Reviews of the Gamma Hellbender Paddle by Pickleball Central Staff:
"The Hellbender is another great addition to the GAMMA Neucore line up. A thick, soft playing core is coupled with a graphite face to give you a great control paddle. The modified teardrop shape and the mid 7 ounce weight means the paddle is quick to the ball and helps provide some nice power. It feels like they took the incredible Compass and slightly shortened it, slightly widened it, and made it a little lighter. It is exciting to see a Neucore paddle in this weight range. It will open up GAMMA Neucore technology with its incredible ball control to a whole new group of players to whom weight really matters."
John, Sales Team (4.0 Player)
"I believe that Gamma is one of the few companies that really delivers breakthrough shapes in the sport. The R&D that they devote to how shape impacts playability is thoughtful, and produces some fantastic products. The HellBender paddle is another example of how subtle changes in shape create a fantastic paddle with unique play characteristics. The Hellbender is a thick core polypropylene core paddle with a high quality graphite (carbon fiber) face. Generally this combination creates a consistent large sweet spot perfect for dinks, drops, & blocks. But Chuck and the R&D team at Gamma then shaped this paddle to try and improve on traditional boxey, squared up shapes. I prefer a lighter paddle in the 7.4 to 7.7 ounce range, and this paddle was right in that perfect zone for me. My test unit was 7.5 ounces. It gave me confidence on finesse shots, my hand speed was good, and I didn't feel like I was overpowering the ball. Gamma does a fantastic job on grips, and this one is fantastic. The shorter handle combined with the 4-1/8" grip gives the paddle a very large surface area for blocking defense, and quick volleys. What is most unique is the shape - I would describe is as a very gently rounded teardrop that biases the balance a bit up the face towards to head, which on drives helps create more power. They claim this has a larger sweet spot, and in play testing I can confirm it. Gamma's Compass has a very subtle rounding shape at the hip of the paddle, and this one uses some similar arcs on the sides to maximize the sweet spot. This is definitely my cup of tea!"
Edward, Product Team (4.0 Player)
