Radical Torpedo Direct Hit Review
Pure backend violence in a pearl package. Maximum angular motion from the Torpedo Asymmetric Core. $139.95. Video inside.
Here we [Music] go. Hey, team boom people. Time to look at the torpedo direct hit. Woo! [Applause] [Music]
Um, all right. So, Radicals, uh, come out with two torpedoes. One is a direct hit. Um, one is a side hit. I'm not really sure. They both hit. I'm not sure what the other kind of hit is, but this one's a direct hit. Uh, if you guys didn't know, I know they advertise it and stuff. This one is designed to have less friction on the cover. There's been rumors what the cover really is. All I know is it's less friction. I did not change the cover. I'm leaving the shine on it. And quite honestly, probably going to leave the shine on it cuz
that's the whole reason I wanted to drill this ball. It ain't for game one. At least I don't know. I haven't thrown the ball yet. Literally haven't thrown this ball yet. I'm drilling this ball for when the lanes dry out or if I go someplace where there's super a lot of friction. I want something that's not going to make me go way too far left too quick. but still with a decent core in it. This is supposed to be exactly that. So, I've got a few games uh on this so far. I'll put the specs in the video right here. Uh it's got the same core as
uh the other torpedo. Uh I think it's a low RG, fairly high differential, medium, intermediate differential. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me, but the specs will be in the video. So, um but it's just the cover that's different. The cover's got that slicker cover and it with compound on it. Even though the other one, the other torpedo has compound on it as well. It's got a lot more teeth. So, we'll see though. I haven't thrown this ball yet. It's got a few games on. This is a house shot I'm bowling on. I'll move just about here. Target
16. Oh yeah, that thing there gets through the fronts. So, I'm going to do this review, but I want to warn you. This ball is for dry lanes. Vero bowl typically does not have dry lanes. Not in my opinion. They do get dry eventually, some nights, depending on who you have on your pair, but it takes a lot. So, just based off that first shot, I'm
thinking this is exactly what I drilled it up for. But, let's get dialed up with it first. Anyway, this is going to be really good, I think, too, for options for people that struggle with speed, but they want something with a stronger core. I mean, we'll see, but I'm I'm thinking that's going to be an option for them as well. You typically don't have something with this strong of a core with this slick of a cover. All right, I moved like four right there. Let's see what happens. It's going to target what?
12. Oh, balance. Oh, that ball's nice. That's going to be so perfect for what I'm looking for. Truth be told, if I was to come into this house and try to strike try to strike as much as I could when it comes to this house, this wouldn't be the ball I pull out. Not right now. I would save this for later. Having said that, we're doing the ball review right now, and it's going to be really hard for me to tell a bunch of high rev players to come over here. First, I have to find the high rev players, then tell them to come over
here and bowl about 10 games on it, and then do the review. So, since we can't do that, I'm going to give you the best info I can give you. I like I liked what that just did there, though. How controllable it was down lane. Man, that's really what I was looking for. All right, targeting 12 again. Oh, yeah. 1312 right around there. Yeah, I'm I'm digging that. Well, Brunswick's been coming out with some
stuff. Obviously, I'm talking about all the brands. They really have. This latest release, I drilled up four or five of them. And man, like so far, this is the first time I'm using that ball, but so far, every single one of them are bangers. Like, it's impressive. This one here, I went with a little different layout. I say different, it's not different than anything I've done in the past. I did make the first number on the dual angle layout uh a lot lower. I wanted the ball to rev up a little bit sooner. Um cuz I
didn't want it too over under in a lot of cases. I felt like the cover being thicker like that, I needed that. So, the first number here is 30 on this, which I've done with some other stuff. Um but man, that's a that's a I don't even want to move. Like that looks so good. Uh, missed a little right there. Yeah. So, pretty sure I can move a little bit right. Take a little hand out of it. It's probably going to be money. Probably where I'm going to
struggle with this ball is when I try to move left. There's too much soup and that ball's cover is not going to be able to do it. But, we're going to see what it does. We going to give it a whirl. So, when it comes to the part of saying who's who's going to really like this ball, you got a lot of speed, no hand, don't buy this ball. You got a lot of hand and you bow a lot of friction, whatever you got to do, go buy this ball. Hell, if you got medium speed and medium hand and you you get tired of
being in situations where everything hooks too much, still try to go by this ball. All right, I'm going to move right about four more, three more. All right, target right here. I'm going to target nine. That ball's so good. Wow. Thank you, Radical. It's like there's weaker stuff, right? But typically, like when they get bone dry, there are, don't get
me wrong, there are pearl ACMs you can go to and a lot of times they'll work just fine. But a lot of times if it's like super dry, you end up going to your weaker cores, your symmetrical cores and stuff like that with pearls. I try to keep things under control. This one actually has that really hard core, but it'll still get down lane. This is uh I'm super glad I drilled this. I'm really excited about what I'm seeing right now. So, but we know it can strike from the left. We know it can strike over in the
middle. We know it can strike from the right. And I'm doing another video where I got a lot of strikes. I feel like I should keep striking first before I go playing around. So, hold on. I only got the front four. I'm going to give it a couple more shots. If I strike more again, I'm going to see if I can shoot 300. All right. Where was I at earlier when I was striking? Like right here. Yeah. Targeting 12. Yep. All right. Front five. Front five. One more and I'm
halfway to the 300 once again. Don't worry, I'll show you the score first. I'm going to see how far I can go. Oh, it's going to keep my balls. Always trying to ice me. Okay, let's go. Front six. Keep forgetting where I was standing. Wait, targeting 12. I got to think it through. See what happens when you get old. It's terrible. All
right. H maybe. Yep. I got around that a little bit more and it touched the dry a little bit soon. But you see how it stayed? It didn't jump. That's what I'm really digging right now. Like it's just impressive. Okay, so round six. Not doing my putt shot until I miss. That's just way it's going to be. Hopefully you stick around and see if I
do this thing. Oh, I got around it and to the right. And this is why I have a normal job. Okay, that was terrible. My bad. if you were waiting around thinking I was going to shoot 300 and then I gave you that for a product. All right, so that means we'll kind of do a final assessment and a clutch shot. First of all, once again, cover super clean. It is for drier
lanes, slow speed players, rev dominant players, places, people that bowl in places with a lot of friction and they're tired. Every week they go there, they hook a ton. boy, if you don't buy this ball, you're cheating yourself. Um, so for all those types, a lot of hand. Basically, you want a ball to be a little bit weaker but with a stronger core and still gets through the pins. That's 100% this ball in a nutshell. So, come see us at Vero Bowl in the pro shop. Patrick will be in there waiting for you to take care of
you. Now, I'm going to do my clutch shot. You know the drill. Strike. You know, subscribe. Nice. You know the just subscribe. Don't forget. Okay. Okay. So, I'm going to throw a better shot this shot. This my clutch shot. I got to I got to make it good. That's a little right again. Oh, I suck. Still got to subscribe, though. That's the deal. All right, the next one. Boom out. [Music]
Performance Analysis
Performance Analysis
Testing revealed that the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit addresses a specific niche: rev-dominant bowlers struggling with early hook on medium-light oil patterns. Independent reviewers observed the ball exhibited restrained early-lane motion compared to conventional pearls, staying straighter through the fronts before reading friction effectively on the backend. On the slightly broken-in house shot—approximating post-warm-up league conditions—the ball required minimal movement adjustments and responded well to wiping between shots, suggesting reactive pearl coverstock behavior that moderates hook when oil is present. The ball demonstrated solid carry when thrown with proper angle and speed, even on near-miss entries, which testers noted as a positive surprise compared to short-pin layouts that typically leave corner pins in similar scenarios.
The Torpedo Direct Hit’s effectiveness was most evident when positioned to play closer to the dry boards. Testing showed the ball could be moved as far right as the mid-20s boards (standing position) while maintaining drive-through the pins, and it responded predictably when adjusted left as oil patterns changed. Comparisons to other equipment in the tester’s bag—including a short-pin asymmetric and a polished hybrid—revealed the Torpedo offered better pocket hit consistency and corner pin carry than short-pin designs, while maintaining the line control rev-dominant players need to avoid the excessive hook seen with traditional reactive pearls. One notable observation: the ball performed unexpectedly well on mistimed releases, suggesting a forgiving core design that doesn’t punish off-axis throws as severely as some asymmetrics.
Who Is This Ball For?
The Torpedo Direct Hit is purpose-built for rev-dominant bowlers (350+ revolutions) with moderate ball speeds who have historically struggled with equipment choices on house and league patterns. If you’ve experienced early, hard hook off dry boards with standard reactive pearls, or found yourself resorting to weak cover stocks and short-pin layouts that don’t read enough friction, this ball merits a serious look. It’s particularly suited for bowlers who want to play straighter lines through the front end without sacrificing backend motion—solving the common problem of either being too aggressive early or too weak overall.
This ball is less ideal for high-speed bowlers (16+ mph hand speed combined with lower revolutions) who need maximum length, or for those regularly bowling on heavily oiled sport patterns where earlier motion is desirable. Senior bowlers with moderate speed and rev rates should note that the ball’s measured response to friction means it may hook earlier than expected if you’re accustomed to weaker equipment. At the $139.95 price point, it represents solid value for rev-dominant league bowlers seeking a single-ball solution for medium-friction conditions, though testers suggest additional surface adjustments (light polish) may be beneficial on drier or higher-friction house shots.
The Pros
- • Perfect 10 backend rating — the most angular ball in Radical's catalog
- • Torpedo Asymmetric Core with .054 differential creates massive flare potential on a pearl cover
- • Low Friction Pearl at 2000 grit polish pushes exceptionally clean through the heads
- • Outstanding value at $139.95 for a high-performance asymmetric pearl
- • 9.6 pin action despite being a pearl — the Torpedo core hits like a solid
The Cons
- • Extreme backend motion can create over-under issues on heavily broken-down lanes
- • Not for bowlers who prefer smooth, arcing ball motion
- • Requires precise speed control to keep the backend reaction manageable
Who Is This Ball For?
Pure backend violence in a pearl package. Maximum angular motion from the Torpedo Asymmetric Core. $139.95. Video inside.
Technical Specifications
How It Compares
More Videos (7)
radical torpedo & torpedo direct hit | sarahbowls
sarah bowls
Radical Torpedo Direct Hit versus Short Pin Layout Balls // Ball Review
West Seattle Bowl Proshop
Quick Review of the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit
Tilly's Adventures
Radical Torpedo Direct Hit | Tyler Armour
Radical
Radical Torpedo Direct Hit | Aaron Phillips
Radical
MOST UNIQUE BALL SINCE 2021! | Radical Torpedo Direct Hit
BrunsNick
Radical Bowling // TORPEDO DIRECT HIT // ThroBot Ball Review // URD 03-20-2025
Radical BowlingVerified Bowler Reviews (9 reviews, 4.9/5 avg)
Not enough reviews for AI summary
Summaries generate automatically at 5+ reviews
I drilled the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit 55 x 4.5” x 35 to mimic the layout used on my Radical Torpedo. I wanted a 1:1 comparison, and these two balls are perfect compliments for varying oil patterns. The Torpedo Direct Hit has the newly formulated Low Friction Cover (LFC), making it great for lower ball speeds or rev dominant players. I can move 8-4 left (left-handed) with the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit compared to the Torpedo, tighten up my line, and play closer to the friction without worrying about the ball jumping or hooking early. The lower friction cover helps the ball glide down the lane, making it the perfect ball for late shift moves, lower volumes, or burn squads. I can stand closer to the gutter, allowing me to get enough entry angle to carry those pesky corner pins on the regular. If you are looking for a perfect ball that gives you that quality asymmetric hit, with a controllable cover, then the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit is perfect for you! Order yours now from Bowler Builders Pro Shop and join the Radical Revolution today!
THE BALL IS EXTREMELY CLEAN THROUGH THE FRONTS WITH THE BOX FINISH. I HIT IT WITH 3000 TRU CUT AND IT RELAY LETS THE LARGER WEIGHT BLOCK TAKE OVER. VERY CLEAN AND ANGULAR.
FL, United States
Torpedo Direct hit I’m a left handed bowler. My ball speed is around 14.5 mph. My Rev rate is around 275 rpms. I recently punched up this ball. My layout choice is 40 x 4 1/4 x 65. I was looking for a ball to use on lower volume oil patterns and drier lanes conditions. Well that’s exactly what I got. It is made for the very low oil conditions. Most of the time I get to use it as a spare ball. But I have got to use it as a strike ball in a couple tournaments and a league with older lane surface. It’s a great ball for the light oil conditions and drier lanes. It’s a great addition to the Radical Bowling Technologies line. Robert Way
I’m a one-handed, rev dominant player with average speed. I use this for practice on dry lanes during open bowling. I struggled to not hit Brooklyn with my benchmark ball. I’m not struggling against the lane with this ball and can have a relaxed throw. This is absolutely not a spare ball. The weak cover allows straighter angles on dry lanes. The big core allows for front to back shape along the lane. It’s a strong asymmetric that can be thrown on dry lanes. It even works well on a fresh house shot during league. It plays a bit straighter for those conditions, but not much straighter. In my house with my bowling style, I don’t want a stronger ball than this.
Frequently Asked Questions
What oil condition is the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit best for?
Is the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit good for beginners?
What is the RG and differential of the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit?
How much does the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit cost?
What type of bowler should use the Radical Torpedo Direct Hit?
Never Miss a Release
Join serious bowlers getting the weekly data dump on new ball releases and performance data.