adriens95 Bag Thread

[adriens95]

I really enjoy reading these, so I figured I would make one as well. I like to tinker with what's in my bag, so my goal is to use this as a constructive way to work through what does and doesn't work for me, track progress, and get feedback. I haven't been playing competitively over the past two years but am looking to get back into league/tournament play since my area has an active community.

Vitals:
Years playing/experience: ~7 years of playing DG off and on, got more serious around 2018 when I quit ultimate
Throwing Style: RHBH predominantly, RHFH for approaches and when shot shape demands it
Golf Distance for putter/mid/driver: Putter: 240'; Midranges: 280'; Fairway: 320'; Distance Driver: 350'; Forehands: 280' ish

Other sport proficiencies?: Ultimate frisbee (HS and college)
Specific areas of desired feedback: general recommendations? I'm pretty open to feedback. My fairway/distance driver lineup in particular is a bit up in the air.
Immediate and long-term goals: currently working to clean up my form to add consistency as well as distance; build forehand to be similar in distance to backhand- it's my stronger Ultimate throw so I think there's a lot of untapped potential there.

Bag:

(Pretty much everything is max weight)

Putters:
Soft Wizard- this is my oldest disc; it's lumpy and super beat and mainly used for long putts and turnovers
Glow Wizard- my main putter that I will also throw on straight shots
Plasma Envy- this is filling the slot of a fresh driving Wizard and it bombs, almost out to mid distance
Fossil Scale- this is my go to upshot disc when I can play the fade due to the lack of glide or ground action

300 A3- almost exclusively for forehand approaches; it's faster than a Scale so I can power it up a little cleaner
400 A3- I use this as my utility OS mid and for upshots where I want skip or to spike hard; it's like a more workable Gator

Mids:
400 MX3- I lost my worn in Z Wasp and this is replacing it for now; it's not quite as stable and it kinda bumps against my Envy, but I love the plastic
2019 MJ ESP Comet- my straight comet that's starting to pick up some turn
ESP Comet- a nice, flat, and flippy Comet; I'm trying to work it in more to flip sooner/easier for those "fade right" shots so it's been taking the majority of my Comet shots

I also bag a Z Comet and Star Roc3 on occasion, but they're out while I try to work in my flippy Comet and the MX-3. I'll probably get a new Wasp to eitehr replace or supplement the MX-3.

Fairways:
GStar Leopard3- I'm loving it for easy tunnel shots and hyzer flips, and it is still fairly new so it's not super flippy.
ESP Vulture- I don't get much turn at all out of this, so I use it for straight-to-fade shots, wind, and hyzers; it's a little beefy for me to throw for distance. Could probably throw my Ledgestone Glow Undertaker here. I'm hoping to work it in some more.
Z Undertaker- My workhorse fairway. Very straight and long with a little turn and some fade. As it beats in and gets more lateral movement I'm liking it more.
Platinum Spear- This is a spot that's very in flux. Ideally this would be a flippy Undertaker that has some finish, but I quickly lost the ESP one I bought to try. It's a fresh Mantis basically, so it doesn't have the LSS finish of an Undertaker like I wish it did. I planning on testing the new Mint Jackalope for this spot.
Big Z Mantis- Fairly flippy and goes super far. Love this disc but it can be squirrelly sometimes.

Champion Color Glow Firebird- a little beat and gummy
Champion Glow Firebird- stiff and very overstable; depending on the course I may not carry this
Apex Freetail- squirrelly but it goes very far. Trying to dial it in for long sweeping turnovers and rollers
Tournament Hatchet- slower roller disc that's easier to get to the ground. I also use this for flippy standstills. This and the Freetail are a little redundant.

I really like the Undertaker-Mantis combo as my backbone fairways, but I'm often frustrated by the gap in stability between mine. I'm intrigued by the OLF and the Gyro 9 speed drivers but I don't want to mess with a good thing. I'm ordering a Mint Jackalope to hopefully sit in that gap for now, but depending on how my Undertaker continues to season I may have to change up my lineup.

Distance:
EK Fission Photon- balances wind resistance and distance potential well for my arm; the rim is kinda sharp feeling but I love the plastic
Apex Longhorn- my stable "workhorse;" feels a little slower than my other drivers
Lucid Trespass- has worked in to where it's too flippy to be a workhorse but it goes far
Fuzion Trespass/HD Journey- if I'm playing a longer course, I'll bag one of these for long turnovers and max distance S shots

My home course rarely calls for a distance driver, so these are nearly benched- especially while I'm working on improving my form. I don't feel attached to any of these molds but they work for now. I threw Wraiths for a while but lost my go-to 12 speed stamped Star one and got burned by a flippy replacement. I also own a Q Scorpius and Bio Enforcer that feel nice but I don't have much use for at the moment.

 

[jdw80550]

I'd try and pick 3 fairway discs. Then really focus on getting better with those. The more discs you add, the more you have to figure out. If you K.I.S.S. it helps find out where you are trying to dial into it. You've got a bunch of overlap there, and you could simplify your thought process.

I'd also say the same thing with your putters. I know people love their putters, so that can be more style choice. I'd say, keep a tab on which ones you throw in a round, and try your bag with only those. Then you will feel which discs your really missed or which ones you never even thought about.

 

[adriens95]

Yeah I think there's a fair amount of overlap in my understable fairways despite the speed differences. I could have pretty much everything covered with a Firebird-Undertaker-Mantis outside of windy days and rollers/utility flippy shots.

The putters are more about feel than anything, but yeah- if I had to I could probably carry one of the Scale, 300 A3, and Envy and be fine. The Envy is new to the bag so some days I feel like it could kick out half of my putters/mids and some days it feels awkwardly in between everything else.

The core of my bag is Wizard, Comet, Undertaker, and Mantis, so I fill out the rest of it based on what I think those molds struggle to do for me.

 

[adriens95]

I played my local doubles league for the first time (Oregon Park for those in the know) and rocked this bag. We didn't cash but I did bag a CTP with my ESP Comet.

Two Wizards for putting (Glow, Hemp)
Beat S Wizard
Fossil Scale

Plasma Envy
400 A3

400 MX-3
MJ Comet
Tournament Pro Comet- new addition that I want to beat in
ESP Comet

ESP Vulture
Z Undertaker
Sublime Jackalope- still trying to figure this out
Big Z Mantis

Color Glow Firebird
Apex Freetail

EK Fission Photon
Bio Trespass- swapped this for my Longhorn and I think it might stick. Pretty new and it bombs.
Lucid Trespass
Fuzion Trespass

I threw the Envy a lot and didn't miss my 300 A3 at all. My MX-3 has been disappointing me so it might get benched. It's no Wasp, and it feels kinda sluggish out of the hand. My flippiest Comet isn't all that flippy so I need to hit more trees and/or commit to my turnover lines better. My forehand is improving so maybe that will cover those lines.

 

[adriens95]

Played a practice round on the short tees at Oregon Park and threw

Fossil Wizard- freshish, threw this instead of my Glow to work in a new Wizard
S Wiz- pretty beat
300 A3
400 A3
TP Comet- pretty stable
ESP Comet
400 MX-3
Color Glow Champ Firebird
Freetail

I didn't putt well at all but I was pretty locked in throwing the fresh Wizard I put back in the bag. I've been muscling my putter shots lately to compensate for the stability and/or speed of the Scale and Envy so I want to work on trusting my touch.

The Envy has been tricky to dial in forehand but I was really digging the 300 A3. It's still pretty stable but it comes out very clean. I think the Envy is going to hit the bench for now, even though it's such a Swiss Army knife. I don't think I'm ready to commit to letting it kick 2/3 discs out of my bag. I might consider it if I get my hands on one in Electron…

The much maligned MX-3 performed alright. I like the rim better than my Roc3 so it's going to continue to get a chance at this slot. I don't throw a stable mid much at my home course but I want to get this more dialed in.

 

[Ilkka_Sinisalo]

Keep throwing that flippy comet!
This is making me write my own bag thread

 

[adriens95]

Keep throwing that flippy comet!
This is making me write my own bag thread

You bet I will! I've been periodically throwing it at a big tree in the yard to encourage it along. I'm realizing that if I trust my forehand more, I don't need to worry about not having a hyzer flip to turnover mid/putter right now.

I was hesitant to make a thread, but I'm really enjoying having a place to ramble and put down my thoughts. I love reading these so it's fun to participate. You should too!

 

[adriens95]

Played a quick round this morning with a buddy from the long tees at OP with a light setup and threw almost everything I bagged:

Glow Wizard
Soft Wizard
Fossil Wizard
OG Magic
Fossil Scale

Flippy ESP Comet
TP Comet
400 MX-3

Z Undertaker
Sublime Jackalope
ESP Vulture
Apex Freetail
Color Glow Champ Firebird

Fuzion Trespass

The Envy and A3s didn't get any work while I tried to dial in my Scale flick approaches with mixed results. To be continued there.

The TP Comet, Jackelope, and Undertaker were my workhorses. The core of my mid and fairway lineup feels solid right now. I ordered one of the Foundation TI Swirl Undertakers for kicks and will be testing it when it arrives. The Vulture and Freetail need more fieldwork to dial in since I so rarely reach for them. My flippy Mantis/Spear may rejoin the bag if the Jackalope is as consistently straight-stable as it was today.

I've been intrigued by the idea of a Magic as a "mini Comet" and after seeing a bunch of PA-4s in bag posts, and it was very intuitive for approaches. It's mostly redundant but very fun to throw, so maybe it will find a home in the bag.

There's a few holes where I could throw a distance driver and play the risk/reward game, so next round I may try that and see if it changes my look by much.

 

[adriens95]

Oregon Park Gold to Gold

Wizards (Glow, Soft, Fossil)
Scale

A3s (400, Fresh 300, Flippy 300)
MX-3
Comets (TP, Flippy ESP)

Undertakers (Z Glo, Z, Ti Swirl)
Jackalope
Firebirds (Color Glow, Beat Champ)
Freetail

Trespasses (BioFuzion, Lucid, Fuzion)
Photon[\I]

Italicized discs weren't thrown.

The bag is starting to tighten up and I felt pretty confident with this setup that included some backups for practice throws.

I threw Trespasses on a couple holes I normally throw a fairway and I think I'll stick with that. Trespasses are leaky when they're beat in but I'm going to try and dial it in and see if the extra reach gives me better looks consistently. I'm going to drop the Lucid because it's essentially the same as my Fuzion; both are much flippier than my Bio.

I leaned on the Firebirds more than normal, and I'm not sure I need the Vulture right now (and I haven't been happy with it tbh). I'm going to try and throw Firebirds and my beefiest Undertaker more and see how that works for that slot.

A3s are really fun to throw, so the Scale only got one toss and the Envy stayed home. I don't know if I actually benefit from throwing the flippy 300 A3, but I want to mess with forehand hyzer flips with it.

The Magic hit the bench because I realized that's what my lumpy beat up Wizard is for. My newest discs, my Jackalope and the Foundation Ti Swirl Undertaker, really shined. The MX-3 lives to see another day.

 

[adriens95]

Had a so-so throwing day playing a quick 18 at OP Gold to Gold.

Wizards (Glow, Beat Soft, Fossil): 9 throws
Scale: 2 throws
A3 (Fresh 300): 4 throws
Comets (TP, Flippy ESP): 3 throws
MX-3: 2 throws
Jackalope: 2 throws
Undertaker (Ti Swirl): 3 throws
Firebirds (Color Glow, Old Champ): 2 throws
Freetail: 2 throws
Trespasses (BioFuzion, Fuzion): 5 throws

Unthrown but bagged: 400 A3, Flippy 300 A3, Z Glo Undy, Fission Photon

Probably the biggest takeaway to work on lately has been forehands- particularly flex lines and trusting myself to hang my hyzer approaches a little wider. There are a few holes that I think I can attack better with a forehand that I struggle to execute currently.

My most missed disc right now is my Mantis, as it's a bit flippier than my Jackalope, so it's going to slot in for next round. It (and my Spear backups) are so money for easy distance and reliable turn. My try and roll them too as I try to dial that shot in for one hole.

I don't throw my 400 A3 often enough, so I'm going to give it a go at main FH approaches for a bit.

I maybe overdid it a tad with Trespasses, but they're going to continue to get work so I can dial them in. I may need a flippier one from my stash next round.

This was going to be a short post, but oh well. The bag feels solid right now after this exercise of trimming it back. I think it's helped push me to throw shots I'm comfortable executing rather than what I think should be the "right shot."

I'm feeling a little stagnant playing the same course so much, so I'm going to need to get out to some others soon.

 

[adriens95]

Played a ho-hum but enjoyable round at doubles yesterday at OP. I threw my Jackalope and TP Comet a ton, worked the Mantis back in, and got some nice throws with my straighter Firebird.

I threw:

Wizards (Glow, Soft, Fossil)
Scale
400 A3
Plasma Envy (might make a reappearance)
Comets (TP, Flippy ESP)
Jackalope
Big Z Mantis
Ti Swirl Undertaker
ESP Vulture
Champion FB (Beat)

My biggest takeaways were mental and about approach. I noticed a huge tension in my game between seeing forehand lines and not feeling like I had the ability to get the disc there at my power level, so I'm going to try and make that a point of focus in my practice rounds. My flick was always my strongest ultimate throw, so the potential is there.

For the amount I beat myself up about lacking in distance and inconsistently in form, I need to either commit to doing the field work and practice to push my ceiling, or I need to be easier in myself and try to play within myself more. It's very easy to get caught up with the "right" way to do things when at the end of the day, it's all about throwing the fewest strokes possible.

I have my first tournament in years this November at the Etowah Fall Salute, so I'm excited to get myself physically and mentally ready for that. If anyone has any good tournament prep advice, it would be much appreciated.

 

[adriens95]

Picked an Upper Parks Shift as a belated birthday present to myself and not only is it a fantastic bag, but it's also been a huge help in streamlining my bag.

Right now, the core bag is looking something like

Wizards x 2
Plasma Envy
300 A3
400 A3

1-2 Comets
ESP Buzzz

Color Glow Firebird
Ti Swirl Undertaker
Big Z Mantis

Fission Photon
Bio Trespass (Straight)
Flippy Trespass

With ~3 flex spots:
Flippy 300 A3
Apex Freetail
Sublime Jackalope
Vulture/Z Glo Undertaker for wind

I also just picked up a board flat 400 A3 with a Kevin Jones bottom stamp and I'm pumped to try and work it into the bag. Hopefully the flat top will make it a little more comfortable on touch forehands.

I play my first tournament in a while next weekend, so I'm getting some practice in this weekend to nail down the flex spots in my bag.

 

[adriens95]

Played MA2 in the Etowah Fall Salute this weekend and was pretty happy with how I played for my first tournament since 2018.

The first course of the day (Deerfield) was one I've only practiced once, and my putter was ice cold. I made out with a +3 but was driving pretty well. Shot and putted much better at Etowah and finished -1. My previous rating was somewhere in the 850-860 range, so solidly beating that in both rounds (879 and 903) felt like a big win for me.

My bag for both rounds in my Shift was

Wizards (Glow, Flippy Soft)
Plasma Envy
A3s (Flat 400, Fresher 300, Beat 300)

ESP Buzzz
ESP Comet

ESP Vulture
Ti Swirl Undertaker
Sublime Jackalope
Big Z Mantis

Firebirds (Color Glow, Beefy Champ Glow)

EK Fission Photon
Trespasses (Freah Bio, Flippy Lucid)

I am happy to say I threw every disc in my bag at least once, and almost never felt like there was a shot I couldn't make with what I had. This thread and the feedback I've gotten has been huge in helping me simplify my game. In the off-season I'm looking forward to getting even more comfortable with my bag.

I can't help but tinker, so I did pick up a pair of Wraiths to work back into the bag in place of stable Trespasses, as well as a Z Buzzz because my ESP is a brown and gray supercolor monstrosity from the 2015 Memorial.

 

[adriens95]

This thread has been really helpful as I try to simplify my bag, and the streamlined decision making has been really great.

So far, my 2022 goals are to play two tournaments, get into a consistent putting practice schedule, and add consistency to my forehands as well as adding more angles. I started to really trust my forehands last year with a lot of success, but now I'm interested in trying to round out the bag with molds I feel comfortable throwing both ways.

My bag to start the year:

Glow Wizard
S Wizard
300 A3 x 2 (One straight, one flippy)
400 A3
Plasma Envy
Fossil Scale

ESP Comet
Z Buzzz - home wrecker but I can't stop throwing it

Champion Color Glow Firebird
Apex Alpha
Z Undertaker
Sublime Jackalope - more reliable right now than my more flippy Mantis
Apex Freetail - working to dial this in

EK Fission Photon - beefy "Wraith"
PFN Star Wraith - Picked up a pair of Wraiths and oh how I've missed them; going to use them as workhorses forehand and backhand this year
Fuzion Trespass - flippy "Wraith"

Discs on the chopping block: flippy A3, Scale, and Jackalope/Freetail

My putters are kinda cluttered but the different discs perform better on different style courses so they'll start in and I'll track how they're used.

I could get away with just a Mantis instead of the Jackalope-Freetail combo, but I like having the extra stability of the Jackalope for now. The Freetail is long and reliably flippy, but squirrelly; I'm going to try to dial it in this year or else sub in the Mantis.

Discs I want to try this year: Meteor, Pyro

By far the scariest conflict is that the Buzzz keeps stealing shots from my Comet. As I throw more forehands, I appreciate the flexibility of the Buzzz as I really struggle to throw the Comet forehand, and the Buzzz is taking the straight shots I would use a Comet on. As much as it pains me, I may pick up a Meteor to try out. Otherwise, the two will have to learn to play nice.

It would probably be the 17th out of 17 disc in the bag, but an OS mid faster than an A3 would be nice for shots that need more beef than a Buzzz but not the dump of a Firebird. I may also test a Rival to fill that role.

 

[adriens95]

I was feeling risky, so I used an Amazon gift card to get a Z Meteor, and played a short and cold practice round to give it a spin.

Pros: it came in dayglo yellow (colorblind gamble worked out) and feels very comfortable backhand and forehand

Con: at 177+ g it's basically a Buzzz right now

In a cruel twist of irony, I abandoned an attempted Roc cycle a few years ago because of lost discs and a desire to be able to order off the shelf replacements. I have 5 Comets on the bench to see if a Meteor would have more separation from the Buzzz that snuck into my bag last year.

I'm not planning to abandon the Buzzz Meteor pairing because in the long run I think it'll be exactly what I want, but it's pretty funny to think that I gave up trying to beat up Rocs and then Comets only to need to give this new Meteor the backyard thrashing anyway.

(Although maybe I'll play some Roc-Comet rounds throughout the year to keep the old soldiers battle ready…)

Bag pick for fun- the Shift has been a revelation and it's going to take really specific course conditions to make me haul out my BP1 V2.

 

[konza_kid]

Bag pick for fun- the Shift has been a revelation and it's going to take really specific course conditions to make me haul out my BP1 V2.

I love my shift, I carry it %70 of the time, if there is water I'll carry my voodoo bag that can haul a bit more. I also have a rebel in the basement I may break out if it requires lots of discs, and rougher terrain.

 

[adriens95]

I love my shift, I carry it %70 of the time, if there is water I'll carry my voodoo bag that can haul a bit more. I also have a rebel in the basement I may break out if it requires lots of discs, and rougher terrain.

I was worried it might be too small, but it's been perfect for everything except practice rounds where I want to carry a lot of extra discs. I'm often pushing my daughter in a jogging stroller when I play, so that extra weight I save is very appreciated.

Also, I frequently lurk your thread and really appreciate the simplicity of your setup.

 

[adriens95]

Discs I want to try this year: Meteor, Pyro

…It would probably be the 17th out of 17 disc in the bag, but an OS mid faster than an A3 would be nice for shots that need more beef than a Buzzz but not the dump of a Firebird. I may also test a Rival to fill that role.

So I was at Play it Again with a buddy helping him pick out his first discs and a brand new Lucid Sparkle Verdict was in the used bin and I snagged it. I had a Verdict years ago and never really gave it a fair shot at the bag, but I'm excited to revisit it. It feels more Wasp-ish than I remembered which I'm actually very happy with.

 

[adriens95]

Today I played the longs at my home course and threw:

Wizard X 2
Envy
A3 X 2
Meteor
Buzzz
FB
Alpha
MOLF
Jackalope
Freetail
Wraith

Bagged a Verdict but didn't throw it

I picked up a beat up MOLF based on all of the love I see in these ITB threads, and you people might be on to something. It's a very nice hyzer flipper so I'll be giving it more air time to beat out my Undertaker.

I also picked up a domey third run Apex Alpha and it flew great. Both Alphas I have are pretty beefy for my arm speed but they fly great.

The Meteor is picking up some turn from getting thrown into the tree in my yard which is great to see. The Freetail was surprisingly a standout in the wind today for tailwind shots- it's really starting to click for me.

 

[adriens95]

I played a practice doubles round at Etowah with my buddy yesterday and we both had Jekyll and Hyde rounds that balanced out into a decent showing.

I leaned on my new MOLF a lot and it's clicking in a way that I had been hoping my Undertakers would. I'm getting an amazing mini distance driver S flight out of it. Now to decide whether I want to invest in a cycle when I have multiple Undertakers, Alphas, Vultures, and H3 V2s laying around.

I ended up throwing

Wizard x2
Envy
A3 x 2
Meteor
Buzzz
MOLF
Z Undy - one throw
Firebird
Alpha (3rd run domey Apex)
Freetail - really starting to get good control of it
Wraith
Trespass