Ultrastar v. Pulsar

Brandon “Muffin” Malacek, a player for Boston Ironside and Major League Ultimate’s Boston Whitecaps, has long been known for his ability to rip full-field hucks from a flat footed, static position. After a couple months of playing with the Innova Pulsar in the MLU, he wrote a lengthy blog post about his thoughts on the disc. He’s not impressed.

He writes:

[quote]As many of my Whitecaps teammates can attest, I’ve been in a continuing love-hate relationship with the Innova Pulsar. For starters, I was definitely intrigued that the MLU was using a different Frisbee. At first touch, I was pleasantly surprised by the increased lift and smooth release of the disc. It was new and different, which was exciting — like throwing a brand new disc golf for the very first time. This feeling lasted for maybe two weeks, before I had accrued enough touches to realize, that this pulsar was very different than the Ultrastar. During the early practices and scrimmages, multitudes of throws careened out-of-bounds, missing their targets by 30 yards. During one particularly windy deep drill, there were at least 10 straight throws that floated, turned and veered away from their target…

When maxing out the distance on an Ultrastar (which is understable), the initial edge must be Inside-Out (IO or hyzer). But to max the distance on the innova pulsar (which is overstable), the initial edge must be Outside-In (OI or anhyzer). Splitting hairs on the angle of release sounds tedious, except when the flight plan is aimed at 80-100 yards. Even the slightest difference on the release, can yield a yardage difference anywhere from 20-40 yards…

Obviously, this is a big difference when trying to throw hucks with a Pulsar and Ultrastar – because the angle of release is completely opposite. This realization was cemented several weeks ago, when Ironside tryouts and MLU games were in direct conflict. Suddenly, I was hucking Ultrastars like a Pulsar and Pulsars like Ultrastars. Neither disc agreed – and my rage and distain for the Pulsar grew. This Pulsar is a fake, beginners disc with a fat rim and extra float. You could grip it like a cantaloupe the rim was so deep and every pass was destined for extra air time. I didn’t care if I could throw it farther than an Ultrastar anymore. I had lost my total control of the disc and my muscle memory…

…The rim is huge, bulky, and abrupt in comparison to the Ultrastar rim. But the biggest difference is that the Pulsar holds its edge, despite the spin on the disc, making IO throws stay IO. Even a flat IO will fade away, making the majority of huck drills unmanageable as disc after disc strays out of bounds. At first, due to the Pulsar’s ability to hold its edge, I thought it could be thrown harder and farther. That was foolish optimism. There is no S curve. Throwing IO with the intention of turning the edge over isn’t an option. With an Ultrastar, ripping the hyzer and playing out the S curve makes for the biggest throws. But with this Innova, the only option is anhyzer.[/quote]

Count me as surprised that MLU brass has not ordered this taken down yet. [LATE UPDATE: Now it’s down. Read the full text below.]

Muffin is just one player, but this may qualify as the first “professional” review of the Pulsar by someone who has real authority on the subject. Have you played with one enough to have an opinion? What do you think?

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Full text as it was written before it was removed from the web:

[quote]As many of my Whitecaps teammates can attest, I’ve been in a continued love-hate relationship with the innova Pulsar. For starters, I was definitely intrigued that it was a different Frisbee. At first touch I was pleasantly surprised by the increased lift and smooth release of the disc. It was new and different, which was exciting — like throwing a brand new disc golf for the first time. This feeling lasted for maybe two weeks, before I had accrued enough touches to realize, that this pulsar was very different than the ultrastar. During the first practices and scrimmages, multitudes of throws careened out-of-bounds, missing their targets by 30 yards. During one particularly windy deep drill, there was no less than 10 straight throws that floated, turned and veered away from their target. My suspicions grew. But after several weeks, the throws began to straighten out and play appeared almost normal again. Initially, I was definitely intrigued at the prospect of being able to throw the pulsar farther than the ultrastar – something that appealed to me greatly. For several weeks, I was whole-heartedly convinced that the pulsar was a superior Frisbee – a big boy disc that held its edge and was destined for max distance.

However, it didn’t take more than a week or so to realize that this was also foolish thinking. Thus, my relationship had flipped-flopped and flipped again. I had to re-crunch the numbers. It wasn’t until I was able to get onto the turf with a bag of ultrastars and my 2-3 pulsars that I concluded several horrifying realizations. For most throws, ranging from 5-15 yards, the difference in flight is barely noticeable. Once the range hits 20-40 yards, there is a technique change, but nothing revolutionary, as long as there is enough spin. However, anything over 40 yards is completely reverse – and this is my biggest gripe.

When maxing out the distance on an ultrastar (which is understable), the initial edge must be Inside-Out (IO or hyzer). But to max the distance on the innova pulsar (which is overstable), the initial edge must be Outside-In (OI or anhyzer). Splitting hairs on the angle of release sounds tedious, except when the flight plan is aimed at 80-100 yards. Even the slightest difference on the release, can yield a yardage difference anywhere from 20 -40 yards. Still, changing the angle of release is normal in ultimate, depending on the target and distance – so nothing THAT revolutionary right? If you new to the basics, then this difference is minor, if not completely irrelevant to you. However, I make my money on big throws – rocket launcher with a sniper scope. I can huck it 80 yards, on the money, either way, boomheadshot. The key to my success is either way – upwind, downwind, crosswind, no wind. Despite almost all conditions, I had the biggest throws on the field – especially upwind.

And here is the biggest difference and my main pet peeve. The innova pulsar was designed to max it’s distance as thrown like a disc golf. Anhyzer edge, laser straight, S curving and tailing left on the backhand. For going downwind, great – it goes 100 yards and floats forever!! I’ve been just killing it in the weight room. But that’s not the case. Try throwing the pulsar upwind. Go ahead – straight upwind. And… Oh, it only goes like 60 yards before it blades and dies. That is my issue. When throwing against the wind, the OI (anhyzer) edge is naturally pushed down – and therein lies the problem. The pulsar was designed to max out with the OI edge, which coincidentally doesn’t jive when going straight upwind. The difference for the ultrastar is the versatility and ability to turn/aim the disc – moving it around targets more effectively and the ability to control the flight plan all the way through the S curve. When throwing upwind with the ultrastar, the edge has to be severely IO (hyzer), which is the way to max the distance for an ultrastar regardless.

Obviously, this is a big difference when trying to throw hucks with a pulsar and ultrastar – because the angle of release is completely opposite. This realization culminated several weeks ago, when Ironside tryouts and MLU games were in direct overlap. Suddenly, I was hucking ultrastars like a pulsar and pulsars like ultrastars. Neither disc agreed – and my rage and distain for the pulsar increased. This pulsar is a fake beginners disc, with a fat rim and extra floaty. You could grip it like a cantaloupe the rim was so deep and every pass was destined for extra air time. I didn’t care if I could throw it farther than an ultrastar anymore. I had lost control of the disc and my muscle memory.