[Latitude] Ballista

[VictorB]

Has anyone thrown these yet and can share some information on its stability and flight path compared to the World & King?

I picked one of these up to try, since I've never really found a driver over speed 10 that I've been really comfortable with.

I had tried a TP world, and it didn't have enough high speed turn for me. The Ballista has that high speed turn I've been looking for without being too squirrely - has some turn but a dependable fade. Never really got that feeling with the DDx or Tern, and discs like destroyers and enforcers are too high speed stable for me.

I feel like the ballista should pair well with a world, being a nice compliment to the hss that the world has. It was a bit windy yesterday, and I found that the ballista wasn't too flippy in the wind - I was able to control the flip really well for a high speed disc.

I'm looking forward to trying the snow line version to compare.

 

[khmer]

So my pop top King started to lose its stability so I figured I could try something else that has better availability.....

The flight is quite similar to a brand new pop top King, but maybe even a bit faster. It turns just a bit, but it's nowhere near flippy for me.....

I'm really looking forward to pairing this with the Defender. Obviously this makes me re-consider the World as well. Nice mold.

^ My thought exactly. The King's were my distance drivers for 3 years and after about 2 months of use, they would turn too much for me and became very undependable with a little breeze. I got tired of replacing them.

It's been a little over a year now that I've been using my ballista's in place of the king's and I love it. This disc seriously covers practically any line i may need. And it compliments my defenders very well.

 

[Snaques]

Yup, it's a keeper. After throwing it few more weeks, I can confidently say that Ballista is the longest disc I've ever thrown. The craziest thing is that I can get it past Kings even without a lot of wiggle. On my max throws it has a slight turn and a mellow fade. As a result I can easily bag it for most distance shots, not just the max distance stuf.

I have kept the beat in King as the turnover driver and Defenders on the more OS side. Couldn't be happier with my DD setup.

 

[tsonner]

I got the ballista and the cutlass to replace my nuke because they were the closest match I could find at the local shop. The cutlass definately doesnt fit the nuke flex shot, but the ballista is working into it nicely. The first 8 or so rounds the ballista was dead nuts straight and I couldnt get any turn out of it. As it has broken in it has some turn when thrown flat and you can get a nice flex shot when thrown anny. It is not an exact nuke replacement, but it is a good max d flex disc. Not leaving the bag anytime soon as it and the giant are my two stable n os drivers. Like this disc a lot. It goes very far very fast. I throw this disc at 173g in opto.

 

[the1discChallenge]

For big arm folk, how does it react to a 400'+ throw?

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

For big arm folk, how does it react to a 400'+ throw?

I'm in Denver - things are bit more stable at a mile high, but it's been predictable in less than 10mph headwind.

It flies fast for a nice long time and likes to fly farthest with a touch of anhyzer and room to flex out. It's got 30' on my DDX and has only burned me when I try to push it too hard into headwind.

 

[tsonner]

The ballista has some turn to it when thrown flat, but i have to put a lot of anhyzer angle on it to get it to turn over fully. It is possible to turn it over, but you can seriously lay into this thing. If you throw 400+ consistently and it is turning over too much when thrown flat, then give it some hyzer angle ie hyzer flip style. I really dont think you will have any problem with this disc turning over. I can get four hundo on a good drive, but this thing dont hold anny unless you make it. Side note: this disc will turn into a headwind. Fyi. Compensate for it and yet good.

 

[C Short]

If the Opto or GL has to much turn for your liking, try a Snow line they fly the most stable to overstable.

 

[7ontheline]

I'm liking the 173 yellow GL Ballista I picked up to complement my Icon Outlaws. I've only got one very well seasoned Outlaw that will easily turn for big sky s-turns but its getting a little to flippy to put it on a deep enough hyzer to keep it in a narrow fairway. I'm really digging that the Ballista will easily turn, glide for days, and finish with a forward fade. I've been able to quickly dial in the tailwind hyzer needed for 400-425' distance due in large part to the good hand feel from its flat top.

Lots of speed, glide, minimal fade, and a flat top, boom! If only GL was as grippy as Icon but at least it wont take two years to beat in; just three weeks and one solid nose dive road rash. Not a disc I'd recommend for a <350' max thrower unless they forehand about that far. I'm not a big fan of floppy plastic but if Frost adds HSS without adding LSS I might pick one up. The seller I got it from said GL was more stable than Opto and Moonshine:\

 

[PMantle]

I had to spend some funny money after a tournament yesterday and picked up an Opto Air to play around with. My Blizz Destro is just too flippy. Rim is a litter wider than I try to limit myself, I have liked Kings in the past, so this may be fun.

 

[7ontheline]

I'd be worried that an Opto Air would go roller after a couple weeks of abuse. After some more field work yesterday, my initial impressions still hold. Tailwind only, predictable hyzer flipper for an easy 400'. I think with enough room and height I could go 100% power but on golf lines it needs a deep hyzer to keep it under control.

Still waiting on someone to chime in on GL is more stable than Opto...

 

[PMantle]

My distance drivers almost never hit trees, and we have no rock or sand. They tend to age really slowly. I absolutely hate trying to break in a Champion driver.

 

[7ontheline]

Another month with the GL Ballista as my main understable go really far disc and it continues to lose LSS, 13/4/-3/1. If I could consistently get it over 400' on a golf line I'd give it a 5 glide, but I can't. It's great for tighter fairways as it does hyzer flips with forward fade well. Its better in a tailwind after 350' for sure but I've quickly learned its easy to turn, forward finish to hit some small gaps by letting the disc do the work.

Also, I heard from another source that the GL came out more stable than Opto so just throwing that out there since it didn't sound right when I first heard it as it goes against what I normally see.

 

[Dr.Smooth]

Yeah the gold line can be a more stable plastic option. I found this the case with some of my saint Pros. Goldline and opto are actually similiar mixes. So they are not like totally differerent resins.

But btw the two plastics the run might be a more indicator of stabilitiy. Basically, what I realized was with the Saint Pros the earlier goldline (the pretty stuff) was more stable particuilay the ones with the most dome (yeah it doesn't make sense) but I got plenty of evidence.

So, you just got to feel them up and talk with the hardcore ballista throwers to get the scoop.

 

[7ontheline]

hardcore ballista throwers to get the scoop.

... not too hardcore or they'll be flippy rollers before spring

 

[Snaques]

Yeah the gold line can be a more stable plastic option. I found this the case with some of my saint Pros. Goldline and opto are actually similiar mixes. So they are not like totally differerent resins.

But btw the two plastics the run might be a more indicator of stabilitiy. Basically, what I realized was with the Saint Pros the earlier goldline (the pretty stuff) was more stable particuilay the ones with the most dome (yeah it doesn't make sense) but I got plenty of evidence.

I think that this is spot on. The difference between "Opto vs GL" is quite secondary info when trying to define Trilogy stabilities for many molds. Usually the shape and stiffness are much more reliable indicators.

That being said, I think that the most OS Ballista out there is the Snow line Decodye.

Also, if one is looking for a slightly more OS Ballista, you could wait until the DD Sheriff comes out, since at least that's how the prototypes seem to fly.

 

[jugg3rnautx]

I have a few ballistas. A couple optos and also a moonshine. The moonshine is noticeably much more stable than either opto I have. Which is expected though as that is normally the case for moonshine

 

[ThrowBot]

Played a round yesterday with a friend who was absolutely bombing some pink opto Ballistas (he has 2 in the bag). Really nice consistent hyzer flips to line drive.

I hadn't heard much previously about the Ballista, but they may be on my list of stuff to try if I ever move up past speed 11-ish discs.

 

[rusch_bag]

Couldn't find a newer ballista thread. Can someone give me the lowdown on these things?

 

[Twmccoy]

Couldn't find a newer ballista thread. Can someone give me the lowdown on these things?

I've thrown 2 Ballistas. Both gold line. Its a very fast, wide rimmed driver. Speed 14. They glide well and have some high speed turn followed by a healthy fade. Great distance potential. I'd put the Ballista with pretty much anything out there. The Ballista can be turned over if you really get wild with it, but overall is pretty steady. I still wouldn't throw it into a headwind though.

I just got a couple opto Ballistas, but haven't thrown them yet. Looking forward to doing so. My numbers for the gold Ballista would be

14,5,-2,2.

Massive S curve distance. Basically, the Ballista is what you need to move up to if you're flipping Bolts or Freedoms.