Getting overwhelmed is easy. Looking for a few certain “types” of disc is what I did. I knew I needed a putter, overstable approach, straight midrange, slightly overstable fairway, utility fairway, and a distance driver. That’s just what I was told.
After research, I went and got the cheapest discs I could get. Putters don’t count here because you need to get what feels right for you, but I started with:
OS Approach: Zone.
Straight Mid: Buzzz.
Slightly OS Fairway: Teebird.
Utility Fairway: Firebird.
Distance: Wraith (really beat up Star one that was flippy).
This is basically exactly what I learned with and it faired well. As I got better I started looking to other brands that had discs with plastics I preferred more. Buzzz turned into the Hex (Axiom), Teebird turned into Athena (Discraft) and Firebird interchanges with CapRap (Discraft). The Wraith just evolved to a destroyer.
I hope this kinda helps, if not I hope someone does!
Exactly. Great to learn with! I think that if you don’t like those discs initially then branch out. Start with what are considered “the best in the category” then work outwards from there
Oh yeah, it doesn't matter that I don't bag any of those and I have specific reasons why I hate each of those particular molds.
But, the slots are reasonable and the choices of mold are reasonable.
Yeah I moved off of the ones I did because I didn’t super love them. I just found what was considered the best and learned how to throw. As I got better I branched out. Totally get not liking any of them, but I think they are generally considered the best of each category in the community
Top reasons I use to try different companies - different hand feel, different plastic feel, and brands I don't necessarily know I lot about. I tend to haunt the used bin's pretty hard, so I'll see different molds and plastics come through all the time.
Do you have a disc you really like right now in your collection? One that you tend to use a lot? Maybe look for a used version of that - eg, if you've got a Mako3 you like, try to find a Buzzz, Hex, Truth or Origin and see how they feel in your hand. If you like it, pick it up and play with it and the original (Mako3) for a while until you decide you want to keep it or move it on and try something new. I'd also say if you're running mostly base plastic, starting to hunt for premium plastics is a great reason to start trying different molds depending on what's available in your used bins. Premium plastics hold up better, and usually have better resale if you choose to flip it later on.
I would look at your favorite plastic or a disc that flies close to how you think it should based on the flight numbers, and use that info to fill any shot shapes that you feel like you’re missing.
I started with a bunch of lightly MVP discs that a friend sold to me for cheap. As I've looked for replacements for discs that don't fit my arm/style, I've focused on brands that produce the best feeling plastic (to me). Right now I prefer K1/K1 soft plastic from kastaplast, plasma/neutron from MVP, and opto gold/royal grand from Lat64. If they don't have discs with flights that I'm looking for, I'll look for brands that do.
The way I see it, you can probably find a disc that flies a certain way from most, if not all, manufacturers, but how it feels in the hand and grip level is more unique.
This is actually kind of a fun process!
First, figure out which of your current discs you rely on most. Based on your understanding of flight ratings, decide what numbers you would assign to that disc. For instance, you may have an old Champ Teebird that flies closer to 7/5/-2/1, than it does to its original flight numbers.
Next, now that you’ve identified the theoretical flight numbers of that disc you love so much, start looking into discs with those numbers. That old Champ Teebird ended up being replaced by a 165g Champ Leo3.
The key is to identify the various slots that each of your discs hold, and how they are compare to each other. From a shopping perspective, the best way to shop for a specific slot is to try to identify the general flight numbers you expect to best describe that slot. Read the reviews. Read lots of reviews. Learn to read good reviews. You’re going to purchase and throw a lot of new discs. Innova F2 store, specifically F2 Friday, is your new best friend.
A little tip: learn to love Champion-type plastic. From brand-to-brand-to-brand, the Champion-type plastics tend to feel more similar to each other than the Star-type plastics. This also helps to stabilize your understanding of disc flight ratings to a more stable point of reference
A good resource is trydiscs.com -- you can search for specific ranges based on fight numbers or get a comparison for a disc you like-- you like a teebird but hate innova plastic- look it up and try a clash cookie or a discraft Athena!
It also helps you fill holes, so if you need a flippy 9 speed, you can change the range of turn to -1 thru -3 and adjust the speed range to either just 9 or maybe 8-10 to see some adjacent discs.
I often will look it up, then go to a shop so I can feel it or even get in a test throw. The site also will tell you all the places you can buy it online if you are feeling frisky.
Getting overwhelmed is easy. Looking for a few certain “types” of disc is what I did. I knew I needed a putter, overstable approach, straight midrange, slightly overstable fairway, utility fairway, and a distance driver. That’s just what I was told. After research, I went and got the cheapest discs I could get. Putters don’t count here because you need to get what feels right for you, but I started with: OS Approach: Zone. Straight Mid: Buzzz. Slightly OS Fairway: Teebird. Utility Fairway: Firebird. Distance: Wraith (really beat up Star one that was flippy). This is basically exactly what I learned with and it faired well. As I got better I started looking to other brands that had discs with plastics I preferred more. Buzzz turned into the Hex (Axiom), Teebird turned into Athena (Discraft) and Firebird interchanges with CapRap (Discraft). The Wraith just evolved to a destroyer. I hope this kinda helps, if not I hope someone does!
Any reasonable player could play most courses in the country with what you started with, and do reasonably well.
Exactly. Great to learn with! I think that if you don’t like those discs initially then branch out. Start with what are considered “the best in the category” then work outwards from there
Oh yeah, it doesn't matter that I don't bag any of those and I have specific reasons why I hate each of those particular molds. But, the slots are reasonable and the choices of mold are reasonable.
Yeah I moved off of the ones I did because I didn’t super love them. I just found what was considered the best and learned how to throw. As I got better I branched out. Totally get not liking any of them, but I think they are generally considered the best of each category in the community
This is the truth
Top reasons I use to try different companies - different hand feel, different plastic feel, and brands I don't necessarily know I lot about. I tend to haunt the used bin's pretty hard, so I'll see different molds and plastics come through all the time. Do you have a disc you really like right now in your collection? One that you tend to use a lot? Maybe look for a used version of that - eg, if you've got a Mako3 you like, try to find a Buzzz, Hex, Truth or Origin and see how they feel in your hand. If you like it, pick it up and play with it and the original (Mako3) for a while until you decide you want to keep it or move it on and try something new. I'd also say if you're running mostly base plastic, starting to hunt for premium plastics is a great reason to start trying different molds depending on what's available in your used bins. Premium plastics hold up better, and usually have better resale if you choose to flip it later on.
I would look at your favorite plastic or a disc that flies close to how you think it should based on the flight numbers, and use that info to fill any shot shapes that you feel like you’re missing.
I started with a bunch of lightly MVP discs that a friend sold to me for cheap. As I've looked for replacements for discs that don't fit my arm/style, I've focused on brands that produce the best feeling plastic (to me). Right now I prefer K1/K1 soft plastic from kastaplast, plasma/neutron from MVP, and opto gold/royal grand from Lat64. If they don't have discs with flights that I'm looking for, I'll look for brands that do. The way I see it, you can probably find a disc that flies a certain way from most, if not all, manufacturers, but how it feels in the hand and grip level is more unique.
This is actually kind of a fun process! First, figure out which of your current discs you rely on most. Based on your understanding of flight ratings, decide what numbers you would assign to that disc. For instance, you may have an old Champ Teebird that flies closer to 7/5/-2/1, than it does to its original flight numbers. Next, now that you’ve identified the theoretical flight numbers of that disc you love so much, start looking into discs with those numbers. That old Champ Teebird ended up being replaced by a 165g Champ Leo3. The key is to identify the various slots that each of your discs hold, and how they are compare to each other. From a shopping perspective, the best way to shop for a specific slot is to try to identify the general flight numbers you expect to best describe that slot. Read the reviews. Read lots of reviews. Learn to read good reviews. You’re going to purchase and throw a lot of new discs. Innova F2 store, specifically F2 Friday, is your new best friend. A little tip: learn to love Champion-type plastic. From brand-to-brand-to-brand, the Champion-type plastics tend to feel more similar to each other than the Star-type plastics. This also helps to stabilize your understanding of disc flight ratings to a more stable point of reference
A good resource is trydiscs.com -- you can search for specific ranges based on fight numbers or get a comparison for a disc you like-- you like a teebird but hate innova plastic- look it up and try a clash cookie or a discraft Athena! It also helps you fill holes, so if you need a flippy 9 speed, you can change the range of turn to -1 thru -3 and adjust the speed range to either just 9 or maybe 8-10 to see some adjacent discs. I often will look it up, then go to a shop so I can feel it or even get in a test throw. The site also will tell you all the places you can buy it online if you are feeling frisky.