Twmccoy
* Ace Member *
Today's driver matchup is a pair of fairly overstable speed 12 drivers, the Westside Warhorse, and Innova's XCaliber. Both of these are known for being good wind fighters. A lot of big arms tote them around.
XCaliber has a 2.3 CM rim width. 1.2 CM rim depth. Listed #s: 12, 5, 0, 4.
Warhorse has a 2.2 CM rim width. 1.2 CM rim depth. Listed #s: 13, 4, 0, 4.
XCal (for this review) is champion, 175g. Fairly flat.
Warhorse is 174g, Tournament burst plastic. Big dome. Much domier than the XCal.
I'm intimately familiar with the XCal, and have bagged one for years. I use it for fairly long drives when the wind starts blowing a little and the star Destroyer starts flipping.
I'm not nearly as familiar with the Warhorse. I only have 1 of them. I did a comprehensive write up/review of it on here about a year ago.
For 2 discs with such similar flight numbers, I actually experienced some noticeable differences in flight. Today was the first time I've ever thrown these molds at the same time.
Contrary to the given flight numbers, I found the XCal to have a smidge of high speed turn. Even more interestingly, it will hold that turn and transition to flat pretty gracefully. The XCal seemed in no hurry to fade either. Once it did finally fade, it was fairly sharp/dumpy. Thrown into a headwind the XCal bled right enough to land about 25' right of my intended target. I never got a dramatic late fade out of it to bring it back toward center. The slight high speed turn and later fade made the XCal easily 25' longer than the Warhorse. The XCal isn't an exceptional glider. I feel like it glides worse than most star Destroyers. Top distance with the XCal was probably about 380'. The prolonged straight flight and later fade really helped there.
Now, the Warhorse is a little more what I was expecting out of an overstable driver. I didn't get any turn out of the Warhorse at all, and it wouldn't hold a flat line long before starting to fade. The Warhorse just loves to be thrown hard. I was giving it 100% rips and getting good results. I'd just lay it out right of the target and let the disc's natural (hard) fade bring it back toward center. At no point did the Warhorse even wiggle right into a headwind. The Warhorse penetrates well and gets decent distance despite not gliding great. I don't quite have the arm to flatten the Warhorse out for big distance, but I was still getting a consistent 360' out of it. What I really liked was how accurate that distance was. The Warhorse went where I aimed it. The Warhorse has a good hand feel and reminds me of a domey, faster Firebird.
Conclusions: Depending on what you're looking for, both the XCal and the Warhorse are good overstable drivers. That said, when you start cranking into headwinds the XCal will turn enough to cause concern. In calm conditions the XCal won't turn, but will still stay flat for most of the flight. The Warhorse is noticeably more overstable than the XCal, and shorter for that reason. Ultimately you have to decide what matters more; the extra 20' of distance the XCal provides, or the better wind fighting ability of the Warhorse.
I was a little surprised at these results, mainly at the fact that the XCal is such a wimpy wind fighter. It'll fly overstable in calm conditions, but turns noticeably in headwinds. I've bagged the XCal for years. I don't throw it a ton. After today's duel I'm tempted to switch it out for the Warhorse. I just liked the Warhorse better. You can MURDER it into a headwind without worry. I liked the consistent overstability of the disc as well.
My flight numbers based on what I've seen out of these molds...
XCal: 12, 4, -.5, 4. The XCal WILL turn a little on hard rips, more so if you throw into a headwind. It still fades pretty hard. I'm not wild about the glide, which is why I dropped it to 4. The XCal flies like a beefy, somewhat sluggish Destroyer. The biggest asset of the XCal (IMO) is the distance. This disc covers ground well when you mash on it. Quite a bit longer than the Warhorse.
Warhorse: 12, 4, 0, 4. The only number I changed here was the speed. I don't feel like the Warhorse is quite 13 speed. All the other numbers are accurate. This disc doesn't glide remarkably well, doesn't turn at all, and fades left hard and fairly soon in flight. The Warhorse is by far the better wind fighter of the two. I'll go as far as to call the Warhorse underrated. This is a nice mold, and it performs as it should.
XCaliber has a 2.3 CM rim width. 1.2 CM rim depth. Listed #s: 12, 5, 0, 4.
Warhorse has a 2.2 CM rim width. 1.2 CM rim depth. Listed #s: 13, 4, 0, 4.
XCal (for this review) is champion, 175g. Fairly flat.
Warhorse is 174g, Tournament burst plastic. Big dome. Much domier than the XCal.
I'm intimately familiar with the XCal, and have bagged one for years. I use it for fairly long drives when the wind starts blowing a little and the star Destroyer starts flipping.
I'm not nearly as familiar with the Warhorse. I only have 1 of them. I did a comprehensive write up/review of it on here about a year ago.
For 2 discs with such similar flight numbers, I actually experienced some noticeable differences in flight. Today was the first time I've ever thrown these molds at the same time.
Contrary to the given flight numbers, I found the XCal to have a smidge of high speed turn. Even more interestingly, it will hold that turn and transition to flat pretty gracefully. The XCal seemed in no hurry to fade either. Once it did finally fade, it was fairly sharp/dumpy. Thrown into a headwind the XCal bled right enough to land about 25' right of my intended target. I never got a dramatic late fade out of it to bring it back toward center. The slight high speed turn and later fade made the XCal easily 25' longer than the Warhorse. The XCal isn't an exceptional glider. I feel like it glides worse than most star Destroyers. Top distance with the XCal was probably about 380'. The prolonged straight flight and later fade really helped there.
Now, the Warhorse is a little more what I was expecting out of an overstable driver. I didn't get any turn out of the Warhorse at all, and it wouldn't hold a flat line long before starting to fade. The Warhorse just loves to be thrown hard. I was giving it 100% rips and getting good results. I'd just lay it out right of the target and let the disc's natural (hard) fade bring it back toward center. At no point did the Warhorse even wiggle right into a headwind. The Warhorse penetrates well and gets decent distance despite not gliding great. I don't quite have the arm to flatten the Warhorse out for big distance, but I was still getting a consistent 360' out of it. What I really liked was how accurate that distance was. The Warhorse went where I aimed it. The Warhorse has a good hand feel and reminds me of a domey, faster Firebird.
Conclusions: Depending on what you're looking for, both the XCal and the Warhorse are good overstable drivers. That said, when you start cranking into headwinds the XCal will turn enough to cause concern. In calm conditions the XCal won't turn, but will still stay flat for most of the flight. The Warhorse is noticeably more overstable than the XCal, and shorter for that reason. Ultimately you have to decide what matters more; the extra 20' of distance the XCal provides, or the better wind fighting ability of the Warhorse.
I was a little surprised at these results, mainly at the fact that the XCal is such a wimpy wind fighter. It'll fly overstable in calm conditions, but turns noticeably in headwinds. I've bagged the XCal for years. I don't throw it a ton. After today's duel I'm tempted to switch it out for the Warhorse. I just liked the Warhorse better. You can MURDER it into a headwind without worry. I liked the consistent overstability of the disc as well.
My flight numbers based on what I've seen out of these molds...
XCal: 12, 4, -.5, 4. The XCal WILL turn a little on hard rips, more so if you throw into a headwind. It still fades pretty hard. I'm not wild about the glide, which is why I dropped it to 4. The XCal flies like a beefy, somewhat sluggish Destroyer. The biggest asset of the XCal (IMO) is the distance. This disc covers ground well when you mash on it. Quite a bit longer than the Warhorse.
Warhorse: 12, 4, 0, 4. The only number I changed here was the speed. I don't feel like the Warhorse is quite 13 speed. All the other numbers are accurate. This disc doesn't glide remarkably well, doesn't turn at all, and fades left hard and fairly soon in flight. The Warhorse is by far the better wind fighter of the two. I'll go as far as to call the Warhorse underrated. This is a nice mold, and it performs as it should.
