Review: The Lone Star Disc Armadillo

The speed-one putter is all the rage these days, isn’t it?

On the mega-slow front, Bergs, Polecats and Hydrogens have occupied disc golf’s limelight for quite some time. I write about ‘em way more than I care to admit. There appears to be a new putter, however, throwing its cowboy hat in the rodeo ring: the Lone Star Disc Armadillo.

If you’ve followed Green Splatter for any amount of time, you know I’m a big fan of the Rhyno. It’s my “comfort blanket” out on the course – I dig it in just about any plastic. Naturally, the first time I saw the Armadillo, I immediately thought to myself, “I’m game for an imitation Rhyno.”

So, Lone Star Disc sent me one …

This is important: The Armadillo is NOT the Rhyno.

After a month of flinging this thing up and down Utah Valley, I’m ready to report my findings. One-disc rounds, off-the-tee work, upshots and yes, even putting – here’s what I discovered:

The feel of the Armadillo

The Polecat is fun to toss around – I’ll admit it. My wife and I have twin, one-year-old boys. To this day, when we head to the park, we’ll put it in the stroller. Heck, I even aced with the Halo version of the disc on my fourth-ever throw with it. All of that changes NADA, though …

It still feels like a dirty diaper in the hand.

Fortunately, the same can’t be said for the Armadillo. The Armadillo’s a lid that’s not a lid, if that makes sense. Polecats feel like Tupperware lids – Birdies do, too. The Dillo does lid-like things, without feeling like a lid. If you want the slow, methodical flight of a Polecat without having to torture your throwing hand with the feel of one, the low-profile Armadillo will be a godsend.

* Note #1: BTW, I tried, but the Armadillo didn’t work as a putting putter for me.

* Note #2: The disc’s beadless and, like a lid, the shoulder’s a bit too up-and-down.

The Dillo the USPS man brought to my house was of the Bravo variety – that was a smart call on my part. It’s pretty gummy, much like the Champion Rhyno I bag. If you’re at all familiar with Discraft’s ESP FLX plastic, it’s like that. It’s grippy. It’s flexible. It’s flat – money for me.

Forehand or backhand, the disc feels great in the hand – no complaints whatsoever. The disc also features a sharp thumbtack. For a Rhyno-thrower like myself, I had zero issues with it – it’s what attracted me to the Armadillo in the first place. If you hate thumbtracks, though, sit this one out.

All in all, hands down, the feel of the Armadillo is my FAVORITE thing about it.

The shape’s smart. The plastic’s sexy. The disc’s strong.

The flight of the Armadillo

Here are the obligatory flight numbers: 1 (speed), 2 (glide), 0 (turn) and 1 (fade).

Next, let’s do some quick comps to help orient you:

• The Berg – The Berg is a brick. It flies straight and then drops.
• The Polecat – The Polecat’s a straight-flier, but it’s got integrity.
• The Armadillo – The Armadillo flies like the Polecat – but with glide.

That was the first thing I noticed about the Dillo: If you’re coming from a Berg or Polecat, the glide is pretty in-your-face – I freaking loved it. Granted, a lack of glide’s not a bad thing. The “glideless” throwing putter serves a purpose – it’s just not one that fits my game all that well.

The Armadillo is NOT an overstable disc.

It might look like it in the thumbnail photos on Infinite Discs, but it’s not – it’s stable with a gentle fade at the end of its flight. Because of those characteristics, within 150 to 250 feet of the basket, you can really do as you please with it: You tell the Dillo what to do, and it’ll do it.

Also, with an arm that can hit 350 feet of distance with relative comfort, in Bravo plastic, I was able to hyzer-flip the Armadillo with a touch of angle – not too much, though. Do keep in mind, however, that that’s only with one month of use – more, and you might flip it a bit easier.

The aesthetic of the Armadillo

I might live and work in Utah, but I’m originally from Oklahoma:

• Sonic
• Tornados
• Bob Stoops
• Russell Westbrook
• Chicken Fried Steak

#BoomerSooner, baby.

As much as it pains me to say this, the Texas-themed artwork on the stock Dillo’s pretty tight. The outline of the state of Texas isn’t my favorite, but the tough-looking Armadillo more than makes up for it. Clearly, Lone Star Disc put some thought into this – that’s good enough for me.

* Fun Fact: The Armadillo is the only shelled mammal on earth, so yeah – now you know.

Did the Lone Star Disc Armadillo make my bag?

It did not, no.

But to be fair, I’m one of those guys who, in spite of trying tons of new molds, sticks with the same six or seven year after year after year. Me not immediately making room for the Armadillo in my bag is hardly an indictment of the disc: I’m a creature of comfort – old habits die hard.

Taylor wrote about this a few weeks back: I’m not yet sold on the “speed-one” craze. Instead of three different putter molds for short approaches, longer upshots and full-blown drives, I prefer to have one. From there, I get comfortable enough with it to get it to do what I want it to do.

That’s how I play – I’m NOT saying that’s how you need to play.

I’m far from an expert on speed-one putters, but if you’ve flirted with ‘em and feel there’s a slot in your bag for it, based on the ones I’ve tinkered with, the Armadillo is EASILY the best.

It feels great. It flies great. And it actually glides – hallelujah.

One final word about Lone Star Disc …

Lone Star Disc ISN’T like most disc manufacturers …

These guys are straight-up manufacturing their own discs. In fact, they produce, stamp and ship 100% of their inventory from their headquarters in Conroe, Texas – that’s not normal. They’re not piggybacking the likes of bigger, more household companies – they do it ALL themselves.

That’s pretty “Texas,” if you ask me.

Most of the discs manufacturers send Green Splatter to review, we throw for a month and then give away to readers, Twitter followers or email subscribers. The Armadillo, though? Eh, I’m going to hang onto this one for a bit longer – it feels like it might grow on me …

We’ll see.

The Final Green Splatter Grade: A-

Have anything to add? Take to Twitter to let us know – we’ll actually (for real) get back to you.

Editor’s Suggestions:

• Innova: What’s a ‘zipper-top’ disc?
• Disc golf: How elevation affects the flight of a disc
• Disc golf: Why jump putts rarely result in foot faults

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