OK, took the thing out on 3 occasions.
It plays a bit heavy. Definitely does not swing like my pog mid does - which plays lighter than it's 345g weight suggests. I removed all the lead as well. So there's a significant flutter at the tip of the hoop. The POG has WAY more power and spin. It's strung at 54lbs ish with ALU Power while the Pro is strung at 54lbs with Revolve Orange; which I really am enjoying the feel of in this stick and others - it's like an ever so slightly firmer ALU Power with a touch more spin and a bit less power. I played a couple of sets with both on new strings and the POG was just more controllable, much better 1st and 2nd serves, much easier to defend with, much better spin - though, admittedly, the POG has ridiculous spin strung with ALU and it is one of the best serving machines you'll use south of a PD+. But I don't think any of us were considering a Graphite Pro as a primary stick. So I'll get to the importat part, the feel.
Even strung with a poly at 54lbs, the open stringbed and the flex make this a very plush hit. Even framing the ball just makes a *thwump* sound with little vibration. So the thing must be foam filled. And they prolly used heavy foam from what I can tell. I am using a hurling PU grip on it now(these are very thick grips designed to be used on a hurley bat or camogie stick). And I don't feel much at all under the grip as far as vibration. Feedback is instant as the further up the hoop you go, the worse it feels. So smacking top spin foreands off the upper hoop like I do on my weighted S3.0 Dunlops, 97s', and my stock POG are not really an option. I think if you string this one with ALU at 50lbs, it's gonna produce much more power and control. With X-One or TNT2 at 58lbs and it's gonna be powerful, a bit less controlled, but much smooter.
All in all, a nice plush 80's era stick that I would have been super stoked to have used if I could have afforded it back then. To give you an idea how much POG's and Pros cost when I was a teenager - I bought a well-used Yamaha YZ125 for what a new POG would have costed me. And that Yamaha did a lot mroe damage to my wrists and shoulder than any POG has ever done to me. It wasn't until University that I could afford a POG myself, and even then, they were all used. I have only once bought a new POG and it was the disapointing 'straight beam' which I feel aren't as nice to play with as the 4 stripe Thailand machines.
