The Best Winter Disc Golf Discs

Anyone who’s played disc golf on a cold day knows that discs feel and fly quite differently (normally WORSE) in the winter than they do in the summer.

But what is the cause, and what can you do to prevent the loss of performance?

Choosing Winter Disc Golf Discs

In this Video Guide and supplement, we’ll help you find the best possible winter disc golf discs by providing:

• Detailed analysis of winter disc performance
• Specific cold weather disc selection guidelines
• The #1 Winter plastic selection for each major manufacturer
• Supplemental links for additional detail on the research & science

Winter Disc Golf Video Guide

Before you read any further, watch this video to learn everything you need to know about winter disc golf discs and flight:

Top Winter Plastic Selections

We’ve combined our testing with specific input from the major disc manufacturers to create the top winter plastic recommendation for every major brand.

The plastics below provide the best options to maintain superior grip, flexibility, and flight performance — even when very cold.

Plasma

Flex

G-Line

Z-FLX

Fluid

GSTAR

Frost Line

Icon

Plasma

400G

X-Link Medium

Bt Medium

What are YOUR favorite winter discs and plastics?

We hope you’ll take a minute to share the discs and plastics that you have had success with in the winter!

Please enter any advice/tips you’d like to add in the Comments section below!

Thanks in advance for sharing!

Effects Of Winter On Discs

The most often reported winter impacts are the reduced flight distances of the discs, as well as the more overstable flight patterns from the discs.

For example, if you have a disc that normally gives you a relatively balanced flight pattern, in the winter that same disc will most likely give you a shorter flight distance as well as a more overstable flight pattern.

Additionally, in the wintertime discs tend to have less grip, become very stiff, and become more likely to crack and break.

Let’s talk a little bit about the specific causes of each, and what you can do to address them.

Before we get into the direct effects, it’s important to note that bulky clothing, cold muscles, and slippery footing can all lead to a lower release velocity which will, of course, reduce your distance and lead to more stable flights, which can further accentuate your loss of distance.

Anytime you’re playing in the winter, please ensure you are properly warmed up and wearing the right gear.

In the winter, players are dealing with two things: cold air, and a cold disc.

An often misunderstood fact is that cold, dry air is actually more dense than warm humid air.

As a specific example: let’s take a warm, humid day of 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 80% relative humidity, compared to a day where it’s only 30 degrees Fahrenheit with 40% relative humidity. All other factors being the same the air on the cold day will be 12% denser than it was on the warm, humid day.

When discussing cold air and its effect on aerodynamics, people often reference the fact that dense air will increase the amount of drag on the disk. While this is true, what people often overlook is that dense air will increase all aerodynamic effects, including Lift (which should help keep the disc aloft longer, resulting in more distance) and the impact of turbulence across the flight plate which will actually make the disc appear more understable.

The net impact of these often conflicting effects is very difficult to calculate and could vary significantly from disc to disc.  For this reason, our focus will be on the management of the cold disc.

There are three primary impacts of the cold on discs.

The first is that they become harder to grip. This problem has the relatively easy solution of choosing a plastic with very-high grip, so as the disc loses grip when chilled it still retains an acceptable grip level.

The second issue is that the discs become more stiff and brittle, and the third is that the plastic shrinks.

The challenge with these last two effects is that they vary significantly by plastic type.

For example, Polypropylene becomes very brittle at the relatively high temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and certain types of Polyethylene can actually experience enough shrinkage when cold to result in a 3% reduction and lift which will definitely be noticed over the course of a 300-foot flight.

With all this variability, the question immediately becomes, “how do I know which plastic to use?”

Conclusion

Putting everything together into one plan, the first step is to use high-grip plastic.

The second step is to slightly decrease the stability of the discs you use during the winter.

The third is to visit our website for the complete listing of plastics by brand recommended for winter play (above).

The forth step is to let us know your experience in the comment section below.