Introducing Yikun Discs
Infinite Discs carries over 55 brands of discs! We started this blog series to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. This week we are on the road again to introduce Yikun Discs.
The East China Sea borders Japan, Korea, and the East Coast of China. On the shores of the Sea sits the port city of Ningbo, China. It is home to the Tian Yi Ge library. The library was built in 1561, and is one of the oldest in the country. Ningbo is also home to disc golf manufacturer, Yikun Discs.
Six Schoolmates
When six university schoolmates were introduced to disc sports while in school, little did they know it would lead to starting a disc business. The group started playing ultimate frisbee and became the first Chinese ultimate players. It was during their final year in school that they decided to start a company whose mission was to promote flying disc sports and introduce a healthier lifestyle to the youth of the country.
In 2010, Yikun got involved in disc golf after Eric Xu learned more about the sport from some European disc golfers. Since then, Yikun has launched the first PDGA sanctioned tournament and opened the first disc golf course in China. Yikun became the first Asian company to get approved by the PDGA, World Flying Disc Federation, and USA Ultimate. They currently ship discs to over 40 countries.
First Mold For Yikun
The first disc golf mold approved by the PDGA for Yikun was the View in 2013. The View is an understable fairway driver. The next year they added the Wings and Claws, which are mid/hybrids and putters respectively. Since then they have added numerous mold to give disc golfers a variety of flight shapes.
Yikun currently offers four different plastic types. They have the Tiger line, which is their base plastic. Then they have three premium plastics: Phoenix line, Dragon line, and their Tortoise line, which is used on their overmold discs. The Phoenix line is a durable translucent plastic similar to Champion or Lucid plastic. Dragon line has more grip and is a little softer, similar to Gold Line. The Tortoise overmold plastic can be found on the Twin Swords mold, the Tomahawk, and the Meteor Hammer. The plastics they sell the most are the Phoenix and Dragon lines.
Coming Soon
Yikun tries to introduce new products to the market every year. Coming up this year or next, Yikun will be introducing two new plastics to the market. They be offering the Swift line and Soflex line. The Swift line is a light plastic, making it good for beginners. It even floats in water. Soflex also floats in water and is light, and is also very flexible.
In addition to the new plastics, Yikun also has plans for more new molds and some new accessories. The details of the molds aren’t available yet. However, Yikun indicates they will be releasing a new bag design. They will also be releasing an interactive electronic version of a basket.
Disc Golf In The Olympics?
Yikun has not started a sponsor program yet. Instead, they focus on growing the sport by making it available to school kids and hosting events. They would like to see enough growth that the popularity of the sport might make it a future Olympic event.
The philosophy of Yikun Discs is that disc golf is much more than a sport. They look at it as a lifestyle. And they believe it is a lifestyle that connects people from different nations and ideologies. Their hope is that more people will include programs with disc golf tournaments that promote international communications and cultural learning. If we can make the world a little smaller and more connected through disc golf, that sounds like a pretty sport. And an awesome lifestyle!
Top Selling Yikun
Below is a chart of Infinite’s top-selling Yikun molds. It’s interesting to see all of their overmolds in the top selling discs. Taking first is the straight-flying midrange, the Tomahawk. In a tie for second is the overstable putter, the Hammer (Chui), and the high-speed, stable driver, the Twin Swords. Here are the top ten molds and the percent of sales.
Comment About Yikun Discs
We want to hear from you about Yikun Discs! And we’ll give a disc to three random commenters. To be eligible, answer one of the questions below:
If you’ve thrown a Yikun Disc, which have you thrown?
If you haven’t tried one yet, which one would most likely make it into your bag?
We will choose the winners and post them next week when we feature our next disc golf brand.
Last Week: CHEENGZ
Last week we looked at CHEENGZ. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:
Paul K
Justin H
Kevin
Congrats! We’ll ship your disc out shortly.
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.
Would love to try their first mold, the View. It would also be great to see the sport in the Olympics, it’s a super cool idea.
I haven’t tried Yikun Disc yet, but the discs most likely to make it into my bag would either be the Hammer or the View if they still sell that mold. I haven’t quite found a putter that I’m set on as my go-to, so I’d like to try the hammer. On the other hand, an understable fairway driver would fill a hole in my back, so the View would be a good candidate.
I have a Yikun Gui. It’s great. Similar to a wizard, but I would like to try the view.
I haven’t thrown any of their discs but I have held the Phoenix plastic and it feels very nice and durable. The mold that I would like to try out is the Jun.
I don’t currently throw any Yikun, but I’d like to try the Kui. I love that they are spreading the sport in China.
Got a Yikun Hammer through infinite’s VIP subscription. Put in the bag to try out and actually ended up liking it is one of my throwing putters. Still in the bag with a reko and berg as my throwing putters.
I have a View in the Tiger line which I really like. I’d definitely love to try their premium plastics, and I really like the artwork on most of the discs.
I’d love to try the Hu! All of their discs look slick though.
I’ve never tried a Yikun disc, but the Meteor Hammer would probably be the one to make it into my bag.
Never had heard of Yikun until now. I’d like to try the Luan in Phoenix and see how it compares to a Boss.
Tomahawk baby! I actually really love how they haven’t sponsored players and are focusing on introducing the sport to the nation through programs. It’s imperative to get people involved on a recent level before you move into the pro scene.
I throw mvp,axiom,streamline. So I’d most likely would go with the Tomahawk.
I have not tried any of their discs, but I think I’d like to try the Tomahawk and see how it compares to my Mako3.
I used to bag a Twin Swords until my son “borrowed” it and lost it. It had the Tortoise plastic and was an interesting disc to throw for sure. If I was to buy one, I would probably try out the Tomahawk to see how it threw.
I haven’t tried a disc from Yikun. I don’t even think I have tried any of the discmania discs manufactured by them. I would be most interested in trying the tomahawk. I think I would lower my scores if I threw straight midranges more. Well actually if I just threw straight it would help my score a lot!
I’ve got a Twin Swords that I like and the Jun look’s like it could be pretty handy in the bag!
I bought a Hammer, but i haven’t had a chance to test it out yet
Would like to try a Tomahawk!
I have never thrown a Yikun disc other than an active line disc made by them. I would love to try the Meteor Hammer from them.
I have a Kui and a Wings, both in Tiger Line plastic, and I love the feel of both in my hands. The Wings feels like a good approach disc. The Gou and the View may not be their top selling discs, but I’d love to try either of them, preferably in the Dragon Line plastic for something a bit different. I love the sound of their Swift Line and the Soflex Line. Both sound great plastics for beginners. Loved reading about the library, am enjoying reading these stories. Thanks.
I haven’t had the pleasure of throwing a Yikun disc yet, but I would love to try out the Twin Swords or Tomahawk! They both just seem like such amazing discs and they have such a gorgeous stamp on them.