I recently evaluated and restructured my disc golf bag and came to the realization that while I had stable and understable fairway driver options, all of my distance drivers were overstable.
The Innova Boss, Innova Destroyer, Dynamic Discs Criminal, etc. were all great discs for what they were made to do, and I used them primarily for hyzer shots and forehand approaches, as well as stout headwinds.
But I had nothing stable or understable in my bag in the distance driver category to use for situations where I needed maximum distance or was dealing with a strong tail wind that a fairway driver just wouldn't be able to handle.
I did have the Discraft Avenger SS (which we recently reviewed HERE) and while it is classified as a Distance Driver, it was a hair too slow and understable for the slot in my bag that I was trying to fill.
So I hit the internet and researched, purchased, and field tested several high speed, understable distance driver options.
Among them were the:
and of course,
the Innova Tern.
You can learn more about any of those discs by simply clicking on them, but after putting them all through the rigor, I settled on bagging the Tern.
Despite being a speed 12, I felt that I threw the Tern very well and most importantly, consistently, with a variety of release angles and wind conditions.
It responded to varying conditions within expectations every throw, giving me the confidence I needed in the field which is very important.
The two discs that competed for my bag the besides the Tern were the Shryke and Thrasher, which makes sense as they are both 12 speed with similar ratings of fade, turn, and glide.
For me however, they weren't quite as consistent, but are both great discs and ones that I would definitely have no problem using or bagging.
The Captain, Katana, and Bolt were also great understable discs, but because of their higher speed ratings, they still behaved a tad too stable/overstable for me unless I threw them with an anny release.
Interesting enough, the Tern's turn and fade of -2 and 2 respectively were the same as one of my favorite fairway drivers, the Innova Valkyrie, so it makes sense that I would enjoy throwing the big brother version of that awesome disc.
See Also --> Best Disc Golf Drivers for Beginners <--
My bagged Champion Tern was swiftly added to my bag after trialing several other understable options!
The disc does perform best for me on a flat or slight hyzer release and seems to be very tolerable of me just missing my line as slight hyzer/anhyzer releases of more than what I'm trying for do not significantly alter the disc's flight.
All that being said,
Let's check the specs!
Innova Tern Flight Numbers
Speed: 12
Glide: 6
Turn: -2
Fade: 2
Primary use: Understable Distance Driver for Intermediate players
Pros
-Extremely comfortable in the hand
-Flies consistently well with many release angles
-Fights the wind extremely well
-Flies equally well with forehand approaches
Cons
-Does require moderate arm strength to throw as a hyzer flip disc
-May be too slow for stronger arms unless used exclusively as a turn over, roller, or hyzer flip disc.
Wrap-Up
As with most of Innova's champion plastic discs, this disc feels great in the hand which simply adds to all the things I love about it.
Although adding it to my big fairly late, I feel that many players who are starting to experiment with faster speed distance drivers will find value with this disc more than overstable options unless bagging for a specific reason like I was.
Because of the understable qualities, all players will be able to bomb this disc for max distance with either a flat or hyzer release as despite it having a turn of -2, it will want to fade back to center as long as it is not too beat in.
Every major disc golf brand will have a disc similar to the Tern in their lineup, so don't be afraid to try as many as possible, but I assure you will not be disappointed with the Tern if you but it blindly on a whim.
So check it out as soon as you can at your go to disc golf store!
You can shop the Tern now at infinitediscs.com by
clicking on the picture below!
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