[Drivers] Streamline Trace vs. Star Wraith

[Twmccoy]

Another comparison of two fairly similar discs in the field today. Trace is plasma plastic, unknown weight. Plastic kinda reminds me of G*. Wraith is 175g. Newer run, embossed. Flattish, somewhat gummy plastic.

Wraith is fairly flat, whereas the Trace has a nice dome.

I was expecting the Trace to outfly the Wraith for distance, mainly due to the fact that it's domier.

The two discs flew very similar lines, but the star Wraith was going consistently further. I felt like the Wraith penetrated better, and was in less hurry to fade. The Trace just seemed clunky. It wasn't any slower than the Wraith, yet it wasn't getting downrange that decently. I also felt like it glided less than the Wraith as well.


Star Wraith: 11, 5, -1, 3
Streamline Trace: 11, 4, -1, 3

Similar numbers, but less glide for the Trace. By no means a terrible disc, but I was still a little disappointed with it. The Wraith was true to the numbers. No great surprises there. I was able to lean into it hard and get consistent flights. A little turn, but nothing major.

I don't bag either mold, but if I did it'd be the Wraith. I just felt like I threw it more consistently and got better distance with it over the Trace. The Trace reminded me more of a Starfire.

Top Wraith distance was probably about 420'. Trace was at least 10' shorter. I was really surprised the Trace wasn't carrying further. I fully expected it to beat the Wraith.

 

[BenHaavisto]

Interesting, from my personal experience I have found the plasma trace to be noticeably less stable than that of a star wraith. I would be interested to see the comparison if you also added a CD3! To me, the CD3 is right in between the trace in the wraith stability wise, and for me flies the furthest of the three, although I have not recorded the distance on many wraith shots.

 

[aphilso1]

Interesting, from my personal experience I have found the plasma trace to be noticeably less stable than that of a star wraith. I would be interested to see the comparison if you also added a CD3! To me, the CD3 is right in between the trace in the wraith stability wise, and for me flies the furthest of the three, although I have not recorded the distance on many wraith shots.

CD3 has a noticeably smaller rim and flies more sluggish. I know it is also listed at 11 speed, but it feels and flies more like a 10 speed IMO.

 

[BenHaavisto]

CD3 has a noticeably smaller rim and flies more sluggish. I know it is also listed at 11 speed, but it feels and flies more like a 10 speed IMO.

To each their own for sure, the CD3 for me is one of my furthest flying (if not the furthest) discs for me!

I just looked it up because I wouldn't say the rim is noticeably smaller than the other two
to me, and I found this under the PDGA specs:

CD3 - Rim depth 1.2cm, rim thickness 2.1cm, inside rim diameter 16.9

Wraith - Rim depth 1.2cm, rim thickness 2.1cm, inside rim diameter 16.9

Trace - Rim depth 1.2cm, rim thickness 2.2cm, inside rim diameter 16.8

As is with all discs some feel smaller or larger in the hand to some people over others but actual rim specs they are pretty comparable.

 

[Twmccoy]

Took me a bit, but I looked up the review I wrote of the CD3 a couple years ago in the CD3 thread. Frankly, I forgot all about that disc until I read what I wrote in 2018.

I remember the disc now. Sluggish, fairly glideless, and overstable. The Trace does remind me of a CD3.

Whatever the case, I find Wraiths a little easier to throw, and longer than the CD3 or Trace.

I rated the CD3 at 11, 4, 0, 2 then. I don't think I've thrown that disc since either. I have it around somewhere.

 

[Twmccoy]

Review of CD3 from 9/27/18

Threw a CD3 for the first time today. C line. 175ish. Very nice, bright, clear plastic.

For a speed 11 its beefy. I was giving it pretty much all the arm I had and wasn't seeing any high speed turn. I also felt like it had marginal glide. Honestly, the CD3 reminded me of a faster Starfire or maybe a Teerex. It wouldn't stay flat for long before wanting to fade. This disc is often compared to a Wraith, but I felt like the CD3 was beefier and had less glide than any Wraith I've thrown.

Good news was, the fade wasn't overly sharp and the disc wasn't dive bombing left horribly. Being that it was flying pretty overstable I was able to dial the disc in pretty quickly in terms of accuracy. It wasn't much affected by wind and flew exactly the same every time I threw it.

Good disc for 375'ish drives. Bad disc for flexing out for big yards.

CD3: 11, 4, 0, 2 (my numbers). I found the disc to have less glide and less high speed turn than the given numbers. Maybe I just have a beefy one here, but this disc is NOT made for noodle arms or beginners.

 

[oldmandiscer]

I haven't thrown a CD3 but nearly every Innova molded disc in Champion and max weight is noticeably more stable then Star. Heck I got a 175 Champ RR that I would rate -1/1.5. I only throw 400 max though.

 

[Muddyboots]

The Trace excels in Neutron plastic, imo. More glide. Oddly, the custom stamped ones (Circuit, Ace of Spades) are a bit less overstable than the stock stamped ones. I am currently in the process of deciding between Traces and Punishers for my long distance drivers. I will add that while I haven't thrown a Wraith since they started putting flight numbers on them, I am getting the Neutron Trace out to about 440 or 450, with good control. The only downside, if there is one, in my eyes, is that the "narrow" rim width costs them distance when throwing uphill or high flighted shots. Bear in mind i threw Nukes for many years, so maybe I just need to adjust my expectations.

TLDR: Getting old sucks, but a good Trace makes it suck a little less.

 

[Twmccoy]

The Trace excels in Neutron plastic, imo. More glide. Oddly, the custom stamped ones (Circuit, Ace of Spades) are a bit less overstable than the stock stamped ones. I am currently in the process of deciding between Traces and Punishers for my long distance drivers. I will add that while I haven't thrown a Wraith since they started putting flight numbers on them, I am getting the Neutron Trace out to about 440 or 450, with good control. The only downside, if there is one, in my eyes, is that the "narrow" rim width costs them distance when throwing uphill or high flighted shots. Bear in mind i threw Nukes for many years, so maybe I just need to adjust my expectations.

TLDR: Getting old sucks, but a good Trace makes it suck a little less.

I found the Punisher to be a lot longer than the Trace. Wider, shallower rim.

IMO, the Punisher is one of Discraft's underrated molds that no one seems to throw.

 

[Hampstead]

From my experience, the Trace is a bit squirrelly compared to a Wraith. I trust the flight of the Wraith more.

 

[Itsnotflipyurjustbad]

Been a hot minute since I've thrown a Wraith so I can't compare the 2 directly. That said, I'd say your Plasma Trace is an exception.

My Plasmas are all domey and low PLH compared to my Neutron and Protons and are extremely glidey with a mellow fade. I'd rate my Plasmas as 11/5/-1/2 and the other plastics as more of 11/5/0/2 or 11/5/-1/3 depending on the disc and if I hit them just right. My arm isn't quite up to par with yours, I'm hitting 375ish with Neutron/Proton and 390-400 with the Plasmas, occasionally sniffing 415+ when everything clicks just right.

FWIW I've been told the Trace was directly modeled after the Augusta Wraith in particular.

In regards to the CD3, I have 2. One old penned run that is super domey and low PLH. Incredibly understable. The other one is a new embossed run and flies like yours.


Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk

 

[zenbot]

I started cycling Pro Wraiths many years ago and never looked back. They beat in to dependable hyzer flippers for big distance and when new are good for nearly any amount of headwind.

The pro plastic "springs" out of my hand.

 

[wolfhaley]

I just started throwing pro Wraiths this year and absolutely love them. People can cycle their rocs, I'm going to cycle Wraiths.

 

[Marmoset]

I have two bag setups.... one all-MVP (and MVP brands) and the other is whatever brand I want. The MVP bag has the Trace as my stable distance driver. The other bag has Wraiths. I have lots of experience throwing either mold but have a much larger sample size for Wraiths than Traces. Swapping between the two molds is no problem for me.

For the Traces, I find my Cosmic Neutron to be the best all around... probably because it is domey and glides better. The Protons I have are more overstable and useful but I just don't like throwing them as much as the others. Plasma is nearly as good as the cosmics but I feel like it just doesn't quite glide as well. I feel like the average Trace is more overstable and less glidey than the average Wraith. I think I have roughly 15 Traces.

Overall I prefer Wraiths partially because of the plastic selections. Pro is reeeeaallllllyyyy awesome for this mold and I throw it a ton. This is probably a big part of why I think Wraiths are less overstable and glidier than the average Trace. I love the Pros. Domey Stars are fantastic too. Similar to the pros but beefier and break-in to phenomenal fliers. The Champs tend to be piggish.

Overall I find them interchangeable but I definitely prefer the Wraith and that's largely because of the Pro plastic. Both are wonderful molds though.

 

[brutalbrutus]

That's kinda weird. I always thought the Trace compared more with an Orc than a Wraith. PDGA specs has the rim bigger for the Trace than either the Orc or Wraith though... and its the same width as the Wave which I don't agree with. My short fingers just barely fit the Wave/Photon class but I don't have any trouble gripping the Trace. I think this may be another one of the PDGA suspect measurements...

...any body have a set of calipers and all four of those discs?

 

[wolfhaley]

...any body have a set of calipers and all four of those discs?

I have all 4 discs...

I'm up north now anyway though.

 

[twistedraven]

A guy I partner'd with a couple days ago for some rounds had a Pro Wraith, and man that thing was super flippy. He showed me it too, and it didn't even look that beat in. Maybe his was an outlier, but I can't believe something that flippy could be recommended so often.

Now as for Wraith and Traces, I have both. I don't have calipers, but I have my hand, and a ruler. Both have the same rim width.

 

[Twmccoy]

A guy I partner'd with a couple days ago for some rounds had a Pro Wraith, and man that thing was super flippy. He showed me it too, and it didn't even look that beat in. Maybe his was an outlier, but I can't believe something that flippy could be recommended so often.

Now as for Wraith and Traces, I have both. I don't have calipers, but I have my hand, and a ruler. Both have the same rim width.

Pro Wraiths are really all over the place. I've thrown everything from super flippy to really beefy with those things.

Overall I'm not a huge fan of pro Wraiths. You never know what you're getting.

They're way more consistent in star.


I still remember when the Wraith first came out (in pro) I loved it. Long, glidey bombs. Longer than anything else out at the time. All of a sudden the disc randomly turned flippy. No clue why. It wasn't like I beat it to death or anything.

 

[oldmandiscer]

Some pro beats in really quick while others don't. It's really not a consistent plastic at all but I do throw it anyways. I like the extra grip I get from it but of course, wish I could find good pro easier. The stiffer almost star like blend.

 

[whentherainscome]

Got a couple proton Traces today. they feel great. Decently higher plh than even my champ Wraiths. Curious to see how OS they are in comparison. I wont get out to throw til the weekend, and even then it might be 'no drivers necessary' course.