Initial impression of the Kong
Threw one of the new proto ESP Kongs for the first time today. Disc is 171g. Here are my thoughts:
I love the plastic. This is probably the nicest looking and feeling ESP I've ever seen. Very smooth, shiny, yet very slightly gummy and grippy. This plastic has a bit of gumminess to it, but isn't floppy or rubbery. I like the 2 tone color pattern. Mine is a gentle yellow/orange mixture.
The disc itself has a good dome. IDK how other Kongs are, but this one has a big dome. The rim doesn't really seem shallow or deep to me. Just normal.
As a source of comparison, I threw the Kong against a 168g McBeth star Destroyer and a 171g Big Z Punisher. I figure I threw each disc about 10 times. Conditions were very nice and calm. No wind to deal with.
I know 10 throws probably isn't enough to come to any sort of hard conclusion, but this Kong simply didn't impress me. I found it to be a stubborn flier. Its a pretty beefy disc, and I had a hard time making it ride flat for any length. The Kong would even fight out of an anny pretty quickly and fade hard. I also found this disc a little clunky compared to the Destroyer and Punisher. IDK if it was the tall dome, but I felt like the Kong was slower than the others. It didn't seem to penetrate that well and flew short of where I expected it to. In all honesty, I preferred the McBeth Destroyer. It was a little flatter and sleeker. I felt like it penetrated better and got slightly better distance than the Kong. IDK, maybe its just me, but the Kong felt tall in my hand. Like it has a deep rim. In the hand it actually reminds me of a Force.
The Kong reminded me a lot of a Legacy Outlaw in flight. The Outlaw is another stubborn speed 12 disc with a deep rim.
Surprise of the 3 discs was the Big Z Punisher. I had never thrown one of them before. Nice flier. Just a tick flippier than the Kong and Destroyer, and it held a flat line longer. The Punisher has a narrower, yet shallower, rim. I'm honestly surprised Paul McBeth didn't bag a Punisher. I'll go as far as to call that disc underrated. It glides and penetrates well.
Anyway, back to the Kong. As far as distance drivers go, there's nothing wrong with it. Despite my thinking it felt clunky, I was still able to get it a touch over 400'. The Kong responds well to being thrown hard, and will not flip over. I got the tiniest hint of high speed turn out of it at times, but the Kong would fight out of it very quickly. The disc has a prolonged fade, which added distance. It wasn't a super dumpy, abrupt fade.
This Kong is not some magical wonder disc in terms of distance. You'll need a pretty big arm to flex it out and make it go. I found the glide to be average at best. The Kong didn't flex out well and actually got most of its distance during its prolonged fade. Would I bag this over a star Destroyer? No. Honestly, if I had to pick between the two I'd probably take the Destroyer. For whatever reason the Destroyer feels better in my hand and doesn't seem as tall. To me the Kong feels closer to a Force than a Destroyer.
Overall, I think the plastic is the best part of the Kong (its outstanding). The mold itself doesn't really do much for me, and it doesn't stand out amongst an already very crowded field of similar drivers. I feel like the Kong is very power hungry and a little clunky. It will fly for decent yardage, but your arm will have to earn every one of those yards. I felt like I absolutely smashed it a couple times, only to see it listlessly hyzer out late and finish short of where I would have liked.
NOT a disc for beginners or noodle arms. More testing is needed. I will probably post here again at some point after I've thrown the Kong more. I don't hate the disc, but so far I'm not in love with it either.
Kong: 12, 4, -0.5, 3. Glide is marginal. Just a touch of high speed turn on very hard throws. Fade is prolonged and fairly harsh.