Looking for a new control driver

[springy101]

In my never ending search for more discs I'm looking for a new driver. I have a ton of faster drivers and I have some slower more controllable drivers, now I am looking for something in between. I'm looking for something around speed 9, great glide, and fairly straight flight that will always fade back. Right now just based on numbers I have been looking at the Latitide 64 Striker, Gateway Apache, Discraft Stalker, and the Innova SL. Right now I throw between 275 and 325 depending on the disc and how good my throw is (I throw a Teebird on average 300' if that helps more). I have never actually thrown or see anybody throw any of these, and hope you guys can lend your opinions so that I can make the right decision.

 

[BrotherDave]

Valk will probably win the popular vote. BillnChristy will whore himself out for some Lat 64 disc. I'm going to go with the douchebag response of, "Well, I use a midrange for a control driver."

But seriously try out a Valk, and if you want to make sure of no turnover worries try its cousin the Viking. The Gateway Sabre I had for a little while felt like a faster TeeBird to me, might be an option.

 

[springy101]

Valk will probably win the popular vote. BillnChristy will whore himself out for some Lat 64 disc. I'm going to go with the douchebag response of, "Well, I use a midrange for a control driver."

But seriously try out a Valk, and if you want to make sure of no turnover worries try its cousin the Viking. The Gateway Sabre I had for a little while felt like a faster TeeBird to me, might be an option.

I've tried most of the more popular discs: Valkyrie, OLF, Viking, etc; I'm looking for something else. In all honesty I don't really need a new disc, but when I get paid i always buy 2 or 3 new discs I've never thrown before to try out.

Edit: I've been reading this site just long enough to get a chuckle out of your post. Lots of familiar faces in threads like these

 

[skurf]

I like my Stalker and it's slowly taking over the place of my Teebird. I've seen people say it's not as stable as the Teebird, but I can't say that I agree. I've been throwing a teebird for a while and got the Stalker only just recently, but I find the Stalker actually harder to turn-over than the Teebird and I'd say they both have about the same amount of fade and glide. Basically, this means I can power it 100% completely flat and not worry about it going right and it will stay flat and on that line for a very long time. This is really the most important aspect that I look for in mid-ranges and fairway drivers because those are the discs I use to shoot gaps or hit narrow fairways.

 

[BrotherDave]

Well if you're Mr. Outside the Box guy (I'm one of them) then the Discmania CD is for you. The CD stands for control driver. I personally like my JLS. I hear if you get a Striker, BillnChristy will do unmentionable things to you in an alley way.

 

[colodiscgolfer]

I recently purchased a stalker, and it throws nearly dead straight RHBH no matter how hard I throw it... unless I hang it in the air (like all discs will fade left in this situation). When I throw it RHFH I have to take a bit off of it, or throw a hyzer flip to keep it from drifting off to the left. It is a very domey disc with a large radius, and the rim is very small, so it does feel a bit awkward in my hand compared to my other discs. I haven't thrown it during a round yet (only in practice or as a second drive for fun), but if the right situation presented itself, I would not hesitate to. Very consistent flight pattern for the most part.

 

[springy101]

Well if you're Mr. Outside the Box guy (I'm one of them) then the Discmania CD is for you. The CD stands for control driver. I personally like my JLS. I hear if you get a Striker, BillnChristy will do unmentionable things to you in an alley way.

I was also looking at the CD on Discgolfcenter. Have you actually thrown it?

 

[skurf]

Dave, the JLS pretty much sucks if you're throwing over 275'. I bought it. Tried it. Tried it some more. Thought maybe I could use it in certain situations...but no. My Buzz goes just as far if not further. Is more stable. Holds better lines, anny or hyzer. Has much better glide. Is better in every aspect that is disc golf. And when a midrange can beat a driver in every single category including distance, that's when it's time to hang up the ol' JLS.

At the same time, I think the JLS is quite possibly the best "first" driver you can get. My nephew who just started is doing quite well with it so far.

 

[BrotherDave]

Dave, the JLS pretty much sucks if you're throwing over 275'. I bought it. Tried it. Tried it some more. Thought maybe I could use it in certain situations...but no. My Buzz goes just as far if not further. Is more stable. Holds better lines, anny or hyzer. Has much better glide. Is better in every aspect that is disc golf. And when a midrange can beat a driver in every single category including distance, that's when it's time to hang it up.

Mines a first run in sirius plastic, it is stable as hell. All I can say is I can hit decent gaps with it from 250' away.

No, I've never thrown a CD, but I do have a SL, 169 g I got in a trade and it is a wee bit flippy, definitely seen a tree or two before it got to me. It throws like a new Star Sidewinder, best I can do for comparison.

 

[springy101]

Mines a first run in sirius plastic, it is stable as hell. All I can say is I can hit decent gaps with it from 250' away.

No, I've never thrown a CD, but I do have a SL, 169 g I got in a trade and it is a wee bit flippy, definitely seen a tree or two before it got to me. It throws like a new Star Sidewinder, best I can do for comparison.

Wow, that is really flippy.

 

[skurf]

Mines a first run in sirius plastic, it is stable as hell. All I can say is I can hit decent gaps with it from 250' away.

Not sure what plastic my JLS was, and can't look cause I gave it to my nephew, but it seemed like pro plastic. Are you saying you don't have a better disc to hit gaps 250' away? If not, I'd try a Stalker, Teebird, or a heavy Buzzz, depending on how much further past the gap you need to go. With the JLS, I just couldn't throw it full power with any confidence what-so-ever. So then I had to throw it like 75% and if I got it just right it would go straight, but throwing 75% accurately is not as easy as 95-100% accurately. To each his own, and it seems we very well may have had different runs of the disc.

 

[solomon.trenton]

the striker is a POS. try out the vision in opto line. i love mine and i know billnchristy would agree

 

[keitherboo]

It's funny you should mention the SL as a possible choice, because that's exactly the disc I had in mind from reading the first couple sentences. I love my SL, I use it whenever I'm too far to be comfortable with a midrange but I don't want to go with a overstable driver. I have problems turning over understable plastic and so the SL has been great. It never turns over on me, it goes very straight with a slight fade, every time. It's very predictable, which is what you want in a control driver.

 

[bmeyaard]

Right now I throw between 275 and 325 depending on the disc and how good my throw is (I throw a Teebird on average 300' if that helps more).

I throw very similar distances, and have found that my DGA Rogue is a really great control driver. . . if I try to power it out there past it's "max" it tends to get a little flippy, so if I come upon a throw that I know needs to go ~300' straight, I pull out the rouge and throw a nice, gentle touch drive that typically flies just perfect.

Maybe it's just a mental thing at this point, but I've hit 2 baskets with it in the 290-305 range. (no aces yet!)

 

[kerplunk]

An SL will start off about like you want, but in my experience it will get flippy fast, which I think is what someone else said about the one they got. I don't throw an Orc, but I have seen them in action quite a bit and that might work for you.

I think you should actually focus more on throwing your teebird, as that is what I would have recommended until I read that is what you are trying to move up from. If you want to try some new discs try some midranges and putters, it will probably be better for your game.

 

[garublador]

You'll probably get more control out of a Polaris LS or Cheetah at those distances than any faster driver. The Valk or SL might make a good distance driver but you really won't have nearly the control as you will with something slower.

 

[blackandwhite]

i have an SL and like it alot. would always make a nice tight s for me. i dont know if youve looked at it, but try a star teerex. put a little anny on it and get a good snap and the disc will act like its on a line

 

[Rbuzz9]

try an XL - that's a legit control driver - little to no fade whatsoever. I recently got a valk and i can say - while it is easy to turnover it is by no means a control driver - it's just got too much fade at the end.

 

[wtafro]

try an XL - that's a legit control driver - little to no fade whatsoever. I recently got a valk and i can say - while it is easy to turnover it is by no means a control driver - it's just got too much fade at the end.

I agree about the XL. It is a great driver that you can stick through a tight row of trees. It is the straightest driver I own. I have also thought about getting the striker from Lat64, just haven't gotten to it yet.

 

[Neophyte]

I would say an XL or a Leopard.