Talking bout stalking (stalkers post here)

[jubuttib]

You've got to admit, the Stalker is pretty short for a fairway driver.

 

[discspeed]

Yeah, the Storm, Glide, Comet, and Meteor are all as long or longer than the Stalker, albeit getting distance in a different way (glide vs. speed). If anything the Stalker is a tweener between a mid and fairway driver as the PD is a tweener between fairway and distance drivers.

I can see how if you throw Rocs the Stalker would be a better stop-gap than if you throw a longer/faster mid as there would be less overlap. The distance difference between the 2FR Buzzzes/Axis that I'm used to and the Stalker is minimal at best.

 

[JR]

Exactly but there is a difference in advantage of the Z Stalker over the other discs that are close to it in flight distance. Squalls are way less HSS and the ESP type material fades as much and sparkle Z fades less than the Z Stalker. The rest are less HSS too and some of them fade less. And are situational discs meaning good for only calm weather too. For me none of the others equal the D of the Stalker and the Squall that fly around 10' longer than the rest. I can't get as clean releases as some with Comets. That may cap my Comet D.

I've always known the Stalker to be a tweener and as such it pairs up with other tweeners the PD being the obvious pairing going to a longer disc and a short mid being best for a short disc. Because i prefer the Z Buzzz over the Roc it overlaps too much with the Stalker so i don't carry the Stalker any more. Z Stalker was my go to driver before the Beast. And since the Beast is longer i needed something sorter so the less wind handling Leo came back with a vengeance. I was forced to learn to control power input better to allow for more wind tolerance. Then came the River to muddy up things. Since my Opto is so much more HSS and more power hungry and can fly longer if killed they don't overlap so much. River is absolutely stepping on the toes of the Beast and the Leo but i have no trouble knowing when to use each one. Beast goes farther with less power and the River takes some winds and likes to finish left and the Leo likes right and straight shots better. The River straightens out only when punched hard and it wants so much power that i can't always supply it with enough. I need to be fresh enough and warmed up. So the three discs in the below max D role cater also for situational requirements that come from my body. That is great and gets talked about all too rarely. Knowing each disc pretty well has set up nice boundaries to when each are used.

With that said beating up a PD enough but not too far like one of my 168 S PDs is can make an effective combo with the Stalker. The snag is that all my PDs fade too much, even the beaten to too flippy S 168 PD. Grr. Stalker ain't long enough for straight shots. Enter the Leo and full power Opto River. Or new SW for rear winds and longer annies although i don't need them so i don't carry them because light Beasts anny well.

If i could get consistently straight PDs even with the need for beating them in i could make that bag work too. If the cost of replacing sweet spot flat high 150s P PDs wasn't prohibitive. I've almost been there in 2010. I had two 158 DGR flat stiff P PDs. When new they are too LSS but about one month in with the other made it almost straight enough and usable and i was fine with it for 3-4 months. But after that it became too flippy. The material wasn't durable enough for a flat disc. The disc held annies too long and the Jekyll/Hyde nature of flat low fade discs manifested itself. The difference between a flat shot, an anny that flexes to fade, flexes to flat and holds anny to the ground is around one degree for each stage. Too little margin of error for the flat ones.

Because i rarely need s-curves supplanting a flat PD with a domey new S PD doesn't help. I have the other flat P PD in new condition but with manufacturing differences making replacements hard to acquire locally and the short sweet spot IMO was a deal breaker. If there were more holes favoring the fade of the new PDs of P and S lines it would be a no brainer to carry it alongside the Leo/River/Beast/Nuke or King set. I don't play other courses than the local ones too often. Taking a PD for other courses is a good insurance so it's a backup disc.

Stalker Buzzz combo is an oddity and i don't know what Discraft was thinking of. Roc Stalker combo works way better with less overlap.

 

[JHern]

...the Stalker is a tweener between a mid and fairway driver as the PD is a tweener between fairway and distance drivers...

Yeah, we are in agreement. I usually consider "distance drivers" (e.g., Valkyrie, PD) to be in a different category than "wide-wing drivers" (Katana, Nuke, Halo, King, Rampage, etc.). This is just nomenclature, with no clear way to discern different categories (what's an Orc? Surge? Wraith? etc.).

The distance difference between the 2FR Buzzzes/Axis that I'm used to and the Stalker is minimal at best.

This is very true, but the difference is that the Stalker can do the same distance on a lower line, with slightly less effort, but requiring a tad more control. Still, the Buzzz prevails, IMVHO.

...i rarely need s-curves...If there were more holes favoring the fade...I don't play other courses than the local ones too often...

Willing to host you here in Santa Cruz if you ever come for vacation...would be fun to see your reaction to NorCal disc golf!

Stalker Buzzz combo is an oddity and i don't know what Discraft was thinking of. Roc Stalker combo works way better with less overlap.

Aftershock/Stalker or Buzzz/Cylone?

 

[JR]

Thanks for the offer. I've drooled about some of the videos i've seen from the courses around there. Aftershock Stalker would be fine other than in the tunnels because the Aftershock fades so much that you can't keep it in the fairway and for short distances the Stalker suffers from the same weakness. Buzzz/Cyclone should be fine but it also depends on what kind of Cyclone you have. For the most part Cyclones should work ok. I've had the worst luck with buying Cyclones. My ESP is a brick and useless at that and my two TPs are rollers from the get go. I have an ace with one of the TPs and i still don't like them. Too darn flippy.

 

[money 21]

I think the champ Gremlins pair really well with the stalker.

 

[himynameismatt]

Have had beautiful weather lately up in Oregon, haven't been posting here much, but this topic certainly has piqued my interest. The Stalker finds its way in and out of my bag a few times a year, but I think this time its stuck for good, here's why...

It truly is a specialty disc, the Stalker is simply meant to be thrown as an extension to the Buzzz. At my power level I throw my Buzzz's on 10-15ft high line drives out to 350' or so, I can push a Buzzz to 400' but it requires so much air and movement it's just not an effective golf shot for me when I can easily disc up to a PD and throw that same 10'-15' line drive out to 420'

Naturally because it's a specialty disc it ends up filling a very small and very distinct role in my bag a straight-flyer in the 350'-360' I don't think there's another disc to even compare it to it's a true hybrid. It pairs the HSS of a more stable driver, with the LSS of a neutral flying midrange.

When you compare it to TB's, P-PD's, and Eagle X's they all fade much more than a Stalker. A seasoned TB is probably the closest but at that point you won't have Stalker-like HSS. Eagle-L's, The Leo, FD don't have the same HSS while being close in terms of LSS.

I suggest everyone that's overlooked the Stalker at some point, like myself, revisit the mold use it to extend their distance on midrange type shots, as opposed to working it on a variety of of fairway lines. As long as you're throwing The Stalker in the right situations it really shines.

 

[Codester1011]

Whats the consensus on the Ti Stalkers? I'm finding my light blue 168 to be noticeably more lss than my z. I kinda like the long forward fade it has.

 

[JR]

I just saw your D in another thread and you have a little more than i do. I have a roughly similar weight good flat topped Z shaped like Stalker that is about Glo Z LSS. That is the fading kind wind beating kind. But possibly with a hair more HSS than the Glo Z that trumps the Z in winds. The Ti is great for high power shots. Powered down the fade can't be avoided so it is a good disc when the fade is needed. I have heard that there are less beefy Tis out there. I like mine as it is.

 

[Codester1011]

I have a glo z that is not as stable as usual, I like the way it pairs with my Ti, The glo just goes straight, pretty much until it lands. I tend to use it in the 300-350 ft range. I get the Ti similar distances, but I release it flat and aim a good 90 feet right of the basket. The curve it goes through is beautiful Room for both in my bag, but eh, I'm not as picky as I should be. I love the look of the Ti plastic too.