No More Vibram Discs?!?!
Yesterday, Vibram made an announcement that sent waves throughout the disc golf world. Vibram is discontinuing their disc golf division. They will no longer be manufacturing disc golf discs.
Here is the full announcement from their Facebook page:
Greetings Vibram Disc Golf Customers,
We have made the very hard decision to exit the sport of disc golf. We feel that the sport of disc golf deserves more attention and effort than our business is able to provide, given the volume of resources needed for the much larger segments of our business. We have had a hard time developing a disc golf focused business unit that can offer the product lineup, marketing efforts and event support needed to properly support the sport of disc golf in the role of manufacturer.
Please see your nearest Vibram Disc Golf retailer and stock up before they are gone!
We truly appreciate your partnership in our disc golf business and believe that in the end, this is the very best direction for us as a brand, no matter how hard of a decision this has been.
Best Regards,
Jeff
So what does this mean for the disc golf world?
When you break it down by the numbers, Vibram‘s footprint has been pretty small in recent years. In our 2018 State of Disc Golf Survey, only 10.6% of disc golfers said they have Vibram discs in their disc golf bag, and only 1.7% said they would only throw Vibram if they could only throw discs made by one manufacturer.
While that is a relatively small percentage, that means about 10% of disc golfers will be needing to find new discs to fill those slots in their bags.
This also means that Vibram discs just became quite a bit more valuable in the collector’s market. I for one am regretting not grabbing the controversial Vibram Four20 a few years back!. But even Vibram‘s regular stock discs are going to be more valuable, and in just the last 24 hours since the announcement was made, we have seen a huge uptick in orders of Vibram from our online store.
So if you are a Vibram collector or thrower, make sure to check out our remaining Vibram Inventory before it is too late!
While only about 50% of my bag is Vibram I can say that it was sad news. The Vibram discs I carry play a significant part to my game. The Olace, Lace, Notch, Ibex, Ridge and Summit will always have a place in my bag, the Ascent and Trak cycle in and out. Do I collect, yes i have several that are valuable even before these words were published and yes i do bag them and will continue.
Vibram’s old runs as well as some of the newer runs are far more aesthetically pleasing compared to the bursts and swirls you see today in my opinion. Durability can’t be beat… Their process of compression molds snap back after that nasty tree hit we all have on occasion. Does your plastic? The ones I have don’t, although they do have their place in my bag. Trust you rubber, throw Vibram.
And yes… I was one that bought a hand full of backups from you. A few of those being some of the Christmas run you did with Vibram to go along with the ones I bought when you released them. I also have purchased several of the stamp runs you’ve done on Vibram discs in the past. Your site has been a go to for my Vibram purchases both discs and minis. It’s going to be tough to watch your inventory dwindle down knowing that restocks will be no longer…
Too many disc golf companies, its getting ridiculous.
Hey just a question is any of these other just manufacture companies want to maybe jump on board and take on the Vibram especially the soft rubber man that’s amazing in a couple of discs would be nice if they would if not we’re going to have to find somebody that can do it and be with the same specs cuz I will throw Vibram thanks