Z Zone vs. VIP Harp vs. champion Gator

[Twmccoy]

I decided to throw all 3 of these in the bag today for a round to see how they stack up against each other. My local course has plenty of short holes where overstable putter/mids work well off the tee. All the shots I was doing with these discs were from about 250'-320'. I'll briefly summarize each disc and then write a comparison of them.

Champion Gator: Scott Withers version. 175g. I'm not familiar with the Gator. I think today was the first time I'd actually thrown one. Nice mold here. Slightly shallower and faster than the Zone or Harp. Very flat. No dome at all. Almost seemed concave. The Gator was overstable, but not as much as the Zone. Good hand feel. Steady flights. The Gator rides flat fairly decently before fading. No high speed turn.

VIP Harp: 175g. Of the 3 discs, the Harp seemed to have the deepest rim. Very steady flier. I liked the Harp immediately. I feel like it was the longest of these 3 molds. The Harp won't turn at all, but it stays flat nicely for a while before fading. The fade on the Harp is slightly mellower than the Gator or Zone. I also got slightly better distance with it than the others.

Z Zone: 174g. Deeper rim than the Gator, but shallower than the Harp. The Zone was noticeably the most overstable disc of these 3. It glided the least and faded the soonest and hardest. I'll also say it was slightly shorter than the others.

Summary: All 3 of these discs seem to be made for the same purpose. They're "tweeners" (putter or mid) that are pretty overstable. I got slightly different flights from all 3 discs, but they all seemed to end up within 10' of each other. I felt like the Harp had the best distance potential, and it responded well the couple times I really laid into it. The Gator covered ground a little easier simply because it's a faster disc than the others. Its more like a mid than a putter. The Zone was beefiest and shortest. It doesn't glide well, and it won't stay flat for long.

I could bag any of these molds and do fine with it. All 3 provided very consistent shots on short holes. I had zero trouble getting these discs near the hole for easy birdie looks. That said, I'd never need to bag more than one of these molds at a time. They all do pretty much the same thing despite having subtle differences in flight. I really liked all 3 discs, and I'd recommend any of them to someone looking for an overstable mid/putter for upshots or short tee shots. I'd release them hard and flat right of the hole and let them work left late in flight. None of these molds had any chance of flipping. They won't turn for me even on full power rips.

Of the 3, I feel like the Harp is best for putting. I'd never use the Harp as a main putter, but it does OK in wind. The Gator and Zone don't putt as well.

Based on what I saw today, I'd rate these discs as follows...

Harp: 4, 4, 0, 3
Gator: 5, 4, 0, 3
Zone: 4, 3, 0, 4

Gator is fastest. Zone has the least glide and most fade.

[seedlings]

My most used disc is a vip harp. It will eventually beat into a fade of 2. Straighter, still very, very usable and stable. Don’t have experience with the other two. I picked up a BT soft harp with plans to eventually make a Harp my main putter (from a d-line P2). I often putt with the vip and/or the bf soft.

Edit: putting on anhyzer with the harp is really nice.

[Twmccoy]

Originally Posted by seedlings

My most used disc is a vip harp. It will eventually beat into a fade of 2. Straighter, still very, very usable and stable. Don’t have experience with the other two. I picked up a BT soft harp with plans to eventually make a Harp my main putter (from a d-line P2). I often putt with the vip and/or the bf soft.

Edit: putting on anhyzer with the harp is really nice.

I hadn't ever thrown a Harp until today. I ended up liking it a lot. Very steady performer. Overstable without being a total slab of beef. I was able to crank on the Harp hard and get nice, straight flights out of it with reliable late fade. I had the Harp dialed in quickly, and it got me several easy birdies today. The disc is almost brainlessly easy to throw. Seldom can I try a new disc and have confidence in it as soon as I did the Harp today.

It wouldn't ever be my main putter, but I like the Harp for shortish tee shots and upshots.

[swhite]

Twmccoy, I would be interested in your take on Harps in BT plastic.
I prefer the feel of Zones a bit more than Harps. But, it is the BT Hard plastic that makes me stick with Harps. In my opinion, no Discraft baseline plastic is as nice as BT Hard.

[jmdaire27]

Gator is definitely faster, and the most bulky and uncomfortable in my opinion. Harp also loses the “feel” battle with its deep and perpendicular rim. Pretty sure the zone is the shallowest of the three, and really lends to great feeling FH and BH. Slower, too, so better for approaches.

Zones are awesome.

[Twmccoy]

Originally Posted by jmdaire27

Gator is definitely faster, and the most bulky and uncomfortable in my opinion. Harp also loses the “feel” battle with its deep and perpendicular rim. Pretty sure the zone is the shallowest of the three, and really lends to great feeling FH and BH. Slower, too, so better for approaches.

Zones are awesome.

Of the 3, the Zone is the one I've had in the bag, and will continue to have in the bag. It works perfectly for all the shots I use it for.

I didn't notice the Gator feeling bulky.

[Twmccoy]

Originally Posted by swhite

Twmccoy, I would be interested in your take on Harps in BT plastic.
I prefer the feel of Zones a bit more than Harps. But, it is the BT Hard plastic that makes me stick with Harps. In my opinion, no Discraft baseline plastic is as nice as BT Hard.

I probably won't ever throw a Harp in base plastic. All the mids I dabble in are good plastic. I don't like fooling around with discs that wear out quickly and lose their flight characteristics.

I do have a Harp in tournament swirl plastic. It feels a little gummy.

[jmbo]

Originally Posted by Twmccoy

I probably won't ever throw a Harp in base plastic. All the mids I dabble in are good plastic. I don't like fooling around with discs that wear out quickly and lose their flight characteristics.

I do have a Harp in tournament swirl plastic. It feels a little gummy.

BT plastic is more durable than you're giving it credit for here. I've had the same 2 harps (BT Hard (OS) & BT Medium (extra OS)) in my bag for the better part of 2 years, and neither is radically less overstable than new.

[Moose33]

Originally Posted by Twmccoy

I probably won't ever throw a Harp in base plastic. All the mids I dabble in are good plastic. I don't like fooling around with discs that wear out quickly and lose their flight characteristics.

I do have a Harp in tournament swirl plastic. It feels a little gummy.

I have a first run BT Soft harp and granted it looks like he’ll, but it still flies pretty stable.

[azplaya25]

Originally Posted by Twmccoy

I probably won't ever throw a Harp in base plastic. All the mids I dabble in are good plastic. I don't like fooling around with discs that wear out quickly and lose their flight characteristics.

I do have a Harp in tournament swirl plastic. It feels a little gummy.

I bag a beat to hell orgio harp to compliment my vip harp. It’s a nice combo. Beat up harp flys like a nice stable putter and does great in the wind, while the vip is awesome for forehands and mini firebird duties