Discraft Crank SS: The great equalizer

I don’t generally make New Year’s resolutions.

Maybe it’s a cop out – if there is no resolution made, then there isn’t one to break – but it also has something to do with a different focus, I think. As I get a little older, I try to key more on what I have now, rather than what I want to be. It helps keep me present.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t set some realistic goals to aim for throughout the year, especially when it comes to my semi-athletic pursuits. As a result, I originally planned on adding to my driving distance – a mere 20 feet or so, nothing crazy – so I could be a little more competitive on the course.

Then I realized that I already did that at the end of 2015 with the Discraft Crank SS.

This is why I don’t make resolutions.

Easy out of the box

Developed as the understable complement to 2013’s wildly successful Crank, Discraft’s latest offering levels the playing field for us mere mortals with a combination of speed and minimal required power that is difficult to rival. The Crank SS, even with its wide rim and shallow depth, makes for dream flights when you hit it right, without being as overly nose-angle sensitive as competing max-distance drivers.

And it wasn’t like it took long to figure it out, either. From the first field throw with the Crank SS – just a smooth, flat release to see how it would handle – it was clear that this disc would not only be easy to throw, but also easy to control.

Normally when throwing a new wide-rimmed driver – last year’s popular Latitude 64 Raketen comes to mind – I’ll have to give it a little more gusto and a slight anhyzer release to see a straight flight. It’s the Noodle Arm way, and it’s something I’ve come to accept as a given when testing high-speed drivers. The Crank SS, though, did not need any extra oomph or tweaking of release angles to see a nice long, straight flight with a small ending fade on its maiden voyage. Thrown at about 70% power, I was both surprised and elated with how this thing handled out of the box.

My enjoyment of the mold only grew as I got it to the course and worked it on multiple lines.

Flipping out

As stunned as I was at its ease of use in the field, the Crank SS opened my eyes on the course with a truly new experience: a high weight, high speed disc that I could hyzer flip to flat.

You read that correctly. The 170-172 gram-stickered Crank SS that Discraft sent me to review hyzer flips like an old friend, creating massive (relatively speaking), easy, straight distance for the 300-feet and under crowd. This is something I have only experienced with wide-rimmed drivers that are either incredibly light or incredibly mangled, and even then the hyzer flip is rarely reliable.

With the Crank SS, though, I have been able to come back to this release time and again for relatively consistent flights. It makes for a driver that can be aired out for big distance if you have enough space – full power, flat release and BOOM! – but can also fit into tighter spaces and hold low lasers if the shot calls for it.

Hole 11 at Kit Carson Park is an excellent example of one of these smaller windows. With an OB fence on the left and trees to the right, I prefer to hug the boundary for the high speed portion of the flight before letting the disc fade into a safe opening down the fairway. On a medium-powered flat release or a full-powered hyzer, the Crank SS will hold that straight shot without drifting over the fence and OB, yet get me further off the tee than most other discs in my bag.

The 170-172 gram-stickered Crank SS that Discraft sent me to review hyzer flips like an old friend, creating massive, easy, straight distance for the 300-feet and under crowd.

Later in a Kit Carson round I can call upon the Crank SS to hit a wide double mando on Hole 14 and see the disc’s full flight pattern, all the way from hyzer to flat to turnover. It’s a beautiful sight, especially if you have the lateral room to allow for the entire enchilada.

A small trade-off

While I gush about the Crank SS’ ability to add distance for a low-powered arm, there are a couple drawbacks to highlight.

First, I can’t seem to make the same hyzer flips happen with much height, which has limited some of my ability to throw it uphill. It is something to work on, and likely can be chalked up to my form. But other noodle arms likely have form flaws, too, so it’s worth mentioning.

Also, like any understable mold the Crank SS is susceptible to the two Ws: wind and wrist roll. Prepare for true comedy if this driver happens upon an unseen breeze down the fairway, and make sure you’re keeping those releases relatively clean unless you’re hunting gophers.

That said, the distance yielded from this mold makes the cons worth the trouble. There’s something both empowering and comforting about being able to throw a wide-rimmed driver with relative control and additional distance, almost a “walk a mile in their shoes” feeling. In this case, the “their” refers to higher-powered players.

The mile? You won’t have to walk that far to your lie, but it might be close.

Connect with Discraft to learn more about the Crank SS, as well as the brand’s other offerings:



Discraft Crank SS Facebook + Twitter Giveaway

The Discraft Crank SS is ready to fly from my bag and into yours. That’s how long it is. OK, not really. But you can win one anyway by participating in this week’s giveaway on both Facebook and Twitter! Here’s how to enter: -FACEBOOK- 1) LIKE Noodle Arm Disc Golf 2) LIKE Discraft 3) LIKE and COMMENT on the pinned post for this review at the Noodle Arm Disc Golf page. For your comment, tell me the New Year’s resolution you’ve either already broken or will shortly break. Because we all know it isn’t going to last. -TWITTER- 1) Follow @NoodleArmDG 2) Follow @DiscraftDG 3) Tweet out the following: The @DiscraftDG Crank SS levels the playing field for mere mortals. Read the full @NoodleArmDG review at http://wp.me/p4fPpu-kB 4) Here’s the best part: You can tweet this once a day for the next week, and every tweet counts as an entry. Score! The contest will run until Thursday, January 21 at 9 p.m. PDT, when a random winner will be chosen from each platform. Thanks to Discraft for providing the plastic, and good luck!

Steve Hill is a Southern California-based disc golfer who doesn’t throw very far. Follow him on Twitter @NoodleArmDG.