[Latitude] Ballista Pro

[brutalbrutus]

The Ballista Pro disc made by Latitude 64° was PDGA Approved on 12-11-2017.


"Ballista Pro is the big brother of the Ballista, with added stability for experienced players. It is the perfect solution if you are looking for a distance driver that can navigate tight fairways. With a great combination of speed, stability and glide, Ballista Pro*is the perfect tool for all kinds of distance shots. Speed: 14 Glide 4 Turn: 0 Fade: 3" - by Latitude 64°

Ballista
175.1g
21.1 dia
1.7 height
1.1 rim depth
16.3 inside rim dia
2.4 rim thickness

 

[brutalbrutus]

That yellow background and disc combo was a great idea...

 

[Twmccoy]

Seems a tad redundant. They already have the Scythe, Missilen, Villain, Gladiator and Cutlass. All have more or less the same glide and stability rating.

I do love the Ballista, but is there really need for a more stable version?

 

[elmexdela]

are those innuva flight numbers they are starting to use on their discs?

 

[Ender175]

So it's a rebranded world? Ballista was already marketed as a less stable world. Seems redundant to release a "more stable version" of a "less stable version" of a disc.

Maybe someday Innova will release a "shorter Thunderbird"...that disc would be sweet

 

[elmexdela]

So it's a rebranded world? Ballista was already marketed as a less stable world. Seems redundant to release a "more stable version" of a "less stable version" of a disc.

Maybe someday Innova will release a "shorter Thunderbird"...that disc would be sweet

Oh I get it! You mean the leopard because the thb is faster and flippy.

 

[wims]

So it's a rebranded world? Ballista was already marketed as a less stable world. Seems redundant to release a "more stable version" of a "less stable version" of a disc.

Maybe someday Innova will release a "shorter Thunderbird"...that disc would be sweet

The World is a Westside product while this Ballista Pro is a Latitude product so it kind of makes sense ... although Westside is co-owned by Latitude and DD these days, so there's that. Perhaps they want to move the Westside product lineup into their own product lineup

 

[uncle pennybags]

The World is a Westside product while this Ballista Pro is a Latitude product so it kind of makes sense ... although Westside is co-owned by Latitude and DD these days, so there's that. Perhaps they want to move the Westside product lineup into their own product lineup

If that were the case why not just say it outright?

Here is xyz new disc, this is the exact same mold as abc old disc renamed and restamped because we are eliminating a brand.

Would it be so hard?

 

[brutalbrutus]

But then they wouldn't be a trilogy...

 

[smarkquart]

I liked the potential I was getting out of the Ballistas when they first came out, but I liked them out of the box. Once they took a hit or two, they became a little too unpredictable. I have been waffling from big driver to big driver a lot over the last two years, not finding one that truly works for me.

I use a combination of either a Sword or a G-DD for big distance that require accuracy, but I still want a raw distance disc that works with my less-than-stellar throwing form. I can muster between 380-420 with decent accuracy, but I need a disc that is the true definition of stable. I cannot explain how, but I lost all control of trying to get distance through an anhyzer flex. Not going to brother putting precious time into fixing it when I know I can get a flat release out to 380-420. The problem is, finding that perfect disc.

Some of my consistency issues involves discs that are just too wide. I hate admitting that I am getting older and that could be a part of my inconsistency issues, but I am finding that the wider the disc, the greater chance I have of either griplocking and or just not generating enough snap. The Trespass is a narrow wide-rimmed driver and works great, but the newer discs like the Ballista, Catapult, DDx, and Sheriff have greater distance potential than the Trespass.

Now, I could go with the Trespass and just settle. I like that when thrown flat it can turn a little, but it will fight back forward and eventually fade on target. The Ballistas and Sheriffs when fresh actually seem more stable than the Trespass, but after a few hits, both of those discs suddenly lose all LSS, meaning that if they flip or turn, they are not coming back.

So I reinvested in the Catapults. I tried them once over a year ago, but they seemed too beefy for that exact shot. They were not overstable, but they seemed to drop earlier. While they had the same big distance potential as the Ballista and Sheriff, and hence more than the Trespass, it seemed it also required a little more power to get it out there. Sneaking that power back in meant a greater chance of griplocks or OAT. However, for the time being, it pairs well with the Sword and is what I am using for my big shots.

And yet, with it being the winter, I have not had many opportunities to simply let them fly. During the school year when I teach, I am rather limited to city parks which sports most holes around 250-340, not exactly opening it up with all those mature trees. So when they revised their flight chart and I saw they knocked the Catapult's glide down to 4, it made sense, and thus I am willing to give the Ballista Pro a try.

I only had four big shots with it today. Its stability is online with the Catapult. That is not where I want it yet, but I suspect after some hits, if it is anything like the regular Ballista, it will soon lose some stability. If it does, it will be right where I want it to be. So, it flies like my Catapult, but three out of four throws it outdistanced the Catapult by 10 feet or more. However, the one throw it came up short was with a tailwind where it faded out earlier, and when impacting with the snow, actually skipped backward because it was fading so hard. I corrected my shot with the Catapult and had a much cleaner line. Still, it was a 550 foot hole, so it netting about 30 feet more really did not make that much of a difference. That means, on an open shot, a mediocre Ballista Pro shot did almost as well as a decent to good shot from its competitor. That gives me hope that the Ballista Pro is what I have been looking for over the last two years.

 

[Monkeypaws]

Seems a tad redundant. They already have the Scythe, Missilen, Villain, Gladiator and Cutlass. All have more or less the same glide and stability rating.

I do love the Ballista, but is there really need for a more stable version?

It is a game of degrees - how thin you slice it is up to the manufacturers, and people who want a certain flight.

 

[Twmccoy]

It is a game of degrees - how thin you slice it is up to the manufacturers, and people who want a certain flight.

Yeah, I still wonder how Innova produces so many different (and fairly redundant) drivers and still sells enough of them to keep making all of the different molds.


After a while you're splitting hairs when it comes to releasing new discs. Everything innovative has pretty much already been done.

 

[Turnipseed]

It is a game of degrees - how thin you slice it is up to the manufacturers, and people who want a certain flight.

It's a game of dollars. How successful it is is up to the marketers, and the halfwits who make up the bulk of customers.

 

[Countchunkula]

Yeah, I still wonder how Innova produces so many different (and fairly redundant) drivers and still sells enough of them to keep making all of the different molds.


After a while you're splitting hairs when it comes to releasing new discs. Everything innovative has pretty much already been done.

They don't have to run the slow movers all that often. I would be really surprised if the slowest moving molds in the "current production" Innova lineup get run more than once every few years. When they designate something OOP probably is more of a marketing decision than a manufacturing one.

 

[SD86]

They don't have to run the slow movers all that often. I would be really surprised if the slowest moving molds in the "current production" Innova lineup get run more than once every few years. When they designate something OOP probably is more of a marketing decision than a manufacturing one.

They make a fairly big run of a mold, then sell from that same run for years and years. The Champ Banshee might be an example of that. As to OOP, when a physical mold is no longer serviceable and they don't want to get another one, the mold goes OOP. By the way, has Innova taken a very popular mold OOP like Discraft and Trilogy sometimes do?

 

[Twmccoy]

They make a fairly big run of a mold, then sell from that same run for years and years. The Champ Banshee might be an example of that. As to OOP, when a physical mold is no longer serviceable and they don't want to get another one, the mold goes OOP. By the way, has Innova taken a very popular mold OOP like Discraft and Trilogy sometimes do?

Innova doesn't seem to take many discs OOP. I know it has been discussed on here before which discs Innova SHOULD take OOP. Everyone of course has varying opinions on that.

I think Innova's most popular disc is the Destroyer. I bet they mold those constantly and stores are always getting fresh batches, rather than discs that have sat in a warehouse for a decade waiting to sell. The same could be said for the Beast or Valk. I know those are incredible sellers.

Innova also still keeps the much-maligned Groove around. Damn things must sell. I still see them around in stores and at the course. People buy and use them. Must be a bunch of newbs who don't know any better.
As for this Ballista pro, I can't see it being more than a niche disc. A few rabid Ballista throwers will probably buy it, but that's it.

 

[SD86]

Innova doesn't seem to take many discs OOP. I know it has been discussed on here before which discs Innova SHOULD take OOP. Everyone of course has varying opinions on that.

I think Innova's most popular disc is the Destroyer. I bet they mold those constantly and stores are always getting fresh batches, rather than discs that have sat in a warehouse for a decade waiting to sell. The same could be said for the Beast or Valk. I know those are incredible sellers.

Innova also still keeps the much-maligned Groove around. Damn things must sell. I still see them around in stores and at the course. People buy and use them. Must be a bunch of newbs who don't know any better.
As for this Ballista pro, I can't see it being more than a niche disc. A few rabid Ballista throwers will probably buy it, but that's it.

Agree on all points. Destroyer is definitely the number one seller at DGC, and I believe at Infinite, also. Slower-selling molds are the ones that (for example) still come in pre-JL plastics with pre-JL stamps

I don't understand the continuation of the Groove, either. I'd think they have to know how hated that mold is, and the potential damage it does to new people just getting into DG...:gross:

 

[Streets]

I don't understand the continuation of the Groove

It sells. Not hard to figure out.

 

[Twmccoy]

Agree on all points. Destroyer is definitely the number one seller at DGC, and I believe at Infinite, also. Slower-selling molds are the ones that (for example) still come in pre-JL plastics with pre-JL stamps

I don't understand the continuation of the Groove, either. I'd think they have to know how hated that mold is, and the potential damage it does to new people just getting into DG...:gross:

I try to keep a fairly open mind when I try discs in the field or on the course. I've seen and thrown Grooves since they first came out. I even have a couple first runs (yay, me. I'm sitting on a gold mine). The first Grooves I threw were unremarkable, but acceptable fliers. All the Grooves I've found and thrown lately have been the most stubborn, overstable glideless bricks I've ever seen. For a speed 13 driver they go nowhere and simply want to stall and hyzer out. I'll literally call the Groove the worst driver I've ever thrown based on what its marketed as. For the sake of the game, Innova should cut their losses and discontinue it. Push the Daedalus and Shryke hard instead.

 

[Countchunkula]

They make a fairly big run of a mold, then sell from that same run for years and years. The Champ Banshee might be an example of that. As to OOP, when a physical mold is no longer serviceable and they don't want to get another one, the mold goes OOP. By the way, has Innova taken a very popular mold OOP like Discraft and Trilogy sometimes do?

I don't think the condition of the mold has much to do with a disc going out of production. If the disc sells, they'll tool up another mold (see San Marino, Ontario, and Rancho Rocs). The Lycan is OOP and I doubt they did more than two runs of that dud. It's a marketing decision that has little to do with the condition of the production tooling.