Hey, new to the site! Fairly new dgolfer. Although it's not good for my form I love playing with new discs (gotta spend my money some where) . So far I love the sidewinder, it's real straight. The Flash looks good at first then half way through it's flight it....gets distracted. What's a good disc between the Flash and Sidwinder for stability, that's usable for an arm throwing 275-300 ft? Thanks for the input.

P.S. why do I have to buy my discs from a liquor store or smoke shop?

You don't. check out discgolfwarehouse.com

Well, I'll take a stab here on something between the Sidewinder and the Flash. I don't know much about the Discraft drivers, but I have thrown quite a bit of the Innova ones and have heard the Flash referred to as similar to the Valkyrie, maybe someone else can verify this. I only tried a Flash one round and I would tend to lean toward that comparison myself.

As for Innova, try a few of the DX drivers like the Cheetah, Leopard, or even the Valkyrie. Not only are they a bit less stable then their Champion counterparts, they are also cheaper to test out and fall in line with what I think you are looking for. The DX Valkyrie is one of my main "go to" drivers for a consistent straight or slight "s" shot and the Cheetah is also always in my bag.

....gets distracted.

:confused: What does that mean exactly? Fades out left (rhbh)? Hits a tree? Sees a pretty blond disc on the next fairway over?

Depending on how I am throwing, my sidewinder can fade out as much as my flash. I've just started throwing the Flash so that maybe a factor. A Valk is a good suggestion.

Good luck.

I would recommend a DX Valk also or a Pro Starfire. My flash was pretty stable almost overstable and I could get my Pro Starfire to throw closer to my Sidewinder. Also you may wanna try a Beast or Discraft XS.

Leopard. Don't be ashamed to go for a 150-class; some experienced relatively hi-power throwers (such as myself) prefer them for driving. :D

Sorry, I throw RHBH. The Flash fades hard left. So far it's been decent side are, and when I'm going for all out power... in between shanks. I'm pickin up some new discs at the end of the week, I'll put that on the list. I'm also thinking maybe a leopard. I'm turning over Cyclones so I know I'm ready for something over that stability range (Excellent starter disc) :D.

You might want to try a Millenium Orion. I throw a 160, and it's a little more stable than my sidewinder 168's, with the same angle of release. The Orion is long!

I was under the impression that the Flash was more overstable than the Champion Valk. I would say if you love the Flash until it fades hard find a lighter Flash, a heavier Sidewinder, or go with a Valkyrie. Maybe the Viking too? I haven't thrown one, but that is what I have heard.

I totally agree with ajones, changing weight (or sometimes color), might be the ticket. I use a 160 Sidewinder for definite turnover shots, and a 168 (or more) for shots I want to go straighter. Same with the Flash.
Of course, both discs will get less stable after some run-ins with trees, :D.

discs in between sidewinder and flash for stability:

valkyrie - dx/pro/champ
xl - d/x/z
cheetah - dx/kc
teebird - dx/pro
gazelle - dx
eagle - dx
xs - x
cyclone - d
polaris ls
jls
orc - dx/pro
leopard - dx/pro/champ
viking - dx/champ
xpress - x/z
voyager
sabre - s/e

if your flash is fading a lot, i would probably recommend something slower, especially at the power level you are citing.

Sweet, a man with facts. The legendary Blake. Known even by a novice like myself. Your site is very helpfully. We'll try some slower discs, the Leopard is slower and seems to have a large fan base, will a lighter weight in the sidewinder (174 g. all I could find) add more distance, and if so will I lose some control? Control is important due to the mutant mosquitos and poison ivy on our courses when the disc goes onto the wooded edges, or is swallowed whole.

well... as for my thoughts on the leopard... the leopard really wasn't very popular upon its inception in late 1999 and it kind of took until the release of champion edition (and blends since then, pro line and champion) to gain a real foothold as it was one of the few discs that most people could throw well in super-premium plastic.

personally, i'm not a fan of the leopard's lack of fade properties... as i favor discs that finish more predictably (fading to the left).

a lighter weight sidewinder will sacrifice control, and may or may not add distance depending upon your power (for many, it becomes too flippy).

if your main focus is control, i would suggest something slow, controllable, straight flying, and predictable but without overbearing fade. dx gazelle and dx teebird come to mind. if you are dead set on champ/z plastic, i find the z xl or q jls in lighter weights to be some of the straighter flyers that finish a little better than the leopard.

Leopard is a great roller or mountain disc.

Sidewinder , with some Hyzer. :D

One of the earliest drivers I ever got was an Elite Z - XL. It was one of the easiest discs to control that I'd tried. It also flew very well.

Several years later, I still carry this disc, and still pull it out for a lot of my drives. It's one of the best control drivers I've used. You can turn it either left or right, and count on just a bit of left fade at the end of the drive, followed by just the smallest skip that seems to get you ten feet closer every time.

If I hadn't had this disc when I was learning, I would probably have gotten frustrated with this game and quit. It was the first driver that did what I wanted it to do.

Last week, a buddy wanted to try my sidewinder on a right turn dogleg hole. I let him use it, but it was my go to driver for that hole. I took out my XL and carved one of the prettiest sweeping any drives I've ever thrown, and parked it right next to the hole. This disc still surprises me how well it flies.

Elite Z plastic, while just a bit slick, will stand up to all the trees you hit while learning this sport.

Oh yeah ... IMHO :cool:

I would have to say that the XL is the best way to go, when looking for a disc in-between a Flash and a Sidewinder. /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

I've thrown many xl's and all of them were great for control

There are many good suggestions on the thread for you. I lost my flash, and it didn't break my heart since it was unpredictable for me.

I don't think anyone has suggested a crush or a wildcat.

A viking is a good choice too.

Before the tragedy with the lake, I was using a flash, viking, wildcat, and an xpress. The only reason crush wasn't in my bag was that I traded my crush for the flash.

If you've never thrown a wildcat, it's worth a try. I've gone to using my xpress alot; it is extremely straight for me.

imo, the wildcat is slightly more (over)stable than a flash (especially the latest run of z cats) and the crush is noticeably more overstable than a flash = reasons why i did not list those as imo they fall outside the range of sidewinder to flash.

i do feel the cat and flash are similar stability, but if you evaluate them from a speed sensitive point of view, it ends up being a little more complicated. e.g. for someone w/ less than say, 330' of power, the flash will be slightly more overstable of a finisher... but for players who throw farther, the cat will be more stable, especially for players who throw > 400'

The wild cat goes fairly straight for me. He's right about the crush. The stability was wildcat, flash and crush for me. But the flash started turning right on me. It was never that overstable for me at all.

I think I just had some bad luck with my flash. I had an orange one that was very overstable; I don't remember what happened to it.

I must of lost my mind: good disc between sidewinder and flash: Z xpress.

I bought it for a right turn driver, but it is very stable for me. I believe the intention is for them to get beat in to turn right, but with the elite Z beating them up is not that easy.

The Z-Xpress is highly underrated!!!

A lot of people miss the SE VALK because it was a great turnover/roller right out of the box. Alas, the Z-Xpress was found!!!! It might not be as fast as the SE VALK, but i get the same results..................long turnovers, and HUGE rollers!

...of course, thrown with hyzer release, you'll get a nice straight shot.

When you are talking DiscCraft plastic, the XS is a very smooth and easily worked disc. I have parked 400 ft. holes with straight XS shots and an-hyzer XS with ease. Although I have a pretty solid arm, this disc can work for anyone b/c it's so easy to throw.

Jason knows what he's talking about. You need to come to Vets on Sunday for the 2400 ace pot, and then on Wed at Grapevine, the ace there is closing in on 300. That's 2700 to shoot at in DFW!.......with Xpresses, and XSes :)

I already took home a $500 gift certifcate from a CTP on hole #2 at the Vet, but that was with a Roc.

Try an XS, and you will be happy. Sidewinders can be worked to be good discs. The flash is just a flash in the pan, IMO.

Wow, gotta digest all this info. I picked up a Xpress today. Haven't thrown it yet. My girlie friend got it for me. Right after I played a round :(. I've also put an XL and Leopard on the list. This should get me started. Thanks for the quick and informative responses.

Off the subject I just played Ewing park in Des Moines, a massive park. When fatigue begins to set in do you normally go with lighter less stable discs to compensate, or suck it up and get rippin em?

XS is also a good disc; I still carry the original I bought which is the first disc I got when I started playing.

i was thinking of maybe a Valk and a CE Leopard.