new gateway prototypes

[DougEDawg]

Can Neil lose his amatuer status being a spokesman for Gateway? 

[CEValkyrie]

Gateway makes discs that can more accomadate a big arm thrower.  Brett when I am are trying to win a tourny I do not give a $#!^ what the disc looks like as long as its got the flight path I am looking for.  For me Gateway discs seem to be a little more consistant but I am still in the expierimenting stage with most of their discs.

Neal, you failed to read #1 of my post carefully. You may not give a #$^8 about the way a discs looks, however new players do. They will pick something that looks and feels cooler every time. That is why tye dye is popular. Just look at what newbies are throwing. I remember when the moster came out. I saw tons of rec players throwing monsters. They have no clue what the discs are designed for. It's basic marketing. Get players throwing their discs and they will continue do to so. It's the same thing McDonald's and any other successful company does. That is why in #1 I stated gateway is lacking in the marketing area. Discraft has really bumped up it's marketing program in the last few years. It seems to be paying off some. You really should care if you want that Gateway sponsorship. The more discs that get moved = more revenue & resources to take care of it's players. Think outside the box Neal.

[El Mexicano]

Marketing is key in almost any industry. Wanna know more...read "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin, and you'll understand why companies like the ones Brett mentioned succeed.
Anyway... that's my 2 cents.

[myndcraft]

I <3 Gateway Putters and Midrange discs.. I absolutley loathe their drivers though

[Mike S]

I <3 Gateway Putters and Midrange discs.. I absolutley loathe their drivers though

Agreed.  I could replace my Rocs with the Element if I needed to (but I wont).  I think the Wizard is the best putter on the market.  I havent thrown a Gateway driver that I really liked except the Spirit, and I like the grip on Firebirds better.

[Bruce Brakel]

I think anyone could replace a Buzzz with an Element or vice versa.  The Element is a good mid-range.  The Wizard, Aviar and Challenger would be interchangeable for most players too. 

Players who think otherwise mostly have just gotten sucked into the marketing.  I've never been much influenced by marketing.  I laugh at the suckers who pay $12 for a disc because it has Ken Climo's signature machine stamped on it when they could get basically the same thing for $6-$8 if they'd look at the Challengers or Wasps.  Doh!

[Mike S]

I think anyone could replace a Buzzz with an Element or vice versa.  The Element is a good mid-range.  The Wizard, Aviar and Challenger would be interchangeable for most players too. 

Players who think otherwise mostly have just gotten sucked into the marketing.  I've never been much influenced by marketing.  I laugh at the suckers who pay $12 for a disc because it has Ken Climo's signature machine stamped on it when they could get basically the same thing for $6-$8 if they'd look at the Challengers or Wasps.  Doh!

I like the SB/Star and KC Pro plastics better than anything discraft has.  I also find that the elements and wasps have flatter tops than most rocs.   I dont really like that.  Thats generally speaking, as you can definitely find flat rocs and domier wasps if you look hard enough.  I agree with your comment about the putters, although I will say the Wizard has a slightly lower profile than the other two.  You can really only tell if you throw with a power grip...  The Aviar definitely feels like it has a deeper rim.  For putting purposes, they are almost identical.

[stpitner]

has anyone inquired about getting a wholesale account with Gateway?  I'm looking at getting into retail disc sales, but I wanted to do more than just Innova and Discraft.  What are their base order requirements?  Do they have other special requirements?  I know that on gdstour.com they have contact info of St. Louis, but I've also read that they are in the area of the Fairfield course?  I doubt that I'd be able to pick up the discs that I order, but that would ease dealing with shipping costs.

Just curious
Scott

[mirth]

The club is a Gateway dealer, you don't have to jump thru any special hoops for them unlike Innova.

[Bruce Brakel]

I got out and threw the Oddysey discs today.  For comparison purposes I threw them with a Sidewinder because I had heard they were understable. 

The mid-range is a true mid-range.  Nice and straight at medium powered mid-distances but it got flippy if thrown full power like a driver.  It is a fairly slow mid-range also.  The mid-range grip is not a problem for me.  Because the rim is narrower than the driver, there is plenty of room for a four-finger power grip between the rim and the bottom ridge.  At any distance where it would be useful for me, I'm currently throwing a putter. 

The driver was neither flippy nor overstable for me.  I was throwing a Sidewinder on a RHBH slight hyzer release and it would flip up and turn right.  The Oddysey thrown similarly would flip up and finish straight.  The Oddysey driver is probably the slowest disc I've thrown in the last few years that has been billed as a driver.  If someone was paying me to throw that disc, I'd throw it for throws where accuracy is more important than distance.  Both upwind and down it was fairly straight. 

I was able to adjust to the grip easy enough, but I've also been throwing the Venom.  A grip that worked great for me was a power grip with the index and pinky finger with the two middle fingers fanned out to the bottom ridge.  I was also able to throw it with a four-finger power grip, but there is not a lot to grip there.  It feels funky but you adjust.

All in all, I don't foresee these discs as a revolutionary step forward in disc evolution, but more of an evolutionary dead end.  There is no payoff for the funky grip.  There is already a good selection of mid-range discs on the market.  If you are a disc collector, I suspect that in five years these will be a rarity, like the original dimpled disc is now.  If Mirth was asking, "Should Discontinuum load up on these?" I'd tell him to go lightly here.