Best Midrange Discs of 2023
In this blog series we have looked at the top disc golf discs for 2022 according to sales. Then we focused on each the top distance drivers and the top fairway drivers. This time we’ll look at the top 50 midrange discs. We’ll also find the top overstable and understable mid’s.
Midrange discs fill the gap between short shots and putts, and longer distance throws. Their slower speeds make them a good fit for beginners, and valuable tools for skilled players. They don’t skip like faster discs so they make great approach discs. Like the other categories, midrange discs come in different stabilities to help you achieve the flight you need. Let’s look at which molds were the most popular, and which ones you might want to check out for 2023.
The top 50 midrange discs is based on sales at Infinite Discs for last year.
- Discraft Buzzz
- Innova Mako3
- Infinite Discs Anubis
- Thought Space Athletics Pathfinder
- Innova Pig
- Discraft Buzzz SS
- Infinite Discs Chariot
- Innova Roc3
- Innova Roc
- Axiom Paradox
Far and away the most popular mid range disc is the Discraft Buzzz. The Buzz has been a hot seller for Discraft from the beginning. It has a straight flight and comfortable beadless grip. Plus, it comes in a variety of plastic types. The Buzzz sold almost three times as many discs as the second place Mako3. The Infinite Discs Anubis was in third place.
Best Selling Midrange Discs by Month
This fun graph helps to visualize the hot selling brand trends. Some months saw more obscure selling discs like the Doomdsday Discs Frag, and the Mint Discs Lobster.
Top 50 Mid Ranges Sorted by Brand
There were a total of 19 different brands in the top 50. Discraft and Innova are old-school brands, so it’s not a surprise to see them on the top of the list. How many names on the list are new to you? We’ve seen a lot of pros switch sponsor brands this year, so it will be interesting to see how much of an impact those changes make for their brand. Now let’s look at the sales percent.
Top 50 Mid Ranges Sorted by Sales
As expected, the brands with the most molds in the top 50 had the highest percentage of sales. Discraft was boosted with the huge numbers from the Buzzz. Innova had four molds in the top 10, which helped their numbers. Infinite Discs also had top-10 molds to add to their total.
Top Overstable Mid
Innova takes the podium when it comes to the overstable midrange discs. Their Pig, Roc3, and Roc accounted for about 8% of all midrange sales. There were six different molds in the top 10, although Innova and Discraft still made up half the brands. Let’s take a look at the PDGA approval dates to see if some which newer molds are taking a chunk of the market.
| Mold | Approval date | Rank |
| Innova Roc | Jan-87 | 3 |
| Discraft Drone | Feb-05 | 6 |
| Innova Pig | May-08 | 1 |
| Discraft Buzzz OS | Jul-14 | 4 |
| Kastaplast Kaxe Z | Oct-14 | 10 |
| Dynamic Discs Justice | Mar-15 | 5 |
| Dynamic Discs EMac Truth | Mar-16 | 9 |
| Innova Roc3 | Aug-17 | 2 |
| Axiom Pyro | Feb-19 | 7 |
| Elevation Disc Golf Interceptor | Dec-20 | 8 |
Although the Pig has been around for many years, it got a nice boost when Ricky Wysocki started throwing the mold. It has kept up the momentum ever since. The Innova Roc is celebrating its 36th birthday this month. It is by far the oldest overstable mold in the top 10. It was in the bag when Ken Climo dominated the 90’s, and remains a staple of the top Innova pros today.
At the other end of the timeline, the Elevation Interceptor (one of the staples in MY bag!) is just a couple years old, but still managed to land as the 5th most popular overstable mid range. The silicon disc is like Velcro when it hits the ground.
Top Understable Mid Range Discs
Discraft leads the pack when it comes to understable mid’s. Three out of the top four molds come from Discraft. They also have four out of the top 10 discs. Dino Discs is the only other brand with more than one mold in the top 10. There were six different brands in the top 10. Here are their approval dates:
| Mold | Approval date | Rank |
| Discraft Comet | Oct-95 | 3 |
| Discraft Meteor | Sep-06 | 4 |
| Discraft Buzzz SS | Feb-08 | 1 |
| Westside Tursas | Apr-16 | 10 |
| Discraft Sol | Nov-18 | 6 |
| Infinite Discs Kon Tiki | Apr-21 | 8 |
| MVP Uplink | Jul-21 | 7 |
| Axiom Paradox | Jul-21 | 2 |
| Dino Discs Brachiosaurus | N/A | 9 |
| Dino Discs Stegosaurus | N/A | 5 |
The two oldest molds, the Discraft Comet and Discraft Meteor, are in the top four. The two most recent approvals, the MVP Uplink and Axiom Paradox, are less than two years old. Although it is apparent that some of the older molds are still selling well, it will be interesting to see how they hold up against the barrage of new molds on the market recently.
Dino Discs‘ don’t have an approval date because they are not PDGA approved. Dino decided that it wasn’t worth the cost, since their target market is beginners, and they are unlikely to compete in sanctioned tournaments.
In the next blog will look at the top putters.
Highest Rated Midrange Discs
Sales are one thing, but how much do disc golfers really like a midrange disc. Do they like it enough that they are going to want to come back to our website to leave a five star review? Our new website “highest rated” feature sorts discs based on these customer ratings. View the highest rated midrange discs here.
What are the Best Midrange Discs for You?
Will Discraft stay on top, or will a dark horse arise and claim the top spot for best midrange next year too?
We all have different throwing styles and preferences. What are your favorite overstable, understable and straight flying midrange molds?
Ted Hegemann
Ted is the Chief Writer at Infinite Discs. He is responsible for the State of Disc Golf Survey articles and most of the "best discs" posts. Ted runs all kinds of local disc golf leagues and tournaments and tournaments in Northern Utah.
The Buzzz will probably hold onto the top spot, but I expect the Axiom Hex to make a big charge this year.
I was surprised to see the Emac Truth so far down the list, as it’s my favorite midrange, but more for me, I guess.
I think the Buzzz has a solid lead on any other midrange for 2023. It is my primary mid. It’s a great disc.
The Discmania MD1 Mindbender is amazing, as is the Discmania Origin, but far and away my new favorite is the Pathfinder in Aura plastic- it has the cleanest feel out of any mid-range I’ve ever held. Despite all this, I believe the Roc, Roc3 and molds of Buzzzes will continue to dominate the market.
I find the Buzzz really uncomfortable compared to something like the Emac Truth, and the Claymore is an identical-feeling disc. I’m surprised not to see the Claymore on the list – it’s a perfect understable version of the Emac Truth and super workable. Both are pretty shallow; maybe that’s why I prefer them?
My favorite is the old Innova Coyote, but I don’t expect that one to come back into production :/
You should try the Infinite Discs Anubis.
More than anything I’m quite partial to the reactor. Bag 3 of them in different plastics. But if I had to guess how 2023 is going to go, we’re going to see the Simon effect. MVP Matrix, Axiom Hex, Axiom Pyro, anything that goes in his bag is going to explode in popularity (I hear we’re already seeing this).
The Lobster was the disc of the year for me! If ‘Nb’ reads this comment, I would check out the Anubis, it’s been said by many to be a coyote clone 🙂
I love my Reactor and hope more people give it a chance going forward. Great stable hold the line type mid. My favorite US mid is the Comet, which to me is basically the king of midranges. My favorite OS mid is the sadly OOP Trident. That things a monster! I can’t imagine the Buzzz losing its top spot any time soon though. It’s a wonderfully easy to throw and consistent mold.
Top mid: Buzzz
Discraft remains on top
My favorite OS mid would be the Drone, US is a beat in buzzz ss and straight is the Buzzz.
Mids that will be on top include the Buzzz, a mid from MVP, mako3, Roc and Roc3.
The Buzzz will be almost impossible to dethrone from the top spot.
The mids I carry are a Kastaplast Kaxe in the overstable spot, MVP Uplink for understable and a TSA Pathfinder is my straight stable workhorse.
The Buzzz should stay in the top spot due to its versatility and well-known name. The Thought Space Pathfinder in Aura or Ethereal plastics however would give it a strong fight if you did a side by side comparison. Both are awesome stable discs with great shot-shaping ability.
One mid-range few people have tried is a solid performer in my bag. I speak of the Legacy Pursuit which is a fabulous overstable disc. It beat out Discraft, MVP, Innova, and Infinite competitors in side-by-side tryouts to get in the bag. It begs to be thrown in the wind as it shrugs the currents aside to keep its flight path. It is flat-topped and beadless with a low profile so it flies equally well with forehand and backhand!
I love the Roc for overstable, and the buzzz for my straight mid
I’m shocked the Hex is so low (even below other MVP/Axiom molds).
Uplink is super underrated too though. Effortless hyzer flips in the woods
If MVP can make enough of them, I’m sure that Hex Sales will be huge this year. Because these “best discs” lists reflect only sales, and many items last year were not available for most of the year, it’s not a true reflection of market demand. You can’t sell a disc that you don’t have in stock.
MVP Matrix is my absolute go to but lately have been pulling the Meteor, Archer, and BUZZZ back out. However, my Axiom Watermelon Paradox is a nice mid range/approach flex disc to come outta the bag
For very OS I bag a Justice. Slight OS is a Method. Stable is the Mind Bender and US is the Origin. I have to believe the Buzzz will continue to be a dominant seller and something stable from MVP is likely to sneak up there with the signing of Simon.
My faves are MD5, Anubis (one of my all time fave discs), and Kontiki, for OS, Straight, US. I think the Anubis will continue its climb but it’d be hard for anything to overtake the Buzzz. Hex will be huge this year. Would love to see a new beadless OS Infinite mid…
I believe Discraft and the Buzzz will stay at the top. Hard to displace consistency.
But where are my Latitude 64’s
I think the Buzzz will probably retain the top spot due to its well known name and the host of top pros on Team Discraft.
Lone Star Discs has made a big marketing push going into the 2023 season, sponsoring tons of players on both the professional and amateur sides. Based on this, along with increased brand recognition, I believe that the Texas Ranger, Middy, and BB6 will make a surprising surge in 2023. All three discs fly great, feel great in the hand, and are approachable for beginners and advanced to pro players.
I would be surprised if the buzzz didn’t hold on to the top spot. It’s my go to for typical midrange shots. One that I have been very impressed with for over stable throws is the Caiman. It has saved me strokes when I needed an angle or something to fight the wind. I don’t think it’s talked about enough.
Going to be a long while before anyone dethrones the Buzzz. Hex will climb but it won’t be enough. I really enjoy my Justice for OS, Truth for straight, and Kon Tiki for US.