Supporting The Little Guys

[RebelZero]

My bag has been dominated by Innova and Discraft for years because that's all you can find in my hometown. I've been a long time Wizard user, however and would like to branch out and support the smaller disc manufacturers. I'm currently visiting my parents in Clearwater, FL, which means I have access to the Clearwater Disc Golf Store. I've already picked up some Latitude 64 stuff and I really like it. I've got a Pain, Core, and a Fuse that seem like they'll be good replacements for my Wasp, Buzzz, and Meteor. I'm wondering what other discs I should be looking at. Other than the mid ranges I use primarily Teebirds, Eagles, Leopards, and Predators. I've looked at some flight charts to see what other companies' discs compare but it's hard to just compare numbers without having any kind of feel for the disc.

Anyone have any suggestions? So far I really dig Latitude 64 and I've heard the River is great. But what other stuff could I be looking at? Thanks for any help.

 

[dgdave]

www.legacydiscs.com

 

[keltik1]

If you like Lat then you'll also like Westside Discs.

http://www.westside.fi/

MVP is really hot right now as well.

http://www.mvpdiscsports.com/

 

[Vegan Ray]

True Story: The title of this thread is embroidered on Paige Pierce's bra strap.

 

[XCyclone]

True Story: The title of this thread is embroidered on veganray's favorite bannana hammock.

 

[Vegan Ray]

True Story: The title of this thread is embroidered on veganray's favorite bannana hammock.

Let's not get carried away, FF. After you sent me the unsolicited pic, I did agree that you looked kinda hot in your zebra-print thong, but I never said it was my favorite.

 

[JR]

He was being kind and was using code for Borat whatdoyoucallthem? Pants, bikini, wrestling tights...?

Back to topic River and mercy are probably the best lat discs along with tall high outside edge Opto Flows and Westside VIP Sword is probably the best from them. Millennium Zero G Quasars vary a lot but the ones that don't have hard drooping outside edge are pretty amazing, QOLS is a great straight fairway driver like a more HSS and LSS Leopard and as such a good compliment to the River handling the same role in windier conditions. Discmania is pretty tight in bed with Innova but the PD and PD 2 are pretty special discs and few recent years Innova branded disc releases come close to them. Prodiscus Jokeri is the best long OS wind driving putter and a great wind putter too. MVP Ion and Anode are pretty great as long as you don't play in the rain or cold. But a soft X Banger GT is pretty close to them with better grip and faster damaging. Legacy makes huge winged fastfastfastest available PDGA legal drivers. Mine were early and they broke in super fast i hope others have better lasting discs and the later runs have the early issues fixed. Vibram Sole is nice too and the more overstable Ridge too and VP for in between Rhyno and Pig but longer and still shorter than the Jokeri. Which is the longest overstable driving putter.

 

[discmonkey42]

Just my .02, but if your wasp/buzzz/meteor combo work for you, why change them just to "support" another manufacturer? You changing your set up isn't going to impact those companies at all. It will impact your game, though. Do what's best to support your lower scores. If that means changing discs, awesome. If that means staying with what works and you already know, awesome.

If you look through the bag threads here, you will see lots of people who have made similar statements to yours. Their bags go into a state of flux for months or years. Then mysteriously they end up back at what they started with. Funny how many people end up back with teebirds, eagles, and rocs after trying everything else out.

Not trying to dissuade you from trying new discs, God knows I've got a garage full of them due to my own personal sickness. But make changes based on what helps, not what's written on top of the disc.

 

[RebelZero]

That's very good advice about sticking with what works. I have the same"sickness"as you, in that I like to try new discs. I generally end up right back where I started. I'm pretty comfortable with my Teebird, Eagle, Leo line up. They have been my dominating my fairway slots for awhile. My only problem has been carrying too many. I've got a Champ, Star, and DX Teebird, ditto the Eagle, and a Champ and DX Leo. I need to winnow those down to cover all fairway shots without lugging around eight discs.

I'm also happy with my Predators. I don't know if anything out there can do exactly what they do.

So those discs will probably stay, as the foolishness of switching manufacturers has really sunk in considering how well I like this equipment.

However, I've never hit upon a midrange lineup that really works for me. The Wasp/Buzzz/Meteor is close but I'm still uncomfortable with it. I throw my Hornet better than my Wasp most days so I keep it around. I can throw my Roc father than my Buzzz but I don't like the feel in my hand. Nor do I like seasoning a batch of Rocs in order to get my midranges down to one mold.

I've played two rounds here in Clearwater with the Pain/Core/Fuse combo. I've parked several holes with the Pain and am really enjoying the feel and flight. GL plastic seems pretty swank. The Fuse isn't as understable as the Meteor but it's very controllable. With some practice I feel I'll be able to get the nice hyzer flips and gentle left to right shots I get from the Meteor. I've only thrown the Core a few times but I've already nearly aced a hole with it. It seems to love chains.

So overall I'm enjoying the new midranges. Maybe this is the right combo. I'll see how it goes after a couple months. I also picked up a River and a Striker that I'll be trying today at Cliff Stevens. Hopefully they won't go in the alligator infested ponds. I think my Teebirds, Eagles, and Leos will be staying put, though.

Thanks for the advice, all.

 

[warobert]

If you want to try more gateway, the scout is a really solid disc and hpp slayers are just as good as flat destroyers (they turn a little bit when new) for a high speed driver.

 

[JR]

Generally the Buzz should be longer than the Roc. In order to get the best distance out of the Roc it needs to be thrown high and the Buzz needs way more power to not fade out early and short if it is thrown equally high. Thrown lower the Buzz won't fade too early and will for most (everyone?) fly farther than the Roc. The Buzz glides less but is faster and more power hungry in avoiding the fade.

 

[JeremySW]

Took me a lot of experimenting to realize that you all the molds are pretty good so just stick with what work for me - the core is always aviar/roc/teebird/destroyer- with 2 or 3 other speciality molds to keep it fun and have some versatility in terms of getting out of trouble or crazy wind days.

That said, I think people make too much out of how hard it is to learn new plastic. I throw all Innova pretty much, but if they went out of business tonight - I'd be shooting the same score with a mixed bag of within a week or two( though I'd miss my beat Rocs :evil: ). Professionals switch for sponsorship purposes all the time and stay on top of their game. And I suspect most am's could as well. The only part of my bag I even bother messing around with is approach/upshot discs. Its the only "slot" that has a huge variety of discs that is any fun to experiment with. From something super overstable to throw grenades or spike hyzers in the wind, to the floaty Rattler that's completely the opposite but just as fun to throw.

I feel like it just doesn't take a crazy amount of reps with a disc to figure out its characteristics, that's kind of what makes trying new discs fun.