It’s been two full months since I purchased a 146g Blizzard Wraith. My first impressions and review were incomplete. Most of what I wrote back then still holds true, it just needs some basic additions to expand on what these discs can do.
Most of the attention has been paid to the Blizzard Boss. This is with good reason- especially since David Wiggins Jr. just broke the world distance record by launching one up into the desert sky. Check out the video on Innova’s website! (you have to scroll down towards the bottom). However, I have yet to focus on this mold in the Blizzard form, and still just own the Wraith.
When it comes down to it, the problem is the drastic weight change. Can you go from a 180 gram Buzzz immediately over to a 146 gram Blizzard Wraith with ease? Most folks I’ve talked with, including myself, have a problem with throwing them to the right. In other words, as a RHBH thrower, you’ll end up throwing it way right if you aren’t careful. Your options, once you understand how your results are changing, are to either change how you throw and actually aim further left, or you can use less power until you feel the exact release point. I elect to do the second of these two, and just throw a little softer, but with more emphasis on the form and angle of release. There ARE players who will be able to figure out this weight change with ease- maybe you’re one of them! However, if you’re not patient you might throw this disc five times and just give up. I suggest just throwing them with 75% power concentrating on accuracy.
That being said- when it comes to “powering down” on your drives- the disc still reacts to intense power. If I am on a wide open hole, it still pays to let it rip and sacrifice the accuracy, because I WILL get more distance than a normal weight Wraith.
I mentioned in the last article, and it remains true- that the Blizzard Wraith has a regular Wraith flight pattern. It’s not going to react to your specific throw the exact same because of the weight, but when you put it out on a good “frozen-rope” line, the fade and stability seem to behave very Wraith like. I have yet to try throwing a true spike hyzer. The most useful situation I have come to use this disc in is the uphill drives. There are plenty of tee-pads in New England (and beyond) that are right at the bottom of a hill- and you’re left looking up an uphill dirt road or path at a 300 foot basket that plays more like 450 because of the incline. The Blizzard Wraith is still a speed 11 disc and can make up ground real quick. It’s actually a good idea in general to throw fast, lightweight discs on uphill shots- but these Blizzard discs take it to the next level. If you are looking for shots to practice with these discs- I suggest practicing a standing throw, uphill, on an accurate line (straight or hyzer). If you really harness the possibilities of this disc, you can easily start throwing further uphill than ever before. In my opinion, open field distance is over rated. However distance on uphill shots will make up strokes, or at the very least save you strokes.
In terms of durability, I haven’t had any issue with it for the first two months. I’ve hit some trees and some rocks, and even though the flight plate is so floppy and loose, the shape of the disc remains the same. The bubbles do make them more prone to damage, since there is literally less material holding the shape of the disc, but I have yet to see a badly damaged Blizzard Disc.
So there we have the additional thoughts- still durable, still useful, accurate Wraith flight path, but I still haven’t filled up my bag with all Blizzard discs either.
DG Squared 