The River

[DagG]

A pair of Rivers, a 177g GL and a 167g GL, have been at the core of my bag for over a year now along with a GL Fuse and a Grip Pure (not primary putter). All have been holding up fairly well, some minor scratches and dings with the stamps wearing off, worn off in the case of the Pure. My wear is probably better than that for many though as I only have time to play a handful of rounds a week, less now that I've been devoting time to helping grub out a new course.

 

[RS39]

Seemed to get lucky with a blue 173 GL for my first River. My gold GL turned brown in shade and was lost on the 4th throw...

Besides rocking for low ceilings, it's great for bad footing mud/snow and is an excellent max D tail wind disc. When other long drivers get caught up by a fresh tail wind gust, they feel no air speed and die, while the River just keeps going.....

 

[mshelton]

Anyone finding these really sensitive to nose angle?

 

[discspeed]

I got to test my orange 175 GL River as well as a light red 175 Opto extensively today. After originally testing 172-173g Rivers I can definitely say that I like the heavy ones better...I might like a 176-177 even more. This disc is not lacking on the glide dept., and the heavy ones transition more slowly in the air. I really like the GL...It seems to be pretty close to what I'm looking for in a compliment for my PDs. I would give it a -1 for HSS and a 2 in LSS. It was pretty workable as it is, but I look forward to it being a little less stable all around. I love the grip and feel of both the mold and the GL plastic. I have totally worked the flash of this disc as well. The Opto is a little different animal. It was more HSS and LSS...In fact, it's pretty Strikeresque all around. It is a nice disc, kind of like a broken in Teebird. The two discs compliment each other fairly well now, and I imagine this will only be more true as the GL breaks in. I'm back on the River for an extensive test this time.

 

[discspeed]

Anyone finding these really sensitive to nose angle?

My lighter Optos were a bit, but my heavier Opto is not. They are a slightly more nose angle sensitive than discs like the XL, TB, and Leopard, but not too much. Its much less nose angle sensitive than a Striker. My GL is about half as sensitive as the Opto...The GL seems to want to push straight more on any angle.

 

[mshelton]

Probably me then, my nose angle can be fugly, need to work with the disc some more too, maybe play some river/fuse only rounds instead of just fuse only.

 

[chickenonabun]

I think the river is more nose angle sensitive than other speed 7 discs, like the eagle and teebird.

 

[Skulboy]

Discovering The World just stamped these babies up in sweet pearly Gold Line and Optos.

 

[Lamp]

I'll be checking that out, I also found out that it isn't too difficult to get your hands on those red colorshift rivers, the price might be jacked up a little bit but I've seen them around. (Not saying anyone claimed they were rare, I just assumed they were).

 

[discspeed]

So far my GL River is really working for me. It is filling the slot I needed it to perfectly. Today I parked a couple of wooded holes that I've been having a lot of trouble with lately with the River, each on a line that turned and faded in a very smooth and controlled manner. My Opto River overlaps with my straight PDs a lot more due to it's stability, so I'm not using it very much on the course. In the field however it was very impressive on long high anhyzers. If the River had come out in the late 90s it would have broken the distance record.

 

[mshelton]

Nice design Skullboy, just bought a second River and was going to hold out for a purple-shift for a third if they release it in that color though I may have to order one of yours.

Out of curiosity, how much of the LSS have you guys lost on your GL versions over time?

 

[kcbill]

If the River had come out in the late 90s it would have broken the distance record.

i think that's true.

 

[ForeverBlue232]

The River held my personal distance record for a while.

 

[discspeed]

I've had a chance to put the GL and Opto Rivers (both 175) through their paces pretty well. They are both nice in their own ways, but they are very different.

The GL is working perfectly for me as my primary fairway driver. It is like a QJLS with a bit more glide, essentially making it more effortless with a bit more range. It transitions very slow and smooth and generally holds it's height well. It holds a turn easily and comes out at the end. On a flat/slight hyzer throw it flips flat with a glidey TB-like fade. I've also been able to throw it dead straight with very little fade on a very controlled flat release. Basically it flies like a dream...It's too bad I didn't get this disc when I first tested the River...

The Opto is a strange animal. It flies VERY similar to a straight-flying domey yellow Striker I had. It flies on the same general lines as the GL, but it's not smooth at all. Instead of easing into it's high speed turn it just seems to kind of pop up all of a sudden. While the fade is kind of late, it is very harsh with the disc getting almost vertical and spiking into the ground. It also seems to like to lift and get air bounces like a lot of really domey discs do. This adds to the feel of the glide, but at no point does the disc ever feel locked onto it's line. This disc also goes really far...Considering the speed at which it needs to be thrown not to fade excessively, this is a disc that needs 360'+ to get it's intended flight path. Out in the field I could crush this disc nose down and hyzer and get some huge hyzer flips...I was putting both well over 400' with a little wind behind me, though in more neutral wind conditions the Opto was going up to 20' farther.

Long story short...The orange GL River is in the bag. This is the disc I wanted the River to be when it came out. In terms of speed, glide, range, HSS, and LSS it is the perfect versatile fairway driver to stand alone in my bag and bridge the gap between mids and my PDs.

 

[smarkquart]

I've had a chance to put the GL and Opto Rivers (both 175) through their paces pretty well. They are both nice in their own ways, but they are very different.

The GL is working perfectly for me as my primary fairway driver. It is like a QJLS with a bit more glide, essentially making it more effortless with a bit more range. It transitions very slow and smooth and generally holds it's height well. It holds a turn easily and comes out at the end. On a flat/slight hyzer throw it flips flat with a glidey TB-like fade. I've also been able to throw it dead straight with very little fade on a very controlled flat release. Basically it flies like a dream...It's too bad I didn't get this disc when I first tested the River...

The Opto is a strange animal. It flies VERY similar to a straight-flying domey yellow Striker I had. It flies on the same general lines as the GL, but it's not smooth at all. Instead of easing into it's high speed turn it just seems to kind of pop up all of a sudden. While the fade is kind of late, it is very harsh with the disc getting almost vertical and spiking into the ground. It also seems to like to lift and get air bounces like a lot of really domey discs do. This adds to the feel of the glide, but at no point does the disc ever feel locked onto it's line. This disc also goes really far...Considering the speed at which it needs to be thrown not to fade excessively, this is a disc that needs 360'+ to get it's intended flight path. Out in the field I could crush this disc nose down and hyzer and get some huge hyzer flips...I was putting both well over 400' with a little wind behind me, though in more neutral wind conditions the Opto was going up to 20' farther.

Long story short...The orange GL River is in the bag. This is the disc I wanted the River to be when it came out. In terms of speed, glide, range, HSS, and LSS it is the perfect versatile fairway driver to stand alone in my bag and bridge the gap between mids and my PDs.

Albeit by chance and a desire to try something new, but this has been my feeling and observation with my 177g Blue Gold Line River since day one. It has never left the bag. I am more than glad you were willing to give it another try. When I picked it up on a lark when they first hit the shelves, I had no reason or idea why I picked one so heavy. Driving to the course, eyeing the disc the whole time as it sat in the seat next to me, I kept asking myself why did I purchase that one. I had a beat 165g Star Teebird that had claimed a beautiful ace a week earlier at BRP, why was I trying to replace that? I do not believe in wall-hangers unless it is a special disc to me and it is so trashed that it no longer flies. That Teebird still had a lot of life left in it. Yet after a drive on Hole 12 at Bryant Lake (MN), a little right, a little left, and parked under the basket with minimal effort, I was sold on the River.

However, I do like the Opto Rivers in winter. The colder, thinner air seems to tame what you observed in your throws. It has been four months since we had snow here, but if I remember correctly the Opto flies in winter like how the Gold Line flies in summer. At its coldest, I lose a lot of grip on all Gold Line plastics, but so much on Opto unlike other translucent plastics.

This is a picture of me driving on Blue Ribbon Pines #4 with my blue GL River. This disc is the only non-putter I would dare tee off with on this hole.

Same drive, different angle.

 

[mattw]

Last night at league was the first night I put the River in the bag. I have two Optos both at 169. I had done some field work with them and decided it was time to try them out on the course. I am not a power thrower and my distance maxes out at around 350. I love this disc great in the open for all out distance but it shined for control shots. I only had one bad throw all night and that was my fault for popping it up to high so it wouldnt hold the anhyzer line. I was able to leave my Valks in the bag for distance it was great. I would like to pick up a couple of Goldline Rivers to try out. This disc seems to be a better fit for me than the PD.

 

[jgheels1999]

Its my main fairway driver and open field distance driver. I never understood how some quickly gave up on these things at first...anything with that insane amount of glide is worth trying to use to your advantage. I absolutely love how this disc fits into a Fuse dominated bag when transitioning to the fairway driver. Same glide, more speed, a little more stability.

 

[mattw]

Its made me want to try a Fuse out. I didnt give that disc much of a chance when it first came out either. I tried the River shortly after it came out but I had a tough time throwing it. I worked on my form and got some pointers from Dan Beato and things have gotten better. I love the glide on the River its made holes that I couldnt park before reachable. For me its filled both the control slot and distance slot in my bag. Pretty happy so far.

 

[Peot]

Since I lost my beat Valk yesterday, I think this max wt Opto River I've been chucking is replacing that spot in my bag. These things boom for their speed.

 

[jgheels1999]

Even though I've been throwing these discs since they first came out, I'm finding them more and more impressive on the lower lines. I don't have much distance since my form is in construction (max D river 350-380ft on flat grass ) but that 320-350 range on low lines is my favorite shot with this disc. Hyzer flip to flat, mild turn right, tiny fade at the end, and they just always end up parking.