Contents
  1. Overview
  2. Flight characteristics
  3. Recommended uses
  4. Plastics & variants
  5. History
  6. Notable throwers
  7. Similar discs

The Innova Lion is a 5-speed stable midrange. With published flight numbers of 5 / 4 / 0 / 2, it is most often described as suited for technical mid-range shots through gaps, forehand upshots inside 250 feet.

Overview

The Innova Lion is a 5/4/0/2 mid-range that Innova sells as a neutral, angle-agnostic mold: “defined by its stable flight, the Lion will attack at any angle—hyzer, flat, or anhyzer.”[2] Innova credits the flight to the shape of the rim — “the convex rim, small bead and flat flight plate give the Lion a comfortable grip and create a neutral flight” — and says that thrown hard and flat it finishes “with a touch more glide than a Roc3 and enough fade to keep it on track.”[2] IsaacSam describes the mold more bluntly as “a V-Tech Shark with a bead,” a bit more stable and slightly faster than a Shark, and notes it has also been described as a faster version of the Roc.[1] The PDGA records it at 21.7 cm diameter, 1.7 cm height, 1.4 cm rim depth and a 1.3 cm rim, with a 180.1 g maximum weight.[3]

Flight characteristics

Flight numbers: manufacturer vs. community
SourceSpeedGlide TurnFade
Innova (mfg) 5 4 0 2 Published spec
Discpedia community Loading ratings…

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.

Innova files the Lion's best uses as “technical mid-range shots, forehand upshots, straight mid-range drives.”[2] The small bead and convex rim make it comfortable on forehand releases, and Innova specifically says to “trust that anhyzer throws will hold a long, consistent line throughout the flight” — so it is a turnover option as well as a straight one.[2] Premium runs are sold at 170–180 g, but DX Lions go down to 150 g for lower-power arms who want the same shape at less weight.[2]

Best for:

  • Technical mid-range shots through gaps
  • Forehand upshots inside 250 feet
  • Straight mid-range drives on flat releases
  • Long, holding anhyzer lines

Plastics & variants

The Lion is available in the following plastic blends from Innova:[2]

Star, Champion, Pro, DX

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

The PDGA approved the Lion on 31 January 2019 under certification number 19-03; Innova's own product page prints the same 1/31/2019 date, so the two agree.[2][3] Innova launched it that April as the Star Lion INNfuse — its own dealer product update calls it “the first stock disc featuring INNfuse art” and set the stock run at 170–180 g and $18.99 MSRP, with a separate first-release Star Lion at 175–180 g capped at a limit of 25 discs per dealer.[2][4] IsaacSam, writing in his 2019 chapter, says the Lion “has done pretty well amongst the sea of Innova mid ranges” and that it “has even been made in Halo plastic, so it must be doing pretty well.”[1] That Halo claim should be treated as unconfirmed: Innova's current Lion page lists only Star, Champion, Pro and DX, with no Halo run.[2] IsaacSam also writes that he has “never seen a Lion on pro coverage,” and no professional bagging the mold is documented anywhere, so no notable throwers are claimed here.[1] The Lion's most direct legacy is the Avatar, released later the same year with identical 5/4/0/2 numbers; IsaacSam's verdict on that overlap is that “the Lion has won the war.”[1]

Notable throwers

Currently no information

Similar discs

References & further reading

Sources

Content on this page has been cross-checked against the following sources. Numbered citations in the prose above link to the matching entry here.

  1. Every Single Innova Disc series (2019 chapter) — u/IsaacSam98 on Reddit, used with permission
  2. Lion — Innova Disc Golf (official product page)
  3. Lion from Innova Champion Discs — PDGA approved-disc record (cert 19-03)
  4. New! Star Lion INNfuse Mid-Range — Innova Product Update, April 2019 (dealer bulletin)

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