The Ultimate Guide To Every Disc Golf Plastic

When I started making disc golf discs in my garage in 2020, I had no idea what type of plastic discs were made of.

Honestly, I thought all plastic was kind of the same. Turns out, there are hundreds of different plastic types all engineered for specific purposes.

Which makes sense when you think about it.

The plastic that makes up the screw top of a soda bottle is not the same as the grippy plastic on your tooth brush. Those differences are obvious; one is hard and brittle, the other is flexible and grippy.

Which is exactly what I learned in my garage: what makes a great bottle cap doesn’t make a great disc.

So what makes a great disc?

Premium vs. Baseline Plastic

In disc golf, there are two common names for the types of plastics used: “Premium” and “Baseline” – which are terms that come from the disc golf industry, not the plastics industry. You won’t see any other company naming their pickle balls premium plastic or baseline plastic.

So what’s the difference between the two? It took me almost two years to answer that question.

Premium Plastic = TPU

(thermoplastic polyurethane)

TPU is found in phone cases, footwear (i.e. shoe soles), cattle tags, and medical applications. To name a few.

Characteristics:

• More durable (takes longer to beat-in)

• Smooth feel

• Commonly used in everything from throwing putters to distance drivers

There are exceptions to this rule like rubber discs from Vibram, but 99% of “premium” disc golf discs are made from TPU. 

Baseline Plastic = TPE

(thermoplastic elastomer)

TPE is found in weather floor mats, toothbrushes (the overmolded, grippy part), and dog toys.

Characteristics:

• Less durable (beats-in faster)

• Tackier feel

• Commonly used in putting putters and beginner-friendly discs

There are also exceptions here but the majority of baseline is TPE based with filler materials to increase the weight like Calcium Carbonate, Barium Sulfate, etc.

One such exception is called TPV (thermoplastic vulcanizate) which acts quite similarly to a TPE with a bit more of a rubber-like feel. Another example is “EVA” (ethylene vinyl acetate) is commonly used for ultra-lightweight discs.

Ok so Plastics people call it “TPU”,
And disc golfers call it “Premium plastic”,
So what is “Star” plastic?

Somewhere along the line, disc golf companies decided to name their plastics different things like “Star” or “Neutron” or “Pro-D” or “Lucid”. Maybe it was because they viewed it as their “Coca Cola secret” or maybe it’s because they wanted to differentiate between similar blends. We don’t actually know why.

But it’s all fun and games until you need to figure out how to recycle your disc made up of “Z-Flex Plastic” – which brings us to...

Our Plastic

100% Recycled

At Trash Panda, we’re all about making circular things in a circular way. Meaning, we want to make our discs easily recyclable in the future so we put the literal plastic type on the bottom of our discs – like “TPU” ♻️

When we need to change the plastic type – like when we’re making Baseline Inner Cores that are made out of TPE – we custom-made inserts for the mold that can change the plastic type while the mold is still in the machine.

So if you look on the bottom of your Inner Core, you’ll see an arrow that might be pointed to TPU (which means it’s premium plastic) or you might see it pointed to TPE (which means it’s baseline plastic).

To put it simply:

• TPU = Premium

• TPE = Base

On the off chance we use something like a “thermoplastic rubber” or an “EVA”, we turn the dial to “OTHER”. (This takes the same approach to how products are labeled with the Resin Identification Number 7 which also stands for “other”).

So what about other manufacturers? 

If we zoom out of Trash Panda, we still need to answer the question: what plastics in disc golf are “Baseline” and which plastics are “Premium”?

Well.. with a little bit of insider knowledge and a looooot of time, we built out the ultimate guide to every disc golf plastic type below 👇

A List of Every Disc Golf Plastic

Manufacturers [click the manufacturer below and the link will take you to the list for that manufacturer]:

Innova

Premium

• Star

• Champion

• GStar

• Halo

• Metal Flake

• Blizzard Champion

Baseline

• DX

• Pro

• KC Pro

• Nexus

• R-Pro

• JK Pro

Discraft

Premium

• Z Line

• ESP

• ESP FLX

• Jawbreaker Z FLX

• Z FLX

• Titanium (Ti)

• CryZtal

• CryZtal FLX

• Glow Z / ESP Glo

• Big Z

• Sparkle Z / Sparkle ESP 

Baseline

• Pro-D

• Soft X

• Soft Pro-D

• X Line

• Soft X Line

• Jawbreaker

MVP Disc Sports / Axiom Discs / Streamline Discs

Premium

• Neutron

• Cosmic Neutron

• Neutron Soft

• Plasma

• Proton

• Cosmic Proton

• Fission

• R2 Neutron

• Eclipse 2.0

• Eclipse Soft / Eclipse R2

Baseline

• Electron

• Cosmic Electron

Dynamic Discs

Premium

• Lucid

• Lucid Air

• Lucid Ice

• Lucid-X

• Lucid Moonshine (Glow)

• Fuzion

• Fuzion Burst

• Fuzion-X

• Fuzion Orbit

• BioFuzion

Baseline

• Prime

• Prime Burst

• Classic / Classic Soft / Classic Blend / Classic Hard

Latitude 64°

Premium

• Recycled

• Opto

• Opto Air

• Opto Ice

• Opto-X

• Opto Moonshine

• Gold Line 

• Gold-X

• Gold Orbit

Baseline

• Retro

• Zero Line: Zero Soft / Zero Medium / Zero Hard

• Zero Burst

Westside Discs

Premium

• Revive

• VIP

• VIP Air

• VIP Ice

• VIP- X

• Tournament

• Tournament-X

• Tournament Orbit

• Moonshine

Baseline

• Origio

• BT (Base Tacky): BT Soft / BT Medium / BT Hard

• BT Burst

Discmania

Premium

• C-Line

• S-Line

• S-Line Swirl

• C-Line Glow

• S-Line Glow

• Neo

• Lux

• Lux Vapor

• Meta

• Glow new

• Glow Lux

• Active Premium

• Active Premium Glow

Baseline

• D-Line: D-Line Flex 1 / D-Line Flex 2 / D-Line Flex 3

• Geo

• Exo: Exo Soft / Exo Hard

• Active

• Active Soft

Prodigy Discs

Premium

• 400 Plastic

• 400G Plastic

• 500 Plastic

• 750 Plastic

• 750G Plastic

• Air Plastic

• Glow Plastic

• FX Series

• Spectrum Plastic

Baseline

• 200 Plastic

• 300 Plastic

• 350G Plastic

Kastaplast

Premium

• K1 Line: K1 Soft / K1 Hard

• K1 Glow Line

• K1 Regrind / K1 Recycled

Baseline

• K3 Line: K3 Soft / K3 Hard

• K4 Line: Mix between base + premium

Gateway Disc Sports

Premium

• Diamond (D)

• D-Glow

• Platinum (P)

• NXT

• NXT Lite

• Hemp (SS & SSS)

• Superglow (GLO)

Baseline

• Pure White (PW)

• Firm (F)

• Super Soft (SS)

• Super Stupid Soft (SSS)

• Super Stupid Silly Soft (SSSS)

• Organic (OG)

• Eraser (ER)

• Money ($)

• Special Blend (SB)

• Lunar (L)

Legacy Discs

Premium

• Icon Series (IC)

• Pinnacle Series (PN)

• Skyline Series (Sky)

Baseline

• Protege Series (PR)

• Gravity Series (GR)

• Excel (EX)

RPM Discs

Premium

• Cosmic

• Atomic

Baseline

• Strata

• Magma

Mint Discs

Premium

• Eternal Plastic

• Apex Plastic

• Sublime Plastic

• Nocturnal Glow Plastic

Baseline

• Royal Plastic

Yikun Discs

Premium

• Glaze Line

• Glaze-X

• Tiger-Inner Colour

• Nature Line

• Tortoise Line?

• Phoenix Glow Line

• Phoenix Air Line

• Neon Line

• Dragon Line

• Phoenix Star Line

• Phoenix Color

• Crystal Line

Baseline

• Tiger Line

• Tiger Lite

• Phoenix Line

• Swift line

Viking Discs

Premium

• Storm

• Armor

• Air

Baseline

• Ground

Thought Space Athletics

Premium

• Aura

• Ethos

• Ethereal

• Nebula Ethereal

• Nebula Aura

Baseline

• Nerve

Above Ground Level (AGL)

Premium

• New / Original Polar Plastic

• New / Original Alpine Plastic

Baseline

• New / Original Woodland Plastic

Alfa Discs

Premium

• Crystal

• Chrome Line

• Glow Line

Baseline

• Copper Line

Birdie Disc Golf Supply Co

Premium

• Infinity

• Premium Plastic

• Soft Blend

Baseline

• Stiff Blend

• Base Blend

Clash Discs

Premium

• Steady

• Sunny

Baseline

• Hardy

• Softy

Daredevil Discs

Premium

• Elk Plastic

• Sabretooth Plastic

• Mammoth Plastic

Baseline

• Polar Plastic

• Moose Plastic

• Walrus Plastic

• Caribou Plastic

Disctroyer Discs

Premium

• A-Soft 

• A-Medium 

• A-Hard

Baseline

• B-Soft

Divergent Discs

Premium

• MaxGrip

• MaxGrip Glow

• MaxGrip UV

• MaxLife

• MaxFlex

• Incognito Plastic

Baseline

• StayPut

• MaxValue

Doomsday Discs

Premium

• Isolation

• Conspiracy

• Radiation

• Melt

Baseline

• Ration

• Survival

• Prepper

EV-7 Discs

Premium

• OG Deluxe Blend

• OG Premium Blend 

Baseline

• OG Blend

Finish Line Discs

Premium

• Forged

• Composite

• Glow

Hooligan Discs

Premium

• Alpha

• Alpha Flex

• Hard

Baseline

• Soft

Hyzer Bomb Discs

Premium 

• Frontline Plastic

• Frontline-X

• Signature Recon

Baseline

• Base Plastic: Soft / Hard

Loft Discs

Premium

• Alpha-Solid

• Beta-Solid

• Gamma-Solid

• Supernova

Lone Star Discs

Premium

• Alpha

• Bravo

• Glow / Alpha Glow

Baseline

• Victor 1 (V1)

• Victor 2 (V2)

• Lima

Prodiscus

Premium

• Premium

• Ultrium

Baseline

• Base: Soft / Hard

Elevation Discs

All discs are made from rubber and considered baseline:

• OG

• glO-G

• Newcomer

• ecoFLEX

• ecoFIRM

• ecoSUPER FLEX

• ecoFLOP

Vibram

All discs are made from rubber and considered baseline:

• X-Link Firm

• X-Link Medium

• X-Link Soft

• X-Link Granite

• X-Link Glow

3C Discs

All discs are made from rubber and considered premium:

• Limited Edition 

• Totally Line

Meridian Discs

Premium

• Clarus

• Marbled Clarus

• Slate

• Hyalite

Baseline

• Graphite

• Marbled Graphite

Lightning Discs

Premium

• Lightning Glow

• Lightning Sure Grip

Baseline

• Lightning Standard