Ultra’s Groundbreaking Viper

Where it All Began:

9-6-2019 was the day the game changed forever. On this date, Ultra released the most revolutionary and innovative bag the world had ever seen. The groundbreaking Ultra Viper went live that fateful Friday, transforming the game of cornhole and a company at the same time.

Ultra Cornhole had been in business for years making a variety of boards, bags and accessories in San Diego, California. Mark Pryor, an engineer and player, had been working in his shop innovating the game with new ideas like Cornhole 2, and playing with a variety of fabrics on bags like Cobra, Synergy, Regulator, Loosey, Raptor and Vapor. Pryor was constantly searching for new materials and testing how they would play when combined. It was the wild west and Ultra was at the forefront of a movement to create the best possible bags.

Team Ultra:

At the same time, Pryor had begun assembling Team Ultra. This first group of players was put together with standout local SoCal players and some friends in the southwest. Tyler Parent and Brevon Valdivia were some of the first to join along with a strong contingent from Arizona including Doug Zafft, Bill Hadley and Brian Brewer. These players, with Mark, were traveling and playing cornhole on the new ACL tour. They quickly learned they needed some better equipment. Mark was taking the knowledge from what he was experiencing playing and putting it to work in the Ultra shop.

The story I have heard is that Pryor took the fast side from the Vapor, a super-fast material that was very flexible and combined it with the fast side from the Cobra. Until that point Ultra had been utilizing suede for many of the slow sides or the first gen X-material on the slow sides of most of their models. The resulting combination was as a super-fast all fabric bag (no suede) with amazing hole-friendliness. Brian Brewer has said the team was asked what to call it. It was suggested to be a snake since ½ of the DNA of the bag was from the Cobra. Since the other 1/2 was from the Vapor, a V name was suggested. The Viper was born.

Grip Tech:

The Team felt like the bag was almost too fast! Mark had an answer. He developed Grip Tech which we see in the dots on the slow side. The application of control dots slowed the bag down just a little and the extra grip allowed players to more confidently throw the slow side while retaining all the hole friendliness of the early prototypes. This innovation made the bag more playable for most players.

Let’s Go:

Some of the first Ultra Vipers hit the cornhole scene in San Diego, just before the public launch. Team Ultra players took them to the first regional of the new season on Labor Day and the Viper swept the podium. Local players took notice.  That Friday when the bag was first released there was a rush of customers looking to score the first sets of this new model. Once on the street, the new Viper was quickly seen on podiums around the country. Locally, it seemed like months went by with nothing but Viper on the podium around town.

By the time Series 2 and 3 dropped, the servers were crashing and the bags were selling out in minutes! These early Series Vipers are still considered some of the best bags ever made. Their legendary flex and feel seemed to fix more $2.00 throws than any bag in history. Some changes in the material resulted in what are known as the Limited Vipers. The fabric while the same had some differences in the manufacturing process that seemed to change how the bag played. We also saw the fill change at this time. It was somewhat normal in the industry to see minor changes like this back then. A manufacturer might not be able to get the exact same fill or a fabric mill would make a change to the binder or change the thread count on a material. Bag makers like Ultra had to pivot.

Getting Stamped:

When the American Cornhole League introduced the Pro Stamp for the 2020-21 season, Ultra responded with 3 Vipers out of the gate. Sets came in Green, Orange and Black. These bags mimic the Limited’s in terms of play and feel. The next few releases all felt the same and played great. By the spring of 2021, Ultra had fine-tuned the Viper creating the Viper formula we all play today. The fill had become more consistent from release to release. The fabric blend was as close to a Series bag as anyone had felt in a year. When I got my first Pro set in time for Wichita’s ACL Cornhole Mania event, I knew I had something special. I remember seeing Mark and asking him if he had found some old Series Viper fabric under his desk or if he had some old fill in the back that he had used just for me. These bags felt amazing and seemed to play just like my Series Vipers! Each subsequent set of Viper I recieved or played with from that day on has been money. That signature feel and flex really do lead to a few more bags finding their way into the hole!

Ultra Viper Timeline:

• September 2019 Ultra’s Viper is Released
• September 2019-February 2020 Series Viper
  • Series 1 have LIMITED on them. Subsequent Series Vipers are labeled with roman numerals II through VIII
  • Many sets from this era may have Team Ultra on them indicating they were either a Team player’s personal bags or were produced for a player to sell as way to help them fund their Pro travel.
• February 2020 LIMITED Vipers are released.
  • The Carbon Viper, Colorado Viper, USA Viper and several colorways exist from this time period.
  • Bags from this time have a smaller “sand” fill. Players describe the feel of the resin as sand because of it’s size.
  • This bag is when the fabric changes and the bags tend to play a little slower.
• October 2020 ACL Pro Stamped Ultra Vipers are released
• October 2021 Viper fabric updates
  • Pro Picks Viper release is the first public release with the fabrics playing more similar to the initial Series Vipers.
• October 2023 Viper 3 Year Anniversary bag is released

Viper Variations:

Viper-C

The Ultra Viper was so popular that it has spawned a number of variations. First was the Viper-C. This model was all about control, hence the C designation in the name. The addition of Grip-Tech on the top side made the bag more playable, especially on fast boards. In those early days, many Viper players found the fast side to be too fast and the bag was difficult to play in the sun or on fast boards. By adding control dots to the top, the speed of the bag became a little more controllable for the average player. The public got the Viper-C on Sunday 12-6-2020. The Viper-C by then was mythical, having been only available via purchases made from Team Ultra players. There are some really cool custom colors out there from January 2020 thru March of 2020. Those bags are essentially Series Vipers with the Grip Tech on the top side

Viper-B

The Viper-B was next. This bag substitutes the slow side material of the regular Viper with the same slow side found on the Butter and Widow-B (but without the Grip Tech on the Widow-B). The B stands for Block. This bag has a much stickier fabric on the slow side than a traditional Viper. This would allow a Viper thrower to better play a block, airmail, and push game. It was first introduce in November of 2021.

Viper-R

The hottest bag in the game today. The Viper-R takes the Viper’s signature hole-friendliness and pairs it with a new hybrid-carpet slow side material. This makes for one of cornhole’s deadliest bags. The new slow side plays with a perfect speed for blocking and the material when thrown with the right bag tilts can cut, roll and flop. The combination is almost more friendly around the hole than the OG Viper. So much so that bags are collected even more easily. The R material slinks and drapes on the hole and when a bag comes by the materials interact in such a way that if any of your bags are up, the one you’ve thrown is sure to collect them into the hole. The Viper-R has picked up 7 Open Championships in 2023 and 2024. 

Viper-X

The Viper Evolution continues for Ultra’s groundbreaking Viper with the Viper-X. Combining the Viper’s world famous fast side with a 100% carpet herringbone material the Viper-X becomes one of the hottest new releases for Ultra in 2024. The slow side will give players more shot shaping control. This will give players the ability to roll, cut, and flop like no other. This carpet also plays true so you can run bags which positions Viper-X perfectly for today’s players who alternate between racing and setting up shots. 

Anniversary:

To Celebrate the Viper’s 3 year run Ultra released the 3 year Anniversary bag in October of 2022. Designed with an inverse color pattern inspired from the first release’s snake photos, this bag celebrates 3 years of success on the boards. The Viper is still the most popular bag in the game and it’s strong 3 year run makes it likely the winningest bag in the world. The Viper may not have started the fast-bag revolution but it certainly defines that style of play and has become synonymous with the hole for hole, high PPR style of game that many players favor today.