MVP Anode - AKA where's our driver? Seriously!

[Loop]

Well compared to a Rhyno or Jokeri its not. I was just shocked to notice that new soft ION is more overstable and fades more than a new P2.
And quite frankly, I like it.

ION has pretty much taken over the shots I would normally do with a P2. Which are the long, standing still, putter drives (max 80-90m), with fade.
And the reason is consistency. ION does the same thing, every single time. And I don't have to worry about it going byebye, because I hit a tree one too many times with it.

This is the reason I'm aching for a soft Anode. If Anode works like an indestructible P1, bricks shall be shat.


On the topic of a KC Aviar. I think what appeals most to the masses is the durability and stability of it, not the fact that it's a porslin plate...
And I mean on drives, not putting.
Also this is just speculation, I have no hard facts to support this.

[jubuttib]

On the topic of a KC Aviar. I think what appeals most to the masses is the durability and stability of it, not the fact that it's a porslin plate...
And I mean on drives, not putting.
Also this is just speculation, I have no hard facts to support this.

A lot of pros advocate stiff putters, especially those who push/lob putt. Off the top of my head KC, Dave Feldberg, Cam Todd and Nate Doss, and unless I'm mistaken Nikko seems to be using medium Wizards, which are stiff as heck usually, much more so than the med IONs.

[discspeed]

First off I just want to note that Proton Soft Anodes will be available for purchase by the beginning of next month.

Secondly, I LOVE regular/medium proton plastic for both feel and flight. I have lots of soft Ions that are fun to play with. They fly farther, seem to respond more to lots of snap, and drop slower. If I chose my driving putter based on dynamic performance alone they would win hands down, however my competition bag is filled with the stiffer versions instead. For me, the regular/medium plastic discs fly more true and are easier to range. They drop as they lose speed, and since they are constantly being thrown at the basket, this is a good thing. They also push forward more when given hyzer/anhyzer angles, where the softs tend to cut out of the air if given a little too much angle. Into the wind the stiffer ones are more HSS as well. The softs need to be flying flat or slightly turned to get their max performance. The softs also have more abrupt transitions in the air and more abrupt LSS.

For putting, the softs have to be thrown flatter, with more spin, and on a line drive. They are noticeably faster on putts as well. I can putt with the softs, but to me it feels a little weird when I'm putting inside 25' with them because of their speed and spin requirement. The stiffer plastic also comes out of my hand with cleaner spin and have a bit more arc to their flight. This is perfect for my style...If I were to adopt the softs for putting I've found that it would require me to adjust my all around putting style.

All that said, obviously the climate you live in makes a huge difference. Last round I played it was 80 degrees F, and I'll bet my normal Anode was as soft as the soft Ion is in sub-freezing temps. Likewise, a soft Ion in temps over 80 is really soft. When I play the odd round here in FL that is colder than 50 degrees I can substitute my soft Ions and they feel exactly like my regular/mediums do when it's really warm.

[discspeed]

I got my soft Anodes today...I've been too busy throwing them to post, but it's dark now.

I received the same trio of colors UPS pictured above. Both red and violet are 175 and the green is 170.

First I putted in my backyard for about an hour with my regular and soft Anodes. The softs putt really nice...It didn't seem too different switching back and forth between the 2 firmnesses while I was putting today. They require a little less spin and drop a little less than Ions. I still prefer the regs to putt with though.

These things are perfection in a workhorse driving putter. They seem faster and glide more than reg Anodes or Ions. The HSS is similar to new 2nd run Ions, but they have more LSS than those. The LSS is very forward dominant though. So they are to reg Anodes what soft Ions are to reg(m) Ions. Predictably my 170 is the least HSS and LSS. The violet one is the most overstable, and the red is the most neutral all around. The red is my fav already. These will hold a slight anny a lot better than the reg Anodes or Ions, and they fly great on mini-Buzzz type lines. I'd say it's the most point and shoot disc in MVP's lineup, and that's saying a lot. My best shot today parked a 340' tunnel hole...it flew high and turned slightly and faded slightly dropping straight at the basket.

My absolute favorite thing about these softs is how well they work for my FH. I hit 3 80'+ putts FH with the 170 green Anode, and I was throwing all my upshots FH with them on every hole. I even threw some shorter tee shots FH with them, and though I was getting a touch of OAT when I powered them, they seemed to iron it out decently and fly on a slow turnover.

[UnitedPuppySlayer]

Haha, nice ctrl+c/ctrl+v Discspeed, now it's my turn. Here is my review:

Ok, HERE WE GO! Received THREE (3) soft Anodes today. (Pictures on previous page) One 170g Green, one 174g Violet, and one 175g Orange. Let me start off by saying I did not notice any difference between the weights (yet?). Today was not IDEAL conditions, but not bad by any means. I'll break down my review between, drives, approaches, and putts, so I make sure to go over everything.

**I'd like to start off by saying that Soft Anodes are much more LSS than Mediums.**

1. Drives: These things are just as easy to drive as their more rigid siblings. Just get some good clean snap on them and they'll glide forever. They hold anhyzers just as well as the mediums, as long as you get good snap. If you don't then they will fight out at the end of it, which could be a good thing sometimes. Flex shots are very possible with these things from what I've gathered too. These soft Anodes will hold a nice smooth hyzer as well. When thrown flat, as stated before, they will glide forever with a noticeable fade at the end.
2. Approaches: On long, flat approaches they flew just like they did when ripped off of the tee. When throwing shorter more nose up oriented approaches is where the LSS really showed. It has a pretty abrupt fade when thrown flat, but when hyzered it still had a nice smooth fade. On short, low spin anhyzers they held their lines very well. They were just stable enough to land flat at the end of it's flight, but not so much that they wanted to fight out of it.
3. Putts: Let me just say that these seemed to fly very fast out of the hand, and mediums too, compared to the Ion. On flat putts they flew a lot like an Ion. flew straight for a good portion of it's flight, then had a consistent fade. Definitely not like its point-and-shoot Medium sibling. When on an anhyzer putt they held their line pretty well, just like the mediums. Keep in mind that with all anhyzers, no matter how long or short, you still need to have the proper amount of snap/spin to hold their line. And on hyzer putts, just like with approaches, they had a nice smooth sweeping motion to them. On long jump putts these things will flex very nicely, if you so choose.
4. Overall: After knowing how soft Ions are more LSS than medium Ion, I'm not shocked that these are the same way. They are VERY comparable to second run Ions (textured bottoms). In fact, if you have ever wanted to try out a second run Ion, but don't want to search around and have to pay the $15+ people are asking for them, I suggest getting one, or two, or many. IMO, these things fit in between medium Anodes and soft Ions quite nicely. Personally I'll be sticking to mediums for main putting duties, and will probably carry a soft for slight-mild headwinds.

I can't wait to see what Mike C and Discspeed have to say about them, and as always, feel free to ask and question you may have and I'll do my best to answer them for you.

[discspeed]

After a week of messing with the soft Anodes they have become both my main putting and driving putters. With a little flat spin they just spring from my hands effortlessly. They drop less than any other MVP putter of similar weight. The grip is really nice too, with a fairly rigid overmold and gummy core, and I'm getting far less OAT than I used to with soft Ions or most other soft putters (with softer rims). So far they do seem to stick better in the chains than the regs/meds as well.

On drives they simply fly farther with less effort than any other putter. They are still slightly overstable, but much more manipulable with slight changes in release angles than the big bead Ions. If thrown with hyzer or anhyzer they can get a lot of lateral movement while still gliding forward. They also sit down and stick pretty well. I'm hoping since they will break in a little easier than the Ions since they are a less overstable shape in general.

My wife has also taken over my 170 soft Anode and it is definitely giving here more range with less effort than the dx Aviars she has always used. I think this is probably the most mass marketable disc MVP has made yet.

[jubuttib]

Reading about the driving part, it seems like everything you used to say about the IONs. Fly farther, manipulable, lateral movement while still pushing forwards... So they're like the IONs used to be, only even more so?

[CatPredator]

Well if there's one thing discspeed is better known for than his informative, well written reviews, it's crushing on new discs and magnifying their greatness in more well written reviews. He's certainly a good salesman. I still prefer the Ion but I use it strictly as a moderately overstable driving/approach disc and use Aviars in my short game.

[Apothecary]

the anode is what the good ions were: fast, neutral driving putters. why they ruined the ion with overstability we may never know....*ahem* NEW DISC MARKETING POTENTIAL *ahem*

oh and dont trust what discspeed is trying to sell. he has a rep of being salesman first, objective reviewer distant second.

[CatPredator]

why they ruined the ion with overstability we may never know....

Maybe it was part of their plan to release more than one disc.

[discspeed]

So they're like the IONs used to be, only even more so?

This is pretty much exactly what I mean. These are in a way to Ions what Ions were to what I was throwing before (Voodoos/Wizards/Warlocks), though the gap is not quite as big. They are a little faster and a little less HSS/LSS and a little more forward penetration late in flight. The difference between Ion and Anode is similar to the difference between the Vector and a stable Axis...They both essentially fly stable with a late fade, but the Anode/Axis have a small bead design and are a bit faster/more gliding. The difference in more pronounced when you throw the discs turned over. The Ion/Vector will hold a straight flight even when flying on a slight anny where the Axis/Anode will hold a slight anhyzer release with less resistance to lateral movement.

[discspeed]

the anode is what the good ions were: fast, neutral driving putters.

I totally agree. The main difference is at higher speeds. The old Ions would become more and more understable very quickly past a certain speed (I think this had to do with the slightly off axis overmolds). When the soft Anodes hit a high enough speed due to the thrower or headwind to start to push or turn they do so in a slower and more controlled manner.

[discspeed]

Well if there's one thing discspeed is better known for than his informative, well written reviews, it's crushing on new discs and magnifying their greatness in more well written reviews. He's certainly a good salesman. I still prefer the Ion but I use it strictly as a moderately overstable driving/approach disc and use Aviars in my short game.

I think one of the defining qualities of a good salesman is that they actually get money...By that definition I'd say I'm a rather poor one.

Have you thrown the Anodes yet?

[Jeronimo]

So, yeah....... Where's our driver?

[CatPredator]

Have you thrown the Anodes yet?

Yes. Your description of them is accurate. However, I'm very comfortable with my various Aviars. Isn't that what 99.9% of a short game is all about? I'm not worried about squeaking a little extra glide or distance out of my putters, and for those situations where I do really want to lay into a putter and have a little more stability and durability, I carry an Ion.

As for the salesman comment, I wasn't trying to incriminate you or anything, but don't you work at clearwater and get free discs from MVP? In any event, I realize you do all this stuff just because you like to, and for that I say, Thanks! I love reading about all this new plastic that you try because I rarely buy new discs myself. My bag has been relatively static for several years. The PD and Ion are actually the two discs that managed to sneak in, thanks in no small part to all the hype you've helped to build on the ol' series of tubes.


edit: a funny side note to that last bit; I get a kick out of going out to my courses here in MN and playing with guys who are throwing a bunch of MVP, a Sword, and the PD. You know you found a DGR lurker. You're definitely doing more than your share to move these discs off the shelf. I see discspeed clones with some regularity.