DX Wraith, and some other discs.... Star and the like...

[presidio hills]

so blake,
you're saying the dx wraith has more structure than a dx orc... meaning that it will hold up well?

[Blake_T]

can't say it will hold up well. can say it will hold up better than the dx orc.

[bigs348]

I just picked up a couple of Wraiths, and the new DX driver plastic has a really nice feel to it.

The rim feels very similar to Gateway "S" plastic, specifically that it's rigid while still very flexible feeling. The flight plate is much more flexible and domey however than the really hard "S" plastic (i.e., Sabres, Firm Wizards) and that little bit of give feels a little better in my hand.

Overall, the plastic is hella grippy and feels like it will be much more durable than regular DX. I haven't gotten to field test yet, but I think the whole idea behind the DX driver plastic was to make better plastic for sharp-nosed drivers that can break-in well as far as flight characteristics without getting severely beat and trashed.

Now I just have to try and leave work while it's still light out, so I can hit up the football field...

[TexasOutlaw]

I can't wait to try them. Even if I stick with pro plastic, it will be fun trying out a different disc.

I know I've had some bad luck, but so far pro plastic has outlasted some of my champion.

[Fritz]

I can't wait to try them. Even if I stick with pro plastic, it will be fun trying out a different disc.

I know I've had some bad luck, but so far pro plastic has outlasted some of my champion.

I'm a big fan of pro plastic, but after meeting Blake and him talkin to me, he's convinced me to make almost all my bag DX. I have very few champion and pro plastics in my bag.
Star Sidewinder, Champ Beast and a Champ Roc, and a Pro Firebird (never leaving my bag unless I really like the Star Firebird) Everything else is DX now. Valk, Gazelle, Rocs...
Trying out a Star Valk and a Star SL.

[twmccoy]

I'm a big fan of pro plastic, but after meeting Blake and him talkin to me, he's convinced me to make almost all my bag DX. I have very few champion and pro plastics in my bag.
Star Sidewinder, Champ Beast and a Champ Roc, and a Pro Firebird (never leaving my bag unless I really like the Star Firebird) Everything else is DX now. Valk, Gazelle, Rocs...
Trying out a Star Valk and a Star SL.[/quote]

Why? What does DX do that pro or champion won't? I don't mind DX but the discs get trashed so fast you constantly have to get new ones. I'd rather throw a champion and get the same flight for hundreds of throws rather than a few good throws from a DX and then a lot bad ones due to loss of stability.

[Blake_T]

dx plastic responds 20x better on flight manipulation shots and has more gradual flight characteristics that are more consistent when flattening them from a hyzer and less low speed overstability. they also fly 10-20% longer depending upon the model.

[bigs348]

So I ended up leaving work a little late, but there was just enough light that I stopped at the high school football field right by my house and got a few throws in with my new Wraiths before the sun went completely down.

All I can say is wow. I love the new DX driver plastic, as I've said in an earlier post, but after actually throwing it I love it so much more. I threw about 25-30 drives with my Wraith in a field and it shows no sign of any kind of wear. Even with field testing, most of my DX plastic will at least show some wear after a dozen or so throws. Enough about the plastic though.

For Christmas, I got a Pro Wraith from my dad in max weight. I don't like max weight stuff (because it usually ends up being 178-180 instead of 175), and it just felt like a brick when I threw it. I didn't have much practice time and only had a few throws, but I was content with my DX Beasts that I didn't bother trying to learn it. For reference, I can throw straight and low about 300' with a Beast, and my longest consistent golf D has been with a Sidewinder hyzer flip about 340-350.' I had an old DX Beast that I could flip up and I had two or three throws ever that I got to almost 400' but prob. not quite that far.

So, the DX Wraith (172g) is really my first real experience with the Wraith, and boy is it FAST. My first throw was literally about 5 feet off the ground. I know people tend to underestimate height on throws, but this was much lower than my usual line drives. It held a big hyzer line and ended about 75' to my left, but 300' out and it got there in a hurry.

After seeing what the disc did new, I then flexed it a bunch and tuned it, tweaking the nose down and bending it a little out of shape. After the tuning I threw it once more flat and it turned over and it seemed to glide forever, ending up about 50' to my right, but maybe 330' out. I did a little more experimenting and ended up throwing a bunch of hyzer flips with it. My longest throws were going from the end of the football field way past the other end, from the back of the endzone past the back of the opposite endzone, almost into the woods 10-20 yards behind the end of the field. I'm not sure what the dimensions of a football field are, but this is much farther than I am used to throwing. I had a few throws early on that flipped up but didn't want to quite turn over -- they just stayed flat and then faded out and they were still maybe 5 yards short of the goalpost.

After finally tweaking the disc how I wanted and throwing with the proper amount of hyzer, I found the disc to be very, very consistent. I was throwing nose down hyzer flips, and the disc was doing the same thing over and over.

This was great distance, and I am elated tonight, but I don't want to contribute all of it to the disc. I've been reading Blake's site a ton recently and working on a lot of stuff, specifically the bent-elbow technicque and hyzer flips. I haven't been good at either of these things before, but I've been kinda half working on them during rounds recently (I haven't been able to get out and just practice all that much) and today I felt like some of the stuff really clicked. Well, even if a lot of it is my technique (and I hope it did), this disc is still fast and long and it carries like crazy. I am a huge fan and I don't get excited about a disc too easily -- my Beasts have been my favorite almost since I started playing and the newer stuff hasn't impressed me all that much.

[EDIT: Just to clarify, the bent-elbow technique has gotten me much quicker at the hit and smoother in my throws, instead of trying to be fast the whole way through and muscle it like I have been doing, so it's not a "huge" increase in D for me. I'm still working on the snap though -- and really looking forward to getting that down because I think that's where the D will come. I threw shotput and discus in high school and college for six years and I had tendonitis in my wrist for about 4 of those years. I still don't have a whole lot of flexibility in my wrist, so I've been having a hard time with the snap.]

Welp, sorry that was long, but I hadn't really seen any reviews of the DX Wraith, so I thought I would give my $.02....er, considering the length of this post, make that $.06.

[TexasOutlaw]

Very useful review though I was gonna get one anyway. I did have problems with the low durability, especially when i play ever day.

Now that I play about once a week (and money is not as much an issue), I have started trying the lower end plastics.

To my surprise, they yeild more distance! Best throws of my life have been with pro wraiths and x avengers. Right now, my favorite plastic is x though it beats up fast for me, faster than discraft pro d! Or so it seems to me.

I am still somewhat concerned about durability. My x avengers, i have one that is understable and one that is super understable now. The first avenger took a while to beat up this bad, but the second one it's only been 4 months or so. To me, this is too quick.

sorry for the off topic rant....

[Fritz]

Welp, I threw 3 new discs yesterday!

DX Wraith
Star Valkyrie
Star SL

I love the Star Valkyrie. If I hadn't knicked a tree on the hole I threw it on I woulda ended up in the street which would have been my longest drive ever on that hole.

The DX Wraith did end up in the Street.

On another hole where I've never in my life even came close to making it to the basket, I went pin even 30 feet on the side of the hill with the Valk. For those in Colorado I'm talkin about Hole #8 @ Expo. With the DX Wraith I was 15 feet short of the basket. This is the First time ever I've even had a shot at a birdie on this hole.

I wasn't so much impressed with the SL as I was the other 2 discs, I still threw this SL longer then any of my previous drivers, but The DX Wraith was the longest, and the Star Valkyrie was next.

Love these 2 new discs, and I like the SL, still want to try it out more. Gonna play Pueblo Course this weekend, give me more of a test. Hole #16 here I come with some new D!

[bigs348]

For distance drivers, I haven't had any problems with the DX's durability (and the Wraith's plastic seems a ton better than regular DX, too.) I tend to only throw these on super open and long holes where I don't have to worry about hitting stuff and beating up the plastic too badly.

In the woods, I'm throwing slower discs for accuracy (Pro TLs) so I don't necessarily need the glide and distance of DX.; plus, I'm not hitting stuff as hard and those type of discs don't get beat as easily as the ultra sharp-nose drivers. I've also found that while the Pro Line plastic is fairly durable if you want it to be and you take care of it, it is also very easy to get beat into the stages that you need and have them stay that way for a long time.

On another note, I am hesitantly looking forward to the Star TLs. The CFR ones are just so much more overstable than Pro that it's a completely different disc, and I am hoping (but not expecting) that the Star will be a little more similar to the flight of the Pro.

[twmccoy]

Damn Josh, those are some pretty good tosses. The best I ever did on #8 was about 10 feet from the pin with a champ beast. I don't play expo enough to really set personal distance records there though.

[Fritz]

The Star disc I'm really looking forward to is the Star Firebird. I can't wait for this disc.

I wasn't impressed with the Star Teebird, so I'm not even gonna bother getting a TL. For my in the woods play I love my Gazelle. Wonder if that'll ever end up in Star plastic probably not but I can dream.

Really wish they woulda made the Aviar in a different mold and not the crappy P&A Mold.

Hear Star Rocs are due out this year. That should be interesting, and Innova is saying the blend of plastic is different then their "special blend" rocs and that this year's USDGC SP Rocs are the last they'll ever make in that plastic.

Blake heard anything more on this?

[twmccoy]

Josh, if you decide to ditch the star SL let me know and I will trade you something for it. I am really starting to like the starfires.

[Fritz]

No prob, terry, I'll def. keep ya in mind. So I Drove Hole #1 @ badlands today with the DX Wraith and the Star Valkyrie. The Wraith was slightly closer. For the first time ever I ended up with a minus score @ Badlands. I really think it's cause of these 2 new discs, the Star Valk and the DX Wraith.

I also drove #8, I got to the basket off a skip, but hey it got there
When that Wraith came in hard it skipped something fierce.

Man was I pissed when I saw all that mud from the lake just piled up on #10 teepad. Idiots have no respect. Not to mention all those damn mounds on #8 too. What a shame they don't respect the park. Stupid contract workers.
It's gonna be alot harder gettign discs outta Badlands now, they made the lake about 10 feet deeper and the ledges drop about 8-9 feet straight down.