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In an attempt to take hook potential to a new maximum, Storm brings us the all new Ion Max. The Element Max a.i core inside has a similar shape as its predecessor, but sees a huge increase in core strength with its .055 differential. What's more, the NRG solid cover is arguably Storm's strongest formula ever, making this one worlds different than its weaker pearl predecessor.

So since its fair to guess that this one would hook a ton, I decided to go with a 5x4x5 2LS layout. The hope here was to limit the risk of this one rolling out, so it takes away some of its strength and instead is meant to focus the potential energy into getting the ball through the pins the right way.

AND ON THE LANES… It was a tale of two bowling balls from as this one took one some lane shine. The out of box performance from the Ion Max was off the charts and reminded me a ton of the old Crux Prime, and required a very flat release to get to the pocket. Then once the cover broke in and it was able to clear the fronts a bit more, the Ion Max felt much more like a more continuous version of the Gem.

And once that happened, I got to see my favorite part about throwing this piece. Strong bowling balls like this aren't really meant to be continuous through the pins, but that's what my eye likes to see, especially on house shots, and the Ion Max absolutely leveled the 8 pin on the majority of my good shots. In fact, after about 10 shots, not once did the Ion Max even think about rolling out...

But on the list of downsides, the Ion Max is all gas, no brakes. If you want to throw this one, you better come ready to cover some boards because if it hits friction early, the likelihood of you getting to the pocket the right way is pretty low. Similar pieces can handle early friction a bit better than this one and keep the pocket more in play, but the Ion Max is a higher risk/reward play, especially for fresh conditions.

So to help offset that weakness, I'd recommend pairing this one with a Summit Ascent as well as the Ion Pro. The Summit should be a full zone, if not two full zones weaker than the Ion Max and be much more in play when contending with early friction, and then the Ion Pro will be a great option to ball down too one the Ion Max is too much. It's probably not the best set of three options for league play, but would cover most of what you'd need in tournament play.

So jumping to our crossbrand comparisons, I first took a look at the Brunswick Mesmerize, and even though these two pieces would fill a similar part of an arsenal, their shapes are quite different. The Mesmerize provides a more even shape from front to back, and is more forward through the pin deck, so bowlers who have high tilt are more likely to match up with this one from Brunswick.

Then I actually took a look at the Roto Grip X-Cell, and here I don't see a ton of disparity between it and the Ion Max. If I were to be picky, I'd say the X-cell is a bit more rounded as it makes its turn towards the pocket, but to be honest, there's so much overlap here that its surprising that they would have both of these in their line at the same time as its very likely the same types of bowlers will match up well with each of these options.

So with that, here’s my recommendations on types of bowlers that I think would match up well with the Ion Max from Storm. The first is speed dominant players. It made the top 5 list for speed dominant players for a reason, and a week later it still holds up. These players can drill the ion max weak and let it stay shiny to play the outside part of the lane, or keep it strong and dull and cover some extra boards. Either way, its a dream matchup for these bowlers.

The second recommendation is for bowlers with a traditional 3/4 roll. If you have average axis tilt and rotation, there's a good shot you'll find a way to like the Ion Max. Bowlers who roll is in more unique ways, I'm not so sure about, but if you put a good traditional roll on this piece, the pins are likely to cooperate often.

The new Ion Max from Storm might look and smell like it was made by a smoothie shop, but in the right hands could be what you need to mix up the pin deck.

Thank you to Weston Lanes for allowing us to film this video: www.westonlanes.com

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00:00 - The Storm Ion Max
01:01 - Bowling
02:56 - Crossbrand Comparisons
03:42- Recommendations