Selecting a disc to use may seem easy, but it can be a challenge. Each disc has different characteristics such as plastic, weight, and flight numbers.
Plastic
The plastic can completely change the disc characteristics (such as stability, which we’ll explain later). The reason there are different plastics is because some are cheaper, some are easier to grip, and some are more durable. Cheaper plastics are not as durable, but they may be good for beginners because you don’t need a nice disc to learn the basics of throwing. Once you get better, you will want to upgrade.
Weight
Weight dramatically changes the disc. For beginners, lighter discs are better because your arm speed does not need to be as fast. Throwing a heavier disc requires more arm speed which is difficult for a beginner. Arm speed improves with better form, which is why more experienced players use heavier discs.
Beginners should use 150-165g discs.
Intermediate to experienced players should use 166-180g discs.
Flight Numbers
The flight numbers on a disc show the speed, glide, turn, and fade of a disc (in that order).
Speed is measured on a scale of 1 to 14. The speed number indicates how far a disc can go if your arm speed is fast enough, but for beginners, speed does not equal distance!
Glide is measured on a scale of 1 to 6. The higher the glide number of a disc the longer the disc will want to stay in the air.
Turn is measured on a scale of -4 to 0. If the disc has a low turn number, then the disc will tend to turn with the spin of the disc. For example, if the disc is spinning clockwise, the disc will tend to turn to the right.
Fade is measured on a scale of 1 to 3. Fade refers to how quickly the disc fights to get to the ground at the end of the disc’s flight. If the disc has a high fade number, then the disc will tend to get to the ground as quickly as possible.
For beginners, look for a disc with neutral speed number (no higher than 7) and a low turn number (like -2 or -3).
What/Where to Buy
A great place to get discs is your local Play It Again Sports store, or search for a starter pack from disc manufacturers like Innova, Discraft, Dynamic Discs, etc.
Also, these are great starter packs from Amazon:
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