[Discraft] History of the ZONE

[Romans 5-8]

I'm always hesitant to start a new thread if there has been one covering the same thing. So I apologize in advance if this is a repeat, but I can't find any info on the general history of the zone.

CALLING ALL DISCRAFT EXPERTSopcorn:

I have recently fallen in love with the zone. They are the perfect upshot disc for me, forehand or backhand & have help my short game a lot. I have recently been hoarding them and had some questions. Questions like:

When did the zone come out?
What was the order of the plastic type released?
Are there proto/first run zones?
When are they going to make more limited edition zones?
How many of the "limited edition" discs were made?
Which colors are the hardest to find/most rare?
Is there a general agreement on the order of stability in plastic?
What top pros have the zone as a staple in their bag?

I know the answers to some of these questions might not be available. But these are the things I have been wondering of late, so I figured this would be a good place to ask.

 

[Ted Bratton]

When did the zone come out?
2008

What was the order of the plastic type released?
It appears the D and ESP were both released initially, then the limited runs later.

Are there proto/first run zones?
I think there are at least some first run marked D zones out there if not esp as well but they appear to be extremely rare. I'm not sure exactly how to identify the first runs.

When are they going to make more limited edition zones?
eh who knows

How many of the "limited edition" discs were made?
unsure, but there have been many different runs

Which colors are the hardest to find/most rare?
unsure

Is there a general agreement on the order of stability in plastic?
Most agree that the more puddle topped they are the higher the wing they have, and hence more overstable. I have seen different people have claim almost any and every different variation as the most overstable and/or most understable lol including ESP, Glo ESP, Cryztal, Cryztal FLX, Z, Big Z, etc. The opinions really vary widely. The most overstable I've thrown was Cryztal and it was ridiculous overstable. It was quite puddle topped from the start, which I think is the key factor.

What top pros have the zone as a staple in their bag?
I'm sure many. I saw a young up and coming sponsored pro throwing them at Texas Sates this spring. Sarah Hokom, Paige Pierce, Liz Dorries, Emac, and Cale famously did previously. MJ used to but he hasn't mentioned it in his bag in a long time. Nate Krahn loves it. Chris Hyzell who throws a lot of forehands and posts here loves them.

 

[cooter]

I'm trying to remember. It's been a while and the discs are long lost but I'm pretty sure that both Pro D and ESP first runs just said "first run" small under the word Discraft like they usually do.
It's a fantastic disc and the only disc that has never came out of my bag. It negated the need for an overstable mid in my bag because the distance potential goes right up to the Firebird. I've seen a lot of Innova only bags with a Zone in them. Give them some height and they crash in, bring them lower for a nice skip. In my opinion one of the best utility discs ever.

 

[Disc Golf Live]

The first ones were all black, our club in Ann Arbor received them from for our One Disc Challenge event, which was the traditional start-of-league event. (For many years we enjoyed new molds for this event, no longer the case since the Ace Race has become the new mold guinea pig.) I believe they had a generic Discraft stamp on them. Very hard to find. And easy to lose. Subsequent runs were more colorful. Early D pressings were very stable, that is not the case any longer from my experience. Be sure to give them a try as rollers.

 

[tbird888]

They were released in Pro D with the team stamp but also for another tourney that I believe was in Texas. I don't have one of the team stamps, but I have a couple with the event stamp, and they're both marked with a Prototype stamp similar to their Misprint stamp.

I would mirror DGL's statement above about the early Pro Ds. They were extremely concave and quite durable for being Discraft's lowest grade plastic. My first one lasted for several years before it started to turn. I will disagree about the new ones being rollers, but they certainly aren't the incredibly beefcakes the early runs were.

There were also full color ESPs for the 2008 Worlds.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

250 of these...?

http://www.discgolfscene.com/tradin...x-zone-only-250-of-these-bad-boys-made-tossed

 

[Broken Shoulder]

I'm no expert on Discraft plastic by any means, so I was curious how I would identify the plastic type on this particular Zone. Cryztal, Z, Big Z...? There is nothing stamped in the rim. Part two of that question would be: how widely available are these outside of ESP or baseline? I think I like this more champion-esque version a bit better than my ESPs.

 

[tbird888]

That looks like Big Z. Are you sure "Zone" isn't tooled in the rim?

 

[Broken Shoulder]

Yes, my apologies, there is tooling but nothing that stood out to me as a plastic designation. It's "ZONE" though, in all caps.

 

[tbird888]

I would definitely say that's a Big Z then. Great blend of plastic and uber-beef from what I've heard. I picked up one recently but haven't had a chance to throw it yet. Around the time of the Glow ESP release, that ZONE tooling appeared, along with what looks like a new top. The Big Z I have doesn't have the same markings so it may be the older top.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

Interesting, and you made me pull my ESPs out. One has the same tooling as the big z, but one has nothing. No tooling at all stamped anywhere.

The big z is a little beefier than my ESPs. The ESPs are just flat, where the z actually slopes down a bit from the shoulder, before rising a bit to a bubble in the middle. It's slight, but it's there.

 

[tbird888]

Interesting, and you made me pull my ESPs out. One has the same tooling as the big z, but one has nothing. No tooling at all stamped anywhere.

The big z is a little beefier than my ESPs. The ESPs are just flat, where the z actually slopes down a bit from the shoulder, before rising a bit to a bubble in the middle. It's slight, but it's there.

I have found that, no matter the plastic, the concave Zones are the beefiest. My first Pro-D was beefier than all but the premium plastic concaves.

 

[teemkey]

I'm no expert on Discraft plastic by any means, so I was curious how I would identify the plastic type on this particular Zone. Cryztal, Z, Big Z...? There is nothing stamped in the rim. Part two of that question would be: how widely available are these outside of ESP or baseline? I think I like this more champion-esque version a bit better than my ESPs.

That might be a hybrid. I have a peach one with the same team stamp. I asked the Discraft folks about it when I was at Am Worlds this summer, and it's a blend of ESP & Z plastic.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

That might be a hybrid. I have a peach one with the same team stamp. I asked the Discraft folks about it when I was at Am Worlds this summer, and it's a blend of ESP & Z plastic.

Maybe you're on to something there, since I got it at the Flymart at the Clarion.

 

[Romans 5-8]

Thx guys, keep it coming. Zone love bump

 

[tbird888]

When I can get to my Photobucket account and have some motivation, I'll post some pics.

 

[Romans 5-8]

When I can get to my Photobucket account and have some motivation, I'll post some pics.

We don't want to see pictures of your massive collection, so we can envy you. Okay, nevermind, it's fine......please.

As long as it isn't pics of you rolling around on a bed of zones.

 

[tbird888]

I sold off most of the plastics I don't throw so it's not that impressive of a collection anymore. I was planning to only post pics of the protos.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

We don't want to see pictures of your massive collection, so we can envy you. Okay, nevermind, it's fine......please.

As long as it isn't pics of you rolling around on a bed of zones.

Don't go speaking for the whole group now.



You also put Bon Jovi in my head. Ugh.
Maybe I'll throw mine on my bed and serenade my fiancé tonight. "I wanna lay you down on a bed of Zo-oooones..."

 

[Kodachrome]

I sold off most of the plastics I don't throw so it's not that impressive of a collection anymore. I was planning to only post pics of the protos.

OH IT'S NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE, I ONLY OWN PROTOS