Daten- und Textquelle:  BOWLING THIS MONTH ®

Testmonat: November 2011

Die vollständigen Testdaten von diesem Ball finden Sie in unserem Ball Selector

Rating von 1 (flop) bis 10 (top) auf den Konditionen:

Stärken: The amount of traction and recovery down lane is the Encounter’s largest asset. The new veneer and finishing process make this ball one of the largest hooking pearlized balls in Columbia 300’s recent history.

Schwächen: As much traction as this ball can create in the back end, it does need defined friction to turn over. Longer patterns will force users to remove the polish if they want to use it.

Insgesamt: The Encounter is the newest high performance ball from Columbia 300. The last pearlized release at this price point was the Pure Swing. The Encounter builds around that performance of long and strong.

Comments: The Encounter is the newest high performance ball from Columbia 300. After the last few releases, we were eager to see what type of reaction the Encounter offered. We had some fun throwing this release on the medium test pattern. This new Elastin 6.0 coverstock matches up perfectly with the new Encounter asymmetrical core. The new coverstock at the 2000 Powerhouse Factory Finish polish had enough length to clear the front part ofthe lane, while still having the traction in the oil to not skid through the breakpoint. The longer we bowled on this pattern, the better each tester’s reaction got. All three bowlers made small two and one move moves left and were able to literally strike for hours on this pattern. The next best look was on the dry test pattern. Stroker’s lower rev rate allowed him to still control the back end on this shorter condition. Tweener and Cranker needed just a little more length, so they used a 4000 Abralon pad, and then reapplied a healthy coat of Powerhouse Factory Finish. This was the right surface for these two; the higher grit gave the Encounter the few more feet of skid it needed to consistently hit the pocket. The oily test pattern did not have enough friction on the lane for the Encounter to work at the box finish. All three testers removed the polish with a fresh 2000 Abralon pad. At the rougher linish, all testers were able to play their "A" game and watch the Encounter storing the energy needed to still see a skid/ flip reaction down lane. The sport pattern offered an average reaction for all three testers. We like balls that offer a slower response to friction on our sport pattern. We had a much better reaction taking a 3000 Abralon pad to the cover. This adjustment gave us more traction in the oil and a smoother overall reaction.