Get A Grip!

Posted: 28.11.11 in Darts Product Reviews category

There are numerous products available that boast that they can help with sweaty fingers and hands whilst playing darts. Our product review gets the opinion of two darts players.

The Darts Performance Centre website was formed a year ago to assist dart players to play better darts. In more recent times we have opened an eBay shop (our own online store is being created at the moment) specialising in products we believe can also help to get the maximum possible from your darts performance.

We always try to justify why we are selling any  product we offer and explain what we believe the potential benefits are. We also try to get grass-roots dart players involved whenever possible to give us their opinions too. Allow me to introduce you to Martin Webb and Darren Hawken.

Regular readers of the blog will already know Darren or "Gooner" if you prefer. He is an Isle of Wight County player and he also wrote a series of blogs for us about his experience in this year's UK Open.

           Gooner                and Mezza

Martin is a member of the Darts Performance Centre and has been playing darts since he was 5. 31 years later (he did have a 5 year sabbatical)  he is still playing. Mezza has hit two 9 darters in his career and is currently playing for the Milford Arms in Middlesex. Both players reported issues with their grip so seemed ideal candidates to test out the grip products we sell.

Here is Mezza's report

Darts Grip tablets

They are a traditional roundish wax tablet available in a variety of colours.

Simply rub between your fingers to apply a light wax coating to your fingers and help with grip.

Pros:

Easy to use.

Small enough to fit in your pocket and reapply when needed.

Reasonably priced.

Would last a good few months depending on how much you use.

Cons:

None really.

Conclusions:

Nothing new here, they are the same wax tablets that have been on the market for years.

They do work, but I find the waxy feel a little too slippery at times, It’s one of those personal things really.

SportsWax

The SportsWax comes in a small round tub with a screw on lid. The lid could be left off and the tub kept in the pocket for re-applying.

There is also a belt type holder you can get.

It looks a little as though it’s a traditional wax tablet stuck in the bottom of a small tub.

Simply rub your finger tips on it to apply a wax coating to your fingers. Available in  pink or yellow wax.

Pros:

Easy enough to use.

Can fit in the pocket.

Reasonably priced as should last a good few months or longer.

Cons:

None for me, although some of my team mates felt that it hardly left anything on their fingers.

Conclusions:

This was my favourite product of the three and I will certainly be using it in the future. It’s not as slippery on the fingers as the wax tablets, but provides just enough grip for me.

Winmau Wizard Mighty Grip

A completely new type of product. Comes in a small plastic bottle. Looks a little like fine chalk dust.

A little more complex to apply, simply apply a small amount to the finger tips and then rub or grip the hand to warm it up and get it tacky.

Pros:

Gives a tremendous amount of grip!

Cons:

Too much grip – was even tacky for a long period after applying.

Awkward to reapply – if you would ever need to.

Expensive at £10 a bottle, but like they say a little goes a long way and it would really last a good six months I think.

Conclusions:

This is clearly a product that was originally developed for racquet sports, that is now looking to widen its market with the Winmau endorsement. I actually found myself struggling to release my darts as they were almost stuck to my fingers at release.

On the other hand (so to speak) Darren had this view of the "Wizard Mighty Grip". With regards to the powder, you can instantly feel the grip on your fingers and you can feel the dart sticking to your fingers, which may put some players off but actually made the dart feel more secure in my hand. Again getting the right amount may be a slight problem, but after a few attempts you soon get to know the feel of the grip.

Back to Mezza to sum up

Overall Summary:

I’ve used the traditional type of wax tablets in the past and the Darts Performance Centre Darts tablets are no different, I just found the feeling on the fingers was a little too slippery for me, although a couple of my team mates preferred these and will use them again.

The Wizard Grip was just far too tacky for me, almost like having glue on your fingers, which was really noticeable at the point of release. Darren liked this amount of grip, however, so very much personal preference here.

The SportsWax was by far my favourite and is what I will use in the future. It was small enough to keep in my pocket with the lid off, easy to use and didn’t leave my fingers feeling at all slippery.

Obviously grip is a matter of personal preference, hence the reason we have so many different types of dart barrels. But this wasn’t about the grip I had with my darts usually. It was now and again when my hands/ fingers got a little sweaty and I just needed a little help in the grip department.

Stop press: We have been sent a sample of another grip product which is a cream to apply to the hands and fingers. Watch this space for a review of this shortly.

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The Darts Performance Centre is a resource to assist dart players of all standards play better darts. The site is arranged as an on-line coaching manual. There is advice on technique, nerves, psychology, goal setting, practice games, an area to log your statistics and an interactive area where your darting questions are answered by two sports scientists, one with 30 years dart playing experience! Membership is just £25.00 per annum.