The Ascent is Vibram's first driver- their first non-putter, in fact. After throwing it a bunch over the past two months I can say two things right off the bat:
- It is indeed very grippy and very, very durable, just as advertised, and as a result extremely reliable as well.
- I like it so much it's earned a spot in my bag.
First of all - and I don't know if it's the unique properties of their rubber compound but will assume that's the case - this disc can be thrown with all kinds of turnover angle and power and will still hyzer out at the end of its flight for me. (With my Katana this isn't the case; it seems to have a point of no return where it gives up the ghost and just keeps turnin'.) But what's really nice is that even though I don't have a great deal of power or armspeed any more (if I ever did), the overstable qualities of the Ascent don't translate to a disc that immediately cuts to the hyzer side, depriving me of distance in a relatively straight line. It has nice carry for such a stable disc.
Another fairway driver quality of the Ascent is related to the rubber from which it's made. The disc Vibram sent me to review is made from their medium-range X-Link compound (not firm, not soft, but juuuuust right. Just like baby bear and Goldlocks prefer!) It's not floppy by any means, but grippier than anything but the floppiest plastic putters. I've noticed that my Ascent will skip some - when it should - but it comes to rest pretty quickly. This quality has comes in handy on long holes when I've had 300-plus feet to the basket on a second shot from the fairway, like certain holes at Pinto Lake.
I may be getting away from the Ascent review and back to a discussion of Vibram's X-Link rubber compound, but here's an interesting tidbit that Vibram's Steve Dodge shared with me to wrap it up for now. You can throw an Ascent your hardest at a brick wall 10, 20, 50 times, until it's dented and warped to the point of uselessness, then put it in the microwave for two minutes and it comes out good as new! I'd try it myself, but I need to save my arm for throws that count. Plus, I've grown attached to my one and only Ascent!
Check back soon for reviews of the Summit, Ridge, and VP putters.
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