The Battle for Brodysseus's Bag

[Brodysseus]

Vitals:
Years playing/experience: 3 years casually (a few times a month in the summer), 1 year serious (3-5+ rounds a week)
Right/left-handed/ambidextrous: right-handed
Throwing Style: RHBH, FH for short approaches/recoveries
Golf Distance (avg/max*) for putter/mid/driver: Putter: 200/225'; Mid: 225'/275', Fairway: 275'/325'


Optional:
Age: 24
Sex: M
Injuries/handicaps?: Bad back and ankle (previous sports injuries). They are healed up but I need to be careful not to tweak them, especially my back. So I worry more about throwing smooth than far.
Other sport proficiencies?: Baseball, Hockey, Golf

What do you like/dislike about your current bag?: I've been using an all Vibram bag since this fall. I don't really have any complaints, but it was definitely missing an overstable fairway, overstable distance, and understable mid. Also, it just really seems like a disservice to myself to not at least try to throw a mixed bag.

Specific areas of desired feedback: I want to cut this group of discs down to 15-16 discs (what I like carrying in my Fade Tourney) and still cover all the shots I need on the course. Help me!

Immediate and long-term goals: Short term- Build the best bag I can to consistently cover shots and distances in my comfort zone. Long term- Become more consistent and accurate and eventually add some repeatable distance.


Bag:

Distance Drivers (weight/plastic/model/(condition)/use(1-5 familiarity with disc, 5 being most familiar):
167 Medium Lace, (slightly used)- Primary distance, but usually doesn't fly better or longer than my fairways. (3/5)
170 Prototype (US version) Lace, (slightly used)- Tailwind drives, starting to dial it in as a BH roller. (4/5)
175 C-PD, (new)- Headwind driver. Very new to my bag but I have been looking for a disc to cut through the wind and fly straight and long... I think this is it. (1/5)
175 Champion Firebird, (used but not beat)- Headwind/hyzer disc. Good for OH and flick recoveries. I think there is a place for this and the PD in my bag. (2/5)

Fairway Drivers-
175 Champion Teebird, (new)- Stable control driver. I'm really starting to like this disc and it's reliability in all wind conditions. (2/5)
175 Medium Ascent, (used)- Stable control driver. I love this disc, but it flies a lot shorter than the Teebird.
169 Medium Ascent, (used)- Stable control driver. This is my safety blanket. It does not fly too long for me, but it's predictable. In my bag tests it has found a spot bridging the gap between mids and drivers. It's gonna get bagged for sure. (5/5)
175 Champion TL+, (slightly used)- Stable/Neutral Control Driver. This is the more stable counterpart of my Star TL. (3/5)
175 Star TL, (slightly used)- Neutral Control Driver. This is my most consistent disc and usually my longest. It's already made the final bag. (4/5)
175 Firm Trak, (used)- Neutral Control Driver. I really wanted to love the Trak but it was always more stable than I wanted and shorter too. It is very predictable though. (4/5)
159 Firm Trak, (slightly used)- Tailwind Control Driver. This is domier and more stable than I wanted but it still rides a tailwind well. (3/5)
167 Champ Leopard, (new-ish)- Understable Control. A little too OS in Champ I think. My least favorite of my Leopards. (3/5)
175 Echostar Leopard, (slightly used)- Understable Control. Just bought this off someone in my local club. Hoping it will hold the hyzer flip to straight woods driver longer than my DX leopards can. (1/5)
175 DX Leopards (2, one is worn, one is beat)- Finesse disc. Great in the woods and the beat one is an awesome roller. Both are great for hyzer flipped turnovers. (5/5)

Mids:
175 Star Gator, (new)- I've never really been sold on Gators but it is still the best non-glidey, overstable midrange I've ever thrown. (3/5)
180 Champion Roc3, (new)- OS/Stable midrange. I've never been much of a Roc guy but am digging the Roc3; it's reliably straight, even into a wind and has a great predictable fade. (2/5)
178 Medium Obex, (slightly used)- Stable midrange. It flies straight but never was quite overstable enough to hold up in the wind like I would like... I think the Roc3 knocked this one out probably. (4/5)
178 Medium Ibex, (slightly used)- Stable midrange. Holds a line great but always bites harder than I would expect... And despite this, it does not hold up well in the wind. (4/5)
169 Medium Ibex, (used)- Workhorse/neutral midrange. I can put this on just about any line I want, but it is shorter than comparable mids and it's really squirrelly in the wind. (5/5)
164 Soft Ibex, (new-ish)- Great for very specific situations but usually is just filler in my bag. (4/5)
??? ESP Buzz, (slightly used)- Neutral midrange. I found this and never heard back from the owner so I started throwing it. It is LONG for a midrange and is pretty shapeable. Haven't really gotten to throw it in windy situations though. (1/5)
180 Star Mako, (used)- Neutral/Finesse mid. Holds whatever angle I release it on but it's very short... Flies a lot like a putter for me. (4/5)
175 Z Comet, (new-ish)- Finesse mid. I'm pretty new to Comets but once I got this dialed in... It's freaking awesome. Extremely controllable and shapeable and the glide is crazy. It doesn't hold up well in the wind, but I didn't expect it to. (3/5)

Putters:
173 Firm VP x2- My primary and back up putter. This slot is on lockdown, I ADORE my VPs. (5/5)
170 Soft VP- Primary approach disc, this disc is also a lock. (5/5)
173 Firm Ridge- Stable Driving Putter. I like this disc but I can probably cover what it does with my beat VP. (4/5)
173 Firm Summit- Finesse putter. It's not always in my bag but I love this disc in the woods. Have also recently had success putting with a tailwind, so it's been in the bag more often and I'd be fine with it being a permanent fixture. (4/5)

 

[lowracks]

You have a lot of overlap at Mid and Fairway.

Pick between:

Comet and Mako (choose 1)
Ibex and Buzzz (choose 1)
Roc and Obex (choose 1)

Ideally, you could do with just a Buzzz or Roc. I've thrown the Ibex a good deal, and while I love the way they fly, they get flippy really fast. You could keep your vibram by going Ibex and Obex. I don't know how long the Obex will stay moderately overstable.

Pick one between:

Trak, Leopard, TL (choose 1)
Teebird and Ascent (choose 1)

Ideally, you could just go with a teebird.

I'm a minimalist, and prefer to not have too many different disc options for a particular shot. I don't want to already be second guessing myself before I get to the tee. By just picking one of the choices you could cut a lot of molds out of your bag, and force yourself to shape more lines.

Good luck!

 

[jdw80550]

Bag:

Distance Drivers (weight/plastic/model/(condition)/use(1-5 familiarity with disc, 5 being most familiar):

167 Medium Lace, (slightly used)- Primary distance, but usually doesn't fly better or longer than my fairways. (3/5)
170 Prototype (US version) Lace, (slightly used)- Tailwind drives, starting to dial it in as a BH roller. (4/5)
175 C-PD, (new)- Headwind driver. Very new to my bag but I have been looking for a disc to cut through the wind and fly straight and long... I think this is it. (1/5)


Fairway Drivers-
175 Champion Firebird, (used but not beat)- Headwind/hyzer disc. Good for OH and flick recoveries. I think there is a place for this and the PD in my bag. (2/5)
175 Medium Ascent, (used)- Stable control driver. I love this disc, but it flies a lot shorter than the Teebird.
169 Medium Ascent, (used)- Stable control driver. This is my safety blanket. It does not fly too long for me, but it's predictable. In my bag tests it has found a spot bridging the gap between mids and drivers. It's gonna get bagged for sure. (5/5)
175 Champion TL+, (slightly used)- Stable/Neutral Control Driver. This is the more stable counterpart of my Star TL. (3/5)
175 Star TL, (slightly used)- Neutral Control Driver. This is my most consistent disc and usually my longest. It's already made the final bag. (4/5)
175 DX Leopards (2, one is worn, one is beat)- Finesse disc. Great in the woods and the beat one is an awesome roller. Both are great for hyzer flipped turnovers. (5/5)

Mids:
175 Star Gator, (new)- I've never really been sold on Gators but it is still the best non-glidey, overstable midrange I've ever thrown. (3/5)
180 Champion Roc3, (new)- OS/Stable midrange. I've never been much of a Roc guy but am digging the Roc3; it's reliably straight, even into a wind and has a great predictable fade. (2/5)
??? ESP Buzz, (slightly used)- Neutral midrange. I found this and never heard back from the owner so I started throwing it. It is LONG for a midrange and is pretty shapeable. Haven't really gotten to throw it in windy situations though. (1/5)
175 Z Comet, (new-ish)- Finesse mid. I'm pretty new to Comets but once I got this dialed in... It's freaking awesome. Extremely controllable and shapeable and the glide is crazy. It doesn't hold up well in the wind, but I didn't expect it to. (3/5)

Putters:
173 Firm VP x2- My primary and back up putter. This slot is on lockdown, I ADORE my VPs. (5/5)
170 Soft VP- Primary approach disc, this disc is also a lock. (5/5)
173 Firm Summit- Finesse putter. It's not always in my bag but I love this disc in the woods. Have also recently had success putting with a tailwind, so it's been in the bag more often and I'd be fine with it being a permanent fixture. (4/5)

The biggest area I see overlap to go with love of a disc is the Fairways. I would suggest you throw the Ascent and TLs as your primary, helps to limit too many choices.

Between the Firebird and the Leopards you have the OS and US Fairway section covered.

The PD will be the OS distance disc you're hoping it will be. It's not fancy, but predictable and consistent.

I would suggest using the Roc3 and Buzzz to cover most of your shots, and honestly picking one and getting a couple in different weights and or plastic.

The Comet will cover your neutral and US lines.

I was never sold on the Gator. I prefer to have the Zone for that shot, plus it's rim is going to feel closer to Vibram putters.

That puts you at about your 15-18 mark. I wasn't real sure how sold you were with the Ibex.

 

[Brodysseus]

Thanks for the comments!

.

I understand/appreciate minimalism and do want to keep a simpler bag. For the longest time the most molds I'd carry for specific distances (putter, midrange, fairway, distance) was 2. However, I'm starting to prefer some specialty discs (very OS mid or Fairway, finesse approach, BH roller) for some slots. Yes, I can make all the shots I need with 3-4 molds, but if a specific mold/disc makes certain shots much easier, I'm starting to think I'll bag it.

That being said, I DO have a ton of overlap in the core of my bag. And that's the main reason I'm doing this, to test out some of the more popular "core" molds and make sure the heart of my bag is as solid and as comfortable as can be for me. And even if I do have a few speciality molds, I do really want to keep my overall disc count down.

.

That bag is extremely close to the bag I'm going to use this weekend in an unsanctioned club tourney:
Lace x2, PD
Ascent x2, Star TL, Star Leopard, Beat DX Leopard
Gator, Obex, Ibex x2 (169 and the soft)
VP x3, Summit

I'm still going to keep testing, at least through April. But that is basically my fall/winter bag, but addresses the main problems I had with it:
1. No headwind driver or mid. (The PD and Gator should fill those voids nicely. In regards to the Zone, I liked them when I tested them out a while back. But they didn't seem longer than my VPs and a Gator does. I love my VPs... All I want for this slot is a ~50' longer VP and it seems to me the Gator is the closest thing on the market.
2. No turnover/finesse disc. (The Leopards cover this and is just slightly faster than a midrange, so I think between the beat DX and my Summit, I can cover the US mid role)
3. I was never really pleased with Trak as my stable/neutral control driver. (The Star TL flies straighter and longer for me on a good rip and holds lines more consistently.

But I really want to give the Teebird, Roc3, and Comet a chance (outside of competition involving money) to make the bag, even if it's mainly because of their reputations. I mean, I have liked them, but I throw discs that do very similar things (except maybe the Comet) and I'm much more familiar/comfortable with... But I still want to give them a chance.

 

[jdw80550]

I would suggest setting up a smaller bag that is just for tester discs that you want to try and get familiar with. This lets you try new discs without screwing up your current bag.

I have no doubt that you will like the Teebird and the Roc3, the only question is: what will they do that you don't already have covered.

The Comet is going to be one of those discs, where once you learn it (it takes practice, don't put it in the bag till your confident in it) that will give you amazing shots and will do more than you think it can. Plus it's great to clean your form up with, even it doesn't make the bag.

Other than that you look like your in pretty good shape.

 

[Brodysseus]

I've been doing test rounds with my Nutsac. And the only familiar mold I've been carrying for those rounds is my main putting VP.

 

[Monkeypaws]

I throw the Buzzz quite as bit, and it does have a lot of similarities to the Ibex. The are both easy to control, and I get similar distance out of them. I think the Buzzz is a tick more stable though, as I get straight finishes out of the Ibex, which I like, and fade at the end of the Buzzz. The Buzzz seems a bit better in wind as well. I also can't throw an anny with a Buzzz, which I can with an Ibex.

I could see them coexisting, but there is a lot of overlap. I've been testing the Warship as well, and that shares a lot of the same characteristics, with more distance.

It's a fun problem to have.

 

[Brodysseus]

It's a fun problem to have.

It sure is! :thmbup:
And I've got a Shark3 coming to add into the mix! Even more tinkering and testing fun!

 

[Brodysseus]

Also, I've been thinking about doing a trial by fire test this weekend, instead of my more familiar bag. It's only a $10 buy in. Even if I don't, here's the bag I'm going to use at my Friday morning bag tag challenges for a few weeks:

PD, Tern (Star Tern I ordered through the club, should be here soon)
Teebird, TLx2, Leopards
Gator, Roc3, Shark3 (also on it's way), Comet
VP x3

This is basically what I've been taking out this month (minus the new and incoming discs), when I decide to do a full bag casual round, instead of a Nutsac round.

 

[Scouser17]

I love buzzes and you might also try a warship from westide, great disc