hewitt's bag for the new season

[hewittdallas]

Here is my setup for the new disc golf season. Yes, I played throughout most of the winter, but I consider the time change the real season since I get to start my after work rounds now. Please let me know what questions and/or suggestions you may have. Please keep in mind I operate on a limited budget and can't buy every mold under the sun.

BAG
1. New Gorilla Boy Silverback courtesy of the in-laws for Christmas

PUTTERS
2. D Challenger 173 - approach/putting putter
3. D Challenger 172 - putting putter
4. D Banger GT 168 - rarely thrown (will be replaced soon)

MIDS
5. Z Buzzz 177 - heavy, great feel, most fade of my Buzzzes
6. CryZtal Buzzz 175 - nice balanced Buzzz for "neutral" throws
7. Z Buzzz 174 - somewhat beat, turns nice for flex shots
8. Opto Fuse 176 - anything dead straight to anny (may add another)

DRIVERS
9. Opto Vision 173 - tailwind and long turnovers/annies
10. Opto Striker 174 - control drives and slight/moderate headwinds
11. Opto Striker 174 - control drives and slight/moderate headwinds
12. ND Surge 171 - max distance
13. FLX Surge 173 - cold weather, trees, less skip
14. Z Surge 174 - big hyzers and slightly more stable than other Surges
15. Z Predator 173 - headwinds, spike hyzers, thumbers, skippers

AVERAGE DISTANCES
Putters - 250'
Mids - 320'
Drivers - 350'
(These numbers are real representations of how I typically throw WITH control).

FINAL THOUGHTS
I really like the way my bag has developed over time. I only recently added the faster plastic (Surges) back in after a lot of time with just slower drivers. Generally speaking, I reach for my Striker, Predator, or Buzzz on most drives. The Banger is going to get replaced by a FLX or CryZtal Challenger when I get around to buying one. Right now I have been approaching with my D Challengers, but would like to switch that over to some more durable plastic.

Thanks for reading this. Any feedback is welcomed.

 

[skurf]

I was going to suggest a CryZtal Challenger and then saw that you were thinking about it anyway, so yeah, I'd go for that one. It's a great approach and driving putter that never really seems to beat in, which is nice because I really like how it flies out-of-the-box. It could replace one of your Pro-D Challengers and the Banger GT.

I'm not sure why you would need 3 Buzzzes and a Fuse. While I think the 177 Buzzz and Fuse could make good compliments to each other, you may want something even more overstable for non-driver-distance shots. I really like the ESP Zone for this or possibly a Hornet if you want to be able to get it out a little further.

I had an Opto Vision a while back, but that thing was just way too flippy for me to control, and this is coming from someone who loves the Pro Katana. However, I have heard the Vision is one of the more inconsistent molds out there and their stability can have a wide range from disc to disc so who knows. What I do know is that I prefer a little stability in my understable drivers, which my Vision sorely lacked.

Also, have you tried the PD by Discmania? That disc is so damn good it should be in everyone's bag. Speaking of which, I need to get my hands on one of them shiny new C PD's.

 

[hewittdallas]

I was going to suggest a CryZtal Challenger and then saw that you were thinking about it anyway, so yeah, I'd go for that one. It's a great approach and driving putter that never really seems to beat in, which is nice because I really like how it flies out-of-the-box. It could replace one of your Pro-D Challengers and the Banger GT.

I'm not sure why you would need 3 Buzzzes and a Fuse. While I think the 177 Buzzz and Fuse could make good compliments to each other, you may want something even more overstable for non-driver-distance shots. I really like the ESP Zone for this or possibly a Hornet if you want to be able to get it out a little further.

I had an Opto Vision a while back, but that thing was just way too flippy for me to control, and this is coming from someone who loves the Pro Katana. However, I have heard the Vision is one of the more inconsistent molds out there and their stability can have a wide range from disc to disc so who knows. What I do know is that I prefer a little stability in my understable drivers, which my Vision sorely lacked.

Also, have you tried the PD by Discmania? That disc is so damn good it should be in everyone's bag. Speaking of which, I need to get my hands on one of them shiny new C PD's.

Yeah, the CryZtal Challenger is pretty much a guaranteed addition at this point. Three Buzzzes may seem excessive, but it's probably the most important mold in my bag so it works for me. This way, I always have a backup Buzzz. I may look into a more stable mid, just haven't really found the use for it. I like powering down my Strikers and Pred.

As for the Vision, mine is amazing. Maybe they've had inconsistency across the runs, but I love this thing. It produces huge annies that I have not consistently hit with any other mold. No way it's leaving anytime soon.

I've heard good things about the PD, just never tried one. Am I correct in assuming it is similar to the Striker?

 

[skurf]

I've never thrown a Striker before so I can't compare the two. Is the Striker similar to a Teebird? As for the PD, I would say the S PD is like a mix between a Champion Teebird and Destroyer. It's long and straight. It has a very slight high speed turn and a healthy and predictable fade (a bit more fade than a Champ Teebird). I have two (one Freak stamp, one standard stamp) that fly the exact same.

The P PD I've heard is a more inconsistent mold than the S, but the one that I have started off similar to a [longer] TL or DX Teebird and quickly beat in to an even more understable disc with very little low speed fade. It's a pretty sweet disc, but honestly I'm not a fan of the P plastic as it seems less durable than even regular Innova Pro plastic.

I haven't thrown the C PD, but it's next on my list.

 

[hewittdallas]

I've never thrown a Striker before so I can't compare the two. Is the Striker similar to a Teebird? As for the PD, I would say the S PD is like a mix between a Champion Teebird and Destroyer. It's long and straight. It has a very slight high speed turn and a healthy and predictable fade (a bit more fade than a Champ Teebird). I have two (one Freak stamp, one standard stamp) that fly the exact same.

I would say the Striker is fairly similar to a champ TB. Overall, I feel the Striker has a tad more stability, but really fills the same spot in my bag. I mainly prefer the Striker over the TB because I feel it performs slightly better in the wind. I really like that it enough HSS to fight moderate winds, but not so much that I can't use it for a wide variety of control drives.

My birthday is coming up in May though, so I will have the opportunity to try out some new discs. The PD has been on the radar before, and may be given a shot though I really like the Strikers.

 

[strive]

Have you tried any slower line-shaping fairways? I suggest an esp cyclone... it will do it all and it's so fun to watch lock in to a line and hold it to the ground.

 

[hewittdallas]

Have you tried any slower line-shaping fairways? I suggest an esp cyclone... it will do it all and it's so fun to watch lock in to a line and hold it to the ground.

I haven't tried a Cyclone, but I threw a Stalker for the vast majority of 2010. It only recently left my bag, but I am open to finding a more neutral fairway driver to fall between the Striker (pretty stable) and Vision (super flippy). What does the Cyclone fly like?

 

[skurf]

What does the Cyclone fly like?

Kinda like a shorter Eagle in my experience.

 

[hewittdallas]

Kinda like a shorter Eagle in my experience.

Interesting, I'll have to do more research on the drivers. Like I said, birthday money isn't coming until May so I have a little time to figure out what earns a shot at making the bag.

Also, I absolutely love my Z Predator. Does anyone have experience with this mold in other plastics? My Z is unbelievably stable and I use it for all sorts of spiker hyzers and thumbers. I would be interested in a slightly longer Pred. Would ESP or FLX offer something similar to what I'm looking for?

 

[strive]

I have an ESP Pred that is NOTHING like my Z... It will flip in a headwind... Weirdest thing ever and I'm not sure if it's this particular disc or ESP... Also, I find the cyclone to be a little straighter than an eagle and much easier to throw a slow turnover with. But you can throw a hyzer line with it too.

 

[hewittdallas]

I have an ESP Pred that is NOTHING like my Z... It will flip in a headwind... Weirdest thing ever and I'm not sure if it's this particular disc or ESP... Also, I find the cyclone to be a little straighter than an eagle and much easier to throw a slow turnover with. But you can throw a hyzer line with it too.

Interesting on the ESP Pred. Does it still have the same LSS as the Z Pred or does the entire flight feel like a different disc? A Pred that flips up sounds like a longer Pred, which sounds like it must be added to my bag.

 

[strive]

To be honest, it flew more like an avenger to me. My playing buddies thought that I was jacking with them and so I let them throw it... nothing like a z pred.

 

[hewittdallas]

To be honest, it flew more like an avenger to me. My playing buddies thought that I was jacking with them and so I let them throw it... nothing like a z pred.

So, this idea of a considerably less stable but still stable ESP Pred is increasingly appealing to me. I have been playing quite a bit lately with the bag mentioned in the OP and still haven't found any noticeable gaps. The only potential problem is moderate, but not extremely strong, headwinds. Most of the time, my Strikers do well here, but the Z Pred is just overkill and I sacrifice distance. If an ESP Pred will give me that nice middle ground in stability, it would be perfect because I really don't want to add another mold into the bag for a very specific shot/condition.

Also, I had planned on getting a CryZtal Challenger just because I wanted a more durable plastic for my drives/approaches. However, I started doing some research and people don't seem to crazy about the CryZtals. Would I be better off going for a FLX Challenger to fill this spot?

Thanks!