I am thinking about moving on from my workhorse fairway driver mold, the Stag. Availability was low even pre-COVID, and now in times of further reduced inventory I am getting the old wandering eye. For reference, my current fairway lineup is as follows:
Lucid-X Felon 9/10 (utility OS)
Biofuzion Felon 7/10 (primary FH driver; hard fade BH shots)
Getaway 6/10 (basically the Teebird slot. Control driver with reliable fade and a moderate amount of wind fighting ability)
Stag 9/10 (workhorse BH -1 turn/2 fade)
Stag 6/10 (workhorse BH -2 turn/1 fade; get out of jail FH disc)
Hatchet 5/10 (utility US)
Replacement criteria:
1. Availability in various plastic types. If I am going to consider replacing the Stag, then ideally I would want to reduce molds at the same time. So I'd either like to switch to something that is slightly more stable than a Stag to steal the Getaway slot (and then use a less stable plastic in lighter weight to cover Stag shots) or roughly equal to Stag stability (so that the less stable plastic in lighter weight could possibly steal the Hatchet utility US slot).
2. Workability. This is a slot in the bag that I like to put on a variety of angles and be able to power up/down.
3. Hand feel. For my paws, a slightly wider rim feels better. I recognize that this typically contradicts my Workability criteria, hence why the Stag has been such a unicorn mold for me.
I am already familiar with quite a few of the popular options.
-FDs are nice, but availability has been spotty for them too. Plus, I would want a P-FD for less stability to go along with a max weight C-FD and 170ish S-FD, and they don't make P-FDs. Rim is a little narrow for my taste but I could adjust. The FD is probably the closest to what I want out of discs I have tried.
-Leopard & Leopard3 – hate the narrow rim. Like really, really hate it.
- Escape is too fast. I bagged Escapes prior to Stags, and they just don't power down the way I want to use them.
-Saint – See comment on Escape. Also, plus rim shenanigans are not cool.
Discs I haven't tried but would like to:
-Essence. In the hand this really feels a lot like a Stag. And based on reviews it could be the most apples-to-apples Stag replacement, but availability is low and I don't think I would get the mold minimizing aspect that I'm looking for.
-Sidewinder. It's been long enough since I've thrown one that I don't really remember it. While listed as a Speed 9, I recall the rim being a little more manageable than a lot of the newer Speed 9 discs. Could a max weight Champ SW cover straight-to-fade shots? If so, then I could see 2-3 Sidewinders replacing both my Getaway and my Stags. This one is really intriguing.
-TL/TL3. Since I live at elevation and only throw fairways 300' on average, I'm pretty sure a TL or TL3 could cover straight-to-fade shots. My question is whether I can find one off the shelf with enough turn to fly like a Stag. Are Pro TLs or Pro TL3s a thing?
-Exodus. I've never thrown Eagle-Ls, but supposedly the E-L is just a tick more stable than a fresh Stag. And supposedly the Exodus is the second coming of the Eagle-L. I have two concerns: first, is the I-Blend a possible replacement for the -2 turn/1 fade beat Stag slot, and second, how often are Exoduses run? There are some S and I Blends still available, but they appear pretty picked over given what weights are left. And I am leery of committing to an Innova-made mold that isn't Innova branded, since those discs seem to be really low priority on the production calendar.
I'm happy to hear any and all recommendations, but those are the molds that are most intriguing to me.
Lucid-X Felon 9/10 (utility OS)
Biofuzion Felon 7/10 (primary FH driver; hard fade BH shots)
Getaway 6/10 (basically the Teebird slot. Control driver with reliable fade and a moderate amount of wind fighting ability)
Stag 9/10 (workhorse BH -1 turn/2 fade)
Stag 6/10 (workhorse BH -2 turn/1 fade; get out of jail FH disc)
Hatchet 5/10 (utility US)
Replacement criteria:
1. Availability in various plastic types. If I am going to consider replacing the Stag, then ideally I would want to reduce molds at the same time. So I'd either like to switch to something that is slightly more stable than a Stag to steal the Getaway slot (and then use a less stable plastic in lighter weight to cover Stag shots) or roughly equal to Stag stability (so that the less stable plastic in lighter weight could possibly steal the Hatchet utility US slot).
2. Workability. This is a slot in the bag that I like to put on a variety of angles and be able to power up/down.
3. Hand feel. For my paws, a slightly wider rim feels better. I recognize that this typically contradicts my Workability criteria, hence why the Stag has been such a unicorn mold for me.
I am already familiar with quite a few of the popular options.
-FDs are nice, but availability has been spotty for them too. Plus, I would want a P-FD for less stability to go along with a max weight C-FD and 170ish S-FD, and they don't make P-FDs. Rim is a little narrow for my taste but I could adjust. The FD is probably the closest to what I want out of discs I have tried.
-Leopard & Leopard3 – hate the narrow rim. Like really, really hate it.
- Escape is too fast. I bagged Escapes prior to Stags, and they just don't power down the way I want to use them.
-Saint – See comment on Escape. Also, plus rim shenanigans are not cool.
Discs I haven't tried but would like to:
-Essence. In the hand this really feels a lot like a Stag. And based on reviews it could be the most apples-to-apples Stag replacement, but availability is low and I don't think I would get the mold minimizing aspect that I'm looking for.
-Sidewinder. It's been long enough since I've thrown one that I don't really remember it. While listed as a Speed 9, I recall the rim being a little more manageable than a lot of the newer Speed 9 discs. Could a max weight Champ SW cover straight-to-fade shots? If so, then I could see 2-3 Sidewinders replacing both my Getaway and my Stags. This one is really intriguing.
-TL/TL3. Since I live at elevation and only throw fairways 300' on average, I'm pretty sure a TL or TL3 could cover straight-to-fade shots. My question is whether I can find one off the shelf with enough turn to fly like a Stag. Are Pro TLs or Pro TL3s a thing?
-Exodus. I've never thrown Eagle-Ls, but supposedly the E-L is just a tick more stable than a fresh Stag. And supposedly the Exodus is the second coming of the Eagle-L. I have two concerns: first, is the I-Blend a possible replacement for the -2 turn/1 fade beat Stag slot, and second, how often are Exoduses run? There are some S and I Blends still available, but they appear pretty picked over given what weights are left. And I am leery of committing to an Innova-made mold that isn't Innova branded, since those discs seem to be really low priority on the production calendar.
I'm happy to hear any and all recommendations, but those are the molds that are most intriguing to me.
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