I’m often asked “What do you throw?” by folks who come into the pro shop. I decided that after telling everyone a bunch of times that I throw lots of molds, I should probably just write an in the bag.
Some people prefer “In the bags” to be videos. Others prefer in the bags to be lists. I don’t really have a desire to be in front of the camera until I lose my winter weight, so you’re getting my “In the bag” via a list.
But I can’t just do a normal in the bag… You know why I would throw each of these discs. Flippy stuff to turn, overstable stuff to have a reliable finish.
This week I’m looking at the uses of my discs if I was in a survival situation. Say I and my bag have made it onto an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. At this point it’s the 18 discs I have and the bag to help you stay alive until rescue comes.
Why am I writing this blog?
A) I have an overactive imagination that creates scenarios that will never happen.
B) I’ve been playing a lot of Raft on steam recently.
C) I’ve been writing weekly disc golf blogs for over 3 years and there’s nothing left to write about.
We’ll never know.
So let’s go over the uses of the putters.
The P2- I carry 2 of them in D Line Plastic and they’re going to be used to collect rainwater. With the deepest rim they’ll hold the most water. In fact I measured the water collection of the P2, it can hold 20.29 fluid oz (converted from 600g). Surface tension is beautiful
Yes I did bring the scale into the bathroom and pour water into a disc for work today.
These discs will remain somewhere flat and open. Not under a tree (because bird poop), and since I don’t have a forecast I’ll have to leave them there the whole time unattended. I’ll want to put a rock in them so they don’t blow away. That will lower the overall water retention, but I’d rather have some than none at all because a gust of wind took my putter.
I carry a Sky God II, aka a P2 but this has more functions because of the durability. I plan on making this one my bowl for carrying other small things. Maybe cool seashells to braid my hair with, small berries, who knows. If I’m in need of water this can be the third collection disc as well.
The P2 will be the absolute lifesaver.
Mid Ranges
I bag the Caiman, Meteor, and MD3.
The Caiman is probably the least useful mid I bag for survival purposes. With a blunted edge that carries most of the weight I believe it will be my fish bludgeoning disc. A rock would function here as well. Since I’ll likely be spearfishing this disc is going to be kind of meh in a survival situation. It’s likely I’ll name the Caiman stamped on the front as a backup friend if I go insane.
The MD3 will be my night light. *Note* Mine is an Innova run MD3. As one of my 2 glow in the dark discs that I bag this will be what I use to investigate caves on the island. I’ll leave it out in the sun and then explore the cool caves at noontime. It will be my companion at night, and probably the most life saving disc. Or if I venture down a cave and find pirate treasure that’s cursed it may be a life ending disc.
The Meteor and I have been together for 12 years so it’s nice and soft. That’s going to make this disc a perfect pillow for me. I’ll still have a little bit of support with it, but it will let my head sink in. Just because I’m on a deserted island doesn’t mean I don’t need some creature comforts. I don’t like sand in my hair so this is probably the best choice for the meteor.
Fairway Drivers
I bag the Leopard3, TL3, and the Sidewinder.
The 3 Leopard3's that I bag are both tour series. The Uriyah Kelley and the Ohn Scoggins of different years. I think that these are likely to be my hunting discs for small animals on the island. I’ll harness the inner hunter of the Leopard3 and use these to tag small game at 100 feet with accurate throws. At least I’ll try to do it. Of course no one will be around to confirm my amazing shots.
The TL3 is almost see through at this point, and in the champion plastic it has great durability. So I’ll dub this my "Wilson Disc". I’ll paint it and talk to it, maybe yell a little at it when things are going poorly. And I’ll bawl if I lose it, sinking away in the ocean. If I want a floating disc I’d need to add a Blizzard plastic disc that’s under 140 grams.
The Sidewinder is a fairway driver in my opinion. So I put it into this category. It’s bright pink and has a long glide with an S curve. I love it because it’s eye-catching. So I’m making it the dot at the bottom of the exclamation point for the word HELP! That Ellen Widboom Sidewinder 2021 is going to be the reason I’m found.
Distance Drivers.
Wraith (7), Excalibur, and Predator.
The Wraith has been my favorite flying disc for a decade. But the versatility on the island will be tough. They’re likely to be lashed together to create a paddle for my canoe. Which I’ll build out of a tree I cut down. The biggest decision for me will be do I put my 2x ace disc on top or bottom? Other uses for the paddle will be for my scorpion/snake slapper. I’m sure I’ll need to fend them off at some point. The Wraiths can slap to stun, then be turned sideways for a finishing blow.
The XCalibur is going to be my excavator disc. That wide rim with the big dome in the middle will be perfect as a shovel. I can dig myself a latrine, dig myself a little hole where I can bury a pig roast, there’s lots of reasons I’ll have to dig holes on this island.
The Predator is a little stiffer than my other discs. I expect that I'll use this disc for my digging in wet sand. Any time I want to go clamming around the island I’m trapped on, this will be the disc I use to dig with because even when it’s slippery it has that inner rim grip. I won’t lose it in the current.
Well that’s all the discs in my bag. And how I would use them if I ever was stranded on a deserted island. I’ve got fruit gummy snacks, unplantable sunflower seeds, and a Kwik-Stick. So I think I’d probably be all set to survive there for a number of years.
If you can think of any discs I should have for specific uses please let me know in the comments below.
May your discs miss all the trees,
Andrew Streeter #70397