[Latitude] Ballista Pro

[Twmccoy]

Threw one of these for the first time. Plastic seems like swirled opto. 171g. Disc has a dome, but isn't a pop top. Very sharp, shallow, wide rimmed disc. The Ballista Pro seems flatter/thinner than the regular Ballista. This disc feels like a weapon.

Holy cow, I'm impressed! The Ballista Pro isn't merely fast, it HOWLS. I'm not sure I've ever thrown a disc that sliced through the air as efficiently. I feel like the Ballista Pro is even faster than other speed 14 drivers. I was doing field work today with some other long drivers, and the Ballista Pro was noticeably faster than all of them. I usually throw a Nuke and Boss for long distance shots on the course, but this disc is WAAAYYY faster than both of them.

I love the flight of the Ballista Pro. It doesn't really have any high speed turn, but will hold a flat line for a long time before fading. I found that even when I wasn't flexing it out that the disc would end up as far as other fast drivers. I did have one special throw that I torqued over just a hair. The Ballista Pro rode on a gentle anny for a while before slowly transitioning from flat to fade. It was one of the more incredible drives I've ever thrown, and ended up going about 440'. This isn't the longest driver I've ever thrown (but it may be if I work with it more and get practiced). I can still get Shrykes and other flippy, glidey stuff further. However, the Ballista Pro will go nearly as far on a lower, straighter line without all the glide and S curve.

This is an overstable disc that isn't complete beef. The Ballista Pro has a very prolonged, subtle fade that results in a lot of extra distance. It penetrates better than perhaps any driver I've ever seen. The disc is a little power hungry, and will respond well to all the arm you give it.

I would HIGHLY recommend this disc to anyone wanting a manageable warp speed distance driver. The Ballista Pro was easier to throw than I thought it would be. It wasn't as harshly overstable as some other discs. It even slipped out of my hand a couple times (rim is super shallow) and still got a halfway decent flight. I like that the Ballista Pro is resistant to high speed turn, yet actually has a fairly neutral flight without the early, heavy fade.

Ballista Pro: 14, 5, -0.5, 3: I don't know if speeds even go up to 15, but this disc may be pushing it. Just lightning fast. The Ballista Pro is one of the more intriguing drivers I've thrown in a long while, and was more manageable than I thought it would be. You don't need 450' power to crush it. It has the faintest hint of high speed turn on hard, flat releases. A very worthy big brother to the regular Ballista. Wind didn't seem to bother it one way or the other. It isn't overly touchy.

 

[Grogden]

I think this is correct..ballista pro naturally like to g.j o straight and low..and far....i find it will turn right and stay out there if flexed or flat in a wind...it is very accurate for its distance if thrown flat...my star destroyers feel like teebirds compared ...I like it.

 

[PMantle]

Are these plus molds? I am having weird releases not unlike the Halo.

 

[Twmccoy]

Are these plus molds? I am having weird releases not unlike the Halo.

I don't think its a plus mold, but the rim is very shallow and wide. I noticed a few bad releases too. I think the rim on the BPro is shallower than the regular Ballista.

My next distance competition is going to be Ballista Pro vs. Knight. I'll be interested to see the results.

 

[BrotherDave]

I don't think its a plus mold, but the rim is very shallow and wide. I noticed a few bad releases too. I think the rim on the BPro is shallower than the regular Ballista.

My next distance competition is going to be Ballista Pro vs. Knight. I'll be interested to see the results.

If you can, try to find one in the recycled gold line type plastic. They grip a lot better than the Optos do. With the shallow rim it makes a big difference.

 

[Grogden]

Just wanna say another good thing about the ballista pro I played yesterday and there is a long downhill .. I miss through it throwing it to low probably only a foot off the ground but it took an insane skip straight another 80' which I couldn't believe and was still considerably further than the other guys drives which were decent.. It really is a reliable straightt long disk if you can throw with reasonable power

 

[Twmccoy]

So, I threw my 2nd Ballista Pro today. Opto, 169g. The one I'd thrown prior was swirled Opto 174g.

Anyway, the 169 Opto is a LOT less stable. I won't quite call it flippy, but the disc has high speed turn, and isn't always able to fade back to straight. I even lost it to the right a few times on hard rips into a very slight headwind/breeze. This disc wasn't turning and burning, but it was gradually turning right the whole flight. It would end up a good 400' away, but well right of the intended target.

One thing this new B Pro does that my first one didn't is hold the flat part of the flight for a long, long time. It was smashing. Just good, straight power with a gradual late fade. Interestingly, this disc is still behind my Knight for sheer distance. The Knight glides a little better and is simply faster.

I guess my point is, I've now thrown 2 Ballista Pros, and to me they feel like 2 very different discs. My 1st one is decidedly overstable, while the 2nd one is straight to almost flippy. The 2nd B Pro is still more overstable than a regular Ballista, but it absolutely is NOT a wind fighter. This seems to be an intriguing mold, but now I'm not really sure what to expect out of it. Apparently you can get everything from overstable to almost flippy with this mold.

Ballista Pro swirl Opto: 14, 4, 0, 3
Opto Ballista Pro: 14, 4, -1.5, 2

The 5 gram weight difference could be a factor. The regular Opto Ballista Pro is a lot longer than the swirled one. It flexes out massively and holds that flight for a long while before fading.

 

[Grogden]

Ballista pro update I don't know if it is because mine has beaten in a little or if I is because I've been throwing pdtwos but my ballista pro I can definitely get long anny rides and today I was throwing for long rollers ,into a headwind mind you, but it was a great long roller disk to my surprise I also find it to be a nice forehand disk it needs a flat hyzer release otherwise I will turn it over but it just goes on a forehand for me with a subtle subtle S curve... I have never thrown a regular ballista so I have no idea I'm afraid I might find it flippy now...

 

[Twmccoy]

Ballista pro update I don't know if it is because mine has beaten in a little or if I is because I've been throwing pdtwos but my ballista pro I can definitely get long anny rides and today I was throwing for long rollers ,into a headwind mind you, but it was a great long roller disk to my surprise I also find it to be a nice forehand disk it needs a flat hyzer release otherwise I will turn it over but it just goes on a forehand for me with a subtle subtle S curve... I have never thrown a regular ballista so I have no idea I'm afraid I might find it flippy now...

I wonder how the quality of L64's plastic is affecting overstable drivers like the Ballista Pro. The plastic seems to wear out fairly quickly, making the discs start to lose stability.

I like the regular Ballista, but they can be finicky. Once you start going above 380' with them you'll need to put some hyzer on your throws to keep them from flipping.

B Pro for me is almost an awkward driver. Something that doesn't know whether it wants to be overstable or understable. They'll randomly flip on you sometimes.

 

[Grogden]

I've decided I really like it it's just not what It looks like It's Now my longest forehead disk but this is because it will turn over and ride out a long way without flipping..when thrown flat...backhand I dont really know where it is going..except it will be right and far... I over through a hole for hand by 80 feat the other day.. Because it caught a little breeze as it turned over and went a ridiculous distance Unfortunately I wasn't planning on it going that far I was hoping it would turn in and di.. Also for whatever reason it's a disk that is better as the weather warms up and less nice when it's very cold

 

[Grogden]

I understand why mccoy likes those shrikes now I bought one today because I was bored and it's definitely under stable definitely andbombs

 

[Twmccoy]

I understand why mccoy likes those shrikes now I bought one today because I was bored and it's definitely under stable definitely andbombs

Shrykes are probably still the best understable long bomber I know of.... and I've tried them all.

Coming next week: Moonshine and Ballista Pro air reviews. I think the B Pro air could be a real bomber.

 

[Grogden]

I played with some people the other day who were the top players in the area they all had bbpros as there go to long controlled driver.mine is a max weight and so were the other guys but one had an air plastic he was showing and is definitely worth extra D he said so I will be very intrested to hear what you think.. It's interesting for me to see how many hot players and pros were with latitude 64 just love that ballista pro.. My shrike I got is like DX beast on steroids got very high and was without a doubt the longest disk in my bag though it ended up out on the right and I had to throw it with noticeable heiser flip even so..the glide was very apparent very katana like turn but less likely to come back..only flipped if I threw it flat and likely a good roller..this was a lighter star with the blizzard rim like ricky destroyers and made in usa.. great feel in the hand and a slick flyer..

 

[Grogden]

Another day and I love. My ballista pro even more...it seems to loosen up and gain glide the more I throw it. Use it to hit long gaps and trust it to to stay straight and come back ...it keeps a lower line with great distance...a nice forehand too if your careful not to turn it over too much..favorite disc..almost as long as my domey katanas and shrike...but much less likely to drift right too much

 

[Twmccoy]

Air Ballista pro and Moonshine Ballista pro

I added these two discs to my throwing stack in the field today. Going into this I expected the air Ballista pro to be flippy because it was so light (158g). I figured the Moonshine Ballista pro would be really overstable because its heavy (175g).

Things ended up being the opposite of what I was expecting. The air Ballista pro wouldn't turn unless I forced it over. Really long, speedy, straight flights followed by a hard fade.

The Moonshine Ballista pro had some turn to it. Launched flat it would bend right and then flex out nicely before fading out.

Overall I feel like the air Ballista pro flew closer to the numbers assigned to this mold. It didn't turn, but I was able to torque it over anny and get some forced S curves out of it. The Moonshine would turn on its own. I even flipped it into the ground into a headwind a couple times.

For total distance I figure I hit 420' with the Moonshine Ballista pro and maybe 10' less with the air. The Moonshine seemed to glide better and flex out more for longer drives.

On a side note, this L64 air plastic is nice stuff. Very smooth and almost gummy. Way nicer than blizzard plastic. I was surprised how beefy the air Ballista pro was too. For being a really light disc this thing was taking all the arm I had without flipping. Overall it performed well.

Air Ballista pro: 14, 4, 0, 3- Dead on the assigned numbers. Because the disc was so light the fade was long and not so dumpy. Glide was very average. No high speed turn.

Moonshine Ballista Pro: 14, 5, -1, 3- More glide and more turn here. That equaled longer drives overall. Flew like a longer, faster Destroyer.

One last note about the Ballista pro after throwing 4 of them now.... this disc flies overstable in calm conditions, but flips quickly into any sort of headwind. This is not a disc I'd ever rely on for precision drives when the wind is blowing.

 

[Grogden]

very accurate and detailed review....the bpro is very straight with low wind..into a breeze will turn right and stay there...but can be very long and good choice if that is what youre looking for...yeaterday in strong r to left..semi headwind...threw one hyzer...it exploded but got carried way left in the wind...star destroyer was almost as far but dead center

 

[BrotherDave]

My Opto Ballista Pro beat into being straight, like stable or slightly overstable, and I'm contemplating whether to try an Opto X one for the headwind slot or look elsewhere. :\

 

[Twmccoy]

My Opto Ballista Pro beat into being straight, like stable or slightly overstable, and I'm contemplating whether to try an Opto X one for the headwind slot or look elsewhere. :\

I've thrown 5 Opto Ballista Pros now. So far 2 of them have flown true to the numbers, and 3 of them have been noticeably flippier. Interestingly, the lightest B Pro I have (158g) might be the beefiest.

2 Ballista Pros are 14, 4, 0, 3. The other 3 are like 14, 5, -1, 2. These discs stay fairly steady in calm conditions, but seem to do terribly in headwinds. I hate to say it, but the Ballista Pro is NOT a headwind disc. They get really erratic. Even a gentle breeze will make them start flipping. They do great for maximum distance bombs in calm conditions though.

If anything, I've found the Defender to be a little better in headwinds. A tad slower and shorter than the B Pro, but less likely to flip over.

 

[Grogden]

any opinions on cataput or giant vs ballista pro...looking for headwind distance..using star bosses for this now

 

[Twmccoy]

any opinions on cataput or giant vs ballista pro...looking for headwind distance..using star bosses for this now

Catapults and Giants probably won't fare any better in headwinds than Ballista Pros. They'll be noticeably shorter too.

Neither one would be longer than a star Boss.