[Innova] Choosing the right weight for a Firebird

[elkevo]

Does anyone throw a Firebird at anything other than 175g?

I'm a self admitted noodle arm and like to throw the Firebird for forehand shots. The only problem is, I can't stretch it out as far as I would like to. So, I've been throwing a Thunderbird when I need more distance. Would dropping to a 165g-170g Firebird help?

 

[Moose33]

Lighter ones turn a bit more but aren't a lot less beefy. Couldn't hurt.

 

[dysmike]

Lighter ones turn a bit more but aren't a lot less beefy. Couldn't hurt.

This. :clap:

 

[SaROCaM]

I have a ~165g Champ Firebird that is still decidedly a Firebird. It is worth trying out a lighter one.

 

[Keller]

I have a 159 champ, 162 FAF Star and a 172 star. The lighter ones can get you more distance, but side winds can cause issues. Even though it's a Firebird, a light disc can still get pushed around. I played a round the other day in the wind and I just couldn't dial my 162gr in. I was getting odd air bounces and some real far sail offs when the wind got under the flight plate for some spikes.

The light ones are great in the woods though, but the heavy one went back in my bag for the open courses on windy days. Lighter weight ones are also not as predictable on forehand rollers, if you throw them.

Another option might be a max weight champ Banshee or even a Champ Eagle-X. Some of them are pretty damn beefy or even a heavy G* Firebird.

 

[dysmike]

Yea, I have a couple 150's.. they fly pretty much like firebirds, but winds do push them around more. It's not much of an issue IME over 165 though

 

[DanJon]

I carry a 166 Flat Champ.

It's still a Firebird.

 

[LateWesternSky]

What issues are you having with the Thunderbird that makes you want to try something else? If it's just distance, I would advise against the lighter weight firebird since Firebirds don't tend to glide.

 

[Jay Dub]

Noodle arm here and I throw a 168 flat Star Firebird. It works for me for everything a Firebird should do. Great into the wind and a few other shots I need.

 

[joecoin]

I'm a noodle arm. I have a 153g DX, a 165g DX, a 156g Champ and a 161g Star.

Love the 2 DX's, working to get to know the Champ and hate the Star.


So far.

 

[broomerang]

I guess I will echo LateWesternSky, what issues are you having other than distance and how much distance are we talking about?

Hardly anyone on these forums can throw a FB over 300' Most of have started bagging other discs in the distance OS slot.

FD3, Thunderbird, PD, etc.

If your throwing the FB under 300' and need more distance than I would try the other discs, and there's nothing wrong with Star Thundys, they have more glide, more distance, and a good fade.

Lighter FB are great too as many have said, but if your trying to throw over 300 into some headwind a 150 class FB could give you some issues.

 

[slowplastic]

I had a 170g champ for a few years and it got lost, replaced it with a 175g champ of the exact same dome and it flew identical right away. So I a few grams there isn't a big difference.

Going down to 150's they are fun to throw if you have good velocity as they can get hammered on and wait before hooking up, but then they definitely hook up like a Firebird.

I think a Felon is a good option if you want a thrower Firebird for a more average arm speed, plus they feel flat and gummy generally. Thunderbird has more of a sweeping fade, where the Felon stays straight for quite a while then dumps hard almost like a Firebird if you want that OS finish.

Thunderbird is awesome for FH though, it holds very straight and doesn't have that mandatory skip finish so you can control it for tighter shots than a Firebird/Felon. If you want to see Felons on FH shots watch any Wysocki or Eric Oakley rounds.

 

[thechamp]

A Gstar Firebird isn't a bad option if you like Gstar plastic.

 

[Casey 1988]

Does anyone throw a Firebird at anything other than 175g?

I'm a self admitted noodle arm and like to throw the Firebird for forehand shots. The only problem is, I can't stretch it out as far as I would like to. So, I've been throwing a Thunderbird when I need more distance. Would dropping to a 165g-170g Firebird help?

with most drivers past the midrange style fairway disc, I get 170-172 grams and 172 grams is max weight. I try to stay more under 172 grams at 170 grams & 171 grams. Exception is my 167 gram Champion Destroyer, other is 170 grams and is too much for me to use in most circumstances though it does get used on dogleg left holes and for heavy wind.

Another option is to use a teebird, the slower fairway version of a Thunderbird at max weight.

 

[elmexdela]

Does anyone throw a Firebird at anything other than 175g?

I'm a self admitted noodle arm and like to throw the Firebird for forehand shots. The only problem is, I can't stretch it out as far as I would like to. So, I've been throwing a Thunderbird when I need more distance. Would dropping to a 165g-170g Firebird help?

if youre a noodle arm should you even be throwing a fb

 

[elkevo]

What issues are you having with the Thunderbird that makes you want to try something else? If it's just distance, I would advise against the lighter weight firebird since Firebirds don't tend to glide.

Really it's just distance. I have trouble squeaking my forehand out past 200' with the FB. I can get a Teebird out to 250'-275', but it is a lot straighter than what I like.

Really looking for a longer Firebird to do Firebird things.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[SD86]

Does anyone throw a Firebird at anything other than 175g?

I'm a self admitted noodle arm and like to throw the Firebird for forehand shots. The only problem is, I can't stretch it out as far as I would like to. So, I've been throwing a Thunderbird when I need more distance. Would dropping to a 165g-170g Firebird help?

If you prefer that 165-170g range for your discs, as I do, then go for a Firebird in that range. It should be fine for you.

 

[broomerang]

Really it's just distance. I have trouble squeaking my forehand out past 200' with the FB. I can get a Teebird out to 250'-275', but it is a lot straighter than what I like.

Really looking for a longer Firebird to do Firebird things.

At those distances the best advice is probably to keep practicing. You can throw midranges like a gator out to 200 on FB lines.

If you throw a star teebird with a clean release on hyzer it will hit those FB lines at 250-275

 

[armiller]

Give a heavy Champ Thunderbird a try. It flies a bit like a beat in Firebird. I feel like I have a decent forehand but sometimes my Star Teebird will yank left or go straight too long. (Maybe I do better with speed 9 rim?) At any rate, the Champ ThB is a winner for what it does. It still needs decently clean form, but it's still more forgiving than some others and will pull out of a flex better than the Teebird unless you're putting some bad torque on it. Sounds like it might be helpful at your distance.

 

[slowplastic]

Really it's just distance. I have trouble squeaking my forehand out past 200' with the FB. I can get a Teebird out to 250'-275', but it is a lot straighter than what I like.

Really looking for a longer Firebird to do Firebird things.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Firebirds don't really go that far FH, it's just a popular FH disc because people either have lots of torque or want a disc that is guaranteed to go right when they throw a FH. They only go far FH if you can already throw far FH and/or put it on some flex.

For reference a flat Firebird FH for me is 290-310'ish, a Felon flat is 300-320'ish, and a Thunderbird is 320-340'ish. So any time you go down in stability you gain distance...but lose that hook. If you want a Firebird hooking flight but extra distance then you have to go up in speed, I use a beefy Destroyer for that true OS line at 300'+ FH shots.

I do think that the Thunderbird is great for a step down from a Firebird, very consistent but it doesn't have the same OS skipping finish as a Firebird or Felon.