[Drivers] Driver field test

[Twmccoy]

Took 14 drivers out to the field today. The majority of these molds I'd never thrown before. It was calm and I was doing a mixture of hyzer flips, flat releases and anny flex shots. 400' average backhand. My thoughts:

Legacy Cannon: This disc isn't good. It isn't great. It's phenomenal. Hands down the most consistent, longest driver I've ever thrown. Nice opaque, champion like marbled plastic too. Super wide rim. Tracks a bit to the right and then finishes straight. No huge fade. Outstanding glide and super fast. Even mis-throws were getting good yardage.

Champion Katana, 175g. HUGE disappointment. I've thrown Champ Katanas before and really liked them. This one seemed glideless and has a hard late fade. Comes out of the hand well and then dies. More stable than I'd anticipated.

Latitude 64 Gold line Halo, 173g. Outstanding. This disc can take a hard, hard rip and not turn over. Good for anny flex shots. Nice glide. Very long. Love the plastic too.

Latitude 64 Opto Havoc 169g: Pretty understable. Turned and burned it a few times. Reminds me of a Krait or a Sidewinder. Touchy, but if you find the right line it's pretty long. Not something I'd have much use for in the bag frankly. Hard to find the right release to keep it flat.

Latitude 64 Air Opto Bolt 159g: VERY understable, tons of glide. Hard to keep it flat. Had to release on a steep hyzer. Longest disc of the day though, had 30' on all the other discs more than once. Once again, no use for it in the bag. Too flippy and damn near impossible to make it fly flat. When it does its awe inspiring though.

Champion Tern 175g: Not quite sure what to think of this one. Frankly it kinda reminded me of a Destroyer. Surprisingly stable, but also finicky. Flipped it a couple times and it never came back. OK glide, but I've seen better. Overall not super impressed, though not a horrible driver. Distance wasn't shocking me either.

Blizzard Boss 160g: Horrible. EXTREMELY flippy. Even from hyzer releases it would immediately flip over and eat ground. Disc isn't even very beat either. No use for this one at all.

Westside VIP King 171g: Very nice. Like a less stable Boss. Lightning fast and very good glide. Kinda touchy though and easy to flip with too much arm. Released flat this disc will track right before very gently fading. Long, definitely in the upper echelon of distance drivers. I like the plastic too. Slightly gummy but not floppy.

G Star Daedalus 170g: Overall kinda disappointed. Flies like a Destroyer. Not as understable as I was led to believe. Glide could be better too. Plastic is a bit floppy and gummy for my taste and I think that hurt distance some. Just a very neutral, fast driver. Destroyer is better though.

ESP Nuke 174g: I think I have a freak one here. This one is WAY overstable. Even releasing with a big anny it doesn't have much flex and just fades out quick. Not impressed at all, but I've thrown lots of other Nukes and love them.

Vibram Lace 168g: Strange disc. VERY hard to keep on a flat line and loves to flip. Extraordinary glide when you do get it flat though and this disc has huge distance capability. A couple throws with it glided forever. No late fade. Lightning fast too. Not a fan of the plastic. Slippery and rubbery. WAY too inconsistent for me to consider throwing it when it matters though.

ESP Crank 170g: Love it. It's like a Nuke with softer edges. Straight flight, just the slightest right turn before finishing almost straight. No hard fade. Very fast and very long. Surprisingly this disc can handle some hard flat rips and not flip. I was impressed with this one. Overall a fairly neutral driver. Flies like a faster Wraith.

Prodigy D4 168g: Hated it. Every time I threw it it flipped and burned. Got a couple decent throws hyzer, but this disc just didn't impress me in any way. Too understable to be of much use to me.

Blizzard Dominator 168g: Terrible. I wanted to like this disc. It looks good and feels good in your hand. Fairly neutral flight, but after a while it just stops going and falls out of the air like a rock. HEAVY late fade. A solid 30' behind the other discs on almost every throw. I guess it isn't totally useless, but if you want max distance this isn't your disc. Overall a horrible speed 13 disc. Flies more like a speed 10.

Anyone else have thoughts? Opinions? Obviously you can't base a disc off of throwing only one of them, but these were just my observations.

 

[Snaques]

Really nice review and was very interesting read. Your review on Destroyer would be nice reference though seeing that you use it as a benchmark for the others.

 

[tylerc]

distance drivers are very susceptible to changes in dome and PLH so it is hard to tell how a mold flies from one review, with that said nice review of all of these. Im assuming that katana is one of the domey ones? those are nice either way but fly nothing like a katana. I definitely agree about the tern I couldn't ever control them when I could throw them, but half the time they slipped because of the shallow rim.

 

[Twmccoy]

Destroyer

Really nice review and was very interesting read. Your review on Destroyer would be nice reference though seeing that you use it as a benchmark for the others.

Honestly, the Star Destroyer probably is my benchmark. I've thrown a ton of them and have a good idea of what they do. Overall I'd say the Star Destroyer is one of the top 3 distance drivers ever made for sheer distance capacity and consistency. I've thrown them from the first runs on and never found one I absolutely hated. I've thrown just one or two Champs and haven't been as impressed. The stars I love though. I'm also fairly partial to ESP Surges.

 

[Twmccoy]

distance drivers are very susceptible to changes in dome and PLH so it is hard to tell how a mold flies from one review, with that said nice review of all of these. Im assuming that katana is one of the domey ones? those are nice either way but fly nothing like a katana. I definitely agree about the tern I couldn't ever control them when I could throw them, but half the time they slipped because of the shallow rim.

This Katana almost seemed flat, but it did have some dome. I've thrown other Champ Katanas before and was very impressed. They glide well and don't have such a hard late fade. Never been a fan of Star Katanas though. They're very flat, don't glide well and fade HARD. I never got any great distance with them.

 

[tylerc]

This Katana almost seemed flat, but it did have some dome. I've thrown other Champ Katanas before and was very impressed. They glide well and don't have such a hard late fade. Never been a fan of Star Katanas though. They're very flat, don't glide well and fade HARD. I never got any great distance with them.

weird the flat ones should be more understable. the pop top ones bomb tho once u get them turning. but when I used to throw katanas I always threw the flat stars :\

 

[SeveN]

Honestly, the Star Destroyer probably is my benchmark. I've thrown a ton of them and have a good idea of what they do. Overall I'd say the Star Destroyer is one of the top 3 distance drivers ever made for sheer distance capacity and consistency. I've thrown them from the first runs on and never found one I absolutely hated. I've thrown just one or two Champs and haven't been as impressed. The stars I love though. I'm also fairly partial to ESP Surges.

I'm curious what else is in your top 3 besides the destroyer.

Thanks for your reviews. I have been considering switching my terns for the cannon for a few months now but wasn't sure whether it would be worth it. I've gotten pretty consistent with my champ tern for straight max distance, but the star and gstars have been a let down.

 

[bballr4567]

Lol at the Vibram disc being rubbery.

 

[World Eater]

Nice info, thanks. I throw a lot of stuff in that range too. (high speed drivers with some high speed turn and some fade.)

Have you tried the Trespass? My moonshine Trespass is my most consistent distance driver. It's just a little shorter than my Kings but it always finishes on exactly the line I intended. Its somehow unshankable for me too. Its what I throw over water because I know its going to come out of my hand right.

Lately Ive been getting gonzo distance out of an Air Sword I picked up, but I dont have that quite dialed in yet for control.

 

[PMantle]

Interesting because things like this show the variation of discs. I bought a Champ. Krait a while back for no reason in particular. It might be the most overstable driver I own.

 

[Moose33]

It's funny to see your champ Katana be overstable, where mine has a good deal of turn. I think some of the mold up with a little more done and higher wing and they are less susceptible to turn.

 

[Twmccoy]

drivers

Interesting because things like this show the variation of discs. I bought a Champ. Krait a while back for no reason in particular. It might be the most overstable driver I own.

The Cannon is incredible. The rim is super wide, noticeably moreso than a Boss. It comes out of the hand and just seems to lift. It's surprisingly easy to throw and not hard to touch 400' with. Kind of a mellow flight. I think with some practice I will end up seeing 450' with it. It's faster than a Boss or Nuke and seems to glide better.

Never heard of a Trespass.

I have one Champion Krait. I like it. To me it feels like a Sidewinder with a wider rim and a bit more speed. Great glide and it doesn't have a lot of S curve to it. Just a straight flight with very little late fade.

One of these days I'll get more discs together and do another comparison. I have lots more to try.

 

[Twmccoy]

It's funny to see your champ Katana be overstable, where mine has a good deal of turn. I think some of the mold up with a little more done and higher wing and they are less susceptible to turn.

I've thrown a few Katanas and they're all over the place. The Stars are always stable and glideless. Usually I like Champs, but this one today I didn't. I always expected the Katana to exceed the Boss in distance for me, but so far it never has. MUCH inconsistency from disc to disc, whereas the Boss has little.

I'm not really sure what I'd pick as my top 3 drivers other than the Destroyer. I haven't played a lot lately and there has been a TON of new stuff coming out. I do love the Champion Boss and Z Nuke. I'm also a fan of the ESP Surge and Star Wraith. Thrown a ton of both. I just like the Star Destroyer best because I've probably thrown no less than 30 of them and they always fly the same. Very little variation from disc to disc.

 

[in4d]

Legacy Cannon: It's phenomenal. Hands down the most consistent, longest driver I've ever thrown. Nice opaque, champion like marbled plastic too. Super wide rim. Tracks a bit to the right and then finishes straight. No huge fade. Outstanding glide and super fast. Even mis-throws were getting good yardage.

If you like the cannon, try beating in a Rampage, even better.

And their Outlaw, Patriot, Rival are also must try discs. Some of the most well rounded molds i have found.

 

[World Eater]

I just like the Star Destroyer best because I've probably thrown no less than 30 of them and they always fly the same. Very little variation from disc to disc.

Weird. I love me some star destroyers but I have not had that experience with consistency. I appreciate the variations, but oohhh how they vary.

 

[Twmccoy]

star destroyers

Weird. I love me some star destroyers but I have not had that experience with consistency. I appreciate the variations, but oohhh how they vary.

I had one or two flat, gummy ones I didn't like. They're flippy but lack glide. I like the stiffer, domy ones better.

 

[keltik]

nice writeup.

 

[BrotherDave]

weird the flat ones should be more understable. the pop top ones bomb tho once u get them turning. but when I used to throw katanas I always threw the flat stars :\

I found a FAF Star Katana awhile back (pretty sure I re-found it the other day) and it was quite beefy and not very glidey.

Westside VIP King 171g: Very nice. Like a less stable Boss. Lightning fast and very good glide. Kinda touchy though and easy to flip with too much arm. Released flat this disc will track right before very gently fading. Long, definitely in the upper echelon of distance drivers. I like the plastic too. Slightly gummy but not floppy.

I don't throw as far as you but this gels with the one I've been throwing recently. It's a little wider than discs I prefer but it's not as speed stable as I thought it would be and eats up good D without much effort.

 

[Squirrilah Fish]

I have heard similar things about the Bolt (my favorite driver) I have 2 Opto 173g and they are not flippy at all. They turn, don't get me wrong, but I get bigger turns out of my King, the Freedom is another one that doesn't turn that much for me. Maybe I just got lucky with the discs I have, but my Bolts fly like Id expect the Freedom too, my Freedom flies the way Id expect a King too, and my King flies the way Id expect a Bolt too. I love the Bolt 400-430' consistently for me, and ive never burned it.

My Pro Katana on the other hand, I have to realease that with a slight Hyzer, or it never comes back. And it is very glidey.

Are discs really this inconsistent? Or is it more throwing style?

At first I thought I wasn't getting enough spin on my Bolt, but then I flipped a King, and knew that wasn't the problem.

 

[BirdieMachine]

The higher the speed/wider the wing the less consistent you will find them. Just a small difference in dome and plh and it will fly differently. See tuning and plh threads.