What is the best/your favorite disc retriever

[JuanA]

Much of the water we have here is runoff from the mountains, and ICE cold this time of year so I try not to wade in whenever possible.

I got a Golden Retriever for my Birthday last month, and so far it's saved me three trips into the water.

I like the Golden Retriever because of how compact it is. I use an Innova Standard bag, and the GR easily fits in the front pocket. I don't even know it's there.

 

[Declarkus]

I got a Disc Gator for Christmas. I've only remembered to bring it for a few rounds, but I've used it during almost every round. I've snagged discs out of water, trees, briars, cactus and from barbed wire fence lines. The tent style pole collapses down to maybe 18". It requires a slight mod to the connection of the two pole sections closest to the gator head to prevent the head from spinning. I just slightly crimped the connection with pliers. I probably wouldn't have bought one, but I've really enjoyed having it. I forgot it on a trip recently, and 2 of the 3 discs lost in the water could've been recovered if I had remembered to bring it.

 

[Mr. Butlertron]

I've been using a Kwik Stik for about a month and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I especially like it for retrieving discs from the fringe or rough, which can be thick, thorny, and full of ticks and spiders this time of year. It gets used a lot more than I thought it would. My only qualm is that Kwik Stiks are hard to get water out of once they've been submerged and will rust or seize if not properly maintained.

 

[notapro]

I only have a Golden Retriever, but man o man that thing is the nuts. Maybe if I was a better player I wouldn't need it so much, but I've already saved two discs this year alone.

 

[MiketheGoalie]

I carry a baseball for trees and a Hooker for water. So far so good.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

What is the purpose of the hook on the Quick Stick? Can it pick a disc up or drag it? I'm looking to pick one up and just trying to understand the advantages it might have over the other head.

 

[John Hansen]

Homemade.

 

[ray1970]

What is the purpose of the hook on the Quick Stick? Can it pick a disc up or drag it? I'm looking to pick one up and just trying to understand the advantages it might have over the other head.

I like mine. Mostly because it's easy to carry. I have retrieved discs from water and from trees. You do need to be able to see the disc though. In other words, if it's in the water and you think you'll just drag the bottom until you find it you probably aren't going to have much luck.

You know how you've grabbed the closest stick or branch you could find to try and retrieve a disc? It's basically about the same as carrying a fourteen foot stick or branch with you.

I didn't want the large head thing on mine because I'm mostly carrying it in a backpack and it seemed like it would just get in the way.

Picture of how easy it is to bring along even with a cheap little backpack.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Here's an objective look at some of the more popular options.

https://discgolfreport.com/8-excellent-disc-golf-retriever-options/

 

[Discbee]

I use a Disc Claw. I have extra rope that I can attach to the ring on the Disc Claw rope with a carabiner if I need more length. Overall it works well and I am happy with the Disc Claw

 

[Consult20]

What is the purpose of the hook on the Quick Stick? Can it pick a disc up or drag it? I'm looking to pick one up and just trying to understand the advantages it might have over the other head.

The only advantage of the hook is its compactness, the rectangular loop end is far superior for retrieving discs from water. A lot of times you can retrieve discs from water with the small hook but it may take quite a bit longer than with the loop end. If they come out with a way to quickly change ends, that would be ideal.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

The only advantage of the hook is its compactness, the rectangular loop end is far superior for retrieving discs from water. A lot of times you can retrieve discs from water with the small hook but it may take quite a bit longer than with the loop end. If they come out with a way to quickly change ends, that would be ideal.

The guy that makes them posted something on Reddit about working on one with a detachable head.

As far as the hook goes I recently started playing a course with a lot of cactus off the fairway in places and was wondering if it would work for me in that situation. I do have a disc gator but it can be kind of a hassle setting up and taking down vs a telescoping pole

 

[Consult20]

The guy that makes them posted something on Reddit about working on one with a detachable head.

As far as the hook goes I recently started playing a course with a lot of cactus off the fairway in places and was wondering if it would work for me in that situation. I do have a disc gator but it can be kind of a hassle setting up and taking down vs a telescoping pole

Yes the hook would be fine for that and probably preferable.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

The guy that makes them posted something on Reddit about working on one with a detachable head.

As far as the hook goes I recently started playing a course with a lot of cactus off the fairway in places and was wondering if it would work for me in that situation. I do have a disc gator but it can be kind of a hassle setting up and taking down vs a telescoping pole

Completely agree. I like my Disc Gator and 11 ft reach of the tent poles, but a compact telescoping pole with 14' reach would be better, especially if you could change between hook or wire loop.

You'd think some sort of thread or spring loaded quick connect device would be easy/cheap enough to be feasible.

 

[Casey 1988]

I have a Vive flip and lock in place grabber with gun style grip where the device can be used with minimal effort using one hand to get discs from water and plants up to 30 inches + the persons arm length. I also have a few 2-3 golf balls in my bag for discs stuck way up in trees as long as the disc is not an old plastic 10 meter putter or XD Sonic. Yes even modern Wham-O catch discs do not shatter being hit as they are made thicker then the two discs mentioned above. I lost too many water bottles to deal with discs up in trees.

 

[BillFleming]

The guy that makes them posted something on Reddit about working on one with a detachable head.

As far as the hook goes I recently started playing a course with a lot of cactus off the fairway in places and was wondering if it would work for me in that situation. I do have a disc gator but it can be kind of a hassle setting up and taking down vs a telescoping pole

YES! I live in Arizona and carry the KwikStik with the hook. I mainly use it to get discs out of trees, but it has been great for getting discs out of cacti and bushes with thorns.

I'm hoping they come out with the version where you can switch out the heads (hook/grabber).

 

[ray1970]

I had actually considered modifying mine to take interchangeable heads. Probably not a daunting task.

I just haven't put forth the effort because I have probably pulled five or six discs from trees for every one disc I have pulled from the water.

Plus, every disc that was in water and was visible was easy to retrieve even with the little hook.

 

[BillFleming]

I have three retrievers.

InZone Kwik-Stik with hook: retrieves from trees, cacti, bushes, and some water
Dynamic Discs Golden Retriever: retrieves from water
The Ultimate Disc Golf Grabber: retrieves from water

Some ponds in Arizona are 'lined' and they don't allow sharp objects to be used for retrieving. So I use the Golden Retriever for those....but the Ultimate DG Grabber has prongs and I find it works better when I can use it.

Is it "Ultimate"? I don't know, but that is what it is called on the YouTube video on how-to make one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8QuXAMCyD8

 

[Casey 1988]

I have three retrievers.

InZone Kwik-Stik with hook: retrieves from trees, cacti, bushes, and some water
Dynamic Discs Golden Retriever: retrieves from water
The Ultimate Disc Golf Grabber: retrieves from water

Some ponds in Arizona are 'lined' and they don't allow sharp objects to be used for retrieving. So I use the Golden Retriever for those....but the Ultimate DG Grabber has prongs and I find it works better when I can use it.

Is it "Ultimate"? I don't know, but that is what it is called on the YouTube video on how-to make one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8QuXAMCyD8

Seems to me that a worn in (no longer flies neutral) 1/4th an Ultimate disc woud work better for a disc grabber then use a plastic 3 tine rake for the inner grabber. That would be easier for a floating style of disc grabber so you have the confidence to use a water floating disc.

 

[Casey 1988]

Completely agree. I like my Disc Gator and 11 ft reach of the tent poles, but a compact telescoping pole with 14' reach would be better, especially if you could change between hook or wire loop.

You'd think some sort of thread or spring loaded quick connect device would be easy/cheap enough to be feasible.

I almost got a golf ball retriever they have several lengths on Amazon, that had a square end on it double length for two golf balls and I almost got that to modify but the price was way high even for the lesser priced one.