When snow is deep, attaching ribbons will help you to not lose your disc.
More Drag:
Ribbons will add more aerodynamic drag, thus reducing the distance you can throw a disc. This is most noticeable for drivers. I hate losing discs. So, for me, trading reduced distance for not losing my disc in snow, is my choice.
I have done a bit of testing with ribbon length, tape attachment method and have used various types of tape. Here is the summary for best results:
Materials:
- Spool of 1/4 inch wide wrapping ribbon.
- 1.88 inch quality Duck (duct) Tape and Crystal Clear Gorilla Tape worked the best*. Don’t use packing tape. Packing tape always failed.
- Scissors, Razor knife, Exacto knife or box cutter.
* In my testing, high quality Duck tape worked (cheap, low cost duct tape did not work – purchase the higher quality duct tape). Gorilla tape worked short term but failed over time. Cheap, low quality duct tape or Black Gorilla tape are a temporary solution if you don’t have high quality duct tape or Crystal Clear Gorilla Tape. Packing tape always failed. I used clear Gorilla tape for the pictures in this demonstration.
Summary:
- Get disc dry and warm (room temperature, 65 degrees or more).
- Use 1.88 inch (or 2 inch) wide tape. Use Crystal Clear Gorilla or high quality duct tape. Don’t use packing tape – it does not stick well and tears easily.
- Use 25 to 33 inches of 1/4 inch ribbon. Longer if snow is really deep.
- Tear or cut tape to make roughly a square.
- Cut 1/4 inch slit in center of square piece of tape.
- Spilt ribbon, about 1/2 inch.
- Slide split end of ribbon through slit in tape, split ribbon ends and press onto tape adhesive.
- Attach tape to center of disc. Attaching to top or bottom of disc is a matter of preference.
- Don’t pull on ribbon to pick up disc or to pull the disc out of the snow. The ribbon will tear or will pull off from tape or will pull tape off of the disc. Always pick up the disc, do not pull on the ribbon to retrieve the disc.
Long Description:
Discs Clean, Dry and Warm
Get discs clean, dry and warm, at least room temperature, before adding ribbons. Note: Attaching tape and ribbons to a cold disc, like on the course or just before you start playing in the cold, will fail. The tape will not stick well to the disc and will fall off.
Ribbon Length: 25 – 30 inches
Cut a length of ribbon for the disc of 25 to 33 inches (or longer for deeper snow). Enough to see the ribbon when it drags behind disc if the disc tunnels in the snow. Too short, and the ribbon will tunnel with disc and you will not see it. Try not to make the ribbon excessively long. The longer the ribbon, the more aerodynamic drag it will produce, reducing throwing distance.
1.88 inch Wide Crystal Clear Gorilla Tape (best) or duct tape (best), or use Black Gorilla tape as a temporary solution.
Use 1.88 inch wide Crystal Clear Gorilla tape or high quality duct tape for best results. Black Gorilla tape was a temporary solution, but, in my testing, the more flexible quality duct tape and Crystal Clear Gorilla tape adhered better to all types of disc plastic. The black Gorilla tape sometimes came off the disc, perhaps because it was less flexible than the Crystal Clear Gorilla tape and quality duct tape. Shipping/packing tape failed. Shipping/packing tape rips easily. Also shipping tape does not do well if the disc gets wet – Don’t use Packing Tape.
Though they look similar, Crystal Clear Gorilla tape is significantly tougher than packing tape and works if it gets wet. Quality Duct tape worked very as well. Black Gorilla tape did not work as well as Crystal Clear Gorilla tape or quality duct tape. Using quality duct tape or Crystal Clear Gorilla tape is the right choice.
Split End of Ribbon 1/2 Inch
Spilt end of wrapping ribbon, about a 1/2 inch. If you don’t split ribbon, stress can more easily tear tape; see “fail” image below with orange disc and torn tape.
Cut Square Piece Of Tape, Then Cut Slit In Center
Cut a roughly square piece of tape. Using a box cutter, exact knife or razor knife, cut a 1/4 inch slit in the center of the tape.
Insert Split End Of Wrapping Ribbon, Separate Ends
Feed the split end of wrapping ribbon through hole in the center of the tape. Separate spit ends of wrapping ribbon and press on tape, pointing the ends of the wrapping tape towards opposite corners of tape, then press in place.
Center Tape, Attach To Disc; I Attached To Top Of Disc
Center tape on disc (top or bottom) and attach tape on the disc. Attaching to top of disc or bottom of disc is a matter of preference. I had better results finding discs in snow when the ribbon was attached to the top of the disc. When the ribbon was attached to the bottom of a disc, I did notice this: When a disc would spin to a stop in the snow, sometimes the ribbon would coil underneath the disc, completely hiding the ribbon. Should this happen when the disc is under the snow, the ribbon and disc might be obscured and difficult to find. For this reason, it might work better if the ribbon is attached to the top of the disc.
Notes:
Black Gorilla tape worked for a while, but failed over time. The edge or corner of the black Gorilla tape released and eventually fell off.
In my tests, clear shipping/packing tape fell off discs, tore easily and failed miserably, so I did not include any pictures of shipping tape fails. The clear tape pictured is Crystal Clear Gorilla tape which worked well. Crystal Clear Gorilla tape is rugged and resists tearing significantly better than packing tape. Note – even the excellent performing, Crystal Clear Gorilla tape (pictured below) and quality Duck tape failed more easily from stress if ribbon was not split.
FAIL – Not splitting ribbon will cause stress and allow tape to tear more easily. NOTE: Non-split ribbon caused Crystal Clear Gorilla tape to tear more easily and led to a fail.
