You may notice most discs are marked with a set of four numbers. These are a (mostly) industry-wide standard for describing flight patterns, and having a basic understanding of them can help you know what kind of disc you’re looking at without having to go out and throw it.
The first number is speed, which is pretty self-explanatory. Discs with a higher number are built to travel further and faster, while lower numbers will fly at a slower speed over shorter distances. The tradeoff is usually that higher speed discs are tougher to throw precisely.
Next up is glide, which describes the disc’s ability to hold in the air longer. A higher glide disc will catch the air beneath it as it moves, which can give it longer air time, but that also means it’s more susceptible to gusts of wind.
Turn and fade refer to the nature of the disc’s flight path, and are a little more nuanced. As the disc leaves your hand, it will naturally bank right, but a lower turn will cause it to bank harder, and a higher turn will keep it more stable. Fade, on the other hand, describes how much the disc will curve back to the left after completing its initial bank. Keep in mind this is for right handed players throwing backhand, so if you’re a lefty, turn is how much it banks left initially, and fade is how much it curves back to the right.
