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[Innova] Leopard3

Marmoset said:
It's brand-spankin'-new... so it handled it. It was obviously less OS than the Champ or Star, obviously more OS than the DX, and pretty sweet out of the box. The problem is, I'd rather beat a disc into this stability. I can see the G* being a good option for scary shots where you don't want to lose your Champ Leo that has been beating in for multiple seasons.
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Couple questions for you. I know you recently started testing out the mako3. My experience with similar mids is that I feel like they have a ton of overlap with the slot that the Leo fills. What do you use your Leo for instead of the mako3 or vice versa? Lower ceiling or slightly more distance?

Also I tend to agree on the Leo vs leo3. What's your favorite leo plastic? Also have you tested the JLS? Pretty sweet and fairly similar to the OG Leo.

Reading this **** is making me want to get another OG Leo. Haven't owned one in years but once upon a time it was my favorite driver.
 
ponder said:
Couple questions for you. I know you recently started testing out the mako3. My experience with similar mids is that I feel like they have a ton of overlap with the slot that the Leo fills. What do you use your Leo for instead of the mako3 or vice versa? Lower ceiling or slightly more distance?

Also I tend to agree on the Leo vs leo3. What's your favorite leo plastic? Also have you tested the JLS? Pretty sweet and fairly similar to the OG Leo.

Reading this **** is making me want to get another OG Leo. Haven't owned one in years but once upon a time it was my favorite driver.
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I know you were asking Marmoset, but I just want to say that the speed 6 of the Leo and the speed 5 of the Mako3 do NOT tell the story at all. The Mako3 is a very straight/neutral mid, and the Leo is a very glidey fairway that beats in to have good turn and mellow fade. The Mako3 has decent glide...the amount that I think is appropriate for it to "glide" well but not get uncontrollable. The Leo has great glide. I find the Leo every bit as long as any other fairway, yes its rim may put it at a speed 6, but it doesn't matter. It turns, glides, and barely fades unless you have a fresh and stable one.

For my power level, I get 30-50' more out of a Leo than a mid. And if I want a low ceiling mid shot, I can use the Leo for that powered down and it will get there at head height instead.

Also the Leo is great for high anhyzers and getting as far right as possible.

Basically if I want to throw a straight shot or pure line and trust a landing zone, I would throw the Mako3. If I want to go as far down a tunnel as I can while not having to crush a disc to keep it straight, I throw the Leo.
 
ponder said:
Couple questions for you. I know you recently started testing out the mako3. My experience with similar mids is that I feel like they have a ton of overlap with the slot that the Leo fills. What do you use your Leo for instead of the mako3 or vice versa? Lower ceiling or slightly more distance?

Also I tend to agree on the Leo vs leo3. What's your favorite leo plastic? Also have you tested the JLS? Pretty sweet and fairly similar to the OG Leo.

Reading this **** is making me want to get another OG Leo. Haven't owned one in years but once upon a time it was my favorite driver.
Click to expand...

Slowplastic nailed it. Pretty much perfectly describes my current experience... but I haven't had much air time under the Mako3. I'll get some Champ Mako3s and make an honest run out of them.

I Love JLS... he only reason I run Leo's is because they are more readily available in several plastics and weights. Otherwise I would have kept the JLS.

My favorite all-around Leo plastic is Pro. Second favorite is Star. The indestructible plastic for crashing through the brush or for rollers is Champ of course. Man, such a sweet disc... love 'em!!!
 
I held a leopard in a store. It felt bulky and had a big dome. I've learned that dome does nothing for my arm speed. A pro will rave about though.
 
Marmoset said:
My favorite Pro Leo is one of those Pro/Star blends. Man I wish I had hoarded those. They hit the shelves when I was in my all-150g phase so I only have the one :(
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I have two in my bag and 3 more on the shelf for backup.

Just lost my favorite one last summer after having it in the bag for like 6 years.

I've been beating up a PFN Star trying to replace that one, but it's taking forever.

Star Leo3's are nice, it's just not the same though.

Innova needs to run some Pro Leopard3's.
 
Discgolfer48 said:
I held a leopard in a store. It felt bulky and had a big dome. I've learned that dome does nothing for my arm speed. A pro will rave about though.
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Interesting. What are you throwing in lieu of Leos? I haven't bagged or owned one in probably over a year, but I find that the understable molds I do throw (Tursas, Hatchet, Wave) glide much better when they mold up domey. They also all seem to fly more consistent for me with a little bit of dome to them.
 
DanJon said:
I have two in my bag and 3 more on the shelf for backup.

Just lost my favorite one last summer after having it in the bag for like 6 years.

I've been beating up a PFN Star trying to replace that one, but it's taking forever.

Star Leo3's are nice, it's just not the same though.

Innova needs to run some Pro Leopard3's.
Click to expand...

For realz, the Pro Leo3 has got to happen.
 
I just want to say I really like Luster Leopard3s. It started with Gibsons, but Infinite has some lusters that have the same dome and PLH. I haven't tried the other tour series Leo3s, but I imagine they're a little flippier. My only complaint is that my thrower is a green that is perfectly bad this time of year.

Does anyone else throw these? I've heard them compared to beat-in Teebirds and I can kinda see it. They're great for a mild hyzer flip or slight turn but still with definite end fade. Right now I pair it with a Pro Leopard and sometimes a Neutron Relay if I really need something flippy. It ends up taking a number of shots from distance drivers like my Champ Tern, with better control and only losing a small amount of distance.

TLDR: I like the Luster Champ Leo3s, even though they may not be your standard Leopard type fairway.

Addition: big Jerm, if you're listening, have you tried throwing these forehand? They're sneaky long and I'd love to see you throw that shot...
 
I have a couple of the Gibson tour series from last year.

I was lucky to get blue. I'm very impressed with them.
 
Finally pulled the trigger and got a Drew Gibson Luster Leo3. It's 175g and a strangely pale pink color. I took it to the range for some throws.

The Luster plastic feels pretty good in the hand. Not hard and slick, but not too gummy, either. I do prefer the feel of the color glow Champion plastic of my Hannah Leatherman CG Leo3s, but the Luster is okay.

Throwing it around the schoolyard, the Luster Leo3 is more overstable fresh out of the box than any other Leo3 I've tried, as OS as the (regular) Glow Champ Leo3. It has a pretty healthy fade at the end of its flight. It did well on anny flex shots, but definitely holds the hyzer lines when I made those throws.

I get the sense, though, that if I throw the Luster Leo3 around in the woods and beat it up some, it might season in more quickly than the color glow discs. I dunno if it will beat out the Hannah Leatherman Leo3's spot in my bag, but I'll give the Luster Leo3 a lot of range time when I take all my Leo3s out to work on form and such stuff.

TL;DR: decent disc, a bit OS when new.
 
Last edited:
There are 2 kinds of Luster for the Gibson leo3s. There is the matte kind that feels less dense and comes in the pink orange blue and green and there is a slick shiny luster that is closer to candy CE I have only seen it in red yellow and blue with the red and yellows being the best. The matte luster is just slighty more stable than regular champ but the glossy stuff is quite a bit more stable. It is also friggin indestructible. 2 years in the bag and one of my red ones has barely beat in. Grab some of the shiny ones if you can. Best plastic Innova has run in a decade
 
Over the past couple months I've picked up a Glow Champ Leo3, a Champ Leo3, and a Pro Leo. The Champ and Pro have similar PLH and medium dome. The glow champ had a higher PLH and less dome. I have never been a Leopard thrower in the past, I never liked the big dome on the DX Leo's I came across and I assumed they were all that way.

The Champ Leo3 had a nice flight immediately, with some turn and a mellow fade. The Pro Leo surprisingly started out a bit more stable than the Champ, and didn't want to turn. I noticed the Pro has flashing on the underside of the rim, and all the Leo3's I've felt don't have any flashing. The Pro has beaten in to have more turn since I bought it, but I do like the immediate flight of the premium Leo3.

I just got a chance to throw the Glow Champ Leo3 and it's a sweet flyer! The plastic felt really firm with a nice tacky grip. Very HSS with very little fade on low lines in the 290'-330' range. It fills a nice gap between my Rocs and Thunderbirds/Valkyries.
 
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