Disc - 175 Pro-D Roach

Feel - The roach has a great feel in the hand. It is of moderate depth and is beadless. The one I have is a bit concave on top which I really enjoy but I've also seen others that are just flat. It feels great and similar to many other beadless putters on the market.

Flight - The roach is fairly understable putter. It flies really straight if given some hyzer angle out of the hand and if thrown flat will have a nice slow turn. I know a lot of people get this disc looking for a more affordable luna and I would say they are fairly comparable. The luna may be a touch more stable and a bit more shallow but overall they are similar. If you already have roaches and want a bit more stable option the luna may be great for you. 

Overall - Great flippy, beadless putter on the market available in a wide variety of plastics.

Got a Brodie Roach and started making Circle two putts instantly.  This disc flies and keeps itself on the direct path you throw.  Putting is the most important part of the game and is often overlooked for flashier drivers.  Disc golf is always a one putt game so there is little room for missing any putt (I mean you will miss plenty).  Making first putts is how you lower your score the quickest.  Therefore get yourself a nice putter and get comfortable.  I had Avair's, Judges, etc, and this disc instantly made me better at squat putting (meaning without changing my form I started just making more of the putt).

This putter completely changed my putting and almost instantly made me a better player and putter. It is a shallow beadless putter that is the definition of point and shoot. The rim is rounded making it feel super comfortable in the hand as you get read to throw it in. I have been able to put this on all angles on the putting green and it holds the angle and line straight into the basket. With the Pro-D plastic the disc feels good rain or shine, cold or warm, so no matter what the weather is doing you will have the confidence that this disc will fly exactly like you want it and will drop in the chains. I do not throw this as a throwing putter really since the plastic will get beat in even faster if I do, but thew few test throws I did throw it from the tee, I found it flew dead straight and even would flip over and glide with enough power. This putter in a more premium plastic would be a really nice throwing putter and it would still have the super comfortable feel like you get on the putting green.

The Roach from Discraft is a straight flying disc. I would say the feel is somewhat shallower then avg. I can see anyone liking this disc from rec player to pro. The Pro D plastic doesn't hold up well so I have to deduct a point. If you want more durability look into one of the other blends like Jawbreaker. Z or Big Z would last forever if you want a driving type putter.

Nice disc, just not for me. 

Want a Luna, but need plastic with more grip in the cooler weather, or just cheaper in general? Get a Roach.

General/Feel:

I've been putting with the Luna for a while now and I really like it. Its a great putter and the plastic is very nice and actually pretty durable for putting. But even the new current run I can't get good grip with when its cooler outside. So I grabbed a Roach and a Luna and put them side by side and looked really hard for the differences. The shoulder on the roach is the SMALLEST bit taller than the Luna. The measurements are even almost exactly the same, the rim depth on the Roach is 0.1 cm more than the Luna, otherwise they're the same. I can't tell any difference in the hand. Its honestly similar to other putters that might mold up a little slimmer or shallower in stiffer plastic. Feels just like a Luna because of the rounded bottom edge.

Plastic:

I grabbed a Pro D version of the Roach cause it was cheaper, and I liked the grip more than the Jawbreaker, and X soft is WAY too soft for me. The Current Pro D is actually pretty similar to Money blend from Gateway, and a little firmer/slightly less grippy version of the plastic on the JK Aviars, but it still has very good grip. Its very nice and I would honestly use Pro D on my main putter anyway except for really hot days, then the special blend from the Luna is fantastic in the heat, tacky enough and super firm. Only thing is the stamp with the big Roach is pretty bad, but its easy to wipe off. I haven't noticed anything durability wise that's not anything different from other plastics, but I don't throw the disc, only putt.

Flight:

I don't throw the Luna, and I don't throw the roach, but for putting they're EXACTLY the same for me. Perfect. Very straight putter with some respectable glide, nothing too floaty, but not a brick by any means. Nice stability at the end of the flight. Put a little more spin on it for the wind, which I do anyway, and its great. Great outside the circle putter as well for me.

Overall, the Roach is the perfect option if you like the Luna but don't want to spend the money on the more expensive plastic, or if you want Pro D, X soft, or Jawbreaker. Or at least until the Luna comes out in the other plastics and hopefully not at a price hike. I honestly don't see anything different in these 2 discs even if they are the littlest bit different.

This quickly became one of my favorite putters after a few shots and it has stayed that way. The Roach is a straight shooter with a lot of glide. For comparison I putted with Classic Aviars for a long time before the Roach and I'd say they are both straight but the Roach's glide made it superior in my opinion. The Pro-D plastic is less stiff than the Classic Aviar DX but feels great in the hand. I'd definitely recommend at least trying out the Roach they're pretty cheap so it's not too big of an investment. I'm taking a star off because they are effected by wind more than other putters.

I cannot attest to the production runs of the Roach, as I have not thrown them. I have a stack of the ace race version which I am basing my review off of.

The Roach has become my main in the circle putter. It has a narrow profile, and I have many super flat to concave ones that feel good in my hand. The plastic is tacky for a good grip both for the hand feel of the disc, and for grabbing the chains and sitting where it hits. 

The roach flies true to the angle that you release it. If you attack the center of the chains, it'll hold that beam. If you like to putt with hyzer, it'll drop where you want it. If you need to bend it around a tree with an anhyzer putt- it can do that too. 

The same goes for throwing the Roach. It responds to the angle of release, and is rather floaty. Max weight Roaches are good for deadnut straight throws with some power behind them, but anything below 170 and they become real flippy real fast. I actually do not use the roach as an approach disc, which is what the disc is intended for. The name "roach" comes from "approach" afterall. I do not like the ace race plastic as a thrower, as it is a bit gummy for my throwing taste. In some of the production plastics that may be a different story. 

Where the roach loses some stars from me comes with the production of it. Discraft has some bad looking stamps, and the Roach is example A of how Discraft has an inability to make a decent looking stamp. The dumpy looking cockroach smoking a cigar is just cringeworthy. One the biggest parts of disc golf is to grow the sport, and what better way to do that than to get kids in to the game? As a teacher, I am not ever bringing a production roach out to put in a kids hand. If a parent saw their kid with this, I doubt they are supporting disc golf as a hobby. This sport needs to fight the stoner hippy stereotype with many folks, and a stamp like this only validates that sort of stereotype. The looks of this disc are not at all helping to legitimize our sport, it is only adding to a pervasive stigma that unfortunately turns some people off from our game. 

It's a good disc, but you better believe if I ever purchase a production roach the stamp is getting wiped instantaniously. 

Every time I throw this disc I expect it to flip too much and die, but to my surprise this thing flies insanely straight. It may not fly far with the power I've been putting behind it but man does it fly straight.