The Discmania Power Driver, or the PD, is a wildly popular control driver released by Discmania in 2008. With a moderately fast speed (10) and a controlably over stable flight path, this disc quickly became a fan favorite.
In 2014, Innova, the company that produces discs for Discmania BTW, released the Thunderbird. Advertised as a faster version of their famous teebird,the Thunderbird has very similar flight characteristics to the Discmania brother the PD.
Feel: With the PD having a slightly faster rim, a 10 speed versus the Thunderbird’s 9 speed, the rim feels beefier in the hand. While this is a personal preference, i like the feel of the faster rim of the PD. The Thunderbird’s wing feels a bit taller, and not as comfy to grip tightly. Plastic wise, the PD and the Thunderbird should be identical, as Innova and Discmania share their plastic.
Flight: The Thunderbird aims at being a faster version of the popular Teebird. This meaning a fairly straight flight out of the disc, with a slight, but dependable fade to finish off the flight. This is done well by the Thunderbird, giving the disc a trusty, dependable, controllable flight. The PD is very similar in this flight, but does so with a bit less glide, and a tiny bit more over stable flight. This does mean the PD is more dependable in high wind conditions.
Final Verdict: While both the Power Driver, and the Thunderbird share the same role as a over Stable Control Driver, The PD is the better disc in my opinion. The PD has a sleeker feel in my hand, and is more trustworthy when i need it. While the PD is more over stable and may not be ideal when distance is needed, a beat up PD could solver this problem. PD’s are not made as often as the Thunderbird, and being so, more information is known about each different run of the PD. This makes it possible to fine tune what you like and do not like about the PD, to get the perfect disc for this slot in my bag.
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