-
Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)
[Innova] Thunderbird
- Thread starter NuNinja
- Start date
Currently rocking the BG Ams Star and its swell. Had a Factory Store Star in for a while, they are just hard to find even if they're right in front of you. I started w a 168g Champ and liked it but I can get the Stars to turn easier with the same nice fade.
Maybe the slightest more stable then star. I dont see much of a difference.
smarkquart
* Ace Member *
Never clicked with the Stars. I cannot explain why, but I could never lay into them and get them up to proper speed. They were no slouch, but they were not spectacular either. I ended up trading them away while there was still a demand for them. Champions, on the other hand, are definitely where they are at for me. The clear ones used for factory dyeing seem a little more sluggish than my other Champions.
In fact, the range of stability, glide, and speed, while not great, seems to be more affected by color (run) than necessarily seasoning. The clear again are a little slower with less glide followed by my honey-colored yellow. I have an orange that ranges from day to day. My blues, however, seem to have the fastest, truest flight, and are the most reliable. One is a Proto and the other is a normal production run, but they are almost identical in flight. Again, they are all close and nearly interchangeable, but I have put my blues in my tournament bag so I do not over-play them and spread the rest of my other colors out over my rec round bags.
livextreme9
Birdie Member
Does anyone have experience throwing the colored glow Thunderbirds?
brandon21486
Par Member
Mentioned in my previous post. To give a little more detail it flies really straight and doesn't finish as hard as my max weight champ(glow is max weight as well). It flies almost just like a 171 champ that I have. I don't have monster distance so others might see a little more variation but that was my experience
wims
Double Eagle Member
How is the Thunderbird in DX? How stable does it start out, and how does it break in? Does it lose the HSS or LSS first?
Also, how OS is this disc for a +/- 300ft noodle? I keep reading people saying that it's surprisingly OS for being a x x 0 2, does it dump hard like a Firebird once it starts fading or is it more Teebird like? Perhaps Wraith like fade?
Also, how OS is this disc for a +/- 300ft noodle? I keep reading people saying that it's surprisingly OS for being a x x 0 2, does it dump hard like a Firebird once it starts fading or is it more Teebird like? Perhaps Wraith like fade?
SD86
Banned
I haven't thrown a Star nor DX Thunderbird, just the Champ and GStar. The Champ is more overstable than the GStar but VERY consistent for me. If the Star is as consistent as the Champion then I'd probably get a Star, but the Champ is just fine for the uses I give it.
For a 300 foot arm it's probably pretty going to be pretty dumpy and OS for you
slowplastic
* Ace Member *
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2014
- Messages
- 6,254
In champ it'd definitely be OS...not quite utility disc but it would likely do the "useful" Firebird shots that bigger arms do with them like hyzers/wind straight shots/decent flicks but not the skip of a Firebird (again not the utility shots the Firebird does, but the more workable "flying" shots). I think the fade is more Teebird like but definitely sweeping and will carry further left, but especially when fresh they have considerable HSS and will go into the fade during flight, not just when it drops down at the very end.
If you don't have an overstable Teebird or a Firebird (or if your Firebird is one of the very OS ones) there's definitely a lot of room for you to use one, but just don't expect super long straight flights like McBeth uses it for. With a longer arm I think there's definitely room between the Teebird and Firebird for it.
smarkquart
* Ace Member *
I agree with the overall sentiment that the true nature of the Thunderbird really does not show itself until you get into the 350+ foot range. Once you start crushing it, it will be a dead straight flyer. Anything less and you are better off with a more neutral disc. However, that does not mean that you have to give up on it. The seasoning of my Champions has been slow, but they are now definitely coming into that sweet spot. It just took a lot of throws. Of course I carry three in my bag and make sure they each one get equal throws, that way if one gets lost I will not have a let down by going to the next in line.
What's the stability of champ discs these days?
Normal glow used to be the most stable but now it doesn't always seem to be.
How do we rank: champ, glow, color glow, metal flake
wims
Double Eagle Member
I bought a 166 DX Thunderbird today. The plastic doesn't feel like old DX at all, it's stiff and tacky, it feels like they have added some pro to the blend. The profile of the disc looks more like a Firebird than a Teebird, having a higher parting line. There's a small shoulder before it flattens out to board flat. Overall a very flat disc. The disc flew overstable, but not utility like. It held a hyzer angle, and I got no turn when I threw it flat. I got about the same distance that I get from a Teebird, shorter than a Valkyrie and a Roadrunner. It basically flew like a beefy new Teebird.
Went back a few pages and the opinions on the different plastics are all over the place. Anyone else throw multiple thunderbirds? The champ is an interesting disc. Pretty straight for me and decent distance.
What's everyone else this Ink?
Glow...
Champ...
Star...
Gstar...
Dx...
I'm thinking about seasoning a dx for understable.
What's everyone else this Ink?
Glow...
Champ...
Star...
Gstar...
Dx...
I'm thinking about seasoning a dx for understable.
cdaddyphresh
Par Member
That's what I do. I'm currently beating up a DX Roc and it has a little bit of turn, but still finishes with a touch of fade. It's almost a beautiful turnover. I think a DX Thunderbird would be a nice one to beat in. Except Drivers tend to not be very useful in DX.
OlyWA Kenobi
Birdie Member
DX Thunderbirds are beefy out of the box. It's losing it's HSS first though. I expected some flip, but I was surprised at how OS they were fresh.
smarkquart
* Ace Member *
The only thing I have against these kinds of comparisons, and not just this one in particular, is that while we are ranking overall (over/under) stability, these rankings do not take into account overall distance, glide, or line shaping ability.
I agree that Champion Glow comes across as the most overstable, but it may be just a factor of it also having so little glide, range, distance, or what-have-you in comparison to the other plastics. It may not actually be any more stable, but since it dumps earlier, it might as well be considered overstable. I gave up almost immediately on my Champ Glows because of this.
The Stars I had, the big bird release ones, were fast and had a noticeable later turn when stacked up against my Champions, but it too seemed to lack glide. I am, however, interested in the new production run Stars, but I cannot find the disposable cash to give them a try because I have settled in to using Champions, and they fit perfectly between my FDs and Trespasses.
I gave GStars a try for a month, but I never gelled with them. I can give no specific reasons, but at the time they were not doing anything my regular TeeBirds could not do, and that includes distance. I do agree that when stacked up against Stars and Champions, they definitely had less high speed stability. I guess they just ranged more to the right than I would have liked.
As for DX, I had one and only one before I lost it in the water. However, I bought it strictly as a water disc and it cleared some really dangerous spots multiple times before it finally splashed under. So my seasoning was rather limited, but like the GStar, I had a tendency to range right while the Champs would need to be overtorqued for that to happen. The biggest knock I had against DX was that it did not feel right in my hand. For some reason it seemed a little shallower in the rim. This made the powergrip I use for big drives cramped and uncomfortable. The only reason I would buy another one would be so that I could lose that instead of a more expensive disc. Then again, if I do not waste time with a disc that I am apt to lose, then I can spend more time with discs that I need to learn better so that I do not have to worry about screwing up a high risk versus reward shot.
I agree that Champion Glow comes across as the most overstable, but it may be just a factor of it also having so little glide, range, distance, or what-have-you in comparison to the other plastics. It may not actually be any more stable, but since it dumps earlier, it might as well be considered overstable. I gave up almost immediately on my Champ Glows because of this.
The Stars I had, the big bird release ones, were fast and had a noticeable later turn when stacked up against my Champions, but it too seemed to lack glide. I am, however, interested in the new production run Stars, but I cannot find the disposable cash to give them a try because I have settled in to using Champions, and they fit perfectly between my FDs and Trespasses.
I gave GStars a try for a month, but I never gelled with them. I can give no specific reasons, but at the time they were not doing anything my regular TeeBirds could not do, and that includes distance. I do agree that when stacked up against Stars and Champions, they definitely had less high speed stability. I guess they just ranged more to the right than I would have liked.
As for DX, I had one and only one before I lost it in the water. However, I bought it strictly as a water disc and it cleared some really dangerous spots multiple times before it finally splashed under. So my seasoning was rather limited, but like the GStar, I had a tendency to range right while the Champs would need to be overtorqued for that to happen. The biggest knock I had against DX was that it did not feel right in my hand. For some reason it seemed a little shallower in the rim. This made the powergrip I use for big drives cramped and uncomfortable. The only reason I would buy another one would be so that I could lose that instead of a more expensive disc. Then again, if I do not waste time with a disc that I am apt to lose, then I can spend more time with discs that I need to learn better so that I do not have to worry about screwing up a high risk versus reward shot.
hugheshilton
* Ace Member *
I popped into my local retailer today and picked up a couple DX Thunderbirds, a 175 and a 166. The plastic feels fantastic, and the profile on these looks almost like a Firebird. They have very high wing height and are super flat, even a little puddle topped. I'd be surprised if these don't start out super beefy and beat in really nicely. I'm looking forward to using them as a winter driver since I need a little extra grip in the wet weather and with the slippery pads I can't throw as far anyway. Who knows, these might turn into my primary driver this winter if they fly like I hope they will.
superium
Eagle Member
Threw my 175 dx as well as my pink colored glow thunderbird today. The dx feels great and love how flat they are. I think it will be a great winter disc with the grippy plastic. Only threw it a couple of times but flies just like a champ one as of now. Hopefully break it into a super straight flyer and then eventually a great roller disc. The color glow thundie is a tad less stable then the champs. Holds a straighter line a bit longer and the plastic feels a bit nicer.
Similar threads
- Tournament
