Review: The Kastaplast Berg

Dear Green Splatter readers,

You were waiting for this one, weren’t you?

Though speed-one discs are now commonplace – the Innova Sonic, Birdie or (Halo) Polecat appear in more than a few players’ bags – the Kastaplast Berg is the black sheep of the bunch.

Online, there are LOTS of opinions about the Berg. Those who bag one love the disc, sometimes referring to themselves as members of the “Berg Gang.” Others refuse to consider throwing the funny-shaped, speed-one approach putter – to do so is to become slave to a marketing message.

Molded in Stockholm, Kastaplast prides itself on extensive design research and prototyping in the creation of its semi-limited product line – I could immediately tell it was different …

That’s a good thing.

The Berg I’ve bagged for the purposes of this article is of the K1 variety. The second I held it, I was surprised by it – both the plastic and mold were unlike anything I’d ever felt …

More on that shortly.

For context, I’m a college student, competitive disc golfer and a former baseball and ultimate player. Just a hair over six feet, I have the length and muscle memory to bomb a forehand out to about 400 feet. And on a good day, I can get a backhand out a bit farther if I get a hold of it.

Above all that, though, I’m ALWAYS looking for approach discs I can use from different angles. Pre-Berg, I bagged two Zones, a Sonic and a Sol. If inside 120 feet, I want to scare the basket.

Perhaps it’s an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, but being a young’un …

I’m an aggressive player.

And I ADORE the Berg.

The feel of the Berg

By far, this will be the most extensive part of my review. If I told you to close your eyes, and then I put a K1 Berg in your hands, there’s a good chance you wouldn’t have any idea what it was …

Like, you might not know it’s a golf disc.

The reason?

The thumbtrack, if you could call it that, is huge – it’s more a “thumbcavern.”

The K1 plastic has a premium-plastic shine about it, somewhere between Innova’s Star or Champion polymers. But get this – that shimmer sticks around. Over the last few weeks, this Berg has been thrown dozens of times in the thick woods of North Carolina, but it’s still a beaut.

Looking at the plastic, an experienced disc golf eye might say it appears slippery. As a sweaty hands guy myself, there’s a towel or two in my bag at all times – even when it’s dry out. I know slick discs the second I get a hold of ‘em. Thankfully, the K1 Berg falls well short of the mark.

The Berg is ultra-grippy.

It’s not going anywhere, especially with its thumbtack.

The Berg feels slightly better with a forehand grip than a backhand grip. This might be a “me thing,” as I felt the same way when I bagged the Innova Pig – the thumbtrack feels like it was made for the flick. Of course, that’s not to say you can’t (or shouldn’t) throw the Berg on a backhand – I have; I do. For me, however, it’s most often used for sidearm approaches.

The flight of the Berg

Find me an actual putter (not the Zone) more torque-resistant than the Berg …

I’ll wait.

On both a backhand and forehand line, you can throw the Berg as hard as you want and with as much spin as you want – it won’t turn over. It flies true to its zero-turn rating. The fade of two Kastaplast gives it is accurate, as well. Yes, it fades – and enough to fight out of a gentle anhyzer. But it’s not a disc that’ll dump hard at the end of a toss. It’s not uselessly overstable or anything.

The Berg flies 200 to 250 feet. 

Given the thumbtrack, it feels like it could go farther. But with the bulk of the disc’s weight carried in the rim, the approach putter offers a glide of zero – it drops right out of the sky.

* Note: The Berg is good for putting into a headwind or with a tailwind – it won’t lift or drop. 

I mainly throw the Berg for forehand approaches. It’s my go-to for a gentle, anhyzer flick that flattens out and lands softly – a shot EVERY player needs. It’s also especially useful for tee shots where a Zone is too overstable and a traditional, stable-to-overstable midrange is too much disc.

The Berg is a utility disc. It’s not one that’s stoopid-silly, though: the Tilt, Stego, Paradox, etc. It offers a standard “flightless” flight. But what makes it most special is its ground action …

There’s next to NONE of it.

The Berg won’t pop up and roll. It’s also unlikely to skip or to catch the backside of a slope and run long. The triple-threat of its wide rim, outside-heavy weight distribution and forgiving K1 plastic – or K1 Soft, if you want the effect intensified – causes the disc to hit and stick …

Plain and simple.

THIS is why the Berg is an elite-level approach putter.

If I throw the ever-popular Zone on a hyzer towards the basket, I can bank on a 10- to 15-foot skip. So, when I line it up, I have to consider whether I’ll account for the skip or try to force a flex that’ll settle flat. I don’t have to do ANY of this with a Berg – it goes until it doesn’t …

And that’s that.

The aesthetic of the Berg

The Berg is not the prettiest disc on the planet.

The thick, wide rim and small diameter make it – well, clunky …

Hardly the most flattering of adjectives.

The Swedish plastic is certainly a redeeming factor, though. This particular Berg comes equipped with a series of beautiful swirls mixed into the flight plate. Accentuated by the sun, they pop.

It’s a simple design; it gets the job done.

Did the Kastaplast Berg make my bag?

The Kastaplast Berg is in my bag … 

And it’ll stay there.

In an industry with TONS of overlapping molds that virtually do the same thing, the Berg is truly a one-of-a-kind disc – in and of itself, that’s an accomplishment. It took me some time to get used to the thumbtrack on steroids, but once I adjusted, I fell head over heels for the thing.

I can’t think of a disc that could possibly replace it.

The Final Green Splatter Grade: A

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Editor’s Suggestions:

• Disc golf: How to spin a disc on your finger
• Why elevated baskets aren’t bad for disc golf
• Disc golf: How to remove sticker residue from a disc

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