[Vibram] Vibram Disc Golf Thread (Part II)

[StevenDodge]

Hi Everyone, sorry for the long delay between posts. I am back and we have got some exciting stuff coming down the pipeline. While I have not read much of the missed stuff yet (I will try to catch up), I did see Qikly's post above.

It is an interesting life here at Vibram. We have a plan of developing and testing 1 to 3 new models each year and this year has, from the outside perspective, seemed noticeably slow. It would be easy for me to say that we test and develop with care and diligence, and while this is true, there were also some internal repercussions from the reaction to the Four20. With the successful relaunch as the Solace (which we still cannot keep in stock, thank you!), we have regained our internal mojo, and I look forward to announcing some very exciting stuff over the next 1 to 36 months - yes, we plan waaaaaay out there.

Softober is coming up. Glow discs are slated. And I'm hucking new discs this month - and no, I will not be sharing anything on them until we are good and ready. Thank you for your considerable patience and for the well thought out words. I genuinely appreciate the fact that Vibram throwers are people willing to think outside the box, have tremendous passion for the sport, and offer constructive criticisms and genuine praise.

Here we go. Again!

 

[Joner11]

"And I'm hucking new discs this month - and no, I will not be sharing anything on them until we are good and ready."


Hucking new discs - that's what I like to hear!! Excited for what the next months will bring.

 

[PeterMonk]

Thanks Steve, I was worried the Four20 stuff may have made the higher ups at Vibram reconsider their involvement in disc golf. Nice to hear new stuff is coming down the pipeline.

 

[Gennataos]

So what do others think - has Vibram actually done a poor job of rounding out there lineup? Or am I just being a whiny forum-goer? While I think Vibram has in general displayed a marked, earnest interest in listening and responding to their consumers, I feel like they seem oblivious to how slowly they release new molds and an apparently lacking sense of incompleteness. I don't bag a lot of molds, but I would truly feel like I had an incomplete bag if I only threw Vibram, just as an illustration of how lacking their lineup is, however many years in they are.

Thoughts?

I can understand wanting to see more from Vibram, but I don't think they're approaching their release schedule poorly. Out of the box, they do lack an understable mid and fairway, but I don't consider that much of a detriment. Some of my best rounds have been with five Vibrams (Ridge, Obex, Trak, Lace, Lace), which is now my standard bag. I'd probably need to do some swapping around for windier conditions, but I don't feel I'd be lacking for shot selection.

I dunno....I think better players might find gaps, but for most players, they could do fine with what Vibram offers now.

Plus, I dig some of the niche stuff they do. The softs are comically soft, but fun to play around with. And the glows?...brightest, longest lasting glows I've ever seen.

 

[damagedLIVER]

Steve is back, WOOHOO!:thmbup:

 

[TrustYourRubber]

Took my lace out yesterday cause it was windy out and I always enjoy making my way to park and tossing into and with the wind. Anyway, the disc had a sunken top when I got it. Is it safe to assume the top sometime fills up with air and stays up into a head wind and sometimes it gets pushed down when launched? Will it fly drastically different based on launch angle and wind against the dome forcing it up or down? Can it be expected to be highly unreliable due to the top? Mine seems to fly wonky? Can't trust it or launch it consistently, I only threw one with it I really liked and it seemed to be just cause I cought a wind just right. Can anyone speak to how drivers fly with a sunken top after throwing them like that. Can they fly reliably and be trusted. How long can you keep a driver before experiencing sunken top?

The drivers get more dome-y as you use them. The tough part about the Lace is that it's a speed 14 according to Infinitediscs.com, so it tends to be inconsistent for most people. The unlace is a better driver for beginners (and it has a nice dome to it).

Really work on your form, and you should be able to throw the Lace. If you throw it nose-down, then it should come out nose up when you release giving a nice trajectory. It also works well on flick or forehand drive.

 

[IbexForAll]

The drivers get more dome-y as you use them. The tough part about the Lace is that it's a speed 14 according to Infinitediscs.com, so it tends to be inconsistent for most people. The unlace is a better driver for beginners (and it has a nice dome to it).

Really work on your form, and you should be able to throw the Lace. If you throw it nose-down, then it should come out nose up when you release giving a nice trajectory. It also works well on flick or forehand drive.

Meh, I can throw a boss consistently. I've got a couple 150 ish that I found I trust more than my lace. I forehand discs above 10-11 speed exclucisevely and have good results with sidewinders, I need to find me one of those, flicks and destroyers
I've got a friend who had same experience with his laces. I need a heavier or beefier firm version. Or one with a solid top. Or a sidewinder if I see one first.

 

[money 21]

really hoping for a speed 5/6 beefy disc like a trident or whippet. second wish is for understable disc in the same speed range. a stable speed 9/10 disc would be nice as well.

 

[Qikly]

Hi Everyone, sorry for the long delay between posts. I am back and we have got some exciting stuff coming down the pipeline. While I have not read much of the missed stuff yet (I will try to catch up), I did see Qikly's post above.

It is an interesting life here at Vibram. We have a plan of developing and testing 1 to 3 new models each year and this year has, from the outside perspective, seemed noticeably slow. It would be easy for me to say that we test and develop with care and diligence, and while this is true, there were also some internal repercussions from the reaction to the Four20. With the successful relaunch as the Solace (which we still cannot keep in stock, thank you!), we have regained our internal mojo, and I look forward to announcing some very exciting stuff over the next 1 to 36 months - yes, we plan waaaaaay out there.

Softober is coming up. Glow discs are slated. And I'm hucking new discs this month - and no, I will not be sharing anything on them until we are good and ready. Thank you for your considerable patience and for the well thought out words. I genuinely appreciate the fact that Vibram throwers are people willing to think outside the box, have tremendous passion for the sport, and offer constructive criticisms and genuine praise.

Here we go. Again!

Thanks for the feedback, Steve. Your time and thoughtfulness are well appreciated, by many of us disc golfers out here in internet land.

I'm glad to hear you're coming out the other side of any internal issues you've been ironing out. For whatever it's worth, I initially found the 420 name to be in bad taste, but your eloquent explanation of it on the video blog made me appreciate the spirit it was done in. So even if it didn't have the impact or shelf life you sought, it certainly made me think.

I look forward to the announcements as they come!

I can understand wanting to see more from Vibram, but I don't think they're approaching their release schedule poorly. Out of the box, they do lack an understable mid and fairway, but I don't consider that much of a detriment. Some of my best rounds have been with five Vibrams (Ridge, Obex, Trak, Lace, Lace), which is now my standard bag. I'd probably need to do some swapping around for windier conditions, but I don't feel I'd be lacking for shot selection.

I dunno....I think better players might find gaps, but for most players, they could do fine with what Vibram offers now.

Plus, I dig some of the niche stuff they do. The softs are comically soft, but fun to play around with. And the glows?...brightest, longest lasting glows I've ever seen.

It's largely just the slowness of the releases, and the accompanying lack of options. Only the putters and the distance drivers currently allow you to dial in on a mold that really suits your game, and even there it's limited. The fairways and the mids, the most used speeds at least in my bag, don't present you with a chance to weigh X mold against Y mold or X speed against Y speed. I don't necessarily need an Innova-esque oversaturation, but the level of choice and fine-tuning in, say, Latitude's or MVP's lineup is really a felt absence for me. And those two companies have been around for roughly comparable amounts of time as far as I know.

I'm with you that some of the quirks are a strength of theirs, for sure. It's partly what distinguishes their brand. I think the Softs are highly underrated - I defy someone to show me a more useful material for approaching a fast green. I just think that for a company with 12 molds having been released over the span of 4-5 years, releasing three distance drivers in a row all at the extremes of stability seemed a way too narrow focus.

But like I said, maybe I'm just a whiny forum goer.

 

[Vibramterraius]

The Wahoo, Dragon, and Hydra are presemted by Innova as floating discs. While playing through heavy rains and experiencing the affects of flash flooding on courses along with the fact that an Ascent and Obex where nearly lost due to the quickly formed pools of muddy water. The thought was turned to wouldn't it be awesome to have a floating Lace, Trak, Ibex, and/or Ridge. Even just one?

 

[TrustYourRubber]

Lineup / Strategy

It's tempting to think, 'well, I need this disc.' Sometimes though you need to learn your discs. If you can throw RHFH and RHBH, not to mention mix some overhand shots, then you put yourself in the driver seat. I see a lot of players who have 20 disc bag, and then throw RHBH predominately. This is fine, but there are a lot of holes, where it's just easier to throw RHFH. Why these players throw RHBH 95% of the time is still a mystery to me... more outside the box from a Vibramite.

 

[StevenDodge]

We've been a touch slower than I would have initially hoped this year, but overall, I'm much happier with slow and steady releases than what some others have done. I see a grid of 16 discs as being the base and by Summer of next year, we will be very close to having that grid full.

I see Tom Kim started a petition to get us to make a slow, deep, overstable putter. Perhaps it would double as a good, rubber catch disc for warming up. Where would you all put this in the priority queue? (I know where I've got it pegged, I want to hear more input to see if I should tweak my thinking.)

 

[cooktastic]

I throw Vibram exclusively and the two discs I am waiting for more than any others are an overstable speed 8-10 driver and an overstable midrange disc. I love the ibex/obex but I really want something a little more overstable than the obex. The putter lineup is the most rounded out area of the Vibram lineup as is.

 

[pmorgan1214]

To me i would like to see a gator style vibram disc, a firebird in vibram rubber, and a roadrunner in vibram. i think that would complete the vibram set with those 3 discs and maybe an understable mid range.

 

[tbird888]

What else is in the priority queue?

 

[Dana]

Welcome back, Steve. I'd keep the Tom Kim project low on the priority list.

 

[Brodysseus]

I'd worry about the OS/US fairways, Mobex/Ubex, and then the lid.

 

[JamesM]

Looking at my bag, I am still keeping 3 nonVibram molds because I have tried the Vibram equivalents and they don't "work" for me as well as the discs I have and am used to. I don't know if Vibram would be better served duplicating other discs with the superior grip and performance of the Vibram rubber, or if exploring new designs the Vibram rubber makes possible.

I would absolutely love a Cro in Medium, but that would only satisfy me and not serve the community as a whole.

 

[Gennataos]

A Vibram lid would be a novelty for me, little else. I'd say the a Firebird/xXx-esque utility driver is the biggest hole in the lineup. Maybe the O-Lace/Solace can fill that gap, but seems harder to range.

 

[Qikly]

A Vibram lid would be a novelty for me, little else. I'd say the a Firebird/xXx-esque utility driver is the biggest hole in the lineup. Maybe the O-Lace/Solace can fill that gap, but seems harder to range.

Ditto. It'd be a fun disc, and I can see a small crowd going gaga for it, especially since it'd be so different from the present Vibram putters, but I think there are way more pressing holes to be filled in the mids and fairways.