review available now on the website!