[Discraft] Zone OS

[Mike C]

 

[Twmccoy]

OK, time to talk about the Zone OS. Threw one for the first time yesterday and today. I actually have 2, but have only thrown 1 of them. Both are 174g and Z plastic. One is board flat, and the other is distinctly concave. The plastic itself is clear, bright, and beautiful.

First thing I noticed (and I'm sure everyone else did too) is that the Zone OS is noticeably deeper than the regular Zone. In the hand it feels like a normal putter.

The Zone OS doesn't glide well at all, but it also isn't as overstable as I was expecting. It'll fly a nice, straight line before suddenly falling out of the air. The Zone OS doesn't really fade, but it drops straight down and flat like a pancake. Thrown anny the Zone OS will fight out of it almost immediately.

The Zone OS is a very short flying disc. No matter how hard you throw it the disc won't penetrate at all. This is NOT a disc for long shots or putter drives off the tee (unless the hole you're playing is 200' or less).

I found that I had to throw the Zone OS fairly hard to get it where I wanted. If you let up on this disc at all it'll finish short of the target. Even on short upshots you need a fairly firm hand.

The Zone OS excels on short upshots. If you land it near the basket the disc just slaps down and sits. No bouncing, rolling, or catching an edge.

Honestly, the Zone OS flies like a regular Zone, just much shorter. I also feel like it lands much more softly and sits better as well. The Zone OS flies so slow it looks like it's moving in slow motion. I've never seen a disc this overstable land so softly on the ground.

I found that the Zone OS actually works for putting in windy conditions. You have to put a little oomph into your putt, or the disc will dive toward the ground. The good news is that even if you miss your putt the disc will flop and sit right where it lands rather than rolling away.

Honestly, I liked the Zone OS more than I thought I would. It doesn't have a big, hooky fade like I was expecting. It's an extremely slow, glideless flier that's easy to learn and control. As of now I'm going to bag both a regular Zone and the Zone OS.

The Zone OS is probably not a disc that belongs in everyone's bag, but it's at least worth a look. The disc performs well, and is a great option for upshots and putting, especially on windy days. Wind doesn't affect the Zone OS much at all.

I liked the Zone OS enough that I'm going to try bagging it for a bit.

 

[twistedraven]

I tried a Zone OS to put in one of my two main bags. I pit it up against my Justice to see how it compares as an overstable complement to the regular Zone I have. The Justice I have is regular Opto and lightly used.

Well long story short is there is no comparison between the Opto Justice and Zone OS. Thrown back to back, the Zone OS makes the Justice look like a Teebird by comparison. The Justice penetrates further before having a more conventional and hard fade. The Zone OS only gets around 2/3 the distance and nosedives as it fades as opposed to panning. The Nosedive quality is certainly due to its blunt nose and puddle-top. It has near 0 glide.

Anyways, the Zone OS impressed me very much after only a couple throws. Like Twmccoy said, it excels in the short approach game, as it's extremely hard to find yourself shooting past the basket with it. Given that it nosedives as opposed to panning as it fades, you don't have to throw it out as wide of the basket as much either compared to a regular zone or Justice. I don't agree that it hits the ground softly, rather it nosedives into the ground rather violently. That's good to mitigate skips, but beware on steep inclines, as you could find it rolling away on you.

I like it most for forehands, as I find the deeper rim and puddle top very comfortable. The bead of the Justice didn't feel very comfortable to me on forehands.


Just for kicks, I had my friend let me throw his Soft Justice (we dub it the Jilt), because as it has beaten in over time, it gets progressively more warped and puddle topped, and gets more glideless/overstable the more it gets beat-in. It flies exactly like the Zone OS, only it is softer plastic, so it sticks to the ground better.

 

[thatdirtykid]

Just for kicks, I had my friend let me throw his Soft Justice (we dub it the Jilt), because as it has beaten in over time, it gets progressively more warped and puddle topped, and gets more glideless/overstable the more it gets beat-in. It flies exactly like the Zone OS, only it is softer plastic, so it sticks to the ground better.

Jilt thats good. I know people call the Frag the Tilt of midranges (profile is so similar). I love anomoly discs like that Justice that has gotten more OS as its thrashed.

I throw a thrashed RFF Tarpit stego cause of that ability to just stick exactly where it lands. Its useful, but much like it sounds the Zone OS to be a different kind of learning curve as the distance gained from throwing it harder is not linear like discs that have more than 0 glide. Does the Jilt function similarly? Throwing it harder doesn't seem to add distance as much as just change how hard the disc hits the ground?

 

[discerdoo]

So the Zone OS is really OS? Wow, imagine that!

 

[Moose33]

I threw one, and it's kind of OS. Not what I was expecting after all the hype though. My Amber Stego giggles at people calling it the most OS approach disc.

 

[auzcar]

I threw mine for the first time today and it's probably the most glideless disc I've thrown. Headwinds doesn't change the disc at all, and all it wants to do is find the ground. I expected it to be more skippy but it's a very very dumpy fade, nothing like my Justice. I would say it's kind of an OS complement to the Berg, not to the regular Zone...

I really like it and will most likely bag it alongside my Berg.

 

[BrotherDave]

I threw a buddy's OS. It's not Baobab, Tilt beefy. It's more like a much slower Justice.

 

[DiscinFiend]

I have a puddle top "beef stamp" Zone OS. I agree with Paul McBeth. The harder I throw it the more overstable it gets. At 125-200' it has more glide than I expected. This was especially true when thrown on an anny. Don't get me wrong it ALWAYS fades out of an anny. Though when I really crank hard on it…stupid overstable. I doubt I can get this disc over 250' BH or FH. My Justice had noticeably more glide and distance potential. Thrown on hyzer it has a lot of skip, unless thrown into some long grass. It's in my bag currently as a complement to my Zone. A unique disc to say the least.

 

[auzcar]

I threw mine some more today and for the first time this season the course was free of snow. Got some more distance with it this time when I had normal shoes and dry ground and parked a 75m hole. I was a bit worried that the reach would be too short to really fill a slot in my bag but it seems not.

 

[ff33]

for me rhfh i can get about 25% further than rhbh and im not a very good forehand thrower. I just but it on a 3/4 over hand angle like a baseball or football throw and i get better distance than rhbh.

 

[thatdirtykid]

I really like it and will most likely bag it alongside my Berg.

I don't know if you have tried one, but the Devilhawk is what I found to be my favorite OS compliment to the berg. Its more like a slower dumpier Zone than glideless beef of the OS, so a little more workable but still much more beef than the Berg.

 

[AndyJB]

For me, a super casual disc golfer, I don't see a need for this crazy thing. But the videos are hilarious.

 

[TiltedFlipCurves]

Fills a tiny gap between jump putt distance and Zone distance?

 

[auzcar]

I bought a backup since I've been leaning on mine lately in the wind that never seen to leave. This new one is board flat in contrast to my first one that has the most extreme puddle top I've ever seen, it'll be interesting to see how it flies but I'm a bit disappointed in the quality control, these discs look nothing alike...

 

[EllEstar]

So our FLDGS just got a shipment of Jawbreaker and Putter Line Zone OSes.

I wasn't really interested in the Z and ESP versions as I really dislike those plastics, but the new plastics sound interesting and the possibility of beating them in even moreso.

Has anyone gotten the chance to try them out yet?

 

[Whit]

Tried the zoneOS today.....

Good disc for the top 5% of arm speed players, the rest will have zero use for this disc.

WOW

 

[ILUVSMGS18]

So our FLDGS just got a shipment of Jawbreaker and Putter Line Zone OSes.

I wasn't really interested in the Z and ESP versions as I really dislike those plastics, but the new plastics sound interesting and the possibility of beating them in even moreso.

Has anyone gotten the chance to try them out yet?

Tried the zoneOS today.....

Good disc for the top 5% of arm speed players, the rest will have zero use for this disc.

WOW

I carry a FR Z and a JB, but I don't use them a ton (I really want to beat the JB in and get it flying like a Z Zone but I JB). My Z is typically used where I want an OS FH but I need to flex it (my Z Zone isn't OS enough with my spin rate to come back on low lines, which is common with where I'm scrambling from). My JB doesn't really have a slot unless I'm playing a wet round where it subs in for the FR Z Zone OS.

 

[EllEstar]

So our FLDGS just got a shipment of Jawbreaker and Putter Line Zone OSes.

I wasn't really interested in the Z and ESP versions as I really dislike those plastics, but the new plastics sound interesting and the possibility of beating them in even moreso.

Has anyone gotten the chance to try them out yet?

So I've been bagging a Putter Line Soft Zone OS for a few months now. It's slightly concave/puddle top, flight plate is really soft but the rim is relatively stiff, but still very grippy.

To start out, I'm not a huge fan of how deep the Zone OS is, but due to how boxy the rim is and how flat/concave the top is I still find myself able to throw it fairly comfortably both backhand and forehand.

I got this hoping it would be a more readily available (in my parts) Stego, with maybe a better hand feel, and while it is quite easy to get and I do prefer the hand feel I wouldn't compare it too closely to a Stego.

The flight has some characteristics reminiscent of a Stego, like how it's one of those rare discs that's workable at low speeds but acts more and more overstable the harder it's thrown. It is definitely more overstable than any Harp, Zone, Järn or Toro I've thrown, but certainly not Stego overstable. I would say the stability is pretty close to being right in between a premium Harp/Zone/etc and a Fossil/Tar Pit Stego. Thrown soft, nose up on a slight anhyzer the Soft Zone OS will hold the anhyzer/straight line for a while before consistently fading out, thrown hard it will fight out of any angle and plop down on the ground.

The mediocre feel and slightly less than desired overstability of the Soft Zone OS would usually be enough for me to remove it from my bag immediately, but there is one place where this disc absolutely shines, and that is hitting and sticking. I have never thrown a disc that is more resistant to sliding and skipping than the Soft Zone OS, I can't speak for the harder/premium plastics and would expect them to skip/slide a bit more, but the Soft version will ignore any groundplay. Other discs that come to mind that like to sit are the Berg, Polecat and my Megasoft Harp, but even those are more prone to groundplay than my Zone OS. I threw it several times on several holes on the most hilly course I've ever seen, and never once did it do anything except sit down.

With that said, I think I'm going to look into getting a FLX (Z, ESP or whatever I can find) Zone OS or maybe a completely different mold to fill the massively overstable utility approach disc slot in my bag, because the Soft just doesn't fill that slot for me.

TL;DR: Great, overstable approach disc, especially for power players. Workable at low speeds but very overstable at higher speeds. Feels deep, but blunt and grippy. Slots between a Zone and a Stego. Will hit and stick like no other disc.