Carrying multiple flavors (plastics) of discs

I keep seeing that different plastics for different models of disc can perform, well, differently.  Why is this?  And why would I want to carry, as the title says, various flavors (plastics) of each disc?  Why not carry all Star, or ESP, or DX?  If one effect of DX or Pro-D plastic is that it can get beat up easier, thus "making" an anhyzer disc, wouldn't it be advisable to do this?  (Not that you would want EVERY disc to end up flippy.)

I guess I am not understanding all this too well.  I know that each plastic ages differently.  For instance, I threw a DC XL Pro-D a couple weeks ago.  It was it's maiden voyage.  Unfortunately, a street sign decided to pop up and maul my disc.  It put a nice ding in the rim.  I have done this with other discs (Star, ESP) and have had minimal damage done.  But, what does each plastic do to the aerodynamics that can cause a mostly overstable Star disc to become less stable in a Champion plastic?

[Rescue]

Well, for me. I like my "high speed" discs in Star plastic. Due to the added distance you get with Star plastic. For my "low speed" stuff. I use Champ, due to it's durability. Then I sprinkle in my CE stuff. Which is the best of both worlds. As for the added distance with Star plastic. It was in an old post and has to do with the "viscosity" of the plastic. Mind you, I most likely would have a bag of Champ, CE, and Z plastic. Had it not been for another old post by Dave D. of Innova. Talking about the added distance/speed of Star plastic.

[mark ellis]

A disc is made from a mold. If you put different plastic in a mold you get a different disc. A cake is made from a mold. If you put different ingredients in a cake mold you get a different cake.

Molding a disc, like baking a cake, requires both science and art.

When a disc is made, little plastic pellets are melted and shot into a mold. Once the disc pops out of the mold it cools. In that cooling process, different plastic mixtures cool differently, changing the shape of the disc. Sometimes the change is obvious from looking at it. Sometimes the change is so small even trained eyes can't detect the differences. But changes, whether visible or not can change the flight path of a disc.

For a slow flying disc like a putter the change in shape from different plastics is not as obvious. For a fast flying driver the changes are more evident and may be drastic at times. The wider the rim of the driver the more variations you tend to see.

The market value of a disc is in the $10-$20 range. If the manufacturers were willing to spend the money to create controlled environments for molding and bear the expense of special ordering plastics they could create more consistent discs. You would end up paying much, much more for discs. You can spend a few hundred dollars on a driver for ball golf. You might not be happy spending big bucks on a driver for disc golf.

A lot of players view variations in flight paths as something bad. I don't. You can make driver variations work for you. Once you find a mold you like, each new run will be a little bit different. In candy plastics (the more durable, premium stuff in all its variations) whatever flight path you get will last that way a long time. So by getting your favorite driver in minor variations you will find discs that shape some shots more easily.

[Jim Coonradt]

Since discs are like cake I'm going to throw me some spice cake tonight with buttercream frosting. Sorry, but I couldn't resist.

[Donny Olow]

Nice Answer !!!

[Voodoo]

Mark, That has to be the best answer I've ever seen regarding the temprement of molded plastics, i'm a newby here, but I do have a very small backround in making plastics, as I turned the various powders into the little pellets you referred to for a while, but my father was into plastic injection molding for 50 years, and the shop was less then 200' from our door, as a kid I ran around the shop almost daily and as I got older I helped my father quite a bit with the machines and in designing and prototyping products,he knew every nut, bolt, wire, and set each and every mold and machine in that shop for 40 of those 50 years there....one thing I did learn was that even minute variations in humidity, and temperature can and does affect how these products turn out, and I saw some real hair pulling sessions every once in a while,as it can be a pretty exact science, and to make each and every product in a certain line exactly the same can be a very intensive and sometimes costly endeavor......Now that I've gotten into disc golf I really wish the shop was still there,as he even made a few "frisbee" type discs for the neighbor hood kids, but when he retired they closed the shop up.......Mark, as a newby to disc golf, I have no Idea if you have ever designed or made your own discs, but with your understanding of the process,.....if you do.....I want one!

[RiX]

I throw 3 types of Challengers; CryZtal Z, Elite X soft and Pro-D... they each fly different for me and I use those differences to my advantage (at least I try to). Z's are more stable than the X softs and are better for wind or up shots. The X soft is straighter that the Z. The Pro D can Anhyzer better than the X soft but they all have about the same glide though.

This is the only mold that I currently use multiple plastics in. I am trying different plastics in my drivers and mids.... to see what I can get outta each.