[Innova] Viking

[Neil_Rankin]

I have a single board flat Champion Viking that I rarely bag. I don't throw it backhand much because it has so little glide and I have trouble throwing it straight compared to a teebird or a thunderbird. Pretty disappointing because I've always loved Valks.

With that said I've put it into my field work box for forehand practice and am getting some good results. Very torque resistant and the low glide gives it good control. Ripped with a tiny hyzer it goes dead straight 300-320 and then just dumps a little at the end more than fades. I can work it to turn when thrown flat but I need more practice to feel confident with it on the course. For a forehand player the Viking could nicely compliment a Sexton/12x quiver of firebirds.

I'm curious as to how this mold flies with a little dome.

 

[zenbot]

My champ Vikings are my favorite fairway drivers ever. Super straight with slight hyzer and get more distance than you think they should because they just keep pushing forward. Not sure what y'all are talking about. Maybe I got lucky on a whole bunch of Dunipace molds.

 

[rafae1]

I forget the details, but Dunipace threw first run Vikings for years and just couldn't understand why nobody liked them.

Several years down the road there was a problem with feedback on a disc called the TeeRex; the first runs had been very popular but people were complaining about the subsequent run. It turned out that Innova had two molds for the top; one mold was used for the first run and the other mold (which was supposed to be identical) was used for the production run. The second mold piece was defective.

Once they figured that out, they also realized that the same two mold pieces had been used in the same sequence for the Viking. Dunipace never noticed; he was still throwing first runs. The production run Vikings for several years had the defective top, which made them less stable than a Valyrie but also a glideless turd. It was the worst of both worlds. :|

tl;dr: Never buy a PFN Viking. :|

So Innova mucked up the waters there buy screwing up the disc at launch. It got off to a slow sales start and never really recovered.

What????? Looks like I need me some First Run Vikings ASAP! I didn't realize the ones I've been throwing are the defective ones and there are better Vikings out there. FMDGL.

 

[PMantle]

I bought a DX on a whim to throw on a certain hole where I throw nothing but base plastic(tunnel over water). I was impressed enough that I will be buying a couple every chance I get.

 

[Three Putt]

What????? Looks like I need me some First Run Vikings ASAP! I didn't realize the ones I've been throwing are the defective ones and there are better Vikings out there. FMDGL.

I mean they fixed it like 15 years ago so that they have the right top; unless you are throwing really old PFN Vikings from like like the first four years it was in production, your Vikings are fine. It's not like they figured out the disc was fubar and then did nothing and kept making fubar discs...

 

[Alexplz]

I will keep an eye out for that! I just don't have the arm or the patience to make much use of the champ firebirds. I would love to try a g star firebird, but haven't seen it, so a domey star might be my best option with innova.

Also a Nate Sexton color glow tour series if you can get a hold of one... that's the real deal.

 

[Three Putt]

I bought a DX on a whim to throw on a certain hole where I throw nothing but base plastic(tunnel over water). I was impressed enough that I will be buying a couple every chance I get.

I bought several blue DX Vikings around 2010-2011 because my daughter's favorite color was blue and she loved the movie How to Train Your Dragon. They were too much for her at the time, but she liked carrying one and she would throw it every now and then for funzies. She quit playing, so I started using them just as a compliment to Valkyries. In DX to me they were similar in flight to what I would get from a good Champ Valk, then they beat in to just be somewhat like a DX Valk (less glide, though). I threw them for quite a while because I had them; I didn't go get more when I ran out, though. Valkyries to me are snowflakes; every one is a little different. By the time I ran out of the DX Vikings I had so many oddly beefy Champ and Star Valks that I had that "Overstable Valk" slot covered.

If it wasn't for that, I would have followed up on the Viking. I thought it was a good driver, but kinda in that Gazelle to the Cheetah area. Back in the all base plastic 90's the pro move was to throw a Gazelle and then use beat Gazelles to cover the US drives, which would make the Cheetah unnecessary. It just never worked out that way, people bought Cheetahs 5 to 1 over Gazelles and threw those. The Gazelle was a really good driver, but it struggled to get traction against the Cheetah. The Viking to me was the same sorta deal; really good driver but I bought 15 Valkyries instead. :\

 

[PMantle]

The Valk snowflake thing is why I have given up on them. Mine are all flat and fly like 9(maybe) 4/0/2.

 

[R-Ogre]

I've had good luck with valks, other than the champ that flew like a thunderbird. Other than that they've followed the usual Innova pattern of DX-Pro-GStar-Star from most to least stable, and if you want a little flippier just buy 10g lighter (back when you could get that).

 

[GripEnemy]

Randomly found myself on Innova's site - figured I should post this. I know not many throw the Viking these days but those that did/do love them.

https://proshop.innovadiscs.com/star-viking/

 

[isamoor]

Yea, if this was a regular thing I'd totally start bagging them again. Still prefer a Viking to a premium Valk. But I can get a pile of premium Valks out of used bins and cover a lot of stabilities.

Viking is also better than CD2/Dynasty and Savant (and Undertaker). At least IMHO.

 

[whentherainscome]

But of flashing and healthy dome on these. I was thinking they might be os and dumpy. I was wrong. I got one out about 350 on a rope. Tiny turn and lots of glide. Will keep it in the bag for now, curious to see if it's much different than my halo Valks.

 

[GripEnemy]

Not a Viking man myself but glad to see they did a run for yall...

 

[whentherainscome]

There's dozens of us!

 

[R-Ogre]

I like valks and I like thunderbirds so I've often wondered if a Viking would work for me too but the only one I've ever thrown was a thrashed DX that was a flip machine

 

[ff33]

got the GOT star viking. Very interesting, neutral to slightly overstable but will hold lines. Like mose people said, its like a teebird but straighter. glide isnt crazy but not much differnece than most 5 glide. they did a great job on the plastic too.

 

[gammaxgoblin]

got the GOT star viking. Very interesting, neutral to slightly overstable but will hold lines. Like mose people said, its like a teebird but straighter. glide isnt crazy but not much differnece than most 5 speeds. they did a great job on the plastic too.

This confuses my brain...I thought the viking was a speed 9, then you reference the 7 speed teebird and wrap it up with a speed 5...can you clarify?

 

[ff33]

my fault, i should have said 5 glide. and some people said a longer straighter teebird, thats what i should have said, as in a fairway driver fairly straight nothting really overstable. bigger arms might find it flippy

 

[the1discChallenge]

Looking at trying out a Viking and was wondering if anyone had any input on the premium Vikings in the proshop right now (artist's corner or the Kristofer star collab). I feel like there are a million discs for this slot, but I've been really gravitating toward Innova.

The used champ Thunderbird I got a while back was really beefy, so I'm weary of trying another one, even in star. Viking seems like a good fit. I currently throw a halo Valk and a lightweight Firebird (flies similar to a Sexton bird), but would like something in between these.

What are they flying like? I also know the OLF has a strong following- any comparison between the Viking and OLF?

edit; just saw whentheraincomes' post and that's promising! Any other testimonies to those champ Vikings? Are they all simlar to that?

 

[GripEnemy]

I have not thrown the new Vikings.

Any Viking you buy will likely be very similar to your Halo Valk. I AM a Valkyrie thrower I know them well.

I tried so hard to like the Thunderbird but it just didn't click. The OLF is an exceptional mold and you should definitely try one.

OLF > Viking for your needs in my opinion.