MVP Wave vs Innova Wraith: Which 11-Speed Distance Driver?

The MVP Wave (11/5/-2/2) and the Innova Wraith (11/5/-1/3) are 11-speed distance drivers with the same glide rating, the same diameter, the same height and the same rim depth. The Wave is one point less stable at each end of the flight, and the Wraith is the one that hooks back at the finish.

The short version: the Wraith is a stable-to-overstable driver that finishes left for almost everyone who throws it, and the Wave is a stable-understable driver built to hold a line further right for longer before a softer finish.

The quick answer

• Pick the Wraith if: you want a long driver whose finish you can count on, you play exposed or windy courses, or you want the disc that fills the overstable end of the 11-speed slot.
• Pick the Wave if: you want a distance driver that flips up and rides out, you throw long turnovers and anhyzer lines, or you want a high-speed mold that does not demand elite arm speed to reach its full flight.
• The deciding numbers are turn and fade. The Wraith's -1/3 gives a touch of rightward movement at speed and then a firm hook back. The Wave's -2/2 doubles the turn and drops a point of fade, which produces a longer, flatter line with a gentler exit.

Flight numbers compared

Three of the four physical measurements match, so the flight numbers carry most of the difference here.

Neither disc is a beginner mold, and both are listed the same way for the same reason: an 11-speed rim needs real arm speed behind it before the disc reaches the part of the flight the numbers describe. If you are still building power, the Innova Sidewinder (9/5/-3/1) or the Leopard3 (7/5/-2/1) will show you more of a flight. Our flight numbers guide works through what each of the four numbers actually describes.

Where the two flights diverge

The Wraith is the simpler flight to predict. One point of turn against three of fade is a net overstable disc, so a flat release gives up a little ground to the right while the disc is fast and then hooks back at the end. The mold has been in continuous production since its PDGA approval on August 15, 2005, and has sat in tour bags belonging to Nate Sexton and, historically, Ricky Wysocki. The disc is most effective on long anhyzer lines that flex back to a controlled fade, and on hyzer-flip-to-flat shapes.

The Wave reads differently on paper and in the air. Two points of turn against two of fade is a near-balanced disc, which is why MVP places it in the stable-understable slot. Thrown flat it runs straight, picks up a late gliding turn and then settles into a soft fade. Thrown on a slight hyzer it flips up and rides a long S-curve. High-power players can push it into long drifting turnovers and hyzer-flip lines; moderate-power players get tailwind distance and anhyzer extension without needing to overpower the mold.

That missing point of fade is the practical difference. The Wraith spends the last third of its flight moving left, and you aim around that. The Wave gives most of that ground back and lands nearer the line you threw. If the vocabulary is new to you, understable vs overstable covers it, and what is turn handles the number doing most of the work here.

One piece versus two

These molds are built differently. The Wraith is a conventional one-piece driver. The Wave uses MVP's gyro overmold construction, in which a denser outer rim is bonded to a lighter inner core, concentrating mass at the edge of the disc.

The difference shows up in feel more than in flight. A gyro driver sits in the hand differently from a traditional mold, and players moving between the two catalogs usually want a few rounds before the release feels natural. Grip is not the issue: the rims are 2.4 cm on the Wave against 2.3 cm on the Wraith, with identical rim depth. The weight sits further out on the Wave, and that is the part that reads as unfamiliar.

The plastic names do not translate between the two companies either. Knowing that a Champion Wraith is the stable run tells you nothing about which Wave to buy. Our MVP and Axiom breakdown covers the gyro network in more detail.

What each disc is actually for

The listed jobs for the two molds overlap less than the matching speed suggests.

The Wraith's list is long backhand drives for developing arms, hyzer-flip-to-flat lines that finish stable, wooded drives that need shape control, and forehand distance at moderate power. It is often the first true distance driver an intermediate player reaches for, and it carries the nickname "baby Destroyer" because it sits one notch below the Destroyer in both speed and rim width. Developing players frequently get more distance from a Wraith than from a Destroyer, because the 11-speed rim asks for less arm to reach peak flight.

The Wave's list is hyzer-flip drives for moderate arms, long gliding turnovers and anhyzer lines, tailwind distance, and controlled S-curves at 11 speed. MVP describes it as a longer version of its own Inertia (9/5/-2/2).

Wind is where the split is clearest. The Wraith's extra point of fade is exactly what a headwind eats into, so the disc keeps doing roughly what you asked. A headwind will push the Wave further right than you planned. Tailwinds reverse that, and the Wave is listed for tailwind distance while the Wraith is not.

Plastic, and how each one ages

Plastic choice moves each mold toward or away from the other, which matters if you plan to bag both.

• Champion Wraith: runs more overstable and resists turn longer. The pick if you want the Wraith to stay the wind disc.
• Star and DX Wraith: more turn potential and a glidier line, which brings the mold closer to the Wave's territory.
• Neutron Wave: the standard run.
• Fission Wave: lighter and glidier than Neutron.

The Wave is also made in Plasma, Cosmic Neutron and Eclipse 2.0 glow; the Wraith's remaining runs are GStar and Pro. Buying a Champion Wraith and a Neutron Wave keeps the two molds as far apart as their numbers suggest. Buying a beaten DX Wraith and a Neutron Wave narrows the gap considerably. Our plastics guide covers both catalogs.

How to choose

1. What you want the end of the flight to do. A dependable hook back points to the Wraith. A long line that mostly stays where you put it points to the Wave.
2. How exposed your home course is. Headwind rewards the Wraith's third point of fade. Sheltered or downwind holes reward the Wave's turn.
3. Which catalog you already throw. If your bag is Innova, the Wraith needs no adjustment. If it is MVP or Axiom, the Wave will already feel right in the hand.
4. Whether this is a replacement or an addition. These two fill different ends of the same speed slot, so bagging both is reasonable.

If neither is quite right

• Innova Destroyer (12/5/-1/3). The Wraith's flight shape on a faster, wider rim, for players who overpower an 11-speed.
• Innova Archon (11/5/-2/2). The Wave's numbers inside the Innova catalog, if you want gyro-free construction.
• Innova Tern (12/6/-3/2). More turn and more glide than the Wave, for bigger turnovers and out-of-the-box rollers.
• MVP Photon (11/5/-1/2.5). MVP's stable 11-speed, and the closer match to the Wraith if you want to stay inside the gyro lineup.
• MVP Octane (13/5/-1/2). The step up in speed from the Wave, for arms that have outgrown the 11-speed class.

Related

• Innova Wraith vs Destroyer
• Westside Hatchet vs Innova Wraith
• MVP vs Axiom: sister brands compared
• Understable vs overstable: stability explained
• The complete flight numbers guide

Compare these two discs with overlaid flight paths in the comparison tool.