We want you to enjoy your time playing with a Frisbee and in order to do so it’s important to choose the right equipment.
Frisbee is actually a trademark name of a company that make flying discs, and Frisbee is the name that most people use to refer to flying discs. Just to confuse us all.
Since they were invented at least 200 million have been sold worldwide!. Apparently, it was invented by a bakery owner in the United states who saw people throwing cake pans to each other! What a brilliant inspiration for creating one of the world’s greatest toys for all age groups. Although, It has become quite a serious sport for many people who compete in Ultimate Frisbee and disc golf worldwide.
What is the best Frisbee to buy?
The best Frisbee to buy in 2021 is the Discraft ultrastar frisbee because it feel great to hold and flies accurately. If you can throw a frisbee with a consistent technique you’ll find the Discraft Ultrastar flies straight and it is weighted perfectly.
Our best choice Frisbees
Here is a selection of out favourite frisbees for sale in 2021. A great flying disc should be heavy enough so that it flies accurately without being uncomfortable or difficult to throw.
Discraft UltraStar
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The Discraft Ultrastar sport is our favourite frisbee. After numerous times playing with it we found it is heavy enough to feel like it has good stability and it flies smoothly and as expected when thrown with a reasonably consistent technique. When compared to a cheap frisbee you’ll find it heavier than expected so it’s more suitable for older children, but this added weight allows it to fly with greater stability through wind.
We would recommend playing with this disc on the beach or on grass because, although it didn’t crack easily on concrete, some people have reported that it is susceptible to cracking on these surfaces and we did notice it scratched quite easily and didn’t look as nice after some impact. Rubber flying rings handle concrete much better but even they become scarred after multiple crashes.
This frisbee is manufactured in the USA and is used in the American Ultimate disc league and has been since 1991 and it’s gained some recognition and approval amongst top ultimate frisbee players Such as Brodie Smith.
What kind of frisbee does Brodie smith use is a question people often ask once they’ve watched his frisbee trick shot videos and I can confirm that the Brodie smith Frisbee is the Discraft ultra star sport. If he endorses this product, and he is one of the worlds most skilled people with a frisbee in his hands, then it must be high quality.
It isn’t advisable to let pets near it because it’s not reinforced in a way that prevents breakage under the pressure of sharp teeth! And as is the case with most rival frisbees it doesn’t float in water.
Another disc we would also recommend is the Eurodisc Frisbee:
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The Eurodisc is more solid and less likely to be damaged than the Discraft disc, but doesn’t have the same consistency. However, for the average frisbee thrower, who isn’t looking for the ultimate precision and the ability to perform highly skilled manoeuvres, either frisbee would perform well for some fun on the beach.
How to choose the best flying ring
Flying rings are similar to flying discs but have a hole in the centre and because of the aerodynamics and weight they can travel a lot further than a disc, with very little effort. Flying rings can be tuned very easily by bending the ring in one direction or the other depending on whether it’s noticeably tilting to the left or right during straight flight.
These rings are ideal for playing on the beach or in a large open outdoor space because they can travel some incredible distances! Because the surface area is smaller than a disc it can sometime be more difficult to see as light can pass through the middle in certain conditions
Through our research we found that the best flying ring is the Aerobie pro flying ring. The aerobie pro glying ring is the best frisbee for distance we could find.
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Amazingly this ring broke the world record for the longest throw of an object without any velocity aiding feature by covering an impressive 383 metres.
In our research, we couldn’t throw it this far but when compared to a regular frisbee it seems to go on forever and we often ended up having to stand much further apart than expected when throwing it to each other. It’s possible to throw shorter distances but you have to have a gentle touch.
It seems to fly with reasonably consistent stability but sometimes fades slightly off course in one direction or another when it appears you have thrown it smoothly. This is where you should adjust the ring by bending it one way or the other and paying careful attention to see what effect that has on flight.
I wouldn’t recommend that you let younger children play with this alone because it doesn’t take much strength to send the ring a long way and this could cause injury if it catches you in the face or it could easily accidently hit neighbours several gardens away with a slightly over excitable child throwing it harder and further than they expected.
What I found most fun about the ring is that you can also catch it by putting your arm through the ring in mid air, this allows for more opportunities to catch the ring without it bouncing out of your grip if you don’t catch it quite right and also allows for a friend to stand with their arm up staying still in one place as a target to aim at.
The only downside to this being a ring is that we did manage to get it stuck up a tree amongst branches a few times as it wraps around them much easier than a traditional frisbee. In this situation, I’d recommend using a football to try and knock it out.
As much as the softer rubber used for this ring gives the impression that it might float, it doesn’t, we’ve tried this in this sea and unfortunately it sunk quickly! But for a fun toy that does float on water we would recommend the Waboba blast ball.
Click the image to view the Waboba blast ball on Amazon
The best glow in the dark frisbee
Let’s take a look at some glow in the dark frisbees. If you have plenty of space in your back yard, it’s fun to have friends round and throw glow in the dark frisbees to each other. This can be a fun party game for adults and children.
Nite Ize Led Light up flying disc
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Discraft Night Glo Disc
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We recommend the Nite Ize Flashlight LED light up flying disc ahead of Discrafts Night Glo disc, which although the superior in terms of flight, doesn’t glow as brightly as the Nite Ize Frsibee.
The Nite Ize frisbee is awesome at night and is battery powered so the light is much clearer and it makes for an impressive night game. Some people were concerned about the ridge on the side of this frisbee, but this shouldn’t affect throwing or catching the frisbee but as with most flying discs it’s best to try and avoid too much impact on hard surfaces or tree trunks as the Led lights can break.
Factors to consider before buying a frisbee
Colour of disc
When I used to buy frisbees I’d always choose a red colour because that was my favourite colour. I hadn’t previously considered that the choice of colour could have a big impact on my ability to see and catch the flying disc. In order to test this theory, I used some different coloured frisbees to compare them on grass and a beach to see which colours fared best.
If you are playing on the beach I’d recommend an orange, red or black colour and I’d advise against white, yellow and light blue. Although, against some sand colours the orange frisbee lost some visibility it didn’t fair as badly as the white and light blue colours did against the horizon in certain light conditions. Visibility on the beach was more difficult altogether when compared with grass because of more light
White is my favourite colour on grass and through my research online I’ve found a lot of people have this opinion but also that pink is apparently quite popular. Green and light blue are the worst performing on grass as they blend into the grass and skyline.
Distance and Performance in wind conditions.
The wind factor always has to be taken into account with frisbees and generally the heavier they are the less the wind will affect them. Some of the cheap frisbees are light and flimsy and even with a light wind they can be blown off course.
If you have a cross wind the frisbee needs to be thrown further left or right or at a slightly different angle to take this into account. If the wind is behind you it will fly much further than expected and in a headwind it is fun to throw it at a slightly higher angle into the wind and allow it to slow down above the person you are throwing to for a hover affect making it fun for them to catch.
However this could backfire and if you misjudge it the frisbee will land half way between you causing a frisbee style wild west stand-off. The Frisbee will often hover up and down in strong and changeable wind conditions, which is fun and challenging to try and predict.
If you want a more detailed insight into the aerodynamics of Frisbee flight take a look at the book – spinning flight
Weight of disc
The ultimate Frisbee regulations currently only allow a weight of 175grams. The Frisbee weight is an important factor to take into account depending on the use and performance you are expecting from it.
Durability
We throw them to each other but they often end up hitting trees, getting caught in branches or hitting pavement or other hard surfaces. Some flying discs are made of a harder plastic which doesn’t give way much on impact and is more susceptible to cracking whereas others, such as the – Aerobie Pro flying ring act as much better shock absorber.
Final thoughts – best frisbee / flying discs
There are many reasons why playing Frisbee is good for you and a fun activity for toddlers to play. In addition to getting a lot of exercise you can improve your hand eye coordination by catching a disc. Sometimes the wind or flight angle of a Frisbee or flying disc means that you have to react quickly to catch it, therefore improving your reactions
If you play often you’ll begin to appreciate how the wind and the angle you throw the Frisbee at affects it’s flight. Not many sports offer the same appreciation of the nature of the wind. Hopefully with technological advancements even more exciting and interesting Frisbee designs will be developed
