[Drivers] Looking for a Vibram Lace replacement

[stratedge]

Hey,

So long story shortish, I'm falling out of love with the Vibram Lace because I find them inconsistent after they beat in, which is too fast (and yes I'm familiar with microwaving them -- doesn't make them 'like new' for me). I find the lace good for about the first 10 rounds-ish and then after that it's never the same. Maybe the O-lace will be worth a try after beating it in but let's just set that aside for now...

Are there any current or former Lace users who can recommend a discs from other manufacturers that fly very similar but are a more traditional plastic, hopefully one of the more resilient ones?

TIA.

 

[threevok]

Tell us how the Lace flew for you and at what distances. What did you like and not like about the way the Lace flew? I'd say try an Opto Bolt.

 

[Kp0c]

The Havoc might be a good choice... According to inbound flight chart, it is similar to the Lace.
http://www.inboundsdiscgolf.com/content/?page_id=431&id=LR421752355760481244844777921OO

 

[stratedge]

When they're fairly new, farthest I could throw it is ~360ft, where it would have a small amount of turn (about 10 ft laterally), and then a pretty strong fade (probably 30-40ft back across). I could do this pretty consistently.

But as they beat in though I find myself having to compensate with a little more hyzer and I start to get problems... if I throw them like I throw a new one, about 1/3 times it'll turn a little more and end up way off to the right probably 50ft, never really straightening out again. I've had some really good strong throws where it feels good out of my hands, like I'm going to throw farther than normal, but those ones end up turning over for sure, and I just can't handle that happening anymore, so frustrating. On the other hand if I take it down a notch and aim for 300ft-ish (common hole length around here), it never really turns and has fair amount of fade. I'm pretty happy with them at that length, good accuracy, but it feels like the ceiling after they're beat in.

I'd call myself an intermediate player and I've been adding distance to my throws slowly but continuously... last fall I was maxing out at 300ft and so I never had problems... went the full season on just 1 until it beat in enough I noticed problems throwing like that.

Again, the problem isn't that they beat in, it's the speed with which they beat it. I really feel like they're less resilient than all my other discs, and I've got MVP/Innova/Discraft/Gateway.

For comparison sake, I also throw an MVP Inertia, but I find that disc very easy to turn with a smooth, flat release and I use it for long anhyzers where I need that route. That disc I find turns a lot if I rip it, but it doesn't turn over like the beat in lace so I'm really happy with it.... however it does not have the same glide as the lace I find. Max I can throw that one is 330ish.

 

[whitefedora]

It sounds like you are looking for a champion tern to me. Or gstar.

 

[Hlasianguy06]

I'm still a lace thrower but I graduated to an olace, I do have a broken in first run lace I've had since release and it doesn't fly as you described. Now my severely beat firm does, it seems as if you're abusing the disc on trees a little too much. As far as a replacement I just use the olace, at first it didn't seem as workable but after some abuse the quickly hit that fresh lace spot. Haven't had them long enough to see if they'll get flippier but I think they'll settle nicely where they're at now.

 

[damagedLIVER]

You can send those beat-in Laces my way stratedge!

 

[Declarkus]

So long story shortish, I'm falling out of love with the Vibram Lace because I find them inconsistent after they beat in, which is too fast...I find the lace good for about the first 10 rounds-ish and then after that it's never the same.

It seems as if you're abusing the disc on trees a little too much.

Seems you're defensive, and weirdly critical.

And on the topic of brand loyalty, I say DGA makes the greatest plastic on planet Earth. It can take 10 rounds of trees, trust me.
SP Rogue or even the new Torrent are right up your alley.

 

[BirdieMachine]

Champ Tern or GStar Destroyer. Both will make you happy.

 

[AndyJB]

I recommend the Tern, if you are going to replace the Lace. It has less HSS, but fades a bit stronger when given hyzer. Tern has the most glide of any Innova disc I've thrown (and I've thrown almost all of them) so it should compete with the Lace in that regard.

Can I ask which X-Link version you are throwing? Vibram usually doesn't beat in too easily. My wife has had her Lace since they first came out and hers is still very controllable. Not flippy beyond belief. Doesn't turn and burn into a headwind, either. She throws slightly less than you, probably around 330-350 on golf lines, and we tend to play fairly wooded courses in Colorado.

She doesn't play as much when I'm gone, maybe 2-3 rounds a week, at most. But still, I have to wonder if it's the disc. Not trying to sound condescending, since they obviously fly different for you after a few rounds. Course, I'm pig-headed and tend not to give up on discs either, haha. But if you must replace it, the closest I can think is an Innova Tern in champ plastic.

 

[JRW III]

... the olace, at first it didn't seem as workable but after some abuse the quickly hit that fresh lace spot...

This.

 

[stratedge]

Can I ask which X-Link version you are throwing? Vibram usually doesn't beat in too easily. My wife has had her Lace since they first came out and hers is still very controllable. Not flippy beyond belief. Doesn't turn and burn into a headwind, either. She throws slightly less than you, probably around 330-350 on golf lines, and we tend to play fairly wooded courses in Colorado.

She doesn't play as much when I'm gone, maybe 2-3 rounds a week, at most. But still, I have to wonder if it's the disc. Not trying to sound condescending, since they obviously fly different for you after a few rounds. Course, I'm pig-headed and tend not to give up on discs either, haha. But if you must replace it, the closest I can think is an Innova Tern in champ plastic.

Well funny enough, my original 2 laces were mediums, and then I went to play in Phoenix last summer and it was 30C most days and the mediums got all soft and suuuuuuper flippy. Talked to a local in the shop and it was a common issue with soft vibrams he said, always buy firms.

So I went and bought 4 firms because I was pretty committed to the disc at that point. Just wanted to save on shipping. Oh and by the by, I could tell slight differences between those 4 identical laces (all within 2 grams) right off the shelf, but it was delicate and I was happy with that. I think though that while I'm finding the firms more consistent with variances in temperature, they're now less resilient in contact changes. So you bring up a good point and maybe I need to go back to medium and keep firms for hot weather only, or something. Still, if that's how it is, I'd rather just throw a plastic disc that's more consistent that way.

And for the record, my laces very rarely see trees, I only use them on big long open shots generally... around trees or between them, I don't throw as hard and have some either straighter or more resilient discs I specifically use. However, that said, I am aware when I do hit a try good and hard with one of them, and yes that is often the thing that pushes them over a cliff where I have to take them out of my bag and start putting them in the microwave to get them anywhere near throwable. But those aren't the circumstances I'm describing in my original post.

 

[Jmorri67]

I'd recommend a 400g D3

 

[kutz167]

I am with Hlasianguy and AndyJB that it may not be the disc (of course you could have gotten extremely unlucky and gotten lemons). I throw with considerably more power than you say you do and have been throwing the same FR Lace since they came out. It has seen tons of trees between Mt. Airy and Idlewild in the Cincinnati area and the Black Hills of SD (where 100+ degrees Fahrenheit is not unusual) without issues. There are some other players in this area that seem to have gotten unlucky with some unusually flippy Laces from time to time, though.

When you go to lower elevations discs will fly more understable due to the thicker air, so that could be part of the thing that you noticed in Phoenix.

If you must replace it, I recommend a Discraft Crank in the same weight that you were throwing your Laces in. In my experience when fresh they provide a nice straight flight with only a small (but long) turn and a gentle, forward fade.

 

[Hlasianguy06]

Seems you're defensive, and weirdly critical.

And on the topic of brand loyalty, I say DGA makes the greatest plastic on planet Earth. It can take 10 rounds of trees, trust me.
SP Rogue or even the new Torrent are right up your alley.

Defensive no, critical, yes at times. I was merely speculating what could have made it gotten that way. Why are you being defensive for him? He didn't seem to take offense, its as if you think im calling him a crappy player for hitting trees. Just offering him ways to keep the lace in his bag.

 

[Declarkus]

Why are you being defensive for him?

10 rounds

I wasn't defending him. I found it humorous how you were defending Vibram, and even though the OP asked for a different disc, you kept pushing the Lace.

 

[stratedge]

Defensive no, critical, yes at times. I was merely speculating what could have made it gotten that way. Why are you being defensive for him? He didn't seem to take offense, its as if you think im calling him a crappy player for hitting trees. Just offering him ways to keep the lace in his bag.

Suppose I was hitting trees, your advice to me then rather than get a more resilient disc is "don't hit trees"? I didn't "take offense", but I did think it a worthless response.

 

[Hlasianguy06]

10 rounds

I wasn't defending him. I found it humorous how you were defending Vibram, and even though the OP asked for a different disc, you kept pushing the Lace.

And at the very end I said try an olace, and sharing my experience isn't synonymous with defending Vibram, I still throw plastic. What is really so humorous? He liked the disc from the get go, why not find ways for him to keep it? I've had multiple bad instances with Vibram discs but it was all shot selection and user error, nothing wrong with the disc just my intended use.

 

[Hlasianguy06]

Suppose I was hitting trees, your advice to me then rather than get a more resilient disc is "don't hit trees"? I didn't "take offense", but I did think it a worthless response.

My advice from the get go was to try an olace, not to stop hitting trees, I was just assuming the experience. They were things I've done why would it not be safe to assume a fellow golfer isn't just as bad as I? It may be filler but its not worthless but I do thank you for not jumping at me like the other guy did.:clap:

 

[Declarkus]

Defensive no, critical, yes at times. I was merely speculating what could have made it gotten that way. Why are you being defensive for him? He didn't seem to take offense, its as if you think im calling him a crappy player for hitting trees. Just offering him ways to keep the lace in his bag.

And at the very end I said try an olace, and sharing my experience isn't synonymous with defending Vibram, I still throw plastic. What is really so humorous? ... I've had multiple bad instances with Vibram discs but it was all shot selection and user error, nothing wrong with the disc just my intended use.

You kinda answered your own questions. And your signature is synonymous w/ defending Vibram (also humorous).

My advice from the get go was to try an olace, not to stop hitting trees, I was just assuming the experience. They were things I've done why would it not be safe to assume a fellow golfer isn't just as bad as I? It may be filler but its not worthless but I do thank you for not jumping at me like the other guy did.:clap:

Yes, it is unsafe to assume others are as bad as you.