The Northman is a large diameter somewhat domey neutral flight 10 speed driver. The diameter and dome combined no doubt give the disc a bit of extra glide, meaning it is not as power hungry in order to achieve good distance as say an Avenger or Musket. The extra glide means you lose some control compared to those 2 drivers as well as other 10 speeds. It fights mild wind ok, but I wouldn't use it in stiff head or side winds, because it will catch those drafts and ride off pretty quick. In fairly calm or tail wind conditions it is very true to its numbers, bit of turn, bit more fade. It's a great disc for less experienced players who are looking to start discing up from fairway drivers as well as more experienced players who want a glidey control driver for the right conditions.

Although I rate this disc a 3 star, I actually still use it fairly often as my hybrid driver. The depth of the disc feels nice, and the disc can fly well shaped lines in a forest or where you need to land carefully.

My gripes with this disc is that it has inconsistent results. I intended for a straight driver but it seems to very easily turn over, and when it turnover I rarely see the fade bring it back much. When that is compensated for it is touchy and will often run straight for a bit, but then fade out at a much shorter distance. To throw this disc effectively you really need that slight S-curve which is a bit too difficult to get consistently for me.

The tournament plastic is pretty slippy when wet, I often had early releases here in Washington State rainy winters.

I find the Northman very easy to use and the right speed for me to get long s-shaped flights.  I am currently throwing at 4700 feet so for me the stability numbers are right on.  I throw a very pedestrian 300' normally but with this disc I have had it reach out past 330.  It is a very comfortable, easy to grip size and I find that it lands pretty close to where you aimed and seems to be very reliable.  I would never throw this into a headwind.  That what you use the Fortress for :)  If you are disking down, this is a good place to start for a tailwind driver.  Note:  These do seem to behave differently based on weight more than you think.  I have a Northman in at 171 and 175 respectively and there is a noticable difference between them.

I had a max weight tournament northman for a short while but then sold it so I'm not an expert on this disc, but I really liked it a lot for the time I threw it! It's a really good in-between type of driver that gets really great distance potential, but is slow enough to control on lots of different angles and through tight woods. This disc does one thing really well, and thats holding turnover and straight lines. I only gave this disc 4 stars because I think its kind of a one trick pony, and I think there are other discs that do the same thing and have my versatile other uses than the northman. I would still recommend giving it a try if you're looking for a very straight, long driver that you don't necessarily have to rip on to make it fly straight. If you'e looking for something similar I would recommend an Innova pro thunderbird.

The Northman would be a great disc if it was the same disc every throw. When I first bought the Northman I absolutely loved it because it was one of the straightest drivers I had ever thrown. It had great glide and minimal fade and it gave me around 250'. As it got beat in I started to use it for long turnover shots but found that it only turned over sometimes. As it got beat in it became much more inconsistent. Sometimes it would go straight, sometimes it would fade early, and occasionally it would turn over like I wanted it to. If I were to get another Northman I would definitely go with VIP so that it stays consistent for longer and also so it will retain the straight flight for longer. As a beginner I would try to stay away from this disc because of it's inconsistencies in flight and it will probably be a little stable for a slower arm. I will consider getting another Northman just to give it another chance. This is a great disc when it is new but after it gets beat in it is almost unuesable.

The TP Northman:

Weight makes a big difference. I have 177 that flies like the numbers. I have a 175 that I have to release it on a slight hyzer to get it to fly closer to the numbers.  When you drop down to 171 it starts to get much more understable.  If you throw around 350 then get max weight you will enjoy it. If you are down in the 300 range then get the lower weights.  Great disc, it is my current distance driver.

Ah the Northman...

So I have 2 Northmans from Westside. One 173g in white VIP plastic, and one 176g in pink Tournament plastic. These throw like completely different discs with different ratings. My lighter VIP Northman will turn over with any amount of power. Every time. It is NOT a speed 10 disc. No way. And I have to put so much anhyzer on it or it will turn into a roller. It is the most unforgiving disc I have ever thrown and it despises any wind above 8 mph. I would call a completely different flight rating numbering for this disc. something like 8.5/5/2/1. If it weren't so stupid beautiful I would trade it. It is finicky and spoiled and hurtful. Buuuuuuuuuut:

I bought a 176g pink Tournament Northman and it throws like a dream! Way truer to its flight rating than my lighter VIP version (though I would still rate the 176g pink TP version 10.5/5/-1.5/1.5 instead of 10/5/-1/2)! I can crank on this disc and get long, glidy shots accurate within 350ft. It loves to sail close to the ground for incredibly consistent and beautiful soary flights that make my friends whistle. This will sound really arty, but I swear this disc's flights are beautiful to watch. My friends have commented on this more than a few times. I know... it sounds stupid but just throw a heavier Northman in Tournament plastic and you will see. The flights just dance... Okay. enough of that...

So for the Northman, I give 2 stars for my lighter white VIP and I give 5 stars for my heavier pink Tournament. It was worth the trouble of throwing my vindictive white one for the eventual pleasure of throwing my pink one.

My advice: throw a few Northmans in different weights and plastics. Gauging by the vast discrepency in my only two Northmans by Westside, you are sure to find a favorite if you throw a good number of them.

TP 170. This disc is awesome when new, but breaks in very understable. It's great for controlled drives, max distance hyzer flips, and long, tight tunnel shots. The 10 speed makes it controllable, but it can still go very far. However, it did not make my bag. It just seemed to be in between my longer distance drivers and my mids, which made it very unlikely to be used for me.

The Northman has become my go to distance driver.  I have been playing for about 4 months and looking to move up in disc speed as my arm speed increases.  I was looking for more distance with this and after feeling it out for a couple of rounds it worked wonders for me.  Very controllable, it will hold whatever angle you put it on with a reliable fade at the end.  This can be a double edged sword for a beginner like me though.  The times I put it on a bad angle it stays right on it and puts me in a bad position.  But that's my fault, not the discs.  It will do what you tell it to do for better or worse.  I still love it and highly recommend it. 

 My northman is a 174g tourney plastic. Being my first westside disc i was skeptical. Ive had it a week and it just seems to get better every throw.it flies just as the numbers suggest but i believe once broke in it will be the straightest distance driver i have. 

went in bling buying this disc... but for sure one of my best buys.! i can throw it straight all day and the plastic holds up very well.!

My biggest complaint with this disc is that I feel like the -1 turn is more like a -2 turn. I have a 177 (scaled) orange GL and even though it weighs a ton it still keeps flipping up more than I want it to. I know that some people will love to hear that. Especially because it opens more doors for hyzerflipping. I just wanted a disc that was more like an old mold beast, but this disc is more like a new mold beast. Hope that makes sense to you. That being said, however, if you like new beasts, this is a great disc for you. Latitude plastic is just inherently better than innovas in my opinion.