[Question] Are You Brand Loyal?

[bigmatt17073]

I throw only one brand, Discraft and here is why? When I started my first few discs were from Discraft. Those served me well and then a few were added from Innova. For many years I tried various discs to find what I like and it was mostly a mixed bag. Eventually that turned into an all Innova bag, and it was like that for a few years.

Well, a few years in Innova announced CE plastic wasn't going to be made again. My bag was mostly CE plastic with some old Aviars and Rocs. I realized that my bag was going to be very expensive to keep the same discs. It was already rather valuable at the time with many OOP and limited run discs (01' CE Roc, CE Aviar, San Marino Rocs, and other first Run CE discs). That year I played the first year of the Am Nationals in 2002. I did well enough to cash and got some Discraft plastic. I also saw how awesome that tournament was and how well even as lowly AM's we were treated by Discraft. So after that tournament I went to an all Discraft bag. I traded a lot of my old CE plastic away and got a bunch of Discraft in the process to try out.

My most played local course back in the day (Kensington Tunnel) was only a 10 minute drive from the course so on occasion we would see the owner of Discraft, Jim Kenner out there. A few times he would be out there testing new prototype discs. On those occasions he would hand them to a few of the Pro or Advanced Am players to throw them and give him feedback. Its cool to say your were involved in the testing process. I still have a few Discraft prototypes sitting in my collection.

 

[jdw80550]

I've played with mixed bags forever, then I started to find that one brand clicked with my style of throwing and plastic taste more than others. Since then I have gradually moved to an all discraft bag, minus putters.

It was fairly easy to with the expecting of the teebird. The vulture now cover the teebird shots.

Wizards are magical and I would rather change my bag to all gateway before getting rid of the wizard.

 

[ThrowaEnvy]

I'm fairly brand loyal for simplicity.. If they make a Disc and it flies like x disc but broken in etc it makes it easier to guess my next buy. That said I used to love Discraft and I always have a Comet in the bag but it's all Gyro except for that and an occasional Glowfly.

 

[Horsman]

Been throwing Innova for over a decade. I throw half a dozen molds and I have hundreds of backups. At this point it would be dumb of me to switch.

 

[dysmike]

Not brand loyal so much as mold loyal. Even then, there are some I can interchange pretty easily.

 

[Brockness Monster]

Don't care. My bag is mostly Innova, but the only Innova mold that had solidified its spot in the bag is the Teebird. Everything else, even the Firebird, could be replaced one day.

 

[JuanA]

...I'm brand familiar more than anything,...

Brand lazy, more like...

These two are where I'm at. Started with Innova because of what was available locally. As I rebuild my game, it's easier for me to stick with what I know.

 

[aphilso1]

Thinking about this thread some more, I feel like the brands I'm the most loyal to are the ones that have a flight rating that is accurate for my personal game. I tend to throw with a bit of hyzer plus I don't have the biggest arm in the world, so some of the brands that are commonly besmirched as "flippy" actually fly like the numbers for me. It makes it easier for me to pick up a new Westside or DD mold and be relatively confident that the disc will fly as it's supposed to. To contrast, Innova discs typically (but not always) have far less turn for me than their flight rating would indicate

 

[dobbins66]

Been throwing Innova for over a decade. I throw half a dozen molds and I have hundreds of backups. At this point it would be dumb of me to switch.

Sounds exactly like me. I have tried and still try a lot of stuff from different companies but it never seems to be good enough to kick an established mold out of my bag. Too set in my ways with way to many backups.

 

[ThomasOrion]

Mixed is where its at. Theres so much good stuff out there. Throw what you like and what works. I have added a lot more MVP/AXIOM over the last year - but for no other reason than I wanted to try it and ended up liking it. I still mix up my bag by a few discs almost every round. Just depends. But yeah, they're a liar if anyone says that one company is the best and has everything. that's not true. Innova is great, but their putter plastics suck and they don't have a Zone, Discraft is good but their molds are all over the place and have no identity - but lately they have made improvements, Trilogy is overflooded with flippy drivers, Gateway just doesn't do enough haha, Prodigy had consistency issues and tried to buy up everyone, MVP is missing some key discs. With all that said. I really like something from all of them. and If I needed to I could bag 1 company and make it work. ...But I like my mixed bag

 

[jfb3]

I throw a mixed bag. Yeah a lot of it is from one company but that's only because it works for me.

I just clicked with Prodigy mids, and drivers, especially forehand. Do I wish the F2 was as glidey as a TeeBird? Yes, but the F2 rim feels better for my little hands. I like 400 plastic better than Champ or Star. Pridigy control drivers sucked ( haven't tried all the new H v2 series) so I throw Thundies, Saints, Saint Pros, Felons, Enemys. And a mixed bag of putters. I've thrown everything I can get my hands on which just about everything available. I know what works for me won't work for everyone (anyone?) I also know that in a few years I'll probably have to change what I throw if I get feeble. But for now I'm set with 6-7 companies represented in the bag.

 

[DisconsinTx]

I threw mostly innova until I took a 4 year break. That break coincided with innovas patent running out. When I got back into it there were so many companies, I focused mostly on DD because of their media presence. That said I throw mostly DD and innova with a few other mfg here and there. Now that my bag is good I will try other molds to see if it does something better than what I have.


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[Declarkus]

No. I think being brand loyal is more of a hinderance than anything the more I get into this sport.

We owe it to ourselves to see how different discs fly. Letting minutia dictate things for you seems increasingly silly as the market deepens.

I thought like this when I was starting out, and this is why I became loyal to a brand. I was too liberated to buy all the plastic. Too many options became a hinderance on my game, from wavering on which discs to bag to struggling to decide which disc to throw on each shot. So my reason for brand loyalty was this:

2) you don't like being overwhelmed by the multitude of discs out there.

And it's now this:

I have hundreds of backups. At this point it would be dumb of me to switch.

 

[Horsman]

No. I think being brand loyal is more of a hinderance than anything the more I get into this sport.

We owe it to ourselves to see how different discs fly. Letting minutia dictate things for you seems increasingly silly as the market deepens.

Ive gotten pretty high up in the game doing what Im doing. I highly doubt that switching brands is going to increase my rating or my abilities. A lot of the reason I have been able to be good for a long period of time is that over the past decade my bag has stayed almost the same with about half of my discs not changing at all during that time. I know my discs very well and I think that aids me a lot.

 

[nitzua]

i throw innova/dm/millennium/hyzerbomb. this approach covers all the shots i need to throw and keeps things simple.

 

[ponder]

Brand loyalty obviously simplifies the approach to building a bag.(the paradox of choice). Outside of that I think what horsman said highlights the main advantages. Familiarity with your discs and staying committed to a particular set of discs/molds.

 

[dysmike]

Familiarity with your discs and staying committed to a particular set of discs/molds.

None of this, has anything specific to do with a single brand. Being familiar with each mold you throw, that's important IMO. I could care less who makes that mold. For instance, I'm a huge Wizard fan, but I don't throw anything else Gateway makes.

 

[BuzzzChief]

I'll throw whatever. I'm more interested in some brands than others, but that changes over time as new molds and plastic blends come out. I am admittedly influenced by what the pros throw, basically because it's an easy way to hear about new discs that I haven't tried before.

What did he throw on that shot? Wow, maybe I should try one of those out.

 

[PMantle]

A lot of the reason I have been able to be good for a long period of time is that over the past decade my bag has stayed almost the same with about half of my discs not changing at all during that time.

I both respect and believe this. OTOH, one of the joys I get out of this sport is the stuff. I simply enjoy buying and trying new stuff. How I score is somewhat important to me, but in the end is somewhat meaningless. It's all about fun, and I have fun no matter what I score most of the time.

 

[BuzzzChief]

I both respect and believe this. OTOH, one of the joys I get out of this sport is the stuff. I simply enjoy buying and trying new stuff. How I score is somewhat important to me, but in the end is somewhat meaningless. It's all about fun, and I have fun no matter what I score most of the time.

I would totally agree. While I try out a ton of new discs from different manufacturers out of curiosity, it's pretty hard for something to actually make the bag. I try a lot of stuff for fun and then trade or sell it shortly after.

Most of my bag has been consistent for at least a few years and a handful have been in the bag for 10+. There's no way to pick up something off the shelf and trust it like something you've thrown thousands of times.