MVP Tensor Review

MVP Disc Sports has been turning out new discs at a very quick pace as of late. Recently, they released the understable Tangent midrange. Now, they have gone to the opposite end of the flight charts and introduced the MVP Tensor. The Tensor is an overstable midrange.

MVP says this about the Tensor:

The Tensor will exhibit reliable high-speed stability for power throwers and is great for approach shots on windy days. The Tensor has outstanding glide coupled with its great high-speed stability, always followed by a dependable fade.

We had a great time giving the Tensor a test. We wanted to compare it to MVP’s Vector (stable-to-overstable midrange), Discraft’s Drone and Innova’s Gator.

The Tensor is certainly not a very fast disc, but it did carry some surprising distance at times. The Tensor has a narrow rim with a steep slanted outer edge, similar to a Drone. We should note, the Tensor is certainly not a Drone clone, it is its own disc. It feels very controllable in the hand. When thrown at full speed, the Tensor certainly won’t blow you away as it rips from your hand, but you will be able to trust the line you put it on.

The Tensor certainly has more high speed stability than the Vector does. When thrown at full speed, the Tensor will not turn. If you give it a nice flat release, expect a nice flat flight. If you give it some hyzer, it will hold that hyzer the entire flight. Don’t expect the Tensor to ride an anhyzer for too long. In our tests, they would flex back out on us.

When disc golfers are looking for an overstable midrange, after high speed stability, golfers look towards just how strong the fade is. The Tensor’s fade is interesting and the results really depend on the type of shot you threw.

When thrown for distance at a normal height, the Tensor’s fade kicks in very late. MVP’s Gyro technology seemed to keep the Tensor in the air moving forward longer than we expected. Once it reaches a certain point as it is slowing down, the Tensor will then start to really kick left. The fade is quite strong here. Not quite as strong as a drone, but similar to a Gator in terms of strength. If you are needing the Tensor to finish left, there is little doubt it will do exactly that.

We also wanted to see what the Tensor would do when kept low. There are a few holes on our local courses where we would throw a Gator and keep it low to let it skip left. The Tensor provided somewhat similar results. Again, MVP’s Gyro technology comes into play here too. Because the Gyro wants to keep the disc moving forward (and not left), the skip does have nice forward movement on it. While a Gator starts to really kick the disc left on a skip, the Tensor’s angle isn’t as severe.

For example, if thrown at 12 o’clock, when the Tensor first hits the ground on a low shot, the Tensor starts to head to about 11 o’clock. Then, as it continues to slow down, it starts to head towards 9:30 or 10.

The thing that surprised us the most was the glide. The glide on an MVP disc is slightly different due to the Gyro mold. The Gyro wants to do one thing: move the disc forward. This causes the disc to carry a little further than normal. When a disc has a high amount of glide, you’ll see it just sort of float down the fairway. The Tensor doesn’t exactly float, yet it certainly flew longer than we were expecting on a few throws. On one of our test throws, the basket sits behind a set of small trees. Usually, you can set up a midrange on a nice hyzer and let it fade comfortably back in behind the trees. On one of our throws we first thought it was going to be a little short and fade right into the tree line. When it cleared the trees we were actually surprised by the results. The Gyro keep the disc up a little more than we expected before the fade kicked in.

Overall, we’d give the Tensor ratings of: 4.25, 3.25, 0, 3. It is very stable off the tee pad and holds a strong fade that kicks in late in the flight.

When compared to it’s MVP’s cousin, the Vector, the Tensor is slightly slower, slightly less glide and more stable. It felt a little slower than a Drone and Gator, but with more glide than both of them. The Tensor isn’t a Drone. It isn’t a Gator. The Tensor is the Tensor. It is its own breed and another nice addition to MVP’s lineup.