[Innova] Is this an older/different type of Innova Champion plastic?

[TheSecondZ]

I just started disc golf recently, but I've already fallen in love with a 173g Innova Champion Aviar putter that my friend gave me to start out with. I can't throw drivers worth a damn, and mid ranges are still kinda sketchy. However, I feel confident throwing the Aviar nice and flat up to a decent distance.

I'm a bit confused though, since I've heard Champion plastic is the most overstable and very slick and rigid. Mine feels really grippy and "gummy" though, like it can be folded in half. Is this an older version of the Champion plastic? Whatever it is, I really like it, and it's nice how much more durable it is than the DX plastic (gets wrecked immediately anytime I hit a tree or pavement). I have attached a picture for reference.

 

[thechamp]

Occasionally Innova makes discs in gummy champion plastic.
Old thread about xg
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105314

 

[TheSecondZ]

So XG is just a variation of Champion, but still marketed as Champion rather than a separate plastic?

Is there a way to identify whether a Champion disc is XG, such as a certain version of stamping that they used for a period of time?

 

[Cranky]

Typically sold as xg, (marked on sticker) but not indicated on the stamp. One exception is the xg usdgc roc+. Usually xg is reserved for CFR/TFR.

 

[BB53641]

This is more than likely not XG. As mentioned, that is mainly only used for special releases or tournament fundraising. Innova does have batches of Champion plastic that end up being gummy. It happens sometimes especially with putters and midranges. I have an Omega and QMS that are quite gummy for a Champion type plastic.

 

[pearlybakerbest]

If you live in a warmer climate and keep discs in your car in the summer time, the premium plastics can get much softer and grippier than if they were always stored at a cooler temp.

 

[TheSecondZ]

If you live in a warmer climate and keep discs in your car in the summer time, the premium plastics can get much softer and grippier than if they were always stored at a cooler temp.

Is this a recommended way to help increase grip, or are there too many downsides like warping or reducing stability of the discs? In other words, is storing them in a hot car a mistake or an actual technique to change the characteristics of the disc positively?

 

[Three Putt]

I'm a bit confused though, since I've heard Champion plastic is the most overstable and very slick and rigid. Mine feels really grippy and "gummy" though, like it can be folded in half. Is this an older version of the Champion plastic?

View attachment 72690

Gummy Champion plastic happens. I notice it a lot in light discs, although I've got a heavier Champ Aviar that is Gummy Champ. It's not an "official" plastic, it's just within of the regular variation of what Champion plastic is.

As you play and gather discs, you will notice subtle changes in the same type of plastic over time. Some is stiffer, some is softer, some will be slick or waxy feeling, some will feel tacky...it's a moving target.

 

[pearlybakerbest]

Is this a recommended way to help increase grip, or are there too many downsides like warping or reducing stability of the discs? In other words, is storing them in a hot car a mistake or an actual technique to change the characteristics of the disc positively?

If you store them upright and not stacked on top on each other in your car, they should be fine in terms of warping the flight plate. I saved all the old diaper boxes from when my kiddo was a baby and they work great, kinda like a disc filing cabinet. I personally prefer older, grippier premium plastics, especially when the temp is below 80, which is pretty much a constant where I live in the summer. In really hot temps, gummier discs an get a finicky release for me.

In terms of stability, I haven't really noticed a difference in how gummy a disc is in the same mold. It is the abrasions along and on the bottom of the rim that tend to make discs less stable. Honestly, warped flight plates are kinda hit and miss on whether they change the stability much. I have noticed that slower speed discs tend to be effected more by warping then high speed stuff.

 

[Three Putt]

Is this a recommended way to help increase grip, or are there too many downsides like warping or reducing stability of the discs? In other words, is storing them in a hot car a mistake or an actual technique to change the characteristics of the disc positively?

Don't put them in direct sunlight. Don't leave them strewn willy-nilly around where they sit at uneven angles or have weight on top of them. Stuff like that are the no-no's that will make them warp/bleach the colors/etc. Stored upright on edge in your bag or in a box in the trunk or covered in a back seat will heat them up and make them feel softer and sometimes tackier when you pull them out of the car; I've never done it long-term to know if the disc will permanently change or if they just revert back when they cool down. The only reason I've ever done this is because I played after work with no time to go home first, so my discs de facto sat in my bag covered in the hot car all summer.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Hot...gummy...plastics...

 

[Alexplz]

Is this a recommended way to help increase grip, or are there too many downsides like warping or reducing stability of the discs? In other words, is storing them in a hot car a mistake or an actual technique to change the characteristics of the disc positively?

I would not recommend it. I would not recommend heating discs to make them grippy at all, but if you wanted to try as an experiment, float a disc in some sub-boiling water in a pan. Also, sometimes the buildup of scuffs from playing with a champ disc makes them feel a lot better in hand, possibly improving grip due to increased surface area.

 

[Biggie_Robs]

Occasionally Innova makes discs in gummy champion plastic.
Old thread about xg
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105314

Yeah, I have a gummy champ Valkyrie that's filthy pliable.

I got it from the Innova store, it's labeled U 166

It's orange and looks just like Champion orange should look.

 

[Casey 1988]

Don't put them in direct sunlight. Don't leave them strewn willy-nilly around where they sit at uneven angles or have weight on top of them. Stuff like that are the no-no's that will make them warp/bleach the colors/etc. Stored upright on edge in your bag or in a box in the trunk or covered in a back seat will heat them up and make them feel softer and sometimes tackier when you pull them out of the car; I've never done it long-term to know if the disc will permanently change or if they just revert back when they cool down. The only reason I've ever done this is because I played after work with no time to go home first, so my discs de facto sat in my bag covered in the hot car all summer.

I had a Cousin who purposely let a Champion Ryhno out for his putting putter in his car all summer to have a putter that is gummy so he can use it for putting. This disc is now nearly as floppy as Supreme plastic that Ching a defuncted side brand of Innova used for the Juju.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

As far as storing discs in your car goes...

My discs stand upright in my bag, and about the only time my bag ever leaves the car is when I play. My car is garaged at home, but during weekdays, it's outside in the elements all day, every day for years, in everything from sub zero to 100degree temps.

Never had a disc suddenly change its flight pattern due to weather.

 

[Casey 1988]

As far as storing discs in your car goes...

My discs stand upright in my bag, and about the only time my bag ever leaves the car is when I play. My car is garaged at home, but during weekdays, it's outside in the elements all day, every day for years, in everything from sub zero to 100degree temps.

Never had a disc suddenly change its flight pattern due to weather.

Me either however I did have a Putt'r in soft X go from a micro indent to mini on top of disc due to leaving in a car at one point. Putt'r at micro indent top was a 3 in glide and the mini indent top was a 2 in glide and I eventually gave the disc away to a player who used them only once broken in like mine was with a Spin for glide and power type putt she was really good at.

 

[Three Putt]

I had a Cousin who purposely let a Champion Ryhno out for his putting putter in his car all summer to have a putter that is gummy so he can use it for putting. This disc is now nearly as floppy as Supreme plastic that Ching a defuncted side brand of Innova used for the Juju.

Anecdotally I've had people tell me that they did this and it worked yada yada yada. I've never personally done it, and in the cases where people said they had done it I didn't know exactly the deal i.e. was the disc already sorta gummy before they started, did they leave it directly in the sun, etc. Since I'm short on facts, all I'm willing to commit to is the "some people say" Fox News version of this particular technique.

I mean, this is the Interwebz; I don't want to get caught spreading some stupid rumor like it's a fact. :|

 

[Casey 1988]

Anecdotally I've had people tell me that they did this and it worked yada yada yada. I've never personally done it, and in the cases where people said they had done it I didn't know exactly the deal i.e. was the disc already sorta gummy before they started, did they leave it directly in the sun, etc. Since I'm short on facts, all I'm willing to commit to is the "some people say" Fox News version of this particular technique.

I mean, this is the Interwebz; I don't want to get caught spreading some stupid rumor like it's a fact. :|

He told me it was in the car, it was the Standard Stiff almost if not just stiff enough to be called Jolly Launcher Champion Rhyno to start with the odd mini Dome inside the thumbtrack to the mold. All later runs of Champion Rhyno's from what I have seen are all like this after sometime in late 2000's. His is either an early flight number disc or just before flight number version as he had the disc in 2017 at a Family event. The Cousin was trying to replicate the Supreame type plastic He saw my dads main putter a Juju in but not a Juju disc, the cousin never liked the thumb grips when he tried my dads putter. Also so he would only need one putter for driving and putting/approach, a dumb move in my mind. I say he needed at least two of the same disc in same plastic and hot car them so if you lose one driving he is not up a creak without a putter in the bag.