The Westside Hatchet is a 13-speed understable distance driver. With published flight numbers of 13 / 6 / -2 / 2, it is most often described as suited for distance for moderate arms, hyzer-flip drives.
Overview
The Westside Hatchet is a high-glide, understable distance driver designed to give intermediate players access to long S-curve distance without requiring elite arm speed. With 6 glide and -2 turn, it floats and turns easily on moderate-power releases.
Flight characteristics
Flight numbers describe the published behavior of the disc when thrown at its design speed. Real-world flight varies with plastic, weight, age, and thrower power. The community-averaged numbers above reflect crowd-sourced observations from real throws — typically slightly more understable than the manufacturer's published values, which is the most consistent pattern across nearly every commercial mold.
Recommended uses
Throw the Hatchet flat to slight hyzer to ride a long, gentle right-then-left flight (RHBH). It's particularly effective for players in the 300–400ft range who want a distance driver that won't fade out early. Beat-in VIP Hatchets become reliable touch turnover discs.
Best for:
- Distance for moderate arms
- Hyzer-flip drives
- Tailwind shots
- Big S-curves
Plastics & variants
The Hatchet is available in the following plastic blends from Westside:
VIP, Tournament, VIP-X
Plastic blend significantly affects flight character. Premium plastics like Champion, Z, or C-Line generally fly more overstable when fresh and hold their stability over time. Base plastics like DX, Pro, or Active beat in faster and become more understable workhorses with use.
History
Released in 2014 as part of the Trilogy lineup (Westside, Latitude 64, Dynamic Discs), the Hatchet has been a long-time favorite among players transitioning from fairway to distance drivers. Its high glide rating is among the highest in any commercial distance driver mold.
Notable throwers
Various intermediate tournament players
Similar discs
- Innova Sidewinder · 9/5/-3/1
- MVP Wave · 13/5/-1/2
- Discraft Undertaker · 9/5/-1/2
References & further reading
- How to read disc golf flight numbers — Discpedia primer
- PDGA Approved Disc List entry: Westside Hatchet (2014)
- Manufacturer product page: Westside official site
This is a community page — flight numbers, plastic notes, and throwers can all be improved by registered users.