The Reason I Push Disc Minimalism

[Weebl]

1, what do you think of stingrays as a beginner's first midrange? All beginners who i let use my stingray loved it, very predictable.

2, If you chose to come out with a towel/mini/tags/stencils for dying discs , I'm buying multiple, to give to local tournaments for sponsor prizes (with your permission of course)

[Blake_T]

i don't like stingrays as mids for two reasons:

1) imo, they aren't mids, they are tweener/fairway drivers.
2) i only like starting people with discs that fly like normal discs. it teaches them to aim to the right and play the fade.

[discmonkey42]

So I've been playing a lot (2-3 rounds per day for the last couple weeks) with just a 165 champ eagle, 180 s element x, and 175 soft wizard. I'm having a great time, my game has improved a lot, and I've added shots and lines I never would have thought of before. I'm putting the eagle out on a straight line hyzer flip about 310' straight before I get a sweeping fade that takes it out another 15' or so. The element x is going 250ish with no flutter and a nice, solid line. I add a 172 broken in e spirit for heavy wind when needed. Most importantly, while my distance is down a tad, my accuracy is way up with much lower scores!!!

I think it's time to add one more disc to the mix but I'm not sure what would be the right one. I've narrowed the pool to a 172 dx teebird, 170 dx valk, 169 star tl, 172 star teebird, a 172 champ 11x teebird, or a 169 champ valk. I would love some input on what would be the next disc to compliment the three I am using whether it comes from that list or the stacks I've got laying around. I plan on adding one to the mix and just using those 4 for another week minimum.

Outside of adding field practice to my regimen, this has been the single greatest benefit to my game yet.

[Thatdirtykid]

my vote would be the valk or tl, because the eagle (although is broken in) is more of a moderately overstable disc, and a good controllable turnover disc is in order?

[Weebl]

Before switching to a flippier max distance driver (valk) I would suggest getting a DX Teebird, once you can get a Teebird to do anything you need/want, then a valk will be that much more versetile and controlable.

[Blake_T]

dx valk or x xs should give a little distance bump and discs you can push out to ~360' which should prep you for nearly anything on the market.

[Bradley Walker]

Before switching to a flippier max distance driver (valk) I would suggest getting a DX Teebird, once you can get a Teebird to do anything you need/want, then a valk will be that much more versetile and controlable.

My pink T-Bird behaves just like a Valk. The pink is the most "gummy" of the DX plastics. I believe this makes the disc more flippy. When a little flippy, the T-bird will glide out like a Valk (sans left fade at the end), and behaves better downwind with a long straight glide.



The blue is the most stable, and the stiffest. The red is about the same.

The stiffer the plastic in DX the more stable. This can be used to your advantage. Lots of different tendancies without changing molds.

So I eliminated the Valks in my bag for dowwind and turnovers and just use the pink T-bird.

[discmonkey42]

dx valk or x xs should give a little distance bump and discs you can push out to ~360' which should prep you for nearly anything on the market.

Ok, so when you said this, I added a dx valk and dx teebird. Been playing with these for 2 weeks now. Love them and don't reach for the eagle anymore ever. I also bought a beat glow roc that immediately replaced my beat element x. I then added a new dx roc for a more overstable mid. I'm at 5 discs and my scores are consistently lower (not just a hot round here and there). This is so much better than before! I think this might be drifting a little too much from the thread topic, so I'm moving this over to the Blake's bag thread from here.

[discmonkey42]

Was reading today and came across this (found in William Gibson's "All Tomorrow's Parties"):

"The handles of a craftsman's tools bespeak an absolute simplicity, the plainest forms affording the greatest range of possibilities for the user's hand.

That which is overdesigned, too highly specific, anticipates outcome; the anticipation of outcome guarantees, if not failure, the absence of grace.
...................
'You make it sound so simple. I wish that it were that simple for me.'

'It could be', the man says, 'but you are addicted to complexity.' "

Stopped reading and immediately thought about how passionate Blake is about disc minimalism. I like the idea of looking at discs as a craftsmans tools. I'm not sure how much of a craftsman I am, but the quote seemed appropriate.

[Pagan]

Stopped reading and immediately thought about how passionate Blake is about disc minimalism. I like the idea of looking at discs as a craftsmans tools. I'm not sure how much of a craftsman I am, but the quote seemed appropriate.

HMnn...

There's a point to this. With nearly 17 differant molds in my bag I find myself reaching for the same 5 - 6 molds for most games.

Gateway Odyssey Putter
Buzz (Differing weights and plastics)
Cyclone
Tracker
Surge

I could sell most of the others and just get some heavier/lighter compliments to my most used molds

[Muffin_Man]

i don't like stingrays as mids for two reasons:

1) imo, they aren't mids, they are tweener/fairway drivers.
2) i only like starting people with discs that fly like normal discs. it teaches them to aim to the right and play the fade.

As a player that not only lends discs out to beginners but also has to recommend 1 disc (to people that refuse to buy 2), what would you guys suggest is the best one to start out with? I've started refraining from recommending Stingrays and other super-understable discs for point number 2 above. So... Shark? Spider? Coyote? Comet? Or does it not matter?

Blake, you've given the Goblin honourable mention for "Best Beginner Disc" - I'm curious as to what stats you'd give it as it's still too new for your flight chart?

Thanks.

[Blake_T]

the goblin is on the flight chart.

blunt, slow, and a big understable:
shark, classic roc, xd, goblin, coyote, spider, comet, hawk, etc.

[Frontman311]

Call me cheesy, but I smiled inside when someone asked me what I threw. I said, "Valks, Teebirds and Buzzes." (this with a bag of discs in front of me.

[superq]

I too am all about keeping it simple, plus I am surrounded by a slew of "gotta have the latest greatest" So I get the oppourtunity to throw all the discs pretty much the week they hit the shelfs.

I have been throwing Gateway exclusivley for the last 5-6 months and in that time have probally thrown new molds of 10-15 discs and there has not been 1 that I felt was different enough to warrant buying it let alone throwing it... (with the exception of the star stingray gateway does not do understable and as an old schooler that flight and the feel of the disc sits well in my mind)

Find what you like, throw what you like, leave the hype machine alone, if we all stopped buying everything that the manufacturers mold it might force them to do a little more R&D and come up with something "different"

[discmonkey42]

Just a quick question to settle a dispute here at home. If you have in your bag:

teebirds and tl's
orion ls and lf
wizard and warlock
Firebird x and L

How many molds are you carrying? 4 or 8????