Go with the FLOW

[jgillia]

<-- this guy right here just sold 2 Flows to a smiling mr. disc junkie (not the dgcr impostor)

a fly-before-you-buy driving range behind the store comes in handy
additionally, there *were* bad Flows in the bunch he tested

That is correct sir! I finally was able to stop by the nation and test out some Flow to see if I could find some Good ones. Well, mission accomplished. I can finally see what all the hype is about and me likey. I got my mitts on two 167 Pink Opto Flow that have a very slight dome and a higher parting line than the Domey 174 Pink Opto Flow(which is what I originally bought two of and hated). These are the perfect stability and remind me very much of some of my favorite Orcs and seasoned PDs except with significantly more glide.

I admit it I stand corrected, the Flow is purty damn awesome. Just make sure you dont get duds like I did.

 

[EL-KABONG]

New, flatter blue GL flew just like it was described by all y'all...my opto is still 'star destroyer plus' overstable; even after removing flash

 

[JR]

JR did you log into discspeeds account just to post? Hahaha jk mike. Very well said sir.

Mike said my thoughts so well that i could just have done what you suggested

 

[JR]

Totally not seeing the "strong fade" on my Opto's. I'm not saying you're wrong Mike, I'm just not seeing it.

Again, Jeronimo?...?? You the only one never gets fade on Lat64 discs? Even my Halo, which I can throw on a rope, has a hard fade at the very end, like 90 degrees. The day Lat64 designs a distance disc even remotely capable of finishing forward, I'll be back on board.

lol... 90 degrees would be a fun fade.

My Halo definitely doesn't have a huge fade. Can't fairly comment on the flows yet as I've only had a few throws with my GL in some snowy conditions but those throws didn't have a lot of fade. *shrugs*

Halos are interesting in the fade because it starts so late and initially it ain't bad so if it is a low shot it will skip front left. It if is at normal height it will fade about 50-60 degrees left for most of the fade portion of the flight and if it is slow it can increase the degrees some. This with heavy Optos when new.

 

[SirRaph]

So I've now thrown/owned three Flows:
(For reference, I throw about 350' golf D, and 400' on distance lines. I throw X and Z Comets for practice and play, and feel I have clean form.)

170 GL Yellow (Player's Cup Stamp): Very little dome. Started out fairly meaty, until the flash came off, where it was ABSOLUTELY MONEY off the tee for about a dozen throws. Throwing it at 80%, flat, shot it on a dead straight laser line for the target, with almost no fade. Longer than my PDs. After a few tree smacks, it got a bit touchy. I can flip it to flat from hyzer, but it's tough to get the angle perfect. It's just as liable to flip over as it is to stay straight. Now using it for sky annys and distance hyzer flips.

172 Opto Yellow: Big dome. Thrown it a couple dozen times now. It's the same now as right after I got it, (I removed the flash right away.) On control drives, it's straight for 75% of its flight, then fades slowly, but with conviction. It'll flip into the wind, but usually comes back. Power gripping it, it's about the same, but it's just straighter for more of its flight.

175 Opto Blue: Big dome. Flies about like a brand new Pro Wraith for me. It's HSS, and will hold a line into a decent headwind, and fades hard. Great for shorter hyzer lines where I can't allow for it to flatten at all.
Comment: my blue Opto is a hoot to throw on hyzer skip shots, (as are my Rivers), they seem to take back off after they skip. I get a lot of "woah! what was that?"


I've been thinking about flat-topping one of my Optos, (hot water into the dome and setting books onto it while it cools) in hopes it might take some of the LSS out of it. Or I might just try a max weight GL instead.

 

[booter]

I wouldn't try flat topping the domey optos.i think 2 things could happen:
1.it won't stay flat because of how domey it is
2.it will become concave because of how domey it is.

 

[Spike1]

The large dome is very characteristic for this disc, and if you make it flat it won't really be a Flow anymore. Judging by how the disc was described when it was launched, my guess is that it's the Opto type of dome that is the intended shape, and that the Golds came out in an unexpected way. Also, I think the lines of the larger dome found at the Optos (lookig at the disc from the side) seem more smooth, and logically, the designed shape. But as usual that's just me guessing

 

[emiller3]

I like the flat GLs, they're shaped like a high speed version of the good Eagles I have...high shoulder with a flat flight plate.

But, if I were at lower altitude, the flatter ones would be too flippy. As it is, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to cover the whole spectrum with a domey Opto and a flatter GL, and evenutally I'll be able to drop the GL. I just need to stop procrastinating and get an Opto.

 

[money 21]

I got a domey opto flow yellow 170 and a z orange 166 flat surge ss today. I took them to the field and got 15 throws with each just throwing a slight hyzr distance line). they landed with in with in 6 feet of each other 9 of the 15 time seeing them in the air i would not of been able to tell them apart if it were not for the color. if the patter continues the surge ss will make the bag because i can bye it local and i have to travel to get the lat. I am going to add a sparkle rogue and a northman to the test this weekend and which of the 4 will make the bag.

 

[discspeed]

I've gotten the hang of my Flows 100% now, and they have lived up to the initial excitement that I felt when I first threw them. I use my GL and Opto nearly equally and throw them for 90% of my distance drives, most my FH drives, and even PD shots with less power. It's such a balanced and versatile disc...Unlike all the other distance drivers I've struggled with over the past couple years which are much more hit or miss and of more limited use.

 

[Jamesein]

I absolutly love my flows, i have a 169 blue GL thats really flat, and a 171 light blue opto that domey, i love the GL flow for throwing hyzer flips that stay turned over for 300 or more feet, and since the opto one is TONS more stable it makes for a great control distance driver! Heh just hd to share!

 

[uNicedmeMan1]

Interested in trying the flow, how does one assure that they are going to get a good one and not one of the "duds" that has been discussed?

 

[discspeed]

Interested in trying the flow, how does one assure that they are going to get a good one and not one of the "duds" that has been discussed?

I have a feeling, as with any other mold, that one person's dud would be another person's perfect driver. I have 6 pink optos (175) and a couple of silver GLs and they are all "good" ones.

 

[Jeronimo]

I as well haven't found a "dud" yet. The same cannot be said for the Gold lines, I've thrown two very different Flow's stability wise.

 

[Dump Truck]

I was wrong to shit on the disc... Just didn't give it a fair chance because it didn't fly how I pictured it. The sloppy deflashing job I did didn't help either. BTW it was the 6th and final disc I'll ever take a blade to. So bogus initial feedback on my behalf and you're welcome to give me hard time about it.

A few tosses with it since and I need to get one again to give it a fair chance.

Seems the plh should work as usual

 

[jgillia]

I was wrong to shit on the disc... Just didn't give it a fair chance because it didn't fly how I pictured it. The sloppy deflashing job I did didn't help either. BTW it was the 6th and final disc I'll ever take a blade to. So bogus initial feedback on my behalf and you're welcome to give me hard time about it.

A few tosses with it since and I need to get one again to give it a fair chance.

Seems the plh should work as usual

His change of mind comes from watching me toss some beauties with my Flows 8)

 

[money 21]

I went to the field again at lunch and threw a few disc. The opto flow and the z surge ss again flew very similar. Now i have not touched the flash on the flow, but it is small enough that i don't feel it when throwing so I am going to leave it a lone. The flow was both less hss and low speed stable the my sparkle rogue and just a tough longer then my northman, but followed a similar line. I would give the 2 flows that I have thrown both opto 170 in weight same plh and domey ( big sample size i know) a hss of -1.5 and a lss of 2.5.

 

[discspeed]

I've been testing all this season's hot new drivers (King, Havoc, Vulcan, CDD2, PPD2, Nuke, and Katana), and to this point my Flows still own them all in terms of grip, distance, and control. Unfortunately I just lost both my GL and the Opto in my bag...I just replaced them with a new GL...an ugly purplish color with cool looking swirls and bits of other color 175g. This disc is more domey than my old GLs, on par with my Optos...Anyway, it bombs. It's a touch more stable than the other GLs I've thrown, which is sweet. It's like a hybrid between the Opto and GL I was using. I think I'm going to grab a couple more of this run and I will be a single plastic Flow guy.

I still maintain that the Flow is the best all around speed 11+ driver. It's just so straight, glidey, and forgiving. It can do low ceilings, but doesn't die if thrown with some height. That last sentence is the key to why it's better than all those faster drivers. Everyone of those I mentioned at the top of my post require a specific height to get anywhere near their max D. They are also very hard to work on different lines and have real control of imo. I can see how something fast and wide rimmed would be better for a 500' thrower, but most these new discs are understable. Despite their understability, they still have a cruising speed at the top of the range of those they're marketed towards. The result is that more people are throwing discs that go really far once and a while, but are unforgiving most the time.

 

[emiller3]

You likin' the PD2 as a complement to the Flow? I'm discing down in the wind right now but was thinking about trying a Z Force as a headwind max D driver.

 

[discspeed]

You likin' the PD2 as a complement to the Flow? I

Hell yeah. They were born to be together in my book. There is a bit of a stability gap that could be filled by either an overstable flow (sooner or later they have to screw up a run :lol: ) or a slightly broken in PPD2. When the SPD2 comes out I'll be all over that and I anticipate it will fill that gap perfectly, especially when a little seasoned. So far my CPD2s have shown no signs of breaking in stability wise, despite being visibly beat up a bit (my proto).