Monday, April 4, 2011

Innova Sidewinder: Initial impressions

So I picked up a brand spankin' new, 175g Innova Sidewinder in DX plastic, and I've been using it for about a month and a half. Innova rates the Sidewinder as a Speed 9 disc, with a (fairly high) Glide of 5, Turn of -3 and Fade of 1.  It has a wide-wedged edge profile--not the widest I've seen--that is nearly flat on the underside.  By that I mean that it has just a faint downward curve at the rim's inner perimeter.   

The DX plastic is very susceptible to damage, as any even mildly experienced golfer already knows, so I only recommend it to anyone for whom economy is key: if you're poor as dirt like me, or you've never played before, or if you really aren't sure if you will like a particular disc but don't have a buddy to loan it to you.  There is one big exception that I should mention, and that is kids and other less powerful throwers. Most Innova discs in DX plastic are available in sub-150g weights, which are perfect for these players. 

Out in the field, I can get the Sidewinder to do exactly what the web site claims it will do for a RHBH thrower when I throw LHFH (With good form). LHBH with a nice flat release yields a very straight flight with a sudden drop to the right as the speed dies off; typically it will roll like crazy.  Give it some elevation though, and that sudden drop makes it spike into the ground hard.  If the terrain is fairly bare (real short grass, dirt, or wood chips/mulch), throw it just a tad low, and it will skip something fierce--as much as 20-30 feet--even after a long flight.  My forehands tend to hook left a little on the skip.  With a bit of anhyzer on a LHFH, this thing will turn over and roll forEVER. I have had some rollers effectively double the overall distance of a shot. These discs were meant to roll!  And they're so easy, it feels like cheating, if they don't turn right around and roll halfway back to you!  On the other hand, with some good hyzer angle on a LHFH throw, the Sidewinder will dogleg left like nobody's business.  Pretty awesome.

Well, like I said, these are just initial impressions.  It's taken me a while to get used to this disc, but I'm starting to like it, though if I were to do it all over again, I think I would go with a lighter weight--somewhere in the 160-165g range.  [I picked up a 164g DX Leopard while my Cheetah was vacationing in a tree at Johnson Park, so I'll review that in a couple weeks, too.] I'll keep throwing this Sidewinder around and revisit it in the future. Until then, have fun out there! 

1 comment:

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