Storm Bowling Balls

Storm is the most recognizable independent name in bowling. The company has been turning out high-performance equipment since 1985, and over the last four decades it has grown from a single-brand operation in Brigham City, Utah into a full family of brands that includes Roto Grip, 900 Global, and Track. What sets Storm apart is not just the volume of equipment it ships — it is the consistency. A Storm ball, regardless of price tier or release year, tends to read the lane in a way bowlers can describe before they ever throw it. That predictability is the brand’s calling card.

About Storm

Storm Products, Inc. was founded in 1985 by Bill Chrisman and remains independent and family-owned today. The company is headquartered in Brigham City, Utah, where it does its own R&D, ball manufacturing, and quality control — which is increasingly rare in an industry that has consolidated around a couple of major corporations. That independence has let Storm pursue some of bowling’s most distinctive engineering choices: AI Quad Density cores, the proprietary R2S reactive coverstock, MicroTrax and NeX cover formulations, and the famously scented bowling balls that have become a Storm signature.

Storm’s reputation among bowlers is built on a few things. The build quality is consistent — bowlers trust that two balls off the same line will perform the same. The coverstocks are tunable and well-documented, with surface adjustment instructions that pro shops actually follow. And the lineup is deep enough that a serious tournament bowler can build a complete 6-ball arsenal entirely from Storm pieces and have meaningful gaps between every ball. Combined with Roto Grip, 900 Global, and Track inside the same company, Storm Products has the deepest equipment portfolio in independent bowling.

The brand also dominates on pro tour. Storm staffers have won majors and PBA titles at a clip that few competitors match, and the equipment chosen by those bowlers tends to filter back into the consumer lineup the following year.

Signature Lines

The Phaze series is the modern Storm benchmark — the Phaze II, Phaze III, Phaze IV, and Phaze V have, generation after generation, been some of the best-selling balls in the entire industry. The Phaze identity is “controllable, versatile, fits everyone,” and it earns that identity on the lane.

The Hy-Road is the other Storm line that has reached genuine icon status. Across many generations, the Hy-Road has been the answer to “what is a benchmark medium-oil ball?” for an entire generation of bowlers. It is one of the most-recommended balls in the sport.

The IQ Tour family is Storm’s tournament-tested high-performance line, designed with input from the brand’s pro staff. IQ Tour balls tend to read clean through the front, then hit hard through the pins.

The !Q Tour Emerald and other tournament releases round out the high-end, while pearls like the Pitch Black urethane and the various Spectre and Trend lines fill in specialty roles.

Best For

Storm fits bowlers who value predictability and versatility above all else. The brand’s smoother coverstock formulas and well-balanced cores mean that almost any style can find a Storm ball that works — strokers, tweeners, crankers, and two-handers all throw Storm at the highest levels of the sport. The Phaze and Hy-Road families are particularly friendly to a wide range of speeds and rev rates, which is why they are recommended so often as a first benchmark piece. For bowlers who want sharper backend motion or more aggressive asymmetric flare, Roto Grip inside the same family is usually the better answer. For value-tier Storm-quality equipment, 900 Global is the call.

Buying Guide

If you are buying your first Storm or replacing a benchmark piece, the Phaze family is almost always the right place to start — see how it stacks up in our medium oil rankings. For heavy oil and tournament conditions, the IQ Tour and other high-end Storm pieces land in our heavy oil guide. Storm also makes some of the most-used urethane in the sport — see our urethane rankings. New to coverstock types? The coverstock guide breaks it down. For a personalized pick across Storm’s full lineup, run our ball recommender.

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