[Innova] Aviar3

[FrontRimBanger]

How well does the av3 do in a respectable headwind?

I've found it holds flat fairly well with maybe slight turn before fading out at the end of its flight.

 

[elmexdela]

I've found it holds flat fairly well with maybe slight turn before fading out at the end of its flight.

Do you power down at all or was it at a full drive?

 

[FrontRimBanger]

Do you power down at all or was it at a full drive?

That was probably 90%, it flew around 300 ft. This thing is stable. It's got the distance of a midrange almost.

 

[SD86]

Man oh man... my Star Aviar3 came in the mail today. Picture in the new discs thread. My Aviar3 is 175g, bright pink. Looks great, feels even better. It may be the same depth as the Aviar P&A or Dismania P2, but it does not feel as deep, probably because of the flat top.

So I packed an almost-all-putter bag (put in one Mystere for the really long open holes) and took the Av3 out along with the P2s, Harps, and a Magic.

I used the Aviar3 mostly for driving and long fairway throws. Here's the rundown:

Feel - as I said above, it does not feel as deep as other Aviars and most other putters. It's not quite as comfortable as my Wardens, but few putters are. But it did feel good. The Star plastic also felt really good, nice and firm (though not super-firm like some Champ or Gold Line can feel).

Driving/full power throws - full power is 90% actually, but the Av3 did very well. It did not turn over (my S-Line P2 did). There was some wind, and the Av3 did very well into the wind and into crosswinds. I generally cannot throw putters at "normal" DGCR distances; my Opto Pure and Lucid Judge get me about 220-230 ft. at very best. But the Av3 was competitive; it got 200 or so in the open, and got almost that on a rather tight shot in the woods. The Av3 can handle power and wind. The key for me was that I felt the grip was good enough to really get good throws... I often feel that deep putters didn't give me that good comfortable feel, and therefore I didn't have the 'warm and fuzzy' about it. The Aviar3 felt good coming out of my hand, felt like it zipped out but without an early-release feel (or early release in actual fact), and therefore I got good distance with the Av3.

Hyzer shots - the Aviar3 was solid on hyzer throws. It did not try to fight out of hyzer shots (like my Discmania P3 would tend to do) and hit the lines I needed it to. It does have a bit of skip, but not too badly. The fade was consistent and reliable, especially on approaches to the basket.

Flat shots - on the normal flat throws, the Av3 got good distance and reasonable accuracy, and best of all had that reliable fade. The Av3 fades more than the P2. It doesn't fade as much as the brickish Harp, and the Av3 seems to glide more than the Harp. Indeed, the 3,2,0,3 of the Av3 may not be accurate; I would give the glide a 3 at least. The distance was almost mid-like; I would not complain if the numbers were 4,3,0,3.

Anhyzers/anny flexes - I had a couple of shots where I needed an anny shot to get around some overhanging branches. I threw a fairly long anny shot, not too high, and the Aviar3 held that anny very well and glided down to a soft landing, giving me a good look for a birdie putt. Later on I had another anny shot, and I threw it a bit higher. The Av3 did come out of the anny at t end, but it wasn't too bad. All in all, I was happy with the anny shots. Didn't get a real good opportunity for an anny flex shot but I think it would do fine on those.

Forehand - My forehand is not very good, but I can flick a Panther, Mako3, and TL fairly well when I need to. I tried a couple of forehand flicks with the Av3, and the results were 'not good'. I might even say 'embarrassing'. Yes, operator headspace and timing was a big culprit, but I'm not confident with the Av3 for forehands. YMMV on that.

Putting - yes, you can put with an Av3, just as you can put with a Stud or Colt, or even a Destroyer. Putting was okay, but probably not the Av3's shining forté.

All in all, this is a really good disc, and a highly recommended throwing putter. I'm going to have to seriously re-think my bag to see where I can fit the Av3 in.

 

[pjhayes7]

That was probably 90%, it flew around 300 ft. This thing is stable. It's got the distance of a midrange almost.

Have you thrown an Envy and if so, compare.

All in all, this is a really good disc, and a highly recommended throwing putter. I'm going to have to seriously re-think my bag to see where I can fit the Av3 in.

How does it compare to a Stud? Also Envy if you have tried one.

 

[SD86]

Have you thrown an Envy and if so, compare.
How does it compare to a Stud? Also Envy if you have tried one.

I do have an Envy, and I bag a Star Stud. I'd say the Av3 is more overstable than the Envy, which I never found to be all that overstable in the first place.

The Harp is more OS than the Av3, and more of a brick than the Av3.

The Av3 is also more overstable than the Discmania P3, though both have the 3,2,0,3 numbers. I find my C-Line and Glow C-Line P3s would tend to fight out of hyzers just a bit, causing them to go long when I try to hit a gap on a dogleg-left. The Av3 hit the gap I wanted it to.

One special comment on the Star Stud: I've been using mine for a good while now, and it's seasoned in. I only have the Star Stud in my bag because it actually turns over on dogleg-right shots. It's like a knuckleball that I threw when in High School (Phil Niekro was with the Atlanta Braves when I was growing up). The baseball would go fairly straight then suddenly just 'break' to the right. My Star Stud seems to go straight, then suddenly "breaks"; it turns over into an anny shot. That's how it looks, anyway.

The Star Stud has never been very overstable for me even when new, partially because of its V-Tech technology. It wouldn't fade very well, which is why I went to the Harp and the Rhyno for those shots.

So the Av3 is definitely more overstable than the Star Stud, and has a much more reliable fade.

 

[elmexdela]

I do have an Envy, and I bag a Star Stud. I'd say the Av3 is more overstable than the Envy, which I never found to be all that overstable in the first place.

The Harp is more OS than the Av3, and more of a brick than the Av3.

The Av3 is also more overstable than the Discmania P3, though both have the 3,2,0,3 numbers. I find my C-Line and Glow C-Line P3s would tend to fight out of hyzers just a bit, causing them to go long when I try to hit a gap on a dogleg-left. The Av3 hit the gap I wanted it to.

One special comment on the Star Stud: I've been using mine for a good while now, and it's seasoned in. I only have the Star Stud in my bag because it actually turns over on dogleg-right shots. It's like a knuckleball that I threw when in High School (Phil Niekro was with the Atlanta Braves when I was growing up). The baseball would go fairly straight then suddenly just 'break' to the right. My Star Stud seems to go straight, then suddenly "breaks"; it turns over into an anny shot. That's how it looks, anyway.

The Star Stud has never been very overstable for me even when new, partially because of its V-Tech technology. It wouldn't fade very well, which is why I went to the Harp and the Rhyno for those shots.

So the Av3 is definitely more overstable than the Star Stud, and has a much more reliable fade.

Great review and break down.

One question...how would you compare this to an ion? Forgive me as its been a while since I have thrown a envy

 

[SD86]

Great review and break down.
One question...how would you compare this to an ion? Forgive me as its been a while since I have thrown a envy

Thanks for the kind words. I have a Neutron Ion, but have not thrown it in a very long time. I remember that it was pretty stable/neutral, maybe stable/overstable. I think the Envy is a bit more overstable than the Ion (others may have better info on that), but I can say the Aviar3 will be more overstable than the Ion or Envy, and by a good bit.

 

[Marmoset]

Thanks for the kind words. I have a Neutron Ion, but have not thrown it in a very long time. I remember that it was pretty stable/neutral, maybe stable/overstable. I think the Envy is a bit more overstable than the Ion (others may have better info on that), but I can say the Aviar3 will be more overstable than the Ion or Envy, and by a good bit.

Thanks for the review!
I'm stoked about what I'm hearing about the Av3... I can't wait until mine shows up! I also can't wait for Champs, DX, and XT since those are the plastics I usually throw. This sounds like it will be a fantastic candidate for cycling so you cover all your slots from OS to US.

 

[SD86]

Thanks for the review!
I'm stoked about what I'm hearing about the Av3... I can't wait until mine shows up! I also can't wait for Champs, DX, and XT since those are the plastics I usually throw. This sounds like it will be a fantastic candidate for cycling so you cover all your slots from OS to US.

I'm sitting here kind of giddy about it myself, and hoping it won't rain tomorrow so i can go throw it some more(!).

 

[Orygun saucer tosser]

How's this disc compare to the classic roc/stud for those that have thrown them flight wise?

 

[EROPPER]

sounds like an interesting BH driving putter, but I never could FH an Aviar mold, and versatility is key to me

would be curious to throw the new Aviar3 just to see how it does

thank you for the reviews everyone!

 

[haier2]

I had the chance to throw one of these yesterday (175 Star) and was thoroughly impressed.

The AV3 feels really good in the hand, it seems fast even just holding it compared to a P2, Aviar or BB Aviar. The flight on a full 300' backhand had just the tiniest amount of turn before a deliberate fade. It also seemed like a better choice than Aviar for FH approaches, the flat top and strong HSS/LSS take well to some extra spin.

I'd think this disc will be a gateway for people who aren't seasoned with driving putters or only drive OS putters. The AV3 seems to handle OAT well, even without being super overstable. Where even a BB or KC Aviar would hold an OAT turn, this baby fights back to stable and then starts its fade.

The S-Line P2 would probably be the closest disc to this that I've personally thrown, but the SP2 feels deeper in the hand and has a dumpy/glideless flight especially compared to the AV3.

I'm not sure about this disc for putting, it could have been the Star plastic or the shape of the disc that threw me off. It seemed to shine on drives and approaches versus in the circle. I'd be really interested to try one of these in KC pro, but would still consider bagging a Star.

I think if people throw this disc it will gain a large following.

 

[DinosaurThunder]

The S-Line P2 would probably be the closest disc to this that I've personally thrown, but the SP2 feels deeper in the hand and has a dumpy/glideless flight especially compared to the AV3.

Thanks for the review - what I highlighted is why the s-line P2 never stuck in my bag. The should feels so high on those, even when compared to d-line P2s! AV3 sounds like my solution!

 

[FrontRimBanger]

Have you thrown an Envy and if so, compare.



How does it compare to a Stud? Also Envy if you have tried one.

The envy was the hardest disc I've had to replace in my bag since I went all innova. I had been using a p2 in this slot but it doesn't quite have as much stability as the envy and it's a shorter disc. I believe the aviar3 is innovas answer to the envy. The aviar3 is a little bit more stable than an envy but it won't take long to beat it in. It feels very similar in hand (shallow, comfortable, putter) and I can really mash on it without worrying about turning it over. If you can I'd pick one up.

 

[FrontRimBanger]

sounds like an interesting BH driving putter, but I never could FH an Aviar mold, and versatility is key to me

would be curious to throw the new Aviar3 just to see how it does

thank you for the reviews everyone!

This is an aviar mold like you've never felt before. It's one of the best feeling putters for forehand I've ever throw.

 

[tampabay]

I switched to aviar3 from P2s and before that from wardens. I have also thrown P3s and Zones quite a bit.

Aviar3 is less like the p2 than I hoped. It definitely seems more OS, I'd put it inbetween the p2 and the p3 but definitely closer to the p2. I'm comparing it to the FR D line P3s and Luster P2s.

The profile is great, very shallow. Not zone shallow/compact but definitely like a p3 where it doesn't quite have that putter feel in the hand. I haven't thrown it enough to give it a comprehensive review but I made the switch purely based on feel in the hand, not flight path. I'm hoping they release these in pro plastic. I'd like to test it more side by side with p3s and my blend wardens.

I wouldn't call it an OS putter but it's definitely straight with a hearty fade. Then again...p3s aren't necessarily Os. I haven't thrown any of the newer ones though.

 

[Marmoset]

Oooooooooooo!
Looky!

feels great in my hand, can't wait to go fling her into some trees LOL

 

[DinosaurThunder]

Any forehand primary people throwing the AV3? How does it stack up?

 

[booter]

back from hiatus to read some reviews about this putter after feeling one yesterday. it feels amazing and i cant wait to throw one today after reading some of these reviews.