Discspeed's Bag

[money 21]

The Flying Squirrel is weirder though...It's actually longer than any of my other mids. I'd put it in a class with discs like the Storm/Squall as a tweener between a mid and fairway driver.

I agree i am pairing it with a gremlin right now and my mid game just got longer. The squirrel power down so well also.

[JimW]

didnt you go on and on about how useless overstable mids are until you picked up MVP as a sponsor and they started producing the vector, which you continue to push incredibly hard?

I was catching up on this thread and found this to be pretty damn funny and clueless. From the time that I've known Mike I think I can extrapolate that in his disc golf career he has changed his mind about the usefulness of overstable mids roughly 30 times. He needs far, far less reason that a sponsorship to change his opinion of something in disc golf.

[discspeed]

I've been playing a lot this week and I was feeling like my bag was getting a little complicated...The Flying Squirrel is a fun disc, but over the course of the past few rounds I've realized that it really does overlap with my beat Axis, so I've taken it out of the competition bag. I also felt like my FD/TD were kind of overlapping, so I dropped the TD and added a couple of PPDs back to my bag.

2x 171/172 Anodes--Putting
1x174 Anode--Straight drives
1x175 Ion--Overstable drives
1x171 Soft Ion--flex drives
1x167 FR Ion--finesse long putts/approaches

1x179 FR Axis--slightly understable/straight mid
1x180 FR Axis--much more hss than my other Axis for wind or longer throws
1x178 FR Vector--seasoned step up in stability from Axis
1x179 Eclipse Vector--new and overstable

1x175 S-FD--stable fairway driver
1x174 11x Champ FB--overstable utility

2x173 PPD--thrashed and new for understable and straight
1x175 S-PD--seasoned, likes to flip and fade like an EX
1x175 yellow champstar PDs--seasoned, flies more like faster TB
1x175 CPD+--moderately overstable with good glide, main hyzer disc
1x175 CFR CPDs--overstable for strong hyzers and wind, very little glide

1x175 Tourney Sword--understable max D
2x175 VIP Sword--new and seasoned workhorse drivers
1x174 FR Quasar--overstable for wind and hyzers

[discspeed]

Wow, it's been a while....

Putters
2x172 Eclipse Soft Anodes--Putt and Approach
1x174 Eclipse Soft Anode--Drives/long approaches
1x175 Neutron Anode--Drives/long approaches in wind
Mids (lots of experimenting still going on here)
1x178 FR green Axis--Understable/touch mid
Several other Neutron/Eclipse/Proton Axis vying for a spot or two
1x178 FR Vector--beaten into straightness (though I'm not sure this will end up staying with the new N mids)
1x174 Neutron Vector--Fast, straight, predictable fade...New, but quickly becoming a favorite
1x176 Neutron Vector--Fast and overstable (may replace Eclipse)
1x176 Eclipse Vector--Overstable
Control/Fairway drivers
1x174 old flat QJLS--neutral fairway driver
1x175 STD--straight to understable control driver
2x174 yellow champystar SPDs--seasoned and new for most stable drives
Distance Drivers
1x175 Champ Mamba--hyzer flips/turnover drives and lots of utility
2x175 VIP Swords--new and seasoned, most straight/control distance drives
1x175 Opto Villain--overstable utility and distance driver (first disc I've gotten to fill both these slots satisfactorily)
Max/Open D
1x155 Blizzard Wraith--tailwinds and long turning shots
1x156 Blizzard Boss--Max S turn D

[keltik]

1x175 Opto Vision--overstable utility and distance driver (first disc I've gotten to fill both these slots satisfactorily)

am I reading that right? did you get one of the freaky Visions or did you mean Villain?

[discspeed]

Good catch...fixed...Definitely Villain.

[keltik]

well I've gone through and read this whole thread and all your changes. I have some questions.

you went a long time with the Buzzz/Meteor. do you ever miss it? Do you ever miss the Fuse?

you also went a long time with just the PD. now you only have one. what changed with the PD and you?

You've been through the usual odyssey with max distance drivers and now you have come back to the Boss but the Blizzard type. Do you think it is better suited as a lightweight disc? I remember reading earlier about your liking of heavier discs due to your having long arms.

Comments: JLS is a nice disc. very underrated in the grand scheme of things. I was surprised how long you went with both the Buzzz and Stalker in your bag.

[discspeed]

well I've gone through and read this whole thread and all your changes. I have some questions.

you went a long time with the Buzzz/Meteor. do you ever miss it? Do you ever miss the Fuse?

you also went a long time with just the PD. now you only have one. what changed with the PD and you?

You've been through the usual odyssey with max distance drivers and now you have come back to the Boss but the Blizzard type. Do you think it is better suited as a lightweight disc? I remember reading earlier about your liking of heavier discs due to your having long arms.

Comments: JLS is a nice disc. very underrated in the grand scheme of things. I was surprised how long you went with both the Buzzz and Stalker in your bag.

I'm missing the Buzzz less and less. When I was into the Buzzz I used to throw it for a ridiculous amount of shots, especially here in FL. I looked at the course as a bunch of 280-340' straight lines. My mid game really lacked diversity, even with the Meteor and later the Fuse. I liked both those discs alongside the Buzzz, but not so much without it...I never really appreciated a slower and more controlled midrange pull. I can do a lot more with my Axis and Vectors than I could with my previous mid setups, and over more ranges. My short game has improved, especially when I need a line other than straight. I was still missing my Buzzz on 315'+ straight shots, but with my new flat 174 Vectors I don't any more.

As far as PDs go, at one point I had several I really liked. I had a run of bad luck and lost my favorite P, red champystar, and CFR CPD, all very seasoned. The new Ps weren't the same at all, and I couldn't stand the gummies or the stiffies (I don't like flat either). My backup red champystars need so much seasoning to get where the one I lost was that I just haven't put another one the bag. The red champystars aren't that good as stable PDs...They are much better beaten to flippy because they glide better than most PDs. My backup CFR CPDs are more overstable than I want now too. It kind of turned me away from minimalism. I'm now using a Villain in place of a CPD and my QJ in place of a PPD. I've still got red champystars and CPD+ that could find their way back in at some point. When I get the Volt in a day or two it could muck things up further...but will have to see what the exact stability is.

Regarding distance drivers...Up until the last couple of years my D drive was my badge of honor. I seriously spent more of my non-competitive throwing ripping D drivers as hard as could than I did anything else. As my family responsibilities increased I realized of what little importance all that focus on D driving was to my scoring, so I started focusing elsewhere. Without keeping both my body and timing in perfect condition to allow me to throw 100% with a degree of accuracy/precision I could no longer rip things like max weight Bosses the way I could when I was constantly practicing(mostly arming with full reachback). I started focusing more on snap, slowing down, and throwing lighter/less stable/smaller rimmed discs. I sacrificed a little D to gain more consistency and less wild shots.

My Blizzard discs really don't get thrown much...Only in the wide open when getting far off the tee is more important than exactly where the disc lands. I've got some of the really good early discs with the bubbles in the flightplate. The new ones are looking and flying more and more like shit I'm afraid...Bubbles in the rim is lose-lose in terms of durability and gyroscopics. So they are my toys, things that let me throw as far or farther than I've ever been able to without practicing max D all the time...but only when conditions are ideal. I definitely do get more snap on my light Bosses than my heavy ones though. I'm usually throwing my Swords and Mamba...I just got a GL Villain that I'm hoping can fill my max D headwind slot where my Swords become too flippy. They are all max weight because I like throwing low line drives (dictated by my home courses). If I lived somewhere else I would throw max weight much less I suspect.

Note about the Stalker/Buzzz...When I had the Stalker I was using the GLow Z Buzzz, which seems to fly a bit slower than other Buzzzes. This made the overlap a lot less than it was between my 2FR Buzzzes and the Stalker...Those 2FRs are pretty much every bit as long as a Stalker for me.

You could probably also tell I was pretty Discraft loyal for a time there...I had several connections and thought I had a chance to get some kind of scout team sponsorship, but it didn't pan out...So once I lost hope in that I had no reason to throw their discs exclusively. It turned out for the best as I've gotten a hell of a lot more out of my relationship with MVP than my friend that ended up getting that bottom level DC sponsorship

[discspeed]

I got the Volt and it's already shaking things up...Also, I've been throwing all my new and old mids and I've narrowed down what to carry.

Putters
2x172 Eclipse Soft Anodes--Putt and Approach
1x173 Eclipse Soft Anode--Putts/long approaches
1x175 Neutron Anode--Drives/long approaches in wind
Mids
1x178 FR green Axis--Understable/touch mid
2x176 Neutron Axis--Flat, fast, and super straight
1x178 FR Vector--beaten into straightness--best approach and turnover disc in wind
1x174 Neutron Vector--Fast, straight, predictable fade...almost a fairway, great for anny release S turns
1x176 Neutron Vector--Fast and overstable
Control/Fairway drivers
Volts...Still not sure which of my 4 will stay in the bag...Eventually I'd like a beat and newish one in there
1x174 GL Villain--slightly overstable control driver
1x175 Opto Villain--overstable utility and headwind distance driver
Distance Drivers
1x175 Champ Mamba--hyzer flips/turnover drives and lots of utility
1x169 VIP Sword--neutral distance driver, longer than 175s
2x175 VIP Swords--new and seasoned, most straight/control distance drives
Max/Open D(rarely carried, only long/open courses)
1x155 Blizzard Wraith--tailwinds and long turning shots
1x156 Blizzard Boss--Max S turn D

[discspeed]

I've settled into my new midrange setup after vigorous testing of many new N mids...Also, PDs are totally back, not sure what I was thinking...They pair great with the Volt. Also, all my Volts are so similar I'm only bagging one--my light pink 175 because it holds a turn slightly longer than the others. The GL Villain wasn't overstable/predictable enough to be a wind disc or replace the PD in any way...Much different from the Opto, which I'm still loving.
Putters
2x172 Eclipse Soft Anodes--Putt and Approach
1x173 Soft Anode--Drives/long approaches
1x173 Neutron Anode--Drives
Mids
1x178 FR green Axis--Understable/touch mid
1x176 Neutron Axis--Workhorse neutral mid
1x178 FR Vector--beaten into straightness--neutral shots/approaches in wind
1x174 Neutron Vector--Fast, straight, moderately overstable
1x176 Eclipse Vector--Overstable
Control/Fairway drivers
1x175 Volt--Versatile neutral driver
2x174 yellow champystar SPDs--seasoned and new for most stable drives
Distance Drivers
1x175 Champ Mamba--hyzer flips/turnover drives and lots of utility
1x174 TP Sword--breaking in for hyzer flips, less extreme flips than Mamba
1x169 VIP Sword--Max control D...Very HSS with very little LSS
2x175 VIP Swords--new and seasoned, most straight/control distance drives
1x175 Opto Villainn--overstable utility and distance driver (first disc I've gotten to fill both these slots satisfactorily)
Max/Open D(these rarely come with me, only long/open courses)
1x155 Blizzard Wraith--tailwinds and long turning shots
1x156 Blizzard Boss--Max S turn D
1x174 Z Nuke--for when I don't trust the Blizzards
1x174 Q-Quasar--for when I don't trust the Nuke...
Wind Contingency Discs (for when it's so windy it's no longer really disc golf)
1x175 ZESP Zone
1x179 FR Vector
1x175 11x FB
1x175 CFR CPD
1x175 Z Nuke OS

[keltik]

how is the GL Villain? Is it shapeable?

[discspeed]

how is the GL Villain? Is it shapeable?

I didn't really get to work with it enough to say very well. I wanted it to fly like a broken in version of my Opto Villain, but it's like a completely different disc. It's domier, has a much lower PLH, and the plastic shrank less so that the GL is noticeably thicker. The GL was a confusing disc because it seemed pretty stable at first, but when I got on it flat with any sort of power it was just long and straight, slightly turning and fading late. It has good glide, but it's not very stable in any wind. It takes it a long time to fade if it gets offline, pretty distance driveresque...Kind of like how a Star Monster-L flies after a tree hit or two. When I need a straight and long flight my Sword is much better than that. I found another Opto with a lower PLH than my original Opto and it is more what I was looking for. The Optos behave like long overstable fairway drivers (really classic shaped concave wing with a neutral to understable top), sort of like faster PDs.

[discspeed]

Update

172 Eclipse Anode--Putter
172 Soft Anode--straight/understable driver
172 Neutron Anode--stable driver

172 Neutron Tangent--upshots and short mid shots--truest disc I've ever thrown
178 Neutron Tangent--understable mid
176 Neutron Axis--long straight shots and shorter hyzers
174 Neutron Vector--straight with fade or S turns and shorter hyzers...similar to Axis, but better line shaper
177 Eclipse Vector--overstable mid...very HSS, good LSS

172 N Amp--pretty darn understable
174 N Amp--fairly understable, but can take a lot more power than ^^^^
175 N Volt--step up in stability from Amps, very straight from hyzer
175 N Volt--workhorse fairway, perfectly stable and versatile
173 N Shock--has a good amount of turn and fade, flies like worn EX only faster/longer
174 N Shock--Overstable but workable
175 Glow Champ FB--really overstable

169 VIP Sword--max D/good conditions/long turnovers
175 VIP Sword--stable and workable, doesn't carry at the end of flight like the lighter one
174 VIP Giant--seriously in love with this disc right now...Overstable, long, and versatile like a shorter rimmed disc

[JR]

Damn should i get another Giant since you have a non meathook. That is short. I'm jealous of truest disc you've ever thrown since i know the pedigree and loathe the hardness and slickness so i've passed up on the newest MVP molds after fondling them in the store. Perfectly stable Volt sounds nice too flight wise. You have quite differently flying discs of the same mold. Wear or production variances? MVPs are pretty durable so breaking in to a different role sounds like a long process. All of mine have stayed the same.

[discspeed]

Damn should i get another Giant since you have a non meathook. That is short. I'm jealous of truest disc you've ever thrown since i know the pedigree and loathe the hardness and slickness so i've passed up on the newest MVP molds after fondling them in the store. Perfectly stable Volt sounds nice too flight wise. You have quite differently flying discs of the same mold. Wear or production variances? MVPs are pretty durable so breaking in to a different role sounds like a long process. All of mine have stayed the same.

I'm not carrying anything MVP that is less than 8/10, so it's either run variance or in most the cases different feel/flight of different plastics. With my putters I use domey ones to putt with, but they are overstable so I drive with flat Anodes for straight shots. The N Anode is faster with less float, and that translates to several advantages over the others depending on conditions. Besides that my P and N Vectors are fairly different discs with the N being much more neutral, especially at low to medium speeds.

I've dropped the flippy Volt and Shock mostly because I don't want to get used to an MVP disc that has worn into another slot...I'd rather just use them as intended and keep them easy to replace.