Non-Wizard Wizard

[tbird888]

Consistency issues? Aside from a couple runs a few years ago, every Wizard flies like a Wizard. Even with the bad runs, they flew like a lightly seasoned Wizard. You're mistaking Dave's desire to provide the right disc feel to each person in the world as a lack of consistency. While I don't necessarily agree with his "please everyone" mentality, I have to say I have yet to find a Wizard I haven't liked. I cannot say the same thing about the dozen or so other putter molds/plastics I've tried.

 

[creeper78]

I can't really say anything about flying just like a Wizard, but I've gotta say this: I've not thrown an Ion near as much as a Wizard, but I wouldn't say they fly alike. Also, the 5 for $40 is a good deal. You can request specifics, such as $$$ if they have them. The ones you like the texture; throw in the bag. The others; practice putters.

 

[rwmurrow]

Last year I got 3tourney stamped sss wizards that felt perfect for me. Threw them in calm conditions and they flipped over and almost rolled. Brand new.

 

[JTacoma03]

Focus is the closest I think.

Ion is overstable yes, but it requires a certain type of putt to work right (see the 6-million post thread on it)...so it's a "maybe" depending on how you putt.

 

[BIGHAFNER]

What I've heard, not tested, is that a Wizard is just a slightly modified big bead aviar.

 

[mashnut]

BB Aviars fly the closest to wizards in my opinion, and you can get them in dx, jk pro, kc pro, star and champ for the feel you like. That said, I agree with the earlier poster who said wizards fly like wizards. Yeah it can be tough to find ones that feel exactly alike, but they all fly great regardless.

 

[holotone]

What I've heard, not tested, is that a Wizard is just a slightly modified big bead aviar.

David at Gateway disagrees.

 

[prerube]

If you like soft plastic you will hate the ion. Even the soft was too slick for me.

 

[Nowski]

wizards are made to be hand picked out, and bought in stacks. the runs are incosistent because everyone loves wizards, but everyone likes a different stiffness and tackyness. so the runs are all made different so people can find what they want in a wizard. no reason to stop throwin wizards, just find a stack that you like or e mail dave and tell him what your lookin for and he will hand pick em out for you.

 

[eegor]

Finding a putter is so subjective. If you want to change from your Wizard, go to the store, fondle some putters and buy one. If you don't like it, trade it for someone's "tried it and didn't like it" putter until you get what you want.

Most people that I know that has moved away from Wizards have settled on Ions. The rest have either KC Pro Aviars, Challengers or one guy really likes the Soft Focus.

I have three Wizards (all very different from each other) that I tried and didn't like. They make great practice putters in the backyard... along with my Rhynos, Sole, Voodoo, Warlock, Omegas, Magics, Pures, Pigs... that complement my Vibram trifecta that I currently putt with (mostly the Ridge).

Whatever hits the chains for ya!

 

[Verjaeger]

KC Pro Aviar is the most similar. Challenger is close and Ion is similar in flight but not in feel

 

[ian.w]

the closest thing to a wizard would be a wizard. i have found that kc aviars dont feel or fly like wizards. ions are very close in feel but fly more stable i have found. ive never throwna focus, but it feels very close to a wizard. like someone said earlier, its all subjective. some people think aviars and challengers and wizards are all the same, and other people who are right, dont.

 

[HenryZ]

You can also probably contact Gateway. From what I see they are easier to order small batches from than other companies. I bet if you contacted them with type of wizard you are looking for they can dig around and find 5-10 to send you.

Or just get a focus the plastic they make those in now a days is pretty damn sweet

^^^ This. You beat me to it. If you like them on fb, you can email them and get 5 discs for 40$, or 10 for 70. shipping included. And ask them to rate the wizards you are getting. 2-3 is sss, 10 is M or HPP

 

[garublador]

David at Gateway disagrees.

Isn't that just an article about how the Wizard is basically a slightly modified BB Aviar?

The "fun" part for the OP will be finding a putter with the specific feel he wants and then buying a bunch of them before they disappear. It sounds like he already has the first part done with the Wizard.

 

[Wreck]

The "fun" part for the OP will be finding a putter with the specific feel he wants and then buying a bunch of them before they disappear. It sounds like he already has the first part done with the Wizard.

The thing that makes this tricky is that I don't have any disc retailers around...except for Dicks Sporting Goods which sells exclusively Innova. That's why consistency from run to run is so important...because I HAVE to buy them online where they've been divied up among online retailers. That's why I was leaning toward the focus because I love the feel of the Wizard in my hand (round nose/bead)...secondly, I don't have the money to just buy 10 discs all at once. I can do two or three...so I need something that's gonna be fairly consistent over time so that when I need to replace them down the road, I can find something close to what I'm throwing.

Can someone tell me exactly how the Wizard and Focus fly differently on a vareity of shots?

 

[garublador]

That's why I was leaning toward the focus because I love the feel of the Wizard in my hand (round nose/bead)...secondly, I don't have the money to just buy 10 discs all at once. I can do two or three...so I need something that's gonna be fairly consistent over time so that when I need to replace them down the road, I can find something close to what I'm throwing.

It depends on how picky you are on whether or not this will work. The differences you see in Gateway putters aren't really that much different than what you'll see elsewhere, it just happens a lot faster. It's why you see people asking about 11x discs now and differences between 12x runs and tooling. You'd see the same thing with Discraft if there was an easy way to tell the differences between runs apart.

If you really want to go that way I'd recommend an unpopular mold from Discraft. There will be fewer runs so the change over time will probably be slower. Actual run to run consistency between manufactures isn't really as different as many people claim.

FWIW, I find that the differences between Wizards only affect how much I like the disc. The actual performance doesn't really change that much.

 

[Pwingles]

Ions are shaped more like a voodoo i think, for puttin id agree wiz and ion fly similar but on longer shots id disagree

 

[stubborn puppet]

The VooDoo is a Wizard without the bead. The Ion has the bead.

The reason the Ion feels different is not only the materials (which are significantly different) but the fact that MVP is putting almost all of the discs weight at the outer rim to promote faster rotation.

I'll stand behind an earlier statement (which was mocked), that, if you cut a Wizard, Ion and Focus in half, and butt them up against one another, you'll see that the shape (profile) of the discs are the same. The Focus is a barely noticable 1/32" larger diameter than the Wizard.

Here's what I suggest, because I know Gateway will do it for you: Send them the Wizard you love and ask them to find as many of them like it as they can and ship them to you. I know you said you cannot afford a bunch of discs at once... but here's the thing: The Gateway factory store has about 30,000 Wizards on hand that are sorted by plastic and color that date back years. It's just the only way you're going to get exactly or close to exactly what you want. In many cases, if you are ordering directly from them and more than 2 or 3, they'll give you a really good discount. A friend of mine recently bought 5 Wizards for $5 a piece that way. Often I've heard Dave or one of his guys say that they have taken an old pressing that was popular, looked up the mix of plastic that they used and reproduced it.

Hope this all helps.

 

[dazedconfuzed1]

A voodoo and wizard are NOTHING alike. Gateway website shows each putter and explains each one.
I own, and have thrown all of Gateway's putters.

 

[KFrad]

I only breezed through the other answers. I would say an ion is a wizard with more glide. I just don't like the mvp's plastic when wet. That's why I keep a chalky wizard in my bag.