WinnWell Pro480

[MrData 93]

WinnWell Pro480
Non-grip, 85 flex, PS119 Sakic, cut approx 2.5-3", 'candycane' tape job
Timeframe of use: Since November 2013, as part of multiple-stick rotation
Other sticks used: Sher-Wood EK15, Sher-Wood T100, Bauer TotalOne, Reebok 11k pro stock, Reebok AI7, Mission Hex-1 pro stock, Bauer Supreme One80, Reebok 6k, Sher-Wood N6, Easton SE6
Reviewer: Simon Ledsham - 20 years old - 5'9" 165 lbs
Playing experience: Started playing 2 years ago. I play C- or D-level adult league hockey once a week (sometimes twice).
Position: Defense

Intro: I feel this stick needs an introduction, as it is not especially well-known (and probably totally unknown outside of Canada). This stick is a Special Make-Up (SMU) produced by WinnWell for Canadian Tire. It's basically a slightly cheaper version of the venerable WinnWell GX-8, which is regarded as a great price-point stick on these boards. Being an SMU, it's only available in 85 flex, PS119 sakic, matte finish. It retails for $109.99, only at Canadian Tire, but the price often goes down as a result of regular sales.

Design: Gotta give WinnWell points for the unique graphics. Matte white at the top of the shaft and the hosel and blade, with a darker middle portion featuring the white WinnWell logo. I love how you can see the carbon weave in the middle portion of the stick. The stick looks almost identical to WinnWell's AMP-series sticks. A subtle "Pro480" logo at the taper means that this stick doesn't make you stand out as a guy who buys his sticks at Canadian Tire. 8.5/10

Blade: Absolutely terrible. This is really what ruined the stick for me. This blade may be thin, but it is the least durable blade I've used so far. It went soft within about 10-15 uses (games/shooting sessions). At least the decals on the surface are more durable than the blade core, and the matte finish on the blade is nice. Yet, a terrible blade overall. 2.5/10

Shaft/Flex: The shaft is your standard square-double-concave design (similar to TotalOne). It has little raised bumps in the middle portion for better grip, but with the stick's matte finish, these bumps don't do much. I would've liked the stick to feature a grip finish, but at least WinnWell went with matte instead of clear. The flex is pretty average, and compares well to sticks in its price range (around $100). It plays at least as stiff as a TotalOne - if not stiffer - and gains a lot of stiffness when cut down. 7.5/10

Stickhandling/receiving passes: Initially, the puck feel was fine. Then, when the blade went soft, the puck feel was completely destroyed. As for pass reception, it isn't bad, but doesn't stand out. I guess having a super-spongy softened blade helps (lol). 4/10

Shooting: Shooting was pretty average at first, with not much noticeable 'pop', but not too much torquing on hard shots either. When the blade went soft, the shooting became absolute garbage. Slapshots feel mushy, and snappers have no pop whatsoever. 3/10

Weight and balance: Weighing it at around 480-490g (hence the name), this stick is decently light for its price point, especially when you consider that it was released several years ago. It also feels pretty balanced, so you don't notice the weight too much. Nevertheless, if you're used to higher-end sticks, this one will feel noticeably heavier and blade-heavy. Compared to sticks in its price range though, this twig feels nice and light. 8/10

Durability: The shaft has held up remarkably well, with only superficial damage from routine stick checking, shot blocking, etc. The blade's surface has also held up well, with surprisingly little damage to the graphics, and no major chipping. However, the blade went soft ridiculously quickly. Either I got a bad stick, or WinnWell uses silly putty for the 480's blade core. Despite the overall durability of the stick, the softened blade makes it nearly unusable, and thus I have to give it a low mark. 4/10

Conclusion: I was really disappointed with this stick. My initial impressions were great, but the rapid softening of the blade totally ruined it for me. As it stands, I wouldn't recommend this stick to anyone based on my experience. However, I might have just gotten unlucky with a stick from a bad batch, and I'd have to try at least one more 480 before I completely write the stick off (this is something I'm not willing to do). If you spot one on sale at Canadian Tire for around $70 (they do drop that low), you have my blessing to take a chance with the stick. If the blade hadn't softened, it would have been a very decent stick for the price. However, I wouldn't recommend buying the stick for the full $109.99 retail price.

Overall score (not an average): 5/10

Edited March 11, 2014 by MrData