The Panther is an understable midrange in Innova’s line up. It is beadles with a slight dome. It can be found and purchased in a variety of plastics, but for this review I will be focusing on the Champion plastic variation. This is probably Innova’s most well-known understable midrange.

The Panther is great for three main situations. The first is for a beginning player. The panther is a great starting midrange disc for those who are brand new to the game of disc golf. It will help teach them good form by being understable enough to get a good flight out of it yet not being as fast as a driver where they will lose some control. For any new players out there this is a great option for a disc if you want only one disc to start learning the game.

The second use for the panther is on upshots. The panther can be used for touchy left to right upshots with a slight fade at the end. For those shots it’s great. It can also be used for hyzer flip up to flat shots on approaches or drives off the tee. The reason I personally don’t do this is because I feel that a Mako3 or another straight mid can do both these things and more. Thrown flat the Mako3 will go straight and thrown on a slight anhyzer it will have the same left to right movement. Yet regardless the Panther still can execute these shots.

The final use I can determine for the Panther is to use it for scrambling and particularly patent pending shots. This disc can be great for a midrange distance type scramble to get you out of some tough woods on the right side of the fairway for righties (and vice versa for lefties). With it being pretty understable it will definitely hold an anhyzer line for all the different scramble shots you need.

With all this said I’m going to have to give the Panther a 4 out of 5 stars. It is a good disc, but to be completely honest, I find it unnecessary in a player’s bag. The same shot shaping can be found out of any straight flying midrange and with a disc like that you will get other shots you are unable to get with the Panther. All in all it is a great disc, but I would only suggest it for beginners or those looking for a utility disc such as this.

This is my main mid range that flies straight for me. very reliable and saves me some strokes

As a beginner this is my favorite midrange disc.  For me this disc goes pretty much straight and is very predictable.

The Panther was one of the first mids I ever owned and was given as a hand-me-down with my first set.  It wasn't until I started to seriously learn the sport that I began to appreciate the panther as a disc.  It is a great hyzer flip and turn over mid range.  It handles power pretty well and has good glide for a 4*.  It has been a solid option for me and a comfortable disc to throw approaches at lower speeds with since it fights to stay flat.  As mine has aged (champion plastic) it has become a bit more understable, making it more touchy to get angle control and speed right.  I recommend it as a beginner mid that will grow with you as you get better at the game.

My panther did not come as understable, out of the box, as I expected, but I can tell after just a few rounds with it, that it is a very reliable and predictable mid. It does not seem to be flippy enough to be unporedictable and it will be able to glide for as long as I will need it too. I think this is an underrated beginner disc and definitely something that new players can use to learn.