Vibram Golf discs are a bit different than any of the other disc brands we’re testing. The most notable difference is that these discs are made out of rubber instead of plastic. The rubber is supposed to provide a stronger more durable disc, and a better grip. Vibram currently has four different blends of their rubber. The discs we are testing come in either the X-Link Firm, or the X-Link Medium. While these discs are made of rubber, they are still very firm, something I like in putters. Vibram’s website has a lot of great videos that explain why rubber is better.
My initial impression of Vibram discs was that they felt like the lids of Rubbermaid storage bowls. This is probably due to the fact that they are made out of rubber. Most of these discs are very colorful with a sort of ti-dyed look, but for some reason I remember them all as “gray” (color as Rubbermaid bowl lids). The specific type of disc is really hard to tell, as the wording only appears as indented text on the rubber. The different names of the discs are also not as catchy and easy to remember: Ascent, Obex, Ibex, Summit, Ridge, Track and VP. These reasons make hard for me to remember which disc is which, and what its flight characteristics are like. I haven’t had this problem with any of the other brands of discs I’ve reviewed.
One of the nice things about Vibram Discs is with the simplicity in which they give their flight ratings. Their method just makes sense, even to the beginner. Rather than tell you a disc has a speed rating of 10 with a Fade of 3 (doesn’t make since to anyone unless you’re comparing it to another disc with a speed of four and fade of 0), Vibram’s ratings tell you how far your disc should go, how much it will turn, and how much it will fade, if you throw it at the expected speed.
Now, I can’t throw nearly as fast, or as far as the ratings say, so I’d have to do some serious math to figure out exactly what the discs should do with my limited power. Nevertheless, I still like their approach to explaining flight characteristics.
So How Do Vibram Discs Fly
Vibram Discs are more durable, but the question all disc golfers really want to know is, “How do Vibram Discs Fly?”
It seems that Vibram’s focus has been on the putt-approach discs, as four of the seven discs on their website fall in this category. Only the Ascent and Trak are classified as “drivers”, and they both have a short wing length. So far I’ve only done a few throws in the park, and none of these throws leads me to believe that I have a new long distance driver. However, these discs seemed to fly with great accuracy. For backhand throws, I really like the grip. After completing our test experiments I have a feeling that several of these discs will rate very highly among the different mid range discs.
I played a round at the Blind Gulley Course in Providence using only Vibram discs, and it went pretty terrible. I shot a 10 over par (on nine holes), by far my worst round this year. I’m not going to blame it solely on the discs, as a lot of it is me needing to get used to them, but when I missed a 20 foot par putt I should have made, and the disc flipped on its side and rolled off the cliff, I added three additional strokes on that hole. I can’t blame the bad putt on the disc, but the way it landed and then rolled off the cliff likely wouldn’t have happened had I used a different putter. These Vibram discs have very wide, rounded rims and so accidentally roll at low speeds very easily.
After banging loads of rocks and trees these discs all still look as good as new. The impressive durability should make these discs really valuable for frolfers who regularly play the difficult courses that like to nibble huge chunks out of golf discs.
Looking to Buy These Discs?
If you want to buy a highly durable Vibram disc at an excellent price, try using one of these links:
“valuable for frolfers who regularly play”… You obviously aren’t a serious disc golfer if you use the term “frolf” in any form. (which shouldn’t surprise me as I’m the first person to comment on here, and its been posted over a year ago)
Vibram is reliable, durable, and consistent. they don’t break in like other discs that change their flight characteristics throughout their lifespan. I have a few Discraft Buzzz’s in my bag, and my Yeti Pro Aviar, followed by 7 Vibrams (summit, ibex, obex, trak, ascent, lace, olace). I’m speaking from years of experience and frustration.
Thank you Nathan for pointing out the purpose of this blog — to help beginners and intermediate players trying to understand the differences between the many different golf discs available. It is nice to have some expert opinion contributing here as well as the reviews of recreational players such as myself.
I really didn’t mean to offend you buy using the term Frolf. Sometimes in writing, its fun to use different words other than “disc golf” every time.
Since this review was written, Vibram has come out with three Distance drivers which in my opinion are awesome, as well as the Vibram Sole which is a more putter friendly putter. I love Vibram now, especially for winter play.