For what it's worth to the folks here, I took the Flywoods to the course today and threw them on all 18. It was a really cold, windy, wet, nasty day with snow still on the ground but turning to slop. I should have stayed inside, but I had to give these discs some play.
I took the time to throw them right along side the the discs that they most resembled to me personally: The Walking Stick vs. Archon and the Log vs. VooDoo. (The Harvest was for purchased for a friend, so I chose not to throw it today.)
So, how did they do? That seems to be the million dollar question.
The grip on them is really nice and comfortable and easy to get used to. All the Flywoods have a grip similar to something like the Gateway Element SureGrip (still flat at the edge of the lip, but the have a rounded tapering where the lip meets the flight plate). They were great for forehand shots that came out of my hand fast and level without the usual small amount of oat. It was kinda weird to get used to the complete lack of flex at first... but that turned into a good thing after a few throws... especially on the long putts.
The Walking Stick driver flew very similar to my Archon - very stable and straight off the box with a slight mid flight right hand turn followed by a long straight middle, but definitely had more low speed glide near the end which led to a slower and longer fade. It was really windy (like I already said) and I witnessed what seemed to be a greater tendency for the Flywood driver to get a bit more lift and float in the wind near the end of flight; sometimes that was good, sometimes that was bad. A real shiny point for this disc was the roller - since there was no bounce when it hit the ground, it went straighter and faster than normal.
The Log and the VooDoo flew pretty much identically when I got consistent releases and consistent wind. It was, again, a damn gusty day so slow speed throws were a bit of a crap-shoot... but there were still enough baskets in protected positions that I could get a decent comparison. The biggest difference between the two was grip and the sound of contact. It was actually a blessing to me to have the lower profile lip and rounded angle at the flight plate: I felt like my release was a little more stable, especially on forehand putts (which I struggle with). The sound it makes when the Log hits the basket is kinda neat to me - kinda reminded me of two boken (wooden practice katana swords) striking one another. I usually have been throwing soft putters, so this didn't seem to stick to the chains as well at first... so I pulled out the disc of beeswax that came with the discs and rubbed down the edge real good. Yup, that did the trick.
OK, obviously the big debate has been about durability. Are these going to get nicked and splintered up from impact with trees and the ground? Are they going to split and warp in the wet weather? Are they going to crack? Admittedly, this was just day one of testing... but so far, so good.
I both intentionally and accidentally chucked the driver into several trees at full speed today. I also threw that roller. Nothing more than a little bit of roughness in one spot. Seriously, the edge of the disc seems brand new except in that one place where you can only feel (not see) a slight roughness to it where the finish is spotted. No scratches or marks on the flight plate yet either.
The putter actually took on a few minor dents in the very edge from long putts that missed the chains and bonked off the rim of the bucket and one that came in fast and low right into the post. It's nothing I haven't seen on a DX putter before, but didn't get any burrs or gouges... just dents.
Since it was such a wet and yucky day, I also got to test how they would react to being wet for a whole game. That was surprising as well. The tung/hemp oil finish did it's job better than I expected and the water just beaded up and wiped right off. There's not one sign of any water staining, splitting or anything else - it's like they were never wet.
So, while I'm sure that I haven't changed any minds... and they didn't provide a disc golf epiphany... my initial run made me very happy. I'll get more later, hopefully after I've had some local pro's throw them.
