Hey everyone. I could use some help with something Katana related so i figure this is the place. I read back about 12 pages but i still have questions..
I recently lost my absolute favorite disc of all time which was a tie dyed champion Katana (pretty old, probably at least 6 or 7 years). It took me a while but i dialed that thing in and i knew exactly how to tweak my throw to get it to do what i wanted. I could throw that thing about 50 feet further than i can my g star destroyer (my other go-to distance driver). The second it left my hand that thing was GONE.
When i lost it i immediately went out to purchase another one. I picked a 165g champion. Upon inspection immediately noticed a MAJOR difference between the two discs. The old katana had a completely flat bottom. The new one is mostly flat but when going from the outer diameter to the inner there is a slight lip that juts downward (away from the top). I knew right away i was dealing with something completely different and i wasn't wrong. I guess the phrase around here is "meat hook?" What a worthless disc. Just a hard fade right out of the hand, nothing special on the distance. I know it's not broken in yet but this is really disheartening.
So here we go:
1. What the hell is up with that lip on the bottom? is that standard operating procedure with all Katanas now? It certainly seemed to be the case at the store that i went to.
2. Do we feel that this impacts the disc significantly?
3. If not, what factor do you think determines whether the Katana will be a **** hook or a warp speed UFO?
4. Lastly, if anyone can point me in the direction of a "good" Katana i would be eternally grateful. It's taken a significant chunk of enjoyment out of my game that i really want to get back.
Thanks for reading.
I have a pretty small sample size (you can read my Katana experience over the past couple pages), but of the Katanas I own the only one that's a meathook is my domey Champion. My Blizzard has a moderate dome and flies great, and my Pro is flat so started off more overstable than I wanted; however, Pro plastic beats in quickly, and I'm already starting to see a little bit of turn from it.
If you are able to buy your disc in person, I would make sure to compare the parting line heights of the Katanas available for purchase and buy the lowest PLH. My meathook domey Champ has a very high PLH compared to the others, which is clearly the cause of its overstability. If you need to buy online, I think grabbing a lightweight Pro would have a decent chance of working out for you...maybe not the disc you'd want from Day 1, but since that plastic type beats in fast you can have a beat-in Katana fairly quickly if you commit to throwing it a bunch (and could fast track the break in period even more by throwing some parking lot skip shots).
Another alternative would be to try a different mold altogether. With so much variability in the Katana mold, it is tough to make an exact comparison. But of the three I own, here's what disc I would say flies closest:
Meathook Champ Katana = Opto-X Ballista Pro
Pro Katana = Fuzion Raider
Blizzard Katana = Moonshine or Opto Ballista (not Pro...just regular Ballista)