A Golf Disc's True Weight

I have to admit to a certain degree of frustration over the actual weights of the discs I have acquired since I began (um, became addicted to) this sport.  What is written by the manufacturer on the back is not always accurate, and based on my recent tests, more likely inaccurate.
I bought a digital gram scale that reads down to 1/10 of a gram and spent last night weighing every disk I own.  To my surprise, most of the discs weighed either more or less than the number written on the back.  I'm not just talking .1 or .5 of a gram, but several were 2 grams or more under or overweight.
One of the things I have been trying to do over the past six months is to cut down on the variety of discs I carry in my bag, decide on a specific discs to carry, and then carry multiples.  As an example, I have always loved throwing a Champion Wraith.  A 173g Champion Wraith was the first Wraith I ever purchased and boy, did I grow to love that disc.  Well, after losing it in a pond, I purchased another and made sure it was 173g.  Of course throwing it brand new was not the same as throwing my worn-in Wraith.  In fact, it seemed like I was the one needing to make adjustments to accommodate the characteristics of the new Wraith.  Eventually, after some wearing in, I again became comfortable throwing that disc.  Since then, I have bought and thrown a half dozen Champion Wraiths, all with 173g written on them and I would say two of the Wraiths fly exactly the way I expect them to, but the others do not.  A couple proved to be way too under stable compared to what I was used to, and others more over stable.
Over the past month, I have purchased three Champion Wraiths all with 173g written on the back.  The idea was to carry all three in my bag in case I lost one, damaged one, etc.  If I did so, I could just reach in my bag and pull out another trusted, go-to Wraith.  Well, that was the theory anyway.
I did purchase the Wraiths from different sources - one off ebay, another from an online retailer and one from a local store.  Not a one of them flies the same.
I weighed them last night on the scale, and despite all three having 173g written on them, not one of them weighs 173g.  The weights are; 172.2, 173.6 and 175.5.  Now, I'm not sure how much difference a gram here or there really makes, but I feel I need to attribute at least some of the inconsistency in their flight to the different weights?
So if I want three Wraiths that weigh exactly the same, is there anyway to really accomplish that, or will it always be a hit-and-miss situation?

[Disc Nation]

We handle a LOT of plastic in a given year and our experience mirrors yours. The weight marked on a disc is very often not accurate. Some manufacturers do a better job than others. Ching, for example, marks the weight down to the tenth of a gram on their discs and it tends to be accurate. Most other manufacturers do not have this level of precision.

We recently converted to an exact color and weight model on Disc Nation and one of the challenges was that we had to individually weigh discs from manufacturers who do not specify an exact gram weight. Discraft and DGA, for example, use weight range stickers (i.e. 164-166g) on some plastics, like Pro-D & Elite-X. So, we re-weigh all these discs which gives folks the exact weight on our site for these discs. This is easy as we can wipe off the old weight weight and write the correct one on the sticker. We considered doing this for all discs, but were concerned about how to accurately represent the weight on the disc if it is not as marked, as we did not want to black out the old weight on and re-write a new weight which would mar the appearance of the disc. On a Champion or Elite-Z disc, for example, doing this would leave a big visible mark that could be seen through the dome of the disc.

In an interesting side-note, I'm not entirely sure what players would like in this regard. We've had customers over the years either call or come into our store looking for specific weights. During these discussions I feel obligated to tell these players that there is most likely a difference between the weight marked and the actual weight. Some players have told me that for them it is psychological and they don't care what it actually weights, as long as it says "173".

So, to answer your question, I think you're looking at a hit-or-miss situation.

[Disc Nation]

Hey Blake,

You might be missing my point. We weigh discs that don't come with an exact gram weight to the nearest gram. Ching weighs there discs down to a 10th. We check our scales often and they're generally right on, and the weights of discs we receive from Ching tend to match as well. That said, a scale can always get out of whack there are no guarantees.

[Brad]

I dont think that the weight being a gram or two off is goining to make that much of a difference. Insted try to get the discs from the same place in the same color. Different runs of plastic will fly a little different.

[Jamie 'gr8rocshot' Ruane]

A U.S Nickle weighs 5 grams....a simple way to check your scales.

[Ghost]

As I heard it, Innova weighs 10 discs at a time, takes the average and that's what they all weigh. Hence discs being a fair bit off.

[Discette]

All INNOVA Discs are individually weighed and marked.

[Jamie 'gr8rocshot' Ruane]

I got two words...Hog Wash!!!

[Jamie 'gr8rocshot' Ruane]

I don't doubt they are almost all individually marked....someone wrote that number on the back......as far as weighing each and every one...no way....too high of a percentage is incorrect...so either they aren't being weighed individually or someone can't transcribe the proper number from the scale to the disc.

[Ben Calhoun]

I had a glow teebird marked 171g, weighed 152g (2 scales and hand checked)

[Disc-O Golf]

ClearwaterDiscGolfStore.com will weigh your discs on a scale if you prefer.
There is a comment box during purchase where you can leave special instructions.
Or you can call on the phone with special instructions.
Or you can use the Live Chat to let them know you need exact scaled weights with your order.
These are common requests from Tournament players and Customer Service their specialty.

Generally you just want to get to know your disc.
The weight will not matter too much if you just learn what your disc does, and apply what it does to the course.
Heavier weights fight the wind better and lighter weights will glide more.
Do not get hung up on grams...take the disc to the field...does it glide, is it a tank, does it fight wind, better in no wind, etc. and once you learn this...use what you have learned when you come to that situation!
Throw your three wraiths together in a field until you know which one is the straightest, which one is the most overstable...do 2 of them fly the same, or 3...then once you know them, just use them that way.
Some discs are magic, some are terrible. Ditch the bad ones, use the good ones, and test some more. Fun, fun!

[AK Discer]

Couldn't have said it better....figure out what the disc does in an open field and apply it to the course.

[Disc-O Golf]

I really push this on the newbies that come in the store...
I send them to the field up the street and tell them that even 15 minutes will teach them a lot!
We have a lot of water on our courses so they usually agree and go (at least they tell me they are stopping at the field first)!!!
I give them a few pointers and let them know what is going to happen...
Hooked!