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 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.

52 comments

  • I have not thrown a Yikun disc. I think a Tomahawk would stand a good chance of making the bag- always looking for a great mid

  • I had a Gui and it was a really nice disc till I lost it.

  • I haven’t tried Yukon but would love to add a View to my bag!

  • Austin Duncklee

    I have not tried a Yikun disc, but would love to! The crossbow would look great in my bag!

  • The Hu is an outstanding fairway driver.

  • I’ve always wanted to try this brand! I would love to try the twin swords or kui.

  • Discs are one of the few things still manufactured in the U.S. and I have zero desire to actively support Chinese manufacturing when there’s so many good manufacturers making their products in the states.

  • I purchased a light weight Tiger line Hu for my (then) 6 year old son, and it is his furthest flying disc. The base line plastic is excellent compared to DX or Pro-D, and the mold works great for his small hands and forehand throw!

  • I have a Hammer, and I LOVE IT! It is the perfect sidearm approach disc for me, and no other disc feels like the Hammer in-hand. They are pretty difficult to get a hold of, so getting a second one for when I lose mine would be a godsend.

  • Never thown.
    I think Twin Swords would be interesting. I would love to try it out.

  • I haven’t tried any Yikun discs and the if the Claws putter was in stock, I’d consider buying it! But Twin Swords looks pretty radical and something that intrigues me

  • I have a cool Koi – Yin/Yang stamped Twin Swords disc that I purchased from Infinite, but I haven’t thrown it yet. Waiting for some better weather to get used to it in the field. I think the Hu would have a good shot at making it into my bag.

  • Paul Karopchinsky

    I have yet to try a Hiking Disc, but the D’ae in the dragon line would be the one I’d choose. Seems like it would be good for my forehand dominant game.

  • Meaghan Lorentson

    I have never thrown a Yikun. I woupd like to try the Tomahawk. I like disc that fly straight.

  • Would love to try the Gou. Looks like it would fill a spot in my bag.

  • My first disc was the Yikun Gui I picked up at Play-it-again used, when I bought my first starter set I chose Yikun so I could get a new Gui. I like the molds and bag a Phoenix Jun and Tiger Hu. I had a phoenix Hu that I lost in the woods. Hu will get pretty good distance for a beginner and as you power up you can get a crazy turnover flex out of it. I will be buying more Gui putters and probably another Hu someday soon. Cool to learn more about the company and I look forward to checking out some newer molds in the future.

  • Buy American.

  • Huh. Never heard of Yikun. I’ll have to give them a try.

  • Seems like the Twin Swords would be a great addition to the bag especially since I have never tried this company before

  • The Hammer was recently added as a staple disc in my bag. It’s so nice and grippy and has easily become my most trusted and favorite putter. But I would definitely like to try out more Yikun discs. They are definitely top quality.