The Discmania PD. When it first came out it made an impact. It had people talking. It had people throwing it in their bags nearly instantly. The first run PDs quickly became the most sought after with a slightly overstable flight, especially at high speeds, but had the control people were still looking for. As time went on, the flight of the PD has changed slightly, but Discmania believes they have developed a new disc to help capture the essence of those first run PDs. The Discmania PDx is a touch faster, but just as stable (if not more).

Discmania says this about their latest driver:

This brand new driver is based off of the First Run C-LINE PD with a little added X-Factor. First run PDs offer a very sought after high speed stability and healthy fade but they still are able to work down the fairway unlike most discs in the same category. The PDx has the same familiar Power Driver shape that creates the same style of flight – the X-Factor of this new driver is that it is 1 notch faster on the speed scale that leaves it placed directly between the PD and PD2.

Discmania sent us a PDx to check out as it was initially released as a fundraiser for the upcoming Disc Golf World Tour and quickly sold out. We’ve spent some time this winter with the PDx to see how it stacks up to it’s PD and PD2 cousins and compares to some other discs on the market.

While it carries a similar name to the PD, it has a slightly different feel. The rim is a little larger (2.1 cm vs 1.9 cm) and has a slightly larger dome. The shoulder plays a little differently in the hand, but was nothing too out of the ordinary.

With the very first throws one feature of the PDx jumped out at us: high speed stability. You can really put some power behind the PDx and you can trust it won’t turn. For most arms, you’ll see zero turn. The strongest arms (425+ power) could see a hair of movement, but even then we wouldn’t call it “turn.” We’d actually put the high speed stability in more of the realm of the Innova Firebird, Discraft Predator, or other discs in that style of flight.

You shouldn’t be afraid to throw it into a decent headwind. While it isn’t at the top of our list for a “wind disc,” it would be higher than most. The stability brings the trust you need and want when you have to hit a certain line or get the disc to work around some obstacle. Overall, the high speed stability was on par, if not slightly more than the first run PDs.

The fade of the PDx will also appear slightly different based on your arm speeds. Faster arms will see the fade kick in a little later in the flight while slower arms might see it begin earlier than expected. While this is common for many discs, the high speed stability actually plays a factor in this. Since it doesn’t turn much at all, it holds a lot of energy during the middle of the flight. Once it reaches a certain speed and begins to slow down the movement back to the left will begin. The more power you can give it, the later in the flight the fade will begin.

It also isn’t a late dumping fade or a hard knifing fade. It will begin that right-to-left movement gradually and then finish with what we’d refer to as a very predictable finish. You know going into the throw the disc will fade and it will do exactly that. Nothing too extreme, but nothing too weak either.

When it comes to speed the PDx is a little faster and does call for a little more power than you’d give the PD in order to full get it up to speed. Even then, you don’t need as much power that the PD2 requires. If you’ve struggled with those Speed 12-13 drivers, this still requires some power, but is a little easier to manage.

The PDx’s glide is also very similar to the PD’s. You could argue it is slightly more, but the difference isn’t enough to change the number from a 4 to a 5 for glide.

We found the PDx to shine the most on straight shots that required fade or big hyzer shots. The stability will really help it hold that initial angle and the fade will naturally finish out the flight. It is a disc you can trust, which is important.

On a few shots we gave it some anhyzer off the tee and it broke out pretty quickly and formed a nice s-curve style flight. If you’re wanting to work this downhill and flex out, this could do it, but you just need to get that angle right. Due to the high speed stability, if you want to use this on a forehand shot, it can really hold up to the power you can put behind it. Trust it and the results will come.

Overall, we’d agree with Discmania and give the PDx flight ratings of 11, 4, 0, 3. It is a touch faster than the PD, but mirrors many of the same qualities. The one rating to really hone in on is the turn. It really is very stable at high speeds.

We had to look at the PDx and how it lines up in the rest of the Discmania lineup. Can this sit along side a few other PDs, especially if they are a little beat in? Yes. Can this serve as that “slightly less stable” PD2 or even a nice PD2 replacement for slower arm speeds? Yes. Do you throw the FD3 and wish it was a little longer? This can do it. Quite simply, can it replace those first run PDs? It will be as close as you can get out of the box.

The Discmania PDx was initially released as a fundraiser for the Disc Golf World Tour, but we’re sure it will be out in full production soon.