Different plastics affecting flight characteristics

I had a DX wraith that flew very well for me, especailly as I got better.  After a few hundred rounds, it got pretty dinged up and even had a hole in it.  So since the wraith flew so well for me, I thought I'd upgrade to a star.  But my star does not fly the same way.  It sharply curves the movent it leaves my hand instead of just at the end like the DX wraith did.  Now I'm having the same situation with my pro katana.  Should I upgrade to a star to mitigate the damage it sustains or buy another pro?

[Jeff Nichols]

I have found the same things with Star, Champion, Elite Z, and ESP plastic vs. DX, Pro D, or Elite X plastics. I much prefer the feel of Star and ESP plastics, but in some discs, they just seem SO MUCH more Overstable to me than there cheaper plastic counterparts. 

I bought the Better plastics in certain discs and used them as much as possible. It takes awhile, but they DO break in like the DX did. It just takes quite a bit more time.

[Greg D'OHogne]

As far as Katanas go, do not expect a Star Katana to be anything like a Pro Katana.  They fly completely different.  The Star Katana is much more overstable.  Get a Champ Katana (early run CFR if you can find one).  They are a bit more overstable than a Pro, but not too much.  Once it beats in enough, you will have an awesome flier!

[TheBfunky1]

  I agree about the Katanas... I throw 163g Star (super overstable for its weight). Hit 2 aces with it so far. And two identical CFR Champion ones one at 170g and the other at 171g that I throw on most holes. Awesome for long fast turnover/flex shots. I used my pro katana the same way except with an extreme hyzer flip and the flight was the same as the champ...for about 3 trees. After that it would just turn over into the dirt...PRO Katana = Junk.

  When you get/find a disc you like...plan on affording 2, if they are from the same place and time or run they are more likely BE the same rather than hoping the disc name means the same disc and flight as you had before.

Star Plastic beats in about twice as fast as Champion and pro and dx/some r pro are garbage after a few tree hits (imo). Save the money and time wasted learing a disc that keeps geeting worse with each throw upgrade to quality plastics and just learn to throw them instead. 

 The better plastic are likely more overstable than thier cheaper counterparts in similar models but one trick to use is to account for that and consider the weight. If you normally toss a 175g dx wraith try one in star at a lighter weight 163-168g for example, to compensate.

[Jeffery Nugent]

What he said!

[Jim Coonradt]

I have encountered the same thing. I throw both a DX TeeBird and a Star TeeBird. The DX disc flies great but doesn't last that well. So I end up buying two or three of them during a season. I have an entire stack of used DX TeeBirds in my trunk. I own a Star TeeBird and it is great for hyzer bombs and is very durable. The DX TeeBird after a little break in is great for straight shots or even anhyzers. They are two different discs.

 

That is even more true with the Katana. The flat top Star Katana is quite a bit more overstable than the Pro plastic. A Champion Katana is more similar to the Pro version and is also more durable. The Echo Star plastic seems to be in between the Star and Champion as it is a bit more domey than the flat top Star Katana. So your options are probably to go with another Pro Katana or go with the slight upgrade to a Champion Katana. Or check out an Echo Star Katana.

[Eric Day]

I ask Innova about the sudden extra stability of there Star line a few weeks ago. They said they where working on fixing the problem. They didn't say what the problem was but to expect there disc to be back to normal.

That being said, most of the time Stability goes from DX(most understable), Pro, Star, them Champion. Too me anyway. You may want to try a less stable disc as well. Star Sidewinder and Roadrunner are good long straight disc.

[Jim Coonradt]

I love my Star Sidewinder. My Katana is of the Lemon Lake variety since I tried out a Star version and it was way too overstable. The Lemon Lake version is also supposed to be Star plastic but it is more domey like the Pro version. I also tried out a Star Vulcan because it is supposed to be more understable yet it doesn't seem much different than the Lemon Lake Katana. So I'm not sure that I really trust Innova and their ratings.

 

You won't find me giving up my DX TeeBird any time soon. And my Star TeeBird got me an ace. So although I like them both, the difference is that I have to keep buying new DX TeeBirds. Good thing they don't cost as much.

[Jim Coonradt]

Doube bubble, toil and trouble.

[Eric Day]

Star Sidewinder, and Lemon Lake Katana sounds like my bag lol. Got to love the that farting lemon Katana. To bad there so hard get. I may be switching to the Lat64 Flow as a replacement. There are a few Star Katana's like the Lemon Lake ones, look for the kinda lime green color. They have a slight bit flatter top, but not a meat hook like most Stars.

[Donny Olow]

I do have a Dx Beast that is overstable and a Champion Beast that is Understable !

[David Sauls]

Wraiths & Sidewinders, Star & Champion plastic, max weight.....I've gone through a bunch in the last few years.

 

For the Wraiths, the Champions have been more OVERstable than the Stars.

 

For the Sidewinders, the Champions have been much more UNDERstable than the Stars.  So much more that I think of them as a completely different disc.

 

No conclusion, just perplexed.

 

 

[Jeff Nichols]

I got to thinking about this more when I thought about a disc I have in my bag. I have 2 OLD Elite Z plastic Flash discs in my bag. I LOVE the way the Flash flies. BUT, ALL of my experience with is with the OLD Elite Z plastic formula on this disc. I have MANY other discs in the newer Elite Z plastic formula, and they REALLY seem to be MUCH more stable. It is amazing how different even the SAME plastic can feel between molds, let alone different plastic formulas.