The Innova Gremlin is a 5-speed slightly overstable midrange. With published flight numbers of 5 / 4 / 0 / 2, it is most often described as suited for straight midrange lines with a dependable finish, roc-style shots at slightly more speed.
Overview
The Gremlin was an Innova midrange rated 5 / 4 / 0 / 2, a straight low-glide mold with a firm fade.[1] The PDGA approved it on June 5, 2007 under certification 07-28, at 21.2cm diameter, 1.8cm height, 1.2cm rim depth, 1.4cm rim width and a 176g maximum.[2] IsaacSam describes it as a faster Roc that never escaped the Roc's shadow, competing against a dozen other Innova midranges at once.[1] Innova no longer lists it anywhere: the Gremlin is absent from the company's speed-5 index and from its disc comparison table, and no product page remains.
Flight characteristics
Flight numbers describe the published behavior of the disc when thrown at its design speed. Real-world flight varies with plastic, weight, age, and thrower power. The community-averaged numbers above reflect crowd-sourced observations from real throws — typically slightly more understable than the manufacturer's published values, which is the most consistent pattern across nearly every commercial mold.
Recommended uses
The Gremlin covers the shot a Roc handles, a controlled straight midrange line with a dependable finish, at a little more speed.[1] Innova-era Pro Line runs came out beefy, and Dave Dunipace placed the Star "Gremlin L" release between a seasoned DX and a Pro Line in overstability.[4] Nothing is in production, so anything you throw will be old plastic, and a beat DX flies considerably straighter than the numbers suggest.[1]
Best for:
- Straight midrange lines with a dependable finish
- Roc-style shots at slightly more speed
- Headwind approaches in older, beefier plastic
Community notes — how players actually use this disc
Plastics & variants
The Gremlin is available in the following plastic blends from Innova:[5]
DX, Pro, Star
Plastic blend significantly affects flight character. Premium plastics like Champion, Z, or C-Line generally fly more overstable when fresh and hold their stability over time. Base plastics like DX, Pro, or Active beat in faster and become more understable workhorses with use.
History
The Gremlin's lineage runs through three companies. Innova began designing molds for Ching in 1998, and the first was the Sniper, approved by the PDGA on September 5, 1998 under CHING Sports.[1][3] Dave Dunipace, Innova's co-founder, explained the chain on the PDGA discussion boards in 2006: "The Gremlin was a different version of Sniper. The first Sniper was just an X version of the Panther, but the Gremlin/Sniper (2nd version) was an X version of that."[4] Innova sold the mold under its own name from around 2003, though the PDGA record was not filed until June 2007, so the certification date is not the release date.[1][2] The mold then went to Discmania as the GM, or Greater Mid-Range. Innova's 2011 catalog says so plainly: "You may have seen this disc before as the Gremlin in the Innova line."[5] Discmania reassigned the flight numbers at the handoff, and the PDGA never issued a separate certification for a Gremlin L or for the Discmania GM.[1][2]
Notable throwers
Currently no information
How it compares
How the Gremlin lines up against the discs players most often weigh it against, using each manufacturer's published flight numbers.
| Disc | Speed / Glide / Turn / Fade | Stability | Rim width |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innova Gremlin | 5 / 4 / 0 / 2 | Slightly Overstable | 1.4 cm |
| Innova Roc | 4 / 4 / 0 / 3 | Slightly Overstable | 1.3 cm |
| Innova Gator | 5 / 2 / 0 / 4 | Overstable | 1.3 cm |
| Innova Panther | 5 / 4 / -2 / 1 | Understable | 1.3 cm |
| Innova Wedge | 3.5 / 3 / -3 / 1 | Very Understable | 1 cm |
| Innova Shark | 4 / 4 / 0 / 2 | Stable | 1.2 cm |
References & further reading
- How to read disc golf flight numbers — Discpedia primer
- PDGA Approved Disc List — search for "Gremlin" to find the Innova Gremlin entry (PDGA-approved 2007)
- Innova official site — manufacturer product page
Sources
Content on this page has been cross-checked against the following sources. Numbered citations in the prose above link to the matching entry here.
- "A quick guide to every single Innova disc" (Part 8, Destroyer – Groove) — u/IsaacSam98 on r/discgolf
- Gremlin from Innova Champion Discs — PDGA Approved Discs
- Sniper from CHING Sports — PDGA Approved Discs
- "Ask Dave Dunipace About Innova Discs" — PDGA Discussion Board archive, May 2006
- Innova 2011 product catalog (Discmania Greater Mid-Range entry)
This is a community page. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Suggest a correction — every edit is reviewed before it goes live.