My Review
Got about 20 throws in with the Atlas today, I only own one and it is 180g and very flat. First off, I was playing my round in 70 degree weather with light rain and in wind of about 10 mph.
Not many golfers were out on the course today so I decided to tee off on about half the holes with both my Atlas and Warship, in order to make some comparisons as I went along. Just from a power perspective, the furthest I've thrown a disc on flat ground is a little over 375' and the furthest I've thrown a mid-range (VIP Warship) is 300'. The amount of holes I tee off on with a mid-range obviously varies with the course I'm playing, but it rarely happens regardless of the course. Since I know I don't have great form, I usually power down a bit in order to get the most distance with my mids, and would say I usually release any mid with a loose power grip, for lack of a better term.
When teeing off with the Atlas, I was able to keep the disc flat and straight for the entire flight, and every time it finished with minimal to zero fade. Naturally, when I tee off I am used to using all of my power and tilting the disc downward upon release, which works well for me with my drivers and keeps them from turning too quickly or grabbing too much height. With the Atlas, I realized I needed to use a higher or more level release as the disc needed more room underneath it in order to get the most glide and distance.
I'd say I was hitting about 240-245' consistently with my drives and my furthest throw was 270ish feet on a relatively open hole. Honestly, the only way I could get this disc to finish left with any fade was if I put it on a sharp hyzer. And when I released it on a less-dramatic/normal hyzer it would still flip up flat and finish straight. This can be annoying at times, especially when throwing dead straight is not an option. When I did decide to rip into the Atlas with full power, it would always finish right (due to bad form), but it never completely flipped over. Even though I was not playing in 100 degree weather, this disc is definitely not flippy, even with my torquey release. When faced with a headwind, I threw the disc with a slight hyzer release and it flipped up flat. I would not call it a wind fighter, as the wind caused the disc to come down quite a bit faster, but it fought the headwind better than I had expected it to.
Overall, I feel my Warship is still a more versatile disc that I can achieve a bit more distance with, but the Atlas is definitely better for straight approach shots and short, straight drives. I definitely agree with the reviews prior to mine that spoke of the minimal fade of this disc.
As for the plastic and the feel of the disc, the softer star outer/rim is quite durable. Mine already has some marks on it from tree hits and chains but there is no scuffing or nicks to be found. the firmer star flight plate made for clean releases even in the rain (better than the VIP plastic of my Warship), and I did not have any problems with slipping or grip-locking. There are obviously four compass points and four corresponding dimple marks in the flight plate. Just running my finger across the dimple marks I could hardly tell they were there. I consider myself to have average sized hands and it really is not difficult to grip the disc between the compass points. I could maybe see how these points could get in the way for someone with very large hands. When I did grip the disc on the compass points I found that it did not effect my release, but it kind of messed with me mentally/psychologically, so I will probably avoid doing that from now on
. Maybe when it heats up again around here the plastic will have a different feel to it, as others have mentioned, but today it felt fine.
I would still say the Warship is my go to mid-range as it covers almost every shot for me and is the only mid that I have carried on the course all year. The Atlas may make it's way into my bag just for the fact that I know I can rely on it to finish straight, and that is basically it. I could definitely see someone with better form being able to get some good distance out of this disc. I didn't expect the Warship and Atlas to fly similarly, and at least for me, they did not.
I know this review lacked a lot of terminology, but I tried to be as specific as possible, this is probably my first time reviewing a disc in detail. It's definitely unique in its design and flight, which is why I will keep myself from making a poor attempt at comparing the Atlas to other discs on the market.
(Sorry for any typos or grammatical errors!)
