Everyone always wants the latest and the greatest from the biggest. There are many players out there that will only throw Innova, Discraft, Prodigy, or Trilogy companies and they bash people that throw the other brands because they are sub-par. Where did all this come from? I know I started to get sucked into the Trilogy only bag. It took me some time but I did realize that every brand has something to offer. Slowly I have started to get away from all Trilogy and am in the process of making a good attempt at a truly mixed bag. In a previous blog, I displayed what I have in my bag. I had 18 Trilogy (not including all the backup putters), 2 Innova, 1 Kastaplast, and 1 Gateway. Currently I have dropped down to 13 Trilogy, 2 Innova (different than the last post), 2 Discraft, 2 Daredevil Discs, 1 Kastaplast, and 1 Gateway. I also have 3 discs in the mail and 3 others that will vie for a spot in my bag in the next coming weeks. 2 Dynamic Discs, 2 Discraft, 1 Millennium, and 1 Disc Golf Aotearoa. The question that comes to mind after sorting out my bag is, Why do people put so much importance on only one company? Which leads to why do people bash on companies other than the one that they like? The only answer that I believe that should come up is if you are a top level pro and are sponsored by one of these companies. That company sponsored you so you should only throw that. Since most of us are not top level pros and are not sponsored by any companies, why do we then force ourselves in that direction? And why do people bash other companies? Look at the most professional players out there. They don't bash each others companies or each other for throwing something else. Simon Lizzote put up an Instagram video of him throwing putters from 4 different companies and made the profound statement of "Yep, they all work". Here's a link if you haven't seen it. We as disc golfers shouldn't be attacking each other. Instead, we ought to pull together. We ought to not turn people away from the sport with negativity, but draw people into it by the positive fun and friendships that can be made through this sport. Also, if you don't like a company, it doesn't mean that you can bash them for being sub-par. What doesn't work for you may work for many others. I may not like any Innova midranges but that doesn't mean that they don't make good product. I can't look at Paul McBeth and what he's done and then say that Innova makes inferior product because I don't like the midranges. I can't say that Discraft is bad because I haven't found a putter from them that I like. McCabe (back in the day), Doss, and MJ, have proved otherwise. I'll take it even a step further. I haven't seen anyone here throw Legacy so they must be a bad company, right? Let's go watch some highlight reals from Steve Rico and see if that claim holds up. Spoiler alert, it won't. This post has gone into a completely different direction than it was going when I started. I apologize for my rant. Now onto what I was supposed to say.
It is not necessarily the plastic and the molds that make one company great over another. While it may help greatly, it's the perception of how people see companies, and how long a company has been around that matters. So what is it that makes Innova better than Kastaplast, Discraft better than Daredevil, or Trilogy better than ABC Discs? Fullness of disc lines could be an answer, but if I love my Kastaplast Kaxe Z for a midrange/fairway tweener, what makes it worse than something a larger company has to offer? Nothing, its just the perception of the small company probably not having the resources to make a superior product. What I'm getting at is go out there, take a risk on an unknown company. Help the little guys survive because the more disc manufacturers that we have making it, the more our sport can continue to grow. I took a risk with Kastaplast and Daredevil and so far I am loving that I did. I also took a risk with Disc Golf Aotearoa and that hasn't panned out as well as I would have liked, but that is the thrill with the unknown. You have no idea what possibilities may lie ahead of you when you try something different, something new, or something that is not so mainstream. It may work out well in your favor and you'd be happy that you took the leap, but even if it doesn't work out, you took a leap of faith in favor of helping disc golf grow. I also would like to add that while the Disc Golf Aotearoa leap didn't work out for me, a friend of mine is giving it a shot and so far it seems to be working out for him. Your actions of buying into something new may lead your friends into something that they believe is the most fantastic discovery for them since they got into Disc Golf. Lets get rid of brand hatred which is only tearing down the game that we all love, and grow the sport together regardless of what we all throw.
I'm finding that a mixed bag is very freeing. Now I can take any disc I like and I don't have to try to find something within a certain company that might be what I need. All of the companies shown below, and some, have been in my bag at one point, but here is a representation for every company that I still own.
Like a book: Daredevil Discs, Kastaplast, Gateway, Whamo*, Discraft, Westside Discs, Innova Champion Discs, Millennium Golf Discs*, Dynamic Discs, Disc Golf Aotearoa*, Latitude 64.
*Not Currently in the bag. No offense to Whamo, but I don't like the plastic so it won't be in the bag.
Mixed bagging is not about who is the best, but what more I can achieve with different options while helping everyone involved in the sport.
Last but not least, everyone should seriously check out Daredevil Discs. If the rest of their product is as good as my two discs have been, they're worth checking out.
Remember, regardless of what you throw, keep throwing, and grow the sport! Please comment and share this! We at Flying Dutchman Discs want to know what you think and what small brands, if any, you have in your bag.
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