What Do You Want in a Disc?
As disc golf players and disc enthusiasts, we’re always looking for a new disc that will fill a special spot in our bag, or that will “revolutionize our game”. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we all tend to live and play by the code that it is always the disc’s fault when our game isn’t panning out as we’d hoped. And regardless of how the discs are flying, some of us have succumbed to a serious case of disc lust. If there is anything special, collectible, beautiful, or unique about a disc, then we want it, even if it will never fulfill its destiny by flying through the air.
Yet, how many new discs do we really need? There are now thousands of disc molds out there, and some of the larger brands have pretty much covered the entire spectrum of overstable to understable, short-range to long-range, light to heavy. What else is there? If you want an overstable fairway driver, there is a stack of nearly identical options. If you want an understable mid-range, then there are many choices across many brands. It might seem there are a lot of perfectly acceptable options that are clamoring for our attention.
Then again, if you want pants, there are thousands of brands that make pants. Yet they keep making them, and people manage to find the details or qualities that define their purchasing choices. So is there really a limit to how many “new” discs can come out, even if they essentially serve the same purpose? There are always the cosmetic tastes when it comes to stamps and dyes. There are always differences in plastic types and the way the disc “feels” in your particular grip.
All of these considerations lead to one simple question:
Do you feel that there is a need for a certain disc mold on the market that you haven’t found yet? If so, what do you want or expect that disc to do for you?
We asked a variation of that question to our Twitter followers, basically phrasing it like this: “Does anybody have a fantasy disc that they wish existed? If so, what would it look like and fly like?”
Looking back, perhaps “fantasy” was the wrong word, because these were some of the answers we received:
— “Magnetic missile disc that is exactly like a normal driver, so no one suspects anything.”
— “A disc that was stable in turn, but understable in fade.”
— “A disc that allows you to yell one command at it per round, like Miss the tree!”
There was another absurd description of a disc involving Deadpool, and another person asking for a first run McPro with a special stamp, etc. Obviously these are not fantasies that could be fulfilled, but really, when it boils down to it, maybe that is all that is left when it comes to manufacturing discs. There isn’t anything new to offer, until you dive into the absurd, or the fantasy world.
There are currently companies dabbling into the world of on-board electronics, like TOBU, for example. That is one frontier where new things can be tried. Aside from locators and Bluetooth technology, I suppose there could eventually be discs that report back their exact flight statics, from flight path the flight velocity, spin, and other factors that may or may not actually result in an improvement in your game. There could eventually be built-in cameras that allow you to play back a crazy disc-eye view of the disc’s flight. Again…neat…but pointless. Maybe there could be a system that interacts with a phone app to instantly tell you, to the centimeter, how far away from the basket your disc landed, or how far you threw it. Technology makes for interesting conversation, but would those discs really fly any differently? Would they fill that spot in the bag that you just can’t seem to fill? Or would they be novelty, for novelty’s sake?
Here is where you share your thoughts!
We want to know. Is there a real-world answer to that question? Is there a disc mold that you feel is lacking among all the discs out there? Is there something lacking in the market? Comment below and share your feelings. Maybe there is a lot more to be done in the world of discs that we haven’t yet considered. Remember, the laws of physics cannot be disobeyed! In the real world, what disc do you still need?
I want a disc that flies like the flight numbers. Every time. And I want the Innova Piranha back, or a clone of it. Speed 1, glide 1, turn+1, fade 3. The best putter ever. Preferably in a premium plastic.
Try Reptilian’s Stego if you can find one. They are stupid OS.
I like the unique rim of the Atlas and Nova but wonder what it would be like on a faster disc? Maybe something destoyerish in flight ratings but with that grippy contoured rim…
MVP and axiom have done this to their drivers already. But I would like to see innova do this to their drivers as well and see if theirs is any different.
I want a disc that will be stable enough to have no turn even under a fairly OATy FH throw but still have minimal fade. Basically something that is 10.5, 5.5,+.25,1 in terms of flight ratings as I feel that my FH needs a straight flier but going to the understable side of discs forces a Hyzerflip, which causes fade at the end of the flight.
If they could make a max distance disc that flies like a Teebird TL but with more distance. One that has a larger 21.7 diameter. That diameter is more forgiving of release angle. Smaller diameter discs can tend to worm burn when thrown with nose down. Discraft’s Avenger is close but doesn’t get the distance like a Crank for instance.
I want a vibram disc that is like a valkyrie/fury/hatchet. and a notch that is flat to really give me that rubbery beef that Vibram fairway lacks. (not have was not as beefy as it claimed for me)
and to have an elasto hatchet in pink over 172g. lol
I want a disc that automatically flies super straight 400 feet and never gets lost.
Westide driver extremely over stable like innova mamba
Interesting. The Mamba is a -5 for understable. I have an old guys arm – noodle arm – Getting a heavier Mamba makes it more overstable.
You want a disc that flies straighter and then fades – try a Tesla or Photon. Just find the right weight. a 155 gm Tesla or Photon have a rim with as much weight as a 175 gm destroyer. Try it and see. It just may be THE disc.
I want a disc that is flat like a Flick but doesn’t throw like it. It should be made for forearm throwers with a wide rim. I would like to see numbers like 11- 7-0-1
My dream disc would be rated 10, 5, +0.25, 1 in very lightweights (155 – 165g)… straight as an arrow overstable at full-power and glidey but with a long, gradual, forward, fade. Perhaps like a very light Flick out of hand and a heavy Catalyst at end of flight.
It would be small in diameter, very shallow, very flat and beefy feeling in hand. It would have an easy to power grip, or flick, double-lip rim like a Rask.
It would be an MVP-like overmolded construction but with a hard, durable, wing plastic (Prodigy 750) and a grippy, flexible, flight plate (Kastaplast K2).
The flight plate could be thin and in tension like a drum skin to help absorb tree strikes and minimize wild ricochets. Go ahead and emboss a hex pattern in that flight plate (a la Missilen), too, so it doesn’t slow down and fade too much before it hits the ground.
Finally, I think its not too much more to ask that rim colors be exclusively easy to find bright, translucent, fluorescent colors and the flight plate plastic a neon-colored glow affair?
I always joke about wanting a disc that cannot fly far, but still behaves like a straight flyer. Driving putters, given the same power as a mid-range throw, are only slightly shorter in flight. I want a driving “putter” that when thrown the same as a 310′ Roc shot, flies 200′ max, but straight and controllable, not a meathook that limits flight with overstability. I’d love the idea of this disc, like a pitching wedge, you can pure the shot, but can’t really make it fly more than a couple hundred feet.
I don’t know how to make that work, or if there is even a market for it, but would be first in line for this sort of disc. Speaking of which, what’s the closest thing to this sort of flight that anyone knows? Roc stability, with zero glide, I guess that’s the best descriptor, but really negative glide numbers might be required to reach what I’m thinking of.
A long flying Midrange that has excellent overstability/fade then what is currently on the market, from all companies. I think this has not been tapped into well enough yet. There are a lot of mids with excellent overstability but not enough glide to throw far and there are a lot of mids that you can throw far but they aren’t overstable enough to have a consistent hard reliable fade.
How about a disc that has some indicator that changes as it gets more understable from wear? Maybe the -1 turn number changes to a -3, or a stripe changes color or something.
More floating options.
Goofy crazy molds that no one tells how it flies; you tell them after you try it.
Moving parts that change the flight characteristics as it slows down. Goes from under to over stable and vice versa.
I like the technology component! I want an app on my phone where I can select the disc I’m throwing (like specific disc, so if I have different plastic, weight, color), choose BH/FH, anny/hyzer/flat release and walking/standing/jump for approach and the disc returns spin, speed, distance, angle, etc…the app can locate the disc if it’s not visible…then…after a certain number of throws…you could go to an indoor range and throw your disc at a screen and play disc golf like the indoor ball golf throughout the winter.
The analysis could be tracked, and notes made during a round if you had grip-lock, or you said you wanted a hyzer release and you didn’t get it deep enough…that would help you remember which weight or plastic performed for weather conditions…I’d switch my bag to that manufacturer in a heartbeat.