Innova VRoc Review

Innova Discs seems to always be looking at how they can innovate their popular Roc midrange. A few years ago, the now popular Roc3 debuted at the USDGC and now we’re getting the next variation on the Roc: the VRoc.

There are three versions of the VRoc. The VRoc 1 (for the lack of a better name) is the one we’re focusing on in this review. It is based on the San Marino Roc. The VRoc 2, which at this point in time has no release date, is based on the Rancho Roc. Finally, the VRoc3 was initially released in Champion plastic as a fundraiser for the European Open. It is the Roc3 version in this new variant.

Innova says this about their VRoc:

The VRoc is a convex rimmed Roc that’s based on the San Marino Roc with more torque resistance and a smaller fade. It also tends to have longer range as a bonus. The VRoc is good to go for shot shaping Mid-Range duty right out of the box.

Innova sent us a VRoc in both Champion and GStar to review and both showed a very similar flight with some unique characteristics.

The first thing that stands out is the overall appearance of the VRoc. With a very round nose that leads into a convex bottom rim, the VRoc will feel very small when you’re gripping it. This convex rim leads into a decent sized bead on the bottom and a decently sized shoulder before a gradual dome across the top. It is certainly a unique look, but in the end if it can perform on the course, looks shouldn’t matter.

It didn’t take many throws with the VRoc to really see what Innova meant by “more torque resistance.” You can really lean into the VRoc with a lot of power and it will really resist a turn. If we put a little torque on it, it would roll back to flat quickly and continue to fly straight. The Champion VRoc seemed to show a little more resistance than the GStar, but the difference was minimal.

This torque resistance also translates do a decent amount of stability at high speeds. When thrown with a clean release where you don’t see any off axis torque, the VRoc will remain stable while holding the line and angle you put it on. Don’t be afraid to really put something extra behind your throw. The VRoc can handle it.

While the high speed stability wasn’t that unexpected, the finish of the VRoc really caught our attention. The VRoc has a decent amount of glide which helps carry out some distance, but once the fade kicks in, this glide disappears. When the VRoc begins to lose energy and wants to fade, it will start to move left, but at the same time at and equal rate it will start to drop. The fade isn’t that strong either. The finish of the VRoc reminded us of how a putter fades. It just starts to settle down with a slight movement to the left. The Champion VRoc had just a slightly harder finish than the GStar. To us it is equal to what we see on most discs that are available in both plastics. Champion will tend to be a little more stable.

When you combine the stability at high speeds and the slight fade at the end, the VRoc is very controllable and very accurate. We even saw some great shots with the VRoc on big anhyzer lines. When you give it some height and force it into a big anhyzer, the VRoc will hold that anhyzer angle for virtually the entire fight. It doesn’t have a strong enough fade to break out of the turn. It might flatten back out on you, but it won’t return left at all.

Distances between both the GStar and Champion VRocs were virtually equal. It is a slightly faster midrange so you could get a little more distance than you are typically used to.

Overall, Innova rates the VRoc at 4, 4, 0, 1. We’d adjust those a little to say 4.5, 4, 0, 1-1.5. The added speed is there for both the Champion and GStar VRocs while the slightly stronger fade can be found in the Champion variation.

The flight chart from inbounds Disc Golf shows a flight close to what we saw in the Champion VRoc. A nice stable flight at high speeds with just a slight finish to the left at the end.

We could make the argument the hardest discs to replace in your bag are the midranges. You quickly find something you like and will stick with it. The Innova VRoc is one of those midranges though that could force itself into your bag. With its strong resistance to turn it is a very forgiving disc. If you torque it over a little too much, the disc will actually correct itself and return to a flat, straight flight.

With a very minimal fade the VRoc can not only produce some controllable, straight lines, it can also be a very productive disc on big anhyzers. That same control can easily produce some results on those difficult to hit left to right lines that often give disc golfs problems.

The Innova VRoc will be a new look and feel to many, but it is another strong addition to the ever growing Roc family.

Win your own Innova VRoc

Innova sent us a pair of GStar VRocs and a pair of Champion VRocs to giveaway. The Champion VRocs have a very cool mini Innova Air Force stamp! We’ll take entries through Sunday at 11:59 p.m. We’ll pick two winners from Facebook and two winners from Twitter. Winners will be announced on Monday on our Facebook page.

How to enter:

Like the ATDG and Innova Discs Facebook pages and leave a comment on our Facebook post first announcing this review.
Follow @ATDiscGolf and @InnovaDiscs on Twitter and tweet the message below: