[Gateway] Why does majority Dg-er's dislike gateway discs?

[remember2morrow]

I agree, Innova is like Nike, Discraft is like Adidas & Gateway is like Starter or Fila.

LOL, does that make Prodigy Under Armor? I think Gateway makes good products. Players are so easily influenced by Pros. That's why Prodigy has been able to gain so much ground so fast. If Gateway would've gone out and paid all of those big names, it would've made a big difference in the way they are perceived. Sad but true.

 

[Kodachrome]

mmm. i don't think those big names would sign with a company unless they wanted to throw the products.

i don't think gateway is in a position to make deals like that.

don't get me wrong - obviously the athletes don't have THAT much pull . . . but i don't think gateway does either.

i also think most of us would wonder why they signed, since all of us already know about gateway.

 

[DISCenchanted]

I think it's mostly just trying to get word out and exposure, we started working with Gateway because they have cheap packages for tourney discs and people are loving the putters once they actually get a chance to handle some. I also have tried the Karma (like the nice stability that's in between between a Buzzz and Roc) and Slayer (they go a long way, very underrated max distance driver) and was quite pleased with them.

The issue with Gateway isn't their molds. They have some great mids like the Element and Warrior and some of their drivers aren't bad either. The issue has always been with their plastics.

 

[DiscinFiend]

Yes Latitude is like Puma & Prodigy is like Under Armour I guess. What is MVP? opcorn:

Yep! And Lightening is like K Swiss.......reliable but only old guys use them.

LOL, does that make Prodigy Under Armor?

I posted that Prodigy is like Under Armour earlier in this thread. Glad I'm not the only person who thinks so

 

[Monkeypaws]

And Wham-O would be Converse high-tops.

 

[Exovel]

...
That statement holds just as much weight as this one :
Their non-putter discs are very good and revolutionary.

Awesome.

As for me, I'm originally from STL, so probably a bit more familiar with the company than the average DG'er.

But I think underrated is really the most accurate term here. The company is definitely accessible and helpful. As an example, I found a Gateway disc on a course, it didn't have any ink, so I threw it a bit as I kept playing. By the end, I loved the disc, but I had no idea what it was... it was tourney stamped. So I called up Gateway, texted them some pictures of the profile and such, and they gave me the name of the disc. I thought that was really awesome of them. And that kind of help doesn't come with every company.

I've used a lot of their discs. I see the lack of "sexiness" with their molds. The plastics can be a bit bland looking and the mold names don't really jump out at you... but they're great in the air. They do the job that they're intended to do. That's the main goal of any mold, right?

 

[jrawk]

what really turned me off about gateway:

1) going to tournaments and getting Wizards in player packs marked 174g (legal max weight), then putting it on my own scale and seeing 177-181g (not legal weights). That there was evidence to me of poor quality control, dishonesty, and no respect for sanctioned rules and guidelines.

2) the highly anticipated release of the Ninja and how gateway hyped that disc as the longest driver ever, even for beginners -- only to find out a few weeks ahead of time that the rim width was not a sanctioned legal rim width and the disc was a complete POS.

 

[StevieWraithVaughan]

I was given a gateway putter about a decade ago by someone who said he was the owner from STL. I was not a fan and it didn't take me long to give it away. Never tried them since and don't know anyone who uses them.

 

[mashnut]

The issue with Gateway isn't their molds. They have some great mids like the Element and Warrior and some of their drivers aren't bad either. The issue has always been with their plastics.

Really? Because in putters I love the feel of gateway plastics, and many of the people I know who throw gateway love them for the grippiness they get out of the S line.

I was given a gateway putter about a decade ago by someone who said he was the owner from STL. I was not a fan and it didn't take me long to give it away. Never tried them since and don't know anyone who uses them.

If you're playing in Chicago, there are a ton of players who putt with wizards or magics.

 

[DISCenchanted]

Really? Because in putters I love the feel of gateway plastics, and many of the people I know who throw gateway love them for the grippiness they get out of the S line.



If you're playing in Chicago, there are a ton of players who putt with wizards or magics.

You must have missed my previous post. I noted that the inconsistencies in Gateway's plastic can be a plus with putters, because you can find just the right consistency. I've putted with Wizards for years...

 

[mashnut]

You must have missed my previous post. I noted that the inconsistencies in Gateway's plastic can be a plus with putters, because you can find just the right consistency. I've putted with Wizards for years...

Gotcha, I did miss that post.

 

[bikinjack]

Once upon a time, I was trying to build a stash of S Warriors, so I could do the cycle thing with them, the way many folks do with Rocs. I gave up on the idea after going to the Flymart at World's and buying every Warrior that was there for sale. All one of them. I even asked Dave Mac about them, and all I got was a shifty non answer which made it clear to me that they weren't too concerned at the time about whether they ever made or sold another Warrior. I put a Roc in my bag the next day.

I'll probably throw Wizards as long as I play disc golf. I've built up enough of a stash of those at this point that I'll probably never run out.

 

[jenb]

I've thrown a bit of their stuff.

The Apache is nice.I liked the Samurai. Element is Comet like in a way so it's pretty cool. My Favorite was the Warrior. It had just the right amount of overstableness to it.

Putters are awesome by the way. I like my Nikko inspired Voodoo's the best. :thmbup:

Agree the Apache and Warrior deserve more attention.

 

[Druid]

The Demon is a great OS mid, and the Slayer is a solid high speed driver. I think they just don't look as sexy as some other discs. I'm guessing I they invested a ton of money into gathering the best players in the world like some other company...there would be a lot more love shown for their products. Having almost no marketing isn't the best business strategy. They sell a lot of putters though, so it probably doesn't matter to them.

 

[captain jack]

Too many pages for my short attention span disorder to read.
Thanks internet ! :hfive:

Gateway was always associated with Quest.
Gateway made putters people liked.
Quest made strange discs, with dimples, and wait, what, overmolds ?

So there's your answer. Stupid super soft good, dimply Inferno bad.

 

[Discblaster]

I dislike Gateway because they have never given me any free stuff!

 

[Three Putt]

I don't mind Gateway. I haven't received a hate message from Davey Mac in a while, so I'll go ahead and say something that he will misunderstand if he sees it.

My daughter was throwing an Element yesterday and a guy on our card laughed about it; to him an Element is junk. There was a run of Elements a number of years ago (2005? 2006?) in the Evolution Pro Line plastic that were blood red, stable and awesome. I threw them. A bunch of guys I knew threw them.

After some time after those were out I ran into a guy I knew that was Gateway sponsored. I knew he threw those blood red Elements, but he didn't have any in his bag. He said he was out, beat up his last one and couldn't find anything that flew anywhere close to the old blood red ones. This was before the mixed bag goofiness, so he had to throw Gateway. He had no mid. He was throwing Wizards for his shorter mid shots and Sabres for his longer mid shots.

There just seemed to be too many of those types of things. Blood red Elements, baby blue Illusions, white first run Infernos...there always seemed to be one certain run that you had to have, one run that was better than the rest. Gateway was for the advanced disc geek. You had to know what a really stable Spirit looked like before you bought a Spirit because they all were not that beefy. Even if you did know what you were looking for, you might not be able to find it.

The putters are not immune. There was about a year of crap Wizards with high shoulders that just were not as stable as a Wizard should be. You could avoid them if you knew what you were looking for, but you had to know what you were looking for. Most disc golfers don't.

So can Gateway make great discs? Sure. They have in the past. Probably will again. The problem is that they never seem to learn what they are doing right so they can duplicate it. They could never make any more baby blue Illusions; if they could they would have sold them. They never could make any more blood red Elements.

The old joke was if you found a Gateway disc you liked, buy a stack because you might never see them again. It's too close to the truth to be a joke, though.

I'd love to see that company become more consistent and really make it. I'm not holding my breath.