Introducing SD, Salient Discs

[smyith]

Look at Innova - for all the inane railings by people on here about their so-called "inconsistency," they still rule the market because you can get their products anywhere.

Salient will live or die purely by the number of discs they can get into people's hands at an affordable price, regardless of how consistent or not they end up being.

stop comparing everyone to innova and discraft. thats what happens when you are there essentially from the start. you get to be the big dog until everyone catches up. and realistically you cant compare Lat64 either, the reason they gained such a strong foot hold is because they emerged eight when European DG was blooming, and being a eurpean manufacturer in europe is just like being a us company in the usa.
Gateway is your comparison company. i see their product in gas stations everywhere. they aren't a big player anymore in DG, and besides a few putters they increasingly irrelevant. It sucks but its true. i have my guess to their lack luster.

 

[onemilemore]

stop comparing everyone to innova and discraft. thats what happens when you are there essentially from the start. you get to be the big dog until everyone catches up. and realistically you cant compare Lat64 either, the reason they gained such a strong foot hold is because they emerged eight when European DG was blooming, and being a eurpean manufacturer in europe is just like being a us company in the usa.
Gateway is your comparison company. i see their product in gas stations everywhere. they aren't a big player anymore in DG, and besides a few putters they increasingly irrelevant. It sucks but its true. i have my guess to their lack luster.

What's the point in not comparing an up-and-coming manufacturer to the top dogs? Isn't that what they are shooting for?

You said everyone on here complains about inconsistency. I'd estimate that 90% of those complaints are about Innova's inconsistency, not Gateway's. So I am not really sure where you are going with this. Salient will be more consistent than Gateway? OK. So where does that put them in the market after that?

My point is, if you are catering to the DGCR market who wants a consistent product, I don't think that is necessarily a business plan that will breed longevity. I'd be happy to be wrong, though, when all is said and done.

 

[HeavyCritters]

"People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it."

I've got the 'what' from SD (discs, shoes, bags, total and complete awesomeness, etc.), what I don't have is the 'why'. What's the underlying passion (especially for the shoes)?

And 'to revolutionize the sport' doesn't count. Everyone says that.

 

[smarkquart]

"People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it."

I've got the 'what' from SD (discs, shoes, bags, total and complete awesomeness, etc.), what I don't have is the 'why'. What's the underlying passion (especially for the shoes)?

And 'to revolutionize the sport' doesn't count. Everyone says that.

The why is basically we are creatures that like glittery new things. Innova and Discraft is pretty well played out. They will continue to do well because of volume and name recognition, but they only make waves when they introduce something big like Blizzard or Ti. And even then they are only waves that eventually dissipate.

Until SD has a near complete lineup, they can only go upwards. Results will eventually speak for themselves, but for the time being people want to be in on the ground floor just in case this turns out to be something revolutionary and not just a wave.

 

[Titan037]

"People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it."

I've got the 'what' from SD (discs, shoes, bags, total and complete awesomeness, etc.), what I don't have is the 'why'. What's the underlying passion (especially for the shoes)?

And 'to revolutionize the sport' doesn't count. Everyone says that.

To answer your question, you would have to know Chris decently well. The why lies behind his passion for the game and the passion to contribute to it. He is doing it the best way he can. By offering DG specific shoes, Discs that can hopefully fill some slots in bags, and high quality bags rapidly expanding in size, features and budgets.

 

[smyith]

What's the point in not comparing an up-and-coming manufacturer to the top dogs? Isn't that what they are shooting for?

if you can't use common sense to see why comparing SD to Innova/Discraft/Lat64 is not an accurate way to compare, then you shouldn't be commenting.

You said everyone on here complains about inconsistency. I'd estimate that 90% of those complaints are about Innova's inconsistency, not Gateway's. So I am not really sure where you are going with this. Salient will be more consistent than Gateway? OK. So where does that put them in the market after that?

*I never said anything about Gateway being inconsistent
Innova has been around like 30 years and owns the patents to beveled edge discs. Oh and let's not forget that it makes discs for 2 other companies. Yup thats a good company to compare a start-up to.
Discraft rules the Frisbee market, is the second biggest manufacturer of discs and not to mention has been around 35 years. Yup good comparison as well....
Lat64 was the first DG manu in Europe. Immediately gains a strong foothold because of them being in Europe and just like Americans, Europeans buy European products. On top of that they are molding discs for 2 other companies.
Now why is Gateway a better comparisson?
Smaller company trying to gain ground in US where the two most dominant players are located. Tried to mold for another company, Quest AT, but didn't really go to well, thanks PDGA for hating. Has a decent representation in gas stations and is a well known brand name even among chuckers(at least in the Midwest). And at one point was a major player in DG, and really changed the base plastic world for discs. And they have only existed for like 10 years or so.
What is SD, a smaller company starting up in the US to compete against the duo. They don't have a "nationalist" base to pull from immediately, and they haven't existed for 30 some years. So that leaves Gateway as the best comparison. They have been around long enough to establish an impression and provide us with a model for what it takes to become successful in the same market as the duo.

My point is, if you are catering to the DGCR market who wants a consistent product, I don't think that is necessarily a business plan that will breed longevity. I'd be happy to be wrong, though, when all is said and done.

once again, you have zero clue what you are talking about. catering to consistency caters to the entire competitive player market. that is not just pDGA members, that includes leaguers and casuals (true rec players). and the non-pDGA member competitive players far out weigh the pDGA members. And the market I would be after the most personally.
as well, having standard manufacturing process also does more than consistency. It saves waste, and thats where the real $$ come in for the company.

 

[Mike C]

Wow, this post is even less funny than nolantardy's moronic contributions. I guess I forgot that the hype for Prodigy was that they'd change the game by producing overweight, oval shaped discs that fade at the thought of spending time in the sun. My bad. My attitude on Salient is the same as it was on Prodigy. Wait and see. Prodigy has (imho) been a major letdown so far. It sounds like Salient may go the other way and be impressive. I certainly hope so, just like I wanted Prodigy to be a winner. The more good discs out there the better it is for us all.

I'm hardly a Prodigy fanboy *points to sig* but I've both been impressed with their plastic and the flight of all of their discs. Every company has some hiccups starting out or producing first runs, and they seem to be straight forward with their mistakes such as renaming the M3.

So far I've tried every driver and the M3(M2 now) and M4. I could easily switch to their drivers for my distance game, and would of bagged the M3 if the Tensor didn't come out. The M4 is really nice too butdoesn't fit my bag.

 

[onemilemore]

if you can't use common sense to see why comparing SD to Innova/Discraft/Lat64 is not an accurate way to compare, then you shouldn't be commenting.

*I never said anything about Gateway being inconsistent
Innova has been around like 30 years and owns the patents to beveled edge discs. Oh and let's not forget that it makes discs for 2 other companies. Yup thats a good company to compare a start-up to.
Discraft rules the Frisbee market, is the second biggest manufacturer of discs and not to mention has been around 35 years. Yup good comparison as well....
Lat64 was the first DG manu in Europe. Immediately gains a strong foothold because of them being in Europe and just like Americans, Europeans buy European products. On top of that they are molding discs for 2 other companies.
Now why is Gateway a better comparisson?
Smaller company trying to gain ground in US where the two most dominant players are located. Tried to mold for another company, Quest AT, but didn't really go to well, thanks PDGA for hating. Has a decent representation in gas stations and is a well known brand name even among chuckers(at least in the Midwest). And at one point was a major player in DG, and really changed the base plastic world for discs. And they have only existed for like 10 years or so.
What is SD, a smaller company starting up in the US to compete against the duo. They don't have a "nationalist" base to pull from immediately, and they haven't existed for 30 some years. So that leaves Gateway as the best comparison. They have been around long enough to establish an impression and provide us with a model for what it takes to become successful in the same market as the duo.

once again, you have zero clue what you are talking about. catering to consistency caters to the entire competitive player market. that is not just pDGA members, that includes leaguers and casuals (true rec players). and the non-pDGA member competitive players far out weigh the pDGA members. And the market I would be after the most personally.
as well, having standard manufacturing process also does more than consistency. It saves waste, and thats where the real $$ come in for the company.

Rather than continue to bang my head against the wall with someone who clearly gets very aggressive and likes to talk down to people (apparently I have zero clue what I am talking about, even though you seem to think the competitive market is larger than the recreational market and Walmart would probably beg to differ), I will just say this: You are harboring a lot of anger for someone's whose team is in the NHL finals. Breathe.

 

[Monkeypaws]

Wow, I thought I was in the UB thread. Same argument on 2 forums?

Grab a brew and chill It's only disc golf. 50 years from now, who will care?

 

[kilgus]

"People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it."

I've got the 'what' from SD (discs, shoes, bags, total and complete awesomeness, etc.), what I don't have is the 'why'. What's the underlying passion (especially for the shoes)?

And 'to revolutionize the sport' doesn't count. Everyone says that.

I would be glad to answer your question and tell you that I am an advocate for disc golf and have played the game and been a PDGA member for over 10 years and Salient Discs was developed simply to give players some really cool discs, shoes, bags etc to use while playing.

The consistency, engineering and all the other portions that we have used to get Salient started is a result of our educational backgrounds and goes hand in hand with trying to make the best possible products.

We fully don't expect to compete in quantity with the "big boys" but we do expect to compete in quality while adding a few new things to the market. Hopefully many players, retailers and fellow disc golf brothers/sisters will see all of these things as a positive. In closing we feel at Salient Discs that if we can offer something a little new and different with some simple tweaks and a little extra investment on our end that we can make a premium disc golf brand that everyone can enjoy.

check us out on Facebook or twitter at Salient Disc Golf. Our website will be up and live when we make our official announcement.

Below is a pic of one of our upcoming releases:

 

[Halcón]

That's a big ol' rim. Plastic looks nice though.

 

[jimbosprint]

I hope I'm still on that testers list.

 

[smarkquart]

Salient Discs was developed simply to give players some really cool discs, shoes, bags etc to use while playing.

That says it all right there. If I had a nickle for every time someone asked what I was throwing based upon how it flew or how it looked in my hand, well... I would have at least enough to take my family out for dinner.

As for bags, I cannot explain why but I have a fetish for bags that are for disc golf or could be converted into one, and it is worse than any obsession my wife has in purses. Right now I rock a white Carolina and an Upper Parks Shift. If you can come up with a better way to carry discs and be it more convenient at a price I am willing to pay, all power to you. I will support you.

As for shoes, I am heading to Target or Payless at least two to three times a year looking for a new pair. The last time I spent any considerable money on shoes, they lasted barely over a year.

As someone mentioned early, the big two already have 30 years or so of experience. How can you compete with that? You cannot, at least you cannot for a number of years until the 30 year difference is an insignificant number. Get back to me in 10 years or so when a new crop of up and coming players have been around only long enough to have always had a full SD lineup at their disposal and have known nothing else. Then we can talk about whether SD's business strategy should compete directly with the big two.

For now, if they are quality products that fly great, I will give them a try. I cannot wait until they can get a nuclear-waste yellow or chartreuse one in my hands. Nothing looks better in the snow or low light than translucent discs in those colors.

 

[onemilemore]

As someone mentioned early, the big two already have 30 years or so of experience. How can you compete with that? You cannot, at least you cannot for a number of years until the 30 year difference is an insignificant number. Get back to me in 10 years or so when a new crop of up and coming players have been around only long enough to have always had a full SD lineup at their disposal and have known nothing else. Then we can talk about whether SD's business strategy should compete directly with the big two.

For now, if they are quality products that fly great, I will give them a try. I cannot wait until they can get a nuclear-waste yellow or chartreuse one in my hands. Nothing looks better in the snow or low light than translucent discs in those colors.

These are both really good points that I agree with and was not considering well enough earlier when bickering with another user, so I should apologize to the SD crew. I may not agree with how a business decides to do things (and really, will anyone agree with every business? No.), but I wholeheartedly appreciate anyone who is putting their passion into this sport and bringing more of it to people.

The fact of the matter is, regardless of how much a company advertises or publicizes or notarizes (TacoCorp, anyone?), the product will speak for itself. If Salient Discs fly well, they'll sell well. And I hope they do, because it is always fun to throw more plastic.

Also, color me intrigued by a wide-rimmed driver already down into the 150s...

 

[Moonshine]

Looks nice man, keep it up!

 

[SteezeOG]

Any of you haters are dumb.

I think the three free disc giveaway to superfans of the magic discs is over.



You can try to insult anyone with a differing opinion of an unreleased product next week for your chance to win.

 

[HeavyCritters]

Salient Discs was developed simply to give players some really cool discs, shoes, bags etc to use while playing.

If this is truly your "why", I'm underwhelmed.

I can find the above at Lat64 or Prodigy/Nike or Keen/Grip or Voodoo.

To me, the other part of this whole deal is staying true to your word. I know you're not a salesperson by trade, but there is one thing that anyone in any business is judged on: Do you do what you say you are going to do?

You have stated multiple times that you are going to stay off of these forums and concentrate on putting out a great product.

Yet not only do you come back again and again, you actually take verbal swings at potential buyers. As someone who is in sales, it's maddening to see.

Put out the product and let that do the talking for you.

 

[SteezeOG]

In closing we feel at Salient Discs that if we can offer something a little new and different with some simple tweaks and a little extra investment on our end that we can make a premium disc golf brand that everyone can enjoy.

"little new and different" Fair cry from a disc that can't be measured or quantified by traditional means. "Simple tweaks" is all that was needed to break the sound and distance barrier with a plastic disc. I bet Dave Dunipace feels like a fool.


He must still be on that hippie engineering.......

"Hippie engineering is a thing of the past, Salient Discs: first premium disc golf brand."

Seriously? Your tagline is that you guys are the FIRST premium disc golf brand? You have an ego the size of your discs. Huge!

 

[MrGlass01]

Heavycritters that post made way too much sense!!

 

[smyith]

apparently I have zero clue what I am talking about, even though you seem to think the competitive market is larger than the recreational market and Walmart would probably beg to differ

where did i say the competitive market is bigger than the recreational?

As someone mentioned early, the big two already have 30 years or so of experience. How can you compete with that? You cannot, at least you cannot for a number of years until the 30 year difference is an insignificant number. Get back to me in 10 years or so when a new crop of up and coming players have been around only long enough to have always had a full SD lineup at their disposal and have known nothing else. Then we can talk about whether SD's business strategy should compete directly with the big two.

i was hoping someone else would have the basic logic to understand what I was alluding to.

"little new and different" Fair cry from a disc that can't be measured or quantified by traditional means. "Simple tweaks" is all that was needed to break the sound and distance barrier with a plastic disc. I bet Dave Dunipace feels like a fool.
He must still be on that hippie engineering.......
"Hippie engineering is a thing of the past, Salient Discs: first premium disc golf brand."
Seriously? Your tagline is that you guys are the FIRST premium disc golf brand? You have an ego the size of your discs. Huge!

I love hypocrites