[Other] Mint Discs

[zj1002]

Finally got around to this. Quick little blog post about flight ratings for each color and plastic. For now we are small and "crafty" enough to be able to focus on this. Not sure how well I'll be able to do this as runs get bigger.

https://mintdiscs.com/blogs/news/so-whats-this-alpha-all-about

Curious to hear from some of you that have thrown it and how accurate my numbers are for you.

 

[PMantle]

Finally got around to this. Quick little blog post about flight ratings for each color and plastic. For now we are small and "crafty" enough to be able to focus on this. Not sure how well I'll be able to do this as runs get bigger.

https://mintdiscs.com/blogs/news/so-whats-this-alpha-all-about

Curious to hear from some of you that have thrown it and how accurate my numbers are for you.

That is such an awesome thing to do :thmbup:

 

[zj1002]

That is such an awesome thing to do :thmbup:

Thanks! I really hope I'll be able to keep up with it in time. That is my biggest concern. While we always plan to have a small simple lineup, it may get too complicated as we get larger quantities and more colors each run. But I want to be able to offer as much info as we can because these are the small details I always cared about when I was on the consumer side.

 

[ManU]

I'll admit I haven't read all 13 pages but I doubt this has been brought up anyway

Do you have any Canadian Retailers?

Or are purchases handled solely through your website?

 

[Quinntastic]

Finally got around to this. Quick little blog post about flight ratings for each color and plastic. For now we are small and "crafty" enough to be able to focus on this. Not sure how well I'll be able to do this as runs get bigger.

https://mintdiscs.com/blogs/news/so-whats-this-alpha-all-about

Curious to hear from some of you that have thrown it and how accurate my numbers are for you.

Super awesome you did this. I have a Mint Green Sublime, Blue Eternal and Blue Apex. I would say from what I've experienced these are spot on for me. Before these ratings were posted this is about exactly the way I've been utilizing them in my bag. Good work!! May need a Pink eternal to compliment [emoji848]


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[zj1002]

I'll admit I haven't read all 13 pages but I doubt this has been brought up anyway

Do you have any Canadian Retailers?

Or are purchases handled solely through your website?

I don't think we do have any unless Infinite and Disc Nation are shipping there now but we can fill orders to Canada from our website.

 

[booter]

Super awesome you did this. I have a Mint Green Sublime, Blue Eternal and Blue Apex. I would say from what I've experienced these are spot on for me. Before these ratings were posted this is about exactly the way I've been utilizing them in my bag. Good work!! May need a Pink eternal to compliment [emoji848]


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get you an orange!

 

[Reniger]

Finally got around to this. Quick little blog post about flight ratings for each color and plastic. For now we are small and "crafty" enough to be able to focus on this. Not sure how well I'll be able to do this as runs get bigger.

https://mintdiscs.com/blogs/news/so-whats-this-alpha-all-about

Curious to hear from some of you that have thrown it and how accurate my numbers are for you.

Awesome! I have a Blue/Mint Sublime and I love it. Just snagged the last Red Apex I could find at any retailer to check out a domey, glidey, straight Alpha. Might grab one of the more OS runs later as well. Really loving this disc.

 

[jeffsk]

Hot dang....these feel nice. Off to the field I go.

 

[Halcón]

I picked up a white Apex Moody's stamp Alpha. The plastic feels great, it's softer than I expected, and pretty flexy. The rim fits into the hand nicely, and the dome is there, but not too pronounced. And of course, that stamp is a big part of why I got it.

I'll probably play a one disc round with this on Saturday morning, to see how she flies. :thmbup:

 

[DirtyMeathook]

Better opcorn:

Honestly though the Alpha has more versatility. If you were carrying something like a teebird and a thunderbird(or PD), then the Alpha can handle both slots. Its pretty unique in the ranges it can hit. I never got into Thunderbirds but I was a long time LF/PD thrower and our original goal was to put out something like that. This ended being a speed slower, but that doesn't mean it can't reach those distances.

Ended up a speed slower, based on what? The arbitrary number you assigned to it? It's rim size is that of a 10 speed driver, larger than a PD. It looks like a nice disc, and if I get the chance to pick one up at a tournament, I will, but it feels like it was just randomly assigned a speed rating.

 

[zj1002]

Ended up a speed slower, based on what? The arbitrary number you assigned to it? It's rim size is that of a 10 speed driver, larger than a PD. It looks like a nice disc, and if I get the chance to pick one up at a tournament, I will, but it feels like it was just randomly assigned a speed rating.

So the honest answer...not just the MINT one I should give

I don't think anyone would pick this up and think it was a 10 Speed or anything as fast as PD or Orc. There a few factors, mainly the height of the disc and inside diameter that slow it down some when combined with the rim thickness and diameter. While we attempted to rate it accurately there was also a lot of marketing reasons we rated it what we did, and I think that can be said for just about any company.

I think most companies over rate their discs on purpose knowing the consumer wants to buy the fastest in each category. We didn't really go that route, we tried to keep it pretty accurate with how it would fly for the person most likely to pick it up. I would agree with you that most high speed players would put it somewhere around a 8.5-9. But the for the normal person(and a large part of our user base) throwing at slower speeds this disc does fly with a lot slower and with more high speed resistance. It is super cliche to say, but this disc really does respond to the power it is given more than most. There was a good deal of thought put into it and I think most people that have thrown it would agree with where we rated it.

We have to stand out as a small company and I think the values we put on it helped us without being too far from the normal acceptance. Every company has a different ratings system and interpretation, which is part of marketing whether disc golfers want to accept it or not. If we attempted to overvalue this and fight with a lot of the currently popular Speed 9-10 drivers I don't think it would have stood out, and when you hold it in your hand it doesn't match up to any of those discs mentally. At the end of the day we have to sell discs. There was plenty of thought put into every aspect of the Alpha.

 

[Halcón]

I don't think anyone would pick this up and think it was a 10 Speed

Agreed.

 

[Reniger]

Ended up a speed slower, based on what? The arbitrary number you assigned to it? It's rim size is that of a 10 speed driver, larger than a PD. It looks like a nice disc, and if I get the chance to pick one up at a tournament, I will, but it feels like it was just randomly assigned a speed rating.

Aren't most of the numbers somewhat arbitrary? There's plenty of 14 speed drivers out there now and still most of MPO is driving with 12 speeds and a few 13 speeds... Seems like marketing to me! Money is made off every day joes. And every day joes want the HIGH NUMBER! The first 15 speeds flew off of shelves (Raketen and Missilen) and I've never once seen a pro in any format bagging one... But the Ams love 'em.

 

[jeffsk]

Oh my...Pink Eternal, Blue Apex...these fly a long way but don't get in any huge hurry to get there. Gorgeous flight!!! White Apex...like a Respecti on 1990s grade Andro...hey-zeuss cristo this thing bombs and then hooks up HARD like it saw a dude selling giant pixie stix on the other side of the street, and the dude only has one purple left, and kids are approaching...best get out the way, places to be type flight.

Mint Discs, you have my attention.

 

[FinHatch]

Received my blue eternal and white apex alphas few days back, gave them the "SkittleBomb"-dye paintjob:

After that I headed out for a test round.

First of all, some data: I dont throw very far, perhaps 300 feet or little more on a good day. My fairway setup includes somewhat worn MVP electron volt(171g, little understable for me) and more worn out MVP plasma volt(175g, slightly overstable still for me, was much more stable originally).

After couple of the usual rounds I would rate the discs from most understable to most stable: electron volt->plasma volt->eternal alpha->apex alpha.

Plasma volt and eternal alpha overlapped the most with my throwing power, for now I bag the volts and apex alpha for when I need that xtra oomph to the left.

Nice discs, Mint discs!

 

[zj1002]

Oh my...Pink Eternal, Blue Apex...these fly a long way but don't get in any huge hurry to get there. Gorgeous flight!!! White Apex...like a Respecti on 1990s grade Andro...hey-zeuss cristo this thing bombs and then hooks up HARD like it saw a dude selling giant pixie stix on the other side of the street, and the dude only has one purple left, and kids are approaching...best get out the way, places to be type flight.

Mint Discs, you have my attention.

I wish I had a trophy for best review yet.

For now I got this :hfive::clap:

Glad you are enjoying it!

 

[jakebake91]

Oh my...Pink Eternal, Blue Apex...these fly a long way but don't get in any huge hurry to get there. Gorgeous flight!!! White Apex...like a Respecti on 1990s grade Andro...hey-zeuss cristo this thing bombs and then hooks up HARD like it saw a dude selling giant pixie stix on the other side of the street, and the dude only has one purple left, and kids are approaching...best get out the way, places to be type flight.

Mint Discs, you have my attention.

Best disc review ive ever read!! Thanks for this one!

 

[Halcón]

Yea, Jeff, that review was ridiculous. :thmbup:

 

[Halcón]

Finally got out to the course with the white Apex Alpha. First throw didn't go exactly as far as I expected, but it was right in line with where I wanted it. Second drive I tried to slightly anny it, and it wasn't having any of that jazz. First long approach it was perfectly on target but it got the biggest skip I've ever seen from a disc of this rim size (although, my sample size is not huge), so it flared away from the basket. Gotta learn that fade.

By the 3rd or 4th hole I started getting the hang of this fairway. And it's a fairway in the truest sense. I fully agree with the flight numbers of 8/4/0/2. The lack of glide, and extra stability make it very controllable. With other fairways, there can be a tendency for too much turn, or difficulty in ranging the shot. That was not a problem with the Alpha.

I found this disc to be most valuable on my second shot on longer holes (400-450'+). For my arm, these throws can often be tweeners between a mid and driver. The Alpha was absolutely pinpoint on more than occasion this afternoon. Give it a little hyzer, some room to the right, and let it fade back in. Like clockwork.

I have to hand it to MINT. They may not have been able to chose a better first offering for a driver. It's not going to be the longest disc in your bag, or the one with most glide. But it just might be your most trustworthy.