Played some midrange-only rounds on a cool, breezy day to compare my new Tangent with the ESP Buzzz, and GL Fuse (all around 166-8). Keeping in mind that I throw about half as far as Mike C, :doh: here is my preliminary evaluation of the Tangent.
Pro:
Tangent holds a line really well. Throw it flat, anhyzer, or hyzer and it holds the line for the majority of the flight, with a slight fade or panning at the end of the flight. Very predictable and very intuitive, even my first time with it on the course. Tangent yielded quite a few birdie putts on short, technical holes.
Tangent rolls remarkably well, probably because of the blunt edge and "gyro". I am just learning rollers, but a Tangent roller went about 280' dead straight on flat ground, finishing about 25' short of the pin (Seneca #9A red tee, if you know the course).
Tangent held up pretty well in a 5-10 mph headwind. A flat throw would drift right a bit, but a little hyzer kept the Tangent straight into the wind.
As others have mentioned, Tangent is a pretty good putter so it would be an excellent choice for a one-disc round.
Con:
The Tangent seems to need height, spin, and a fair amount of oomph to go far. It consistently landed short of the Buzzz and Fuse, and I had to throw the Tangent pretty hard to out-distance my Yeti Aviar. It would be interesting to throw the Tangent side by side with my old Zero Pures – I expect they would fly pretty similarly.
Overall:
I like the Tangent. I can see it being very useful for technical holes and upshots outside putter range. It does dead straight very well, and it is much more predictable on an anny compared with trying to put just the right amount of turn on a Fuse.
I wish the Tangent had a bit more glide, but perhaps I will learn to throw it better with more experience. Next time out I will probably carry a Roc, Tangent, and Fuse for midranges, and see how that combination works.
