Innova Katana

[younggunlefty]

I got the pro Katana in the 1 of 1 green/gold anomaly pretty awesome looking if you ask me and then I also got a reg silver one for throwing and one of the blemished in a pretty sweet color combination.

 

[IllustratorVir]

Still waiting on mine...

 

[discspeed]

I don't understand how you can target rec players and "noodle arms" with a speed 13 disc. How many have the power and technique to use a disc that fast? A disc that you'd only use on big, wide open drives- so like maybe 3 of the holes on your local course. This crap is stupid. And they got rid of the Gazelle? A more beginner-friendly disc?

(sorry, I feel like bitching- dropped the cell phone in the toilet last night)

Unfortunately this would be like if Kellogg's stopped making all their sugary kids cereals and only offered healthy choices. We all know that kids are sugar fiends and will always choose something unhealthy over healthier options. Kellogg's runs on the greed that is America. Their shareholders expect large profits and selling sugary, addictive BS makes huge $$. If they stopped selling it they would get pummeled by other companies who did. Its the same with Innova. They discontinued the Gazelle because it wasn't worth the cost to run them...Nobody was buying Gazelles. Its the nature of our market based capitalistic economy. Super fast drivers sell like hotcakes.

What I don't understand is why Innova went on such a run with the fast drivers. Everytime a new one came out it had to hurt sales of existing models. The Destroyer was still the fastest, longest disc when the Boss came out. I don't understand this...The Boss has to have killed Destroyer sales big time. IMO they would have been better off releasing the Boss at least 2-3 years after the Destoyer. And the Groove got lost in this, and now with the Katana, who is going to buy all the Grooves that have already been produced? If people weren't so idiotic with brand loyalty (I meet them ALL the time) Innova couldn't just spew shit like this.

Discraft seems to make a bit more sense, though somethings are wacky. Like I don't understand their release of the Ringer so soon after the Zone, because I think they are quite similar. I do commend them on the Stalker though...they took a chance developing a slow driver, but I think it is selling really well. Hopefully this will push Innova into developing some good new slower drivers as well. It also sounds like Discraft is trying to make their new super-fast driver something quite different than the Force, which is smart.

 

[IllustratorVir]

I don't understand how you can target rec players and "noodle arms" with a speed 13 disc. How many have the power and technique to use a disc that fast? A disc that you'd only use on big, wide open drives- so like maybe 3 of the holes on your local course. This crap is stupid. And they got rid of the Gazelle? A more beginner-friendly disc?

(sorry, I feel like bitching- dropped the cell phone in the toilet last night)

Unfortunately this would be like if Kellogg's stopped making all their sugary kids cereals and only offered healthy choices. We all know that kids are sugar fiends and will always choose something unhealthy over healthier options. Kellogg's runs on the greed that is America. Their shareholders expect large profits and selling sugary, addictive BS makes huge $$. If they stopped selling it they would get pummeled by other companies who did. Its the same with Innova. They discontinued the Gazelle because it wasn't worth the cost to run them...Nobody was buying Gazelles. Its the nature of our market based capitalistic economy. Super fast drivers sell like hotcakes.

What I don't understand is why Innova went on such a run with the fast drivers. Everytime a new one came out it had to hurt sales of existing models. The Destroyer was still the fastest, longest disc when the Boss came out. I don't understand this...The Boss has to have killed Destroyer sales big time. IMO they would have been better off releasing the Boss at least 2-3 years after the Destoyer. And the Groove got lost in this, and now with the Katana, who is going to buy all the Grooves that have already been produced? If people weren't so idiotic with brand loyalty (I meet them ALL the time) Innova couldn't just spew shit like this.

Discraft seems to make a bit more sense, though somethings are wacky. Like I don't understand their release of the Ringer so soon after the Zone, because I think they are quite similar. I do commend them on the Stalker though...they took a chance developing a slow driver, but I think it is selling really well. Hopefully this will push Innova into developing some good new slower drivers as well. It also sounds like Discraft is trying to make their new super-fast driver something quite different than the Force, which is smart.

Lets take a look at Innova's line up.. what is missing, I mean really... If you were -forced- to make a tournament bag for every shot using just innova's discs you could do it. Innova needs better slower drivers? Hell no. They have the Teebird, Eagle, Firebird, Viper, Roadrunner, etc. With the release of the Mako and a high quality Roc mold they have also given their midranges a overhaul as well. What else are they going to do? Innova has solid performance discs in almost every category from an Aviar to the Destroyer they have almost all slots and shots covered.

 

[GratefulDisc]

I don't understand how you can target rec players and "noodle arms" with a speed 13 disc. How many have the power and technique to use a disc that fast? A disc that you'd only use on big, wide open drives- so like maybe 3 of the holes on your local course. This crap is stupid. And they got rid of the Gazelle? A more beginner-friendly disc?

(sorry, I feel like bitching- dropped the cell phone in the toilet last night)

Unfortunately this would be like if Kellogg's stopped making all their sugary kids cereals and only offered healthy choices. We all know that kids are sugar fiends and will always choose something unhealthy over healthier options. Kellogg's runs on the greed that is America. Their shareholders expect large profits and selling sugary, addictive BS makes huge $$. If they stopped selling it they would get pummeled by other companies who did. Its the same with Innova. They discontinued the Gazelle because it wasn't worth the cost to run them...Nobody was buying Gazelles. Its the nature of our market based capitalistic economy. Super fast drivers sell like hotcakes.

What I don't understand is why Innova went on such a run with the fast drivers. Everytime a new one came out it had to hurt sales of existing models. The Destroyer was still the fastest, longest disc when the Boss came out. I don't understand this...The Boss has to have killed Destroyer sales big time. IMO they would have been better off releasing the Boss at least 2-3 years after the Destoyer. And the Groove got lost in this, and now with the Katana, who is going to buy all the Grooves that have already been produced? If people weren't so idiotic with brand loyalty (I meet them ALL the time) Innova couldn't just spew shit like this.

Discraft seems to make a bit more sense, though somethings are wacky. Like I don't understand their release of the Ringer so soon after the Zone, because I think they are quite similar. I do commend them on the Stalker though...they took a chance developing a slow driver, but I think it is selling really well. Hopefully this will push Innova into developing some good new slower drivers as well. It also sounds like Discraft is trying to make their new super-fast driver something quite different than the Force, which is smart.

Lets take a look at Innova's line up.. what is missing, I mean really... If you were -forced- to make a tournament bag for every shot using just innova's discs you could do it. Innova needs better slower drivers? Hell no. They have the Teebird, Eagle, Firebird, Viper, Roadrunner, etc. With the release of the Mako and a high quality Roc mold they have also given their midranges a overhaul as well. What else are they going to do? Innova has solid performance discs in almost every category from an Aviar to the Destroyer they have almost all slots and shots covered.

I don't know the sales numbers but I have a feeling that Innova's best selling discs are whatever is newest. There really seems to be nothing left for innova to do but eliminate perfectly good but slow selling molds and replace them with new "better" molds, possibly even renaming and re-releasing old molds and marketing as new (I could see the gazelle selling really well if released in star plastic with a sexy new name). The only real progress I can see be a possibility is advances in the plastic. Its all been done before, there is nothing left. To me it is interesting to see what they will do next.

 

[discspeed]

Lets take a look at Innova's line up.. what is missing, I mean really... If you were -forced- to make a tournament bag for every shot using just innova's discs you could do it. Innova needs better slower drivers? Hell no. They have the Teebird, Eagle, Firebird, Viper, Roadrunner, etc. With the release of the Mako and a high quality Roc mold they have also given their midranges a overhaul as well. What else are they going to do? Innova has solid performance discs in almost every category from an Aviar to the Destroyer they have almost all slots and shots covered.

I disagree. Every slow driver that you named is overstable. Dave D. himself has admitted that none of those discs have been designed for premium plastic and they all fly more overstable than intended. Even the Leopard (which I personally hate) is overstable at all but the highest speeds when brand new. None of these discs are suitable for anyone who does not throw at least 350' until they are beat up significantly (at least for anything other than overstable/flex shots). Maybe more people should throw baseline plastic, but they are not going to. Very few are willing to buy discs that take visible damage easily and change flight quickly and I can't really blame them. All Innova pros throw discontinued models (SE, CE, old KC) to compensate for this hole and this is perhaps the most compelling evidence for my assertion. Hell, Ken Climo doesn't throw ANY of Innova's current lineup except for the high speed drivers. He's not stubborn, and he likes trying new discs, he just knows the old stuff was better and the newer versions of the slow drivers suck compared to them.

 

[Jesse B 707]

got my 170 and 171 Pros in today, man these things bomb, for me (consistent 380 with my Orcs) they fly a whole lot like a faster Valk or Roadrunner (what i wanted the groove to be ).
Took em out to the field after work today with a couple Orcs a pro SL and a star and R-pro boss to test em against, long story short the Katana smoked em all, I throw in this field alot and have never made it across the full span (420 says google earth), so i step up and to all the other discs first to get the bad ones out before testing......normal tosses,good snap all were around 380/390 which i was quite pleased with....i step up and toss the katana with a sleight hyzer to see what it does....BOOM! i threw about 30 feet or so high and it gradually turned over and just went......and went.... and hit the fence on the other side just as it was getting back to hyzer! :shock: 420 and it still had a bit left :mrgreen: its been probly a year since i last saw a disc go that far out of my own hand (had more power before an injury).
I got around 10 tosses back and forth with them and while i never hit the fence again i nestled right up to it at least 5 more times and it was consistently the longest of the bunch. this will go in the bag for further testing

 

[discspeed]

How much movement was there in the flight? Were you able to flip it up and have it fly somewhat straight?

 

[Parks]

I don't know the sales numbers but I have a feeling that Innova's best selling discs are whatever is newest. There really seems to be nothing left for innova to do but eliminate perfectly good but slow selling molds and replace them with new "better" molds, possibly even renaming and re-releasing old molds and marketing as new (I could see the gazelle selling really well if released in star plastic with a sexy new name). The only real progress I can see be a possibility is advances in the plastic. Its all been done before, there is nothing left. To me it is interesting to see what they will do next.

This is pretty much it. Innova can work on a few things: making a premium plastic fairway driver that flies like a DX one, making a really consistent speed 9ish "fairway" driver (PD and OLF don't quite count as Innova), making a speed 9+ disc that molds well in DX and breaks in nicely, making a Wizard competitor in DX plastic, and improving the consistency, grip, and glide of their plastics. There's a couple other things that they will likely be doing first (max rim width long headwind driver, trying some stupid crap soft plastic), but those are pretty much a given and along the same lines of their recent history.

Other than that, they're mostly going to be re-inventing the wheel and replacing perfectly good molds because idiots keep buying the crap.

 

[Jesse B 707]

How much movement was there in the flight? Were you able to flip it up and have it fly somewhat straight?

id say 30 to 50 feet of lateral movement on the longest rips, but that is also due to the line i was throwing, and yeah i did experiment with some long sweeping hyzers and some flip to flat shots and both worked rather well, it was a tad touchy when trying to flip to straight but this could be from my lack of knowing the mold at all

 

[Jesse B 707]

Other than that, they're mostly going to be re-inventing the wheel and replacing perfectly good molds because idiots keep buying the crap.

by their nature people (especially males) get bored and have to try new things for the fun of it, doesnt make them...ahem....me an idiot :wink: i am never going to be a touring pro or make any kind of money from playing DG so why not just have fun and test out new plastic when it comes out?

 

[Parks]

Because if you try too many things you eventually get the AIDS.

 

[JHern]

Damn Jesse, I guess I'll have to try one at some point. But I'm not in a hurry to pick one up. How would you compare it with a beat Pro Destroyer?

Discspeed: Indeed, the Stalker continues to impress, hats off to Discraft for making a very fine mold that is more optimized for premium plastic.

And they got rid of the Gazelle? A more beginner-friendly disc?

They had a recent run of DX Gazelles, so not out-of-production yet (lots available at the usual online retailers). But it would be cool to see them produce it in Champion.

 

[jsun3thousand]

Because if you try too many things you eventually get the AIDS.

 

[35561]

Has anyone tried rollers with a Katana yet? Because to me they'd seem to have potential to be one of the longest straight-out-of-the-box roller discs. I'm so close to ordering a Champion blem to try out.

 

[mzuleger]

they fly a whole lot like a faster Valk or Roadrunner (what i wanted the groove to be ).

Awesome! It sounds like what I'm hoping for out of this disc.... hope I get mine before the weekend.

Then I'm going to re-enact my own version of kill bill... as told through DG.

 

[dgdave]

Uh oh. This sounds lkike when the eco grooves were released

 

[jgillia]

[
got my 170 and 171 Pros in today, man these things bomb, for me (consistent 380 with my Orcs) they fly a whole lot like a faster Valk or Roadrunner (what i wanted the groove to be ).

Damn you Jesse! Now I want to try one of these because I currently throw the OLS which is similar to the Valk but from time to time would like somehting faster. Tried the groove (hated it) so I wasnt to keen on the Katana, but after that description the junkie in me now has to try one.

Thanks Jesse :twisted:

 

[Jesse B 707]

the one thing that worries me with these is how they will beat up, it seems to be just about the perfect stability out of the box (for me) so im a little weary of what it will turn in to

 

[jgillia]

the one thing that worries me with these is how they will beat up, it seems to be just about the perfect stability out of the box (for me) so im a little weary of what it will turn in to

Did you remove the flashing?