Auzcar's ITB

[auzcar]

I had the first field work session on dry ground today and decided to test some discs for real. I threw on a football field with nets around it which didn't really allow me to test the distance drivers but the fairways work well enough even though a lot of the throws ended up in the net. The wind was up a bit but it calmed down a few times, allowing me to get at least a number of throws in calmer conditions. Thoughts, many many thoughts...:

Putters:

Threw my trusty Eclipse Envy for the first time this year (won't throw it in the snow due to the color) and god do I love it. The Popcorn can possibly be a good compliment to it, seems to fly decently close to the Proxy, maybe a touch more understable, which is what I want. I threw both the Steady and the Hardy and the flight was pretty similar. I'm gonna put the Steady in the bag for now and see how it goes.

Putter line up as of now:
Steady Popcorn
Eclipse Envy
Z Zone
Z Zone OS

Mids:

• Detour: Trying to kick the Origin out from the bag. The Detour is a bit less understable than the Origin and can definitely handle more power. The wind made it a bit hard to test these discs but honestly, I really like how the Deotur flew. I tend to only use the Origin when I'm in a pickle and need something very understable to turn pretty sharply. The Detour though I can see working on harder shots as well. Hyzer flip to turnover mostly. The Origin is a bit uncontrollable when throwing hard.
• My Fission Hex have definitely beat in quite a bit. Need to throw it in calmer weather to make a decision but this could possibly have reached the spot where this takes over the Origin/Detour slot and it's time to put in a new one.
• I need to stop taking the Reactor out of the bag, it's a wonderful disc that handles wind and power, even tight flex lines.
• The Pyro I'm not sure about. I don't think I need both this and the Reactor in the bag, or maybe I do. It's a little bit more overstable than the Reactor but the difference isn't huge. Not sure if I need it at all, if I should put a Justice in the bag instead, or if it's just what I need. This will come in and out probably.

Mid lineup as of now:
Origin (or Detour)
Hex
Reactor
Pyro

Fairways:
This was the main focus of the session since this part of the bag has been a mess a lot of the time and I need to start selling off the enourmous amount of molds that I own.

• In the understable slot I tested a few discs, namely the Soda, S-line FD and Passion, all against the beat Crave that's in my bag along with a fresh one. The Soda is too flippy, at least it was today. I'll test it some more later on but probably not gonna make the bag. The Passion I couldn't really get the hang of, sometimes it would go straight and sometimes it would turn and burn. It doesn't sit well in my hand either. Maybe it just can't handle wind as well as the other discs or maybe it doesn't release cleanly enough from my hand. Well well, not gonna make the bag. The Crave I've had in my bag has reached the end of it's cycle, it's too understable at this point. The fresh Crave and the FD both flew really well and mostly did what I wanted and expected. The Crave sits in my hand a lot better than the domey FD and even though the FD seems to want to go a bit further I don't think it will dethrone the Crave, but it's not impossible. I will need to test them side by side some more.
• In the neutral/straight slot I tested the Votum, Lotus and Construct against the MF Teebird3 that was in my bag most of last season. I like them all but the Lotus probably fades a bit too much for what I want to do with this slot. The Construct is a bit too fast but I really like it for my FH and will likely come in and out of the bag as a bridge between the FW and DD. The Votum (Ethos) was one of the two happy surprises of the day. I didn't expect to like it much and thought it would be too overstable for what I want, but it flew really really well. From a hyzer it flipped up and flew dead straight before a very very small and mellow fade. Pretty much exactly as my slightly beat in MF Teebird3, maybe a little bit less stable. I'm not sure yet if I'll keep bagging the Teebird3 or if I'll change to the Votum, but both can fill this slot really well.
• I couple years back I had a Champ Thunderbird that I really loved, and when I lost it I tried to replace it. Four Champ Thunderbirds later that all flew much much more OS (Firebird like) I gave up on the Thunderbird. Since then the closest thing I've found to this flight has been the Fusion Felon, but it just wasn't the same. Enter the Coalesce! I didn't expect to love this, maybe since I've had so many let downs in the search of the replacement of my Thunderbird, but this was love at first throw. I can smack this thing flat and as hard as I want and it will go straight and then fade gently. If I realease it on a bit of anhyzer it will softly work it's way back to a small fade on the line I threw it. If I release it higher with more anhyzer it will pan out gently. I'm not really a hyzer flip guy, and for the way that I like to throw the disc (hard and flat, or a bit of flex) this is the perfect stability for a controllable and workable straight to fade disc. I really hope this isn't the case of just a new disc working really well the first session and that I'm blinded by the new shiny thing. Straight in the bag for sure.
• When it comes to the more OS stuff I really liked the Omen but it won't dethrone my Flare. Maybe if I loose my Flare that I love I might put the Omen in, it does the same thing. What I need to find is a disc to fill the gap between the Coalesce and the Flare. Candidates for this is the Sockibomb Felon I had in the bag last year, my Champ/Star Firebirds and the Steady Spice.

Fairway lineup as of now:
CN Crave (or FD)
MF Teebird3 (or Votum)
Ethos Construct
Ethos Coalesce
Sockibomb Felon
CN Flare

 

[auzcar]

New field work session, threw some distance drivers this time:

• Surprised by the Venom, it was much straighter than I thought and showed some turn on a full power throw. I actually really like it as it bombs but is also reliable, probably gonna try it in the bag. I have a Barela Z Swirl and suspect this is a straighter run of these.
• Not really liking the Time Lapse, it doesn't glide well and doesn't sit well in my hand.
• The Halo Boss was nice, quite overstable and sits well in the hand. I have a couple Destroyera that fly the same and that I'm used to so this one will probably be a backup.
• Really liking the Votum and Coalesce and I think they compliment each other well. Votum will hyzer flip but fade back and the Coalesce is more stable without any turn and a reliable fade.
• Detour is flying well, but I always know that the Origin is going to turn over, sometimes it burns but knowing that it turns over every time might be more valuable than handling power.

 

[auzcar]

Had another field work session this weekend. I really need to work on my FH, and I realised after the session that I've actually never filmed myself throwing a FH, need to remember that next session.

I feel excited about my FH lineup. I really like the Votum and Coalesce and hoping they will continue to work well when I get on a snow free course.

 

[auzcar]

Gonna hit the field again tomorrow, bag is looking like this atm.

K3 Berg
K1 Berg
K1 Berg X

Electron Enby
Eclipse Envy
Zone
Zone OS

Origin
Hex
Reactor (Pathfinder)
Pyro

Diamond
Soda
Ethos Votum (Aura Votum)
Construct
Coalesce
Sockibomb Felon (Aura Omen, Star Firebird)
Flare

Wild Honey
S-DD3
Cloudbreaker (new Cloudbreaker, last run)
Destroyer
Halo Boss

I plan on auditioning the discs in parentheses, but other than that I'm just looking to get more reps on the disc in my bag and work on the FH a bit.

 

[auzcar]

Another great field session, this time in calm conditions. Made sure to throw the whole bag a few times.

Putters

• Not sure I need three Bergs but what the heck. K3 has a decent amount of turn, the K1 Berg goes straight as an arrow and the Berg X fades a little bit more.

K3 Berg
K1 Berg
K1 Berg X

• These discs are the foundation of my approach game and there's no need to change anything. The Electron is a hyzer flip and turnover disc and the Eclipse is my straight workhorse. The Zones do Zone stuff.

Electron Envy
Eclipse Envy
Zone
Zone OS

Mids

• The Fission Hex has beaten in to the point that it wants to finish to the right. The Pathfinder has been the most consistent straight shooter during the field sessions and I'll give it a shot instead of a fresh Hex. The Eclipse Reactor is a dependable straight to fade disc, even in wind. Might put a Justice in there, as the Pyro flies pretty much like the Reactor but doesn't fit as well in my hand.
• Probably gonna keep a Origin or Uplink in the bag for utility.

*Origin
Hex
Pathfinder
Reactor
*Justice

Fairways

• Soda is flippy. Votum is the classic, neutral, hyzer flip to straight 7-speed and the Coalesce is straight to a dependable but not so drastic fade. I'm gonna try the Aura Omen as a slightly longer and straighter complement to my Flare, it flies surprisingly far for being so overstable.
• I'm not sure about the Construct. I don't need it for my BH but it sits so well for me in my FH that I might want to keep it in the bag just for that. The hyzer flip to straight FH is not a shot I use that much. I'll keep it in the bag for now and see how much I use it.

Soda
Votum
*Construct
Coalesce
Omen
Flare

Distance

• The last run of Cloudbreakers are pretty straight. Hyzer flip to a little ride and a little fade back, and I suspect they will go far when I can air them out. A tiny bit more overstable than the new S-Line DD3's imo. I'm gonna put one in the bag and I suspect it will be a workhorse.
• I don't have a Sockibot in the bag right now, which feels weird, but that's only because I have a beat in bottom stamp that's been in my bag for about two seasons and now flies the same. Love that disc for straight to fade FH's.

Wild Honey
S-DD3
Cloudbreaker (latest run)
Bottom stamp Destroyer
Halo Boss

 

[auzcar]

One problem with trying new discs is that if you like them it's very hard to narrow down the bag to a reasonable size. I hate to leave discs at home that I really love to throw and I feel like I'll be bagging 30 discs when this is over...

Especially the fairway section is really hard for me to narrow down.

 

[auzcar]

The new PD2 will probably be in the bag instead of the Boss, with the only reason being that it's flatter and works better for my FH.