Tried a Venom today. This is the newer one (ESP first run), not the super old one. 173-174g. The plastic is nice, and the disc has a big dome.
What a mess. I'm not even really sure what Discraft was trying to accomplish here. The Venom is listed at 13, 5, 0, 3. Calling this thing speed 13 is laughable. It's 11 at best. This disc is SSLLOOOWWW. Even in the hand it feels clunky. Deep rim as well. Head to head against a Garret Gurthie halo Wraith it was slower, shorter, and more overstable. The Wraith turned a little more, held flat longer, and faded later. Wraith was at least 20' longer on every throw.
The Venom flies like a brick, plain and simple. It doesn't glide great despite having a big dome. It's slow and beefy. Honestly, the disc this thing most reminds me of is a proto Kong or a Force. Top distance with the Venom today might have been 390'. To get anything resembling distance out of this disc I had to throw it anny HARD. Even then it wants to fight out of the anny quickly and look for the ground.
Summary: The Venom is an almost ruthlessly overstable disc that flies pretty short for being speed 11. It won't turn, glide well, or penetrate. Out of the hand the disc just wants to fly limply and hyzer out early. I suppose the Venom could work for headwinds or short, accurate hyzer drives. The Venom has a nice dome and feels decent in the hand, but flies way slower than advertised. I'd call this a disc for absolute top tier throwers who want something really overstable.
My main problem with the Venom is that it doesn't distinguish itself in any way. It seems to sit between a Force and Nuke OS in terms of stability. The thing is just so damn slow that it won't even go very far. Overall I found it resoundingly dissatisfying to throw, and the disc doesn't do anything special. I wouldn't bag it.
Venom: 11, 4, 0, 3.5. Slower, less glide, and a hair more fade than advertised flight numbers. Don't pick this thing up expecting big distance or speed. Big miss from Discraft on this one, IMO...
