The Westside Hatchet is a 9-speed understable fairway driver. With published flight numbers of 9 / 6 / -2 / 1, it is most often described as suited for beginner-friendly fairway distance, hyzer-flip drives that ride flat.
Overview
The Westside Hatchet is an understable 9-speed fairway driver with high glide, widely recommended as one of the most approachable speed-9 control drivers on the market. With flight numbers of 9 / 6 / -2 / 1, it produces long, drifting flights for moderate arms and reliable hyzer-flip lines for stronger throwers. Its rim is narrow enough not to intimidate newer players but fast enough to deliver real fairway distance. Veteran reviewers describe the Hatchet as 'sneaky long' — a control driver that just keeps gliding past where most fairway molds finish.
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 or on a slight hyzer for a long, gentle right-then-left S-curve (RHBH). It excels as a stepping-stone driver for players moving from a Leopard3 or Sidewinder up to longer distance lines, and it works for advanced players as a controllable tailwind turnover, anhyzer shaper, or roller disc. Beat-in VIP Hatchets become reliable touch-turnover fairway discs.
Best for:
- Beginner-friendly fairway distance
- Hyzer-flip drives that ride flat
- Tailwind anhyzer shots and rollers
- Long, gentle S-curves at moderate power
Community notes — how players actually use this disc
Plastics & variants
The Hatchet is available in the following plastic blends from Westside:[1]
VIP, Tournament, VIP Air, Origio Burst, 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
The Hatchet was PDGA approved on October 28, 2013 (certification 13-68) as part of Westside Discs' early lineup. Westside is one of the three Trilogy brands manufactured at Latitude 64's factory in Sweden alongside Latitude 64 and Dynamic Discs, sharing tooling and plastics across the brands. The Hatchet's high-glide, understable profile has kept it a long-running starter-set staple.
Notable throwers
Currently no information
Similar discs
- Innova Leopard3 · 7/5/-2/1
- Innova Sidewinder · 9/5/-3/1
- Discmania FD (Fairway Driver) · 7/6/0/1
References & further reading
- How to read disc golf flight numbers — Discpedia primer
- PDGA Approved Disc List — search for "Hatchet" to find the Westside Hatchet entry (PDGA-approved 2013)
- Westside official site — manufacturer product page
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.
- Hatchet — Westside Discs
- Hatchet — PDGA Equipment Certification
- Westside Discs Hatchet Review — All Things Disc Golf
- Westside Hatchet — 1010 Discs
- Westside Discs Hatchet — Disc Golf Dojo
This is a community page. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Suggest a correction — every edit is reviewed before it goes live.