Disc Weights

[Technohic]

please expand upon this comment.

Scarpfish answered this question for you 2 posts down. What if it isnt your perfect weight?

I could handle 168 for my fairways but would be sorely disapointed for my mids, putters and drivers. Some people, wouldnt like that weight at all.

 

[gsw_03]

I like having varied weight options in discs. Different weights fly differently and therefore are necessary for players of different levels. With that being said, I generally try to get discs in the 170 - 175 range. I know that there is variance but that is true with most products. I just deal with it and I don't bother reweighing discs so it doesn't mess with my head.

I agree that having weight options is nice, but don't think it is absolutely mandatory. Given the number of molds and plastics available to the general consumer today (I would estimate we have 3-4X as many discs as we did when I started playing in 2000), it is not necessary to have different weights available. If a Teebird at 168g does not fly well, try a TL. If that's not your cup of tea either, you can try a Viking or Valk (Discraft users have similar options). The problem with so many disc options on top of multiple weight options is that recreational golfers may tire of the sport before ever giving it a chance just because they are overwhelmed by the # of frisbees available to them. I am still trying molds in different weights to see what they might do for me, 10 years later. Simplicity is not always a bad thing, even to the disc freaks among us (myself included).

 

[garublador]

There have been several threads about this same thing happening, weight being off 4,5 or 6 grams, thats ridiculous, and the funny thing I hear some people say is " well how do you expect a company with only 20 employees to weigh each disc accurately, I mean thats not an easy thing to do?". My answer is " put them on a cheap digital scale and do it?" doesn't innova, discraft and other major companies make millions of dollars? Cant they buy a 50 dollar digital scale? It does seem retarded and you probably wont be able to ever justify to me how it happens and why, theres no reason for discs to be off on weight. If innova wants to pay me 15$ an hour ill sit there at the factory and weigh their discs for them since it seems that they cant do it themselves correctly. I dont get how hard it is to weigh a piece of plastic to within 1 gram. Step #1, put disc on scale. Step#2 write the accurate weight on bottom of weighed disc. Is that rocket science, I guess so because they cant do it.

I'd like to see a link to a $50 digital scale that has an accuracy of 1g. The ones I found online were at +/- 6g.

Plus, how can you totally ignore what everyone is saying about the discs ability to gain and loose water?

Basically, what you're suggesting won't actually help at all. I'd guess that they're already doing what you're suggesting but at a higher accuracy.

 

[Technohic]

I agree that having weight options is nice, but don't think it is absolutely mandatory. Given the number of molds and plastics available to the general consumer today (I would estimate we have 3-4X as many discs as we did when I started playing in 2000), it is not necessary to have different weights available. If a Teebird at 168g does not fly well, try a TL. If that's not your cup of tea either, you can try a Viking or Valk (Discraft users have similar options). The problem with so many disc options on top of multiple weight options is that recreational golfers may tire of the sport before ever giving it a chance just because they are overwhelmed by the # of frisbees available to them. I am still trying molds in different weights to see what they might do for me, 10 years later. Simplicity is not always a bad thing, even to the disc freaks among us (myself included).

Lets take the TL example. Lets say, the designated weight was decided to be 174 and you usualy like your Teebird at 165. TL you say to compensate for the extra stability and stability wise, maybe that makes sense, but weight also affects the glide characteristic so the TL, while it shares the characteristics of a Teebird in everything asside HSS, still would not match your old, lighter Teebird.

There is a reason there are so many molds and so many weights and that is because there are so many tastes and styles. I know, it drives me nuts that Innova comes out with so many different discs but at the same time, more times than not, they actually have a disc for what I want while other companies, with smaller arsenals, do not.

 

[volklgirl]

A single weight range would suck for someone like me without an arm. Most of my discs are in the 150 class, and you guys would mostly HATE that. If the "acceptable weight" was in the low 160s, I could probably deal with that, but anything heavier would probably make me just up and quit. Since we already have a shortage of women in the sport, I think it's a particularly bad idea.

Weight choices are a good thing!

If you order on line and then weigh it, send it back if it's that big a difference. Just sayin'.

 

[Frank Delicious]

There have been several threads about this same thing happening, weight being off 4,5 or 6 grams, thats ridiculous, and the funny thing I hear some people say is " well how do you expect a company with only 20 employees to weigh each disc accurately, I mean thats not an easy thing to do?". My answer is " put them on a cheap digital scale and do it?" doesn't innova, discraft and other major companies make millions of dollars? Cant they buy a 50 dollar digital scale? It does seem retarded and you probably wont be able to ever justify to me how it happens and why, theres no reason for discs to be off on weight. If innova wants to pay me 15$ an hour ill sit there at the factory and weigh their discs for them since it seems that they cant do it themselves correctly. I dont get how hard it is to weigh a piece of plastic to within 1 gram. Step #1, put disc on scale. Step#2 write the accurate weight on bottom of weighed disc. Is that rocket science, I guess so because they cant do it.

uninformed post of the day.

 

[Frank Delicious]

please expand upon this comment.

To expand on what other people have said. Do you know one of the reasons Innova stopped making CE plastic? The reject rate. Do you know how many discs would get rejected if they all had to weigh an exact amount?

 

[valkyrie]

Theres nothing you can really do about it, so.....i guess ya jsut have to live with it.

 

[garublador]

Do you know how many discs would get rejected if they all had to weigh an exact amount?

Probably similar to the number of rejected Ultrastars. Discraft doesn't seem to mind making those.

 

[Frank Delicious]

Probably similar to the number of rejected Ultrastars. Discraft doesn't seem to mind making those.

Do they actually weigh those individually? I know a couple of people who play ultimate really competitively and they say lots of the discs don't weigh the same.

I have a Sumo heavy lid that is supposed to weigh 200 grams but actually weighs 213.

 

[ERicJ]

If weight is really that important to you then ignore what is written on the disc. Bring a scale to the store, wiegh the ones you are considering and buy your discs a couple grams lighter than you want. They will absorb moisture.

If you seriously want to do that then this is a sweet option:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180449800591
About the size of a deck of playing cards, so it easily fits in your pocket.

 

[AdamCaudle]

I can never tell a difference in weight until it's about 10-15g's apart.

 

[ERicJ]

Marshall Street ran one of their monthly contests where they weighted a sample of discs from each manufacturer and posted the results ranking them from most accurate to least. Unfortunately the page was pulled when they redesigned their website.

In my own experience of weighing hundreds of discs, Quest is by far the least accurate and Discraft is the best. Innova is quite often off by a gram or two, but I did get a DX Eagle once that was marked 170, but came in at 160 on my own scale.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Yes. Either suck it up & realize that that is the status quo that the manufacturers have no incentive to change, or buy from a retailer (such as Marshall Street) that weighs & correctly relabels each disc before selling it.

I've gotten discs from Marshall Street that were not weighed correctly. Two were off by 1 gram (not a big deal), and one was off by 3 grams. Considering that was the first time I ordered from them, suffice it to say it was also the last. :thmbdown:

 

[Jukeshoe]

Let me clarify: they were off from what I ordered. I didn't actually weigh the discs.

 

[GLong]

I weigh all of mine on a 30 dollar digital scale I got at a gas station. I check it every so often with a nickel (5 grams if I'm correct) and it's never been off by more than .2g .

I find that about 30-40 percent of the discs I've seen are off by enough for me to justify remarking it ie. more than .5g They are usually 1-1.5g off and probably only 1 of 10 is off by 2g or more

My only question is: with Innova or Gateway the weights are written on by hand. I would assume that means they are weighed by hand. It's not like they are weighed by a machine or something and given a weight range stamp like Discraft discs. So then how do the hand-written weights vary sometimes by so much when cheap accurate digital scales are obviously available?

 

[Frank Delicious]

they weigh them in stacks and then divide the weight by the # of discs weighed and that is what they write on the discs.

Also if you think a gram or two makes a big difference in how your discs throw, you are probably using that as an excuse for why you are inconsistent.

 

[RHINESEL]

They are usually 1-1.5g off and probably only 1 of 10 is off by 2g or more

My only question is: with Innova or Gateway the weights are written on by hand. I would assume that means they are weighed by hand. It's not like they are weighed by a machine or something and given a weight range stamp like Discraft discs. So then how do the hand-written weights vary sometimes by so much when cheap accurate digital scales are obviously available?

From what I have read the discs are weighed in groups of 10 and then the average weight is what is written on the bottom of that group.

That's why some may be a gram or two high and some might be a gram or two low.

 

[bjreagh]

If you seriously want to do that then this is a sweet option:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180449800591
About the size of a deck of playing cards, so it easily fits in your pocket.

That thing looks awesome. I have always wanted to buy a kitchen scale for $30, but that seemed too much for just weighing discs. If it works well it seems like a deal. Anybody have one? Thanks ERicJ!

 

[GLong]

they weigh them in stacks and then divide the weight by the # of discs weighed and that is what they write on the discs.

Also if you think a gram or two makes a big difference in how your discs throw, you are probably using that as an excuse for why you are inconsistent.

thanks for sharing that info about the weighing, definitely makes sense as far as saving time and efficiency goes.

and as far as the weight goes, yes it does make a difference. i dont make that an excuse, and thats why i weigh them. molds are made with max weight in mind, for the most part a lighter weight of a mold in the same plastic will be less stable and have more glide. you may have a disc that seems less or more stable than what other versions of the same disc have seemed, and it may just be a discrepancy between marked and real weight.

especially with putters. ive had a few putters that seemed to have a lot of fade and no glide. weighed them - they were marked 174-175 - all weighed 178 or 179g. I know % wise its not much, but with some discs it makes a bigger difference than others.