The weather has been beautiful and I have an amazing new course in Freedom Center that I have been playing rather than providing feedback on this mold (go throw a new disc or write about a new disc...easy decision). That being said I think I have finally had enough time with this mold to get some thoughts down.
The feel of this disc in the hand is not like anything else I have ever thrown. The curvature of the wing coupled with the substantial bead provides a really unique underside shape. That being said, I feel like somehow that wing shape offsets the bead somehow and results in a really comfortable grip both forehand and backhand. Honestly, I was kind of shocked how comfortable it was, when it arrived and I initially looked at it I was skeptical...that wing + depth looked like early release all day to me, but again it's all about that bead that provides just enough addition to the depth to keep that rim gripped tight and breaks away clean. Nicely done...there are only so many things you can do to a disc, so when I see something new in design that actually works I am certainly impressed.
As for flight, the most important factor, as I said previously in this thread I initially struggled to get this thing dialed in. There is no question this has more to do with me than the mold though (glad I stuck with it). The flight pattern for me was very different than what I would normally expect in an OS mid. In comparison to the Kaxe, the Kaxe was longer straight and shorter post-fade. That being said, one thing that immediately struck me was how the Gila held elevation upon beginning it's second stage of flight. Whereas the Kaxe wing drops immediately and kind of slides into it's fade, the Gila seemed to just turn on a dime while keeping height+glide for a second before truly dropping the wing. The net result is a disc that laughs at dogleg fairways. On a straight to fade shot (specifically around the corner/trees/etc...) the Gila consistently finished between 15-25 feet further up the fairway than the "tweener" Kaxe over the course of the past two weeks of testing them head-to-head.
On true hyzers is where I struggled with this mold. The aforementioned second stage slide and increased distance post-fade often found me missing left for a bit. This is something that may be an easier adjustment for, well honestly for a better more experienced player or perhaps a player with more power (I am a finesse player and not ashamed to admit it). It was also on bigger hyzer lines where I definitely felt the Gila was more OS than my K3 Kaxe but quite similar to my K1. I don't throw my K1 much on a big hyzer line for the same reason, at my power (for reference 270' with a miss distance of <10' is where I am with most of my mids) the Gila initially proved difficult. I could not get it to even think about getting level...it was just wing down and go left out of the hand, even getting altitude was tricky as it was diving way before intended apex on me. That is until I had a revelation...just rip the dang thing...well, oh my goodness, it turns out this is a mid that I can crank on just like my Tyrant and it LIKES IT. Basically, this thing wants to be thrown...hard, and at full rip with my power it didn't even think about turning or flattening out too much through the apex, it just held the line aggressively to the peak and glided out gracefully from mid-flight to the ground. Again, a very cool flight profile in that it is nasty aggressive out of the hand and in first-phase but really quite pretty in it's flight after that.
That being said, with my arm it laughed at me and may have said something derogatory about my mama when I tried to flex it or push it anny at all. Oh well, the Croc has turned out to be so so dope for those lines I am not even sweating it.
Bottom Line, yes this is billed as a power-players dream and I have no doubt it is. However, for those of that are a little softer in our game this mold is still a perfect workhorse-utility hybrid that can absolutely shred anything left of center.
Kudos for making a mold with both attitude and grace...it's like nothing else out there in my opinion and when a mold like that comes along in a saturated market I think it is a sign of a product that is born out of a love for this silly little frisbee game we all enjoy. It's a mold that I can tell comes from a player...diameter and glide give an old school nod, fat bead and nasty OS bring some new-school style and like every RDG mold I have tried (though this one took me a bit to figure out) it is bottom line reliable to do exactly what it was billed to do.
Looking forward to that little 155g coming in that I just ordered to see if I can get some of the lines you big boys are getting out of these intial ones.
