High Performance Darts

Posted: 27.11.12 in Darts Product Reviews category

Kev Brown - BigGun170 has reviewed our High Performance Darts! He likes them!

This is my 1st of many reviews that I hope to bring you over the next 12 months of new and exciting products to hit the darts market. I hope you enjoy reading this and would appreciate any feedback to help with future reviews that I intend to do.

When it comes to darts I think I am quite fussy with my choices of barrel, stem and flights. Some might even say it’s obsessive behaviour, as everything has to be just so, but aren't all dart players like that? I believe the best set up for any dart player is the one that feels right for you. I also feel your set up may need to be changed over time due to weight gain/loss or from an injury like the one I suffered recently with my prolapsed discs and sciatica. As a result of this I have completely changed my set up and it is currently working well.

However, I am always ready to try new products and write up my findings. Paul Gillings from The Darts Performance Centre was kind enough to take up my offer to review their New High Performance darts which are the new model (with extra grip to the rear of the barrel) of their original Performance Darts. 

Initial thoughts on the ‘New High Performance Darts’ when I opened the packet:

Looks: A classy dart that looks like it should be very expensive but is actually very reasonable (I will tell you the price at the end). It is a very well made dart with a nice shape that at first glance looks like a straight barrel with a gently tapered nose but the barrel is slightly narrower at the back, around 5.8mm as opposed to 6.3mm on the front where the rings are the tip of the nose is 3.5mm.

The barrel is 50.8 long and is 78mm in length including the point, these measurements are approximate as my Vernier Caliper is a bit old now so may not be exact, but it gives you a rough idea of the measurements.

What sets these apart from the original Performance Darts is the extra micro grip at the rear of the barrel that extents to within 4mm of the shaft. 

You get a set of Black medium nylon shafts with grip rings, a set of black poly flights in standard shape and your standard point protector. The case is a standard bar wallet with the Darts Performance Centre logo on the front. 

The weights were all pretty accurate to at 22.75, 22.76 and 22.81 so not quite the 23g they advertised but with your shaft and flight you can add another gram or so dependent on what you use.

Feel: These darts have a nice balance that is pretty central. The grip is surprisingly good but not sharp like the Purists or Razors, it’s more like a sticky grip without the stickiness. I like a sharp grip as I grip my darts very lightly but these performed very well with no problems on release and I found I adjusted very quickly to the new grip.

Throw: Very smooth on the release. Excellent for good grouping as the nose is tapered so the darts can all fit into a tight area as you will see from a few of the 180 pictures posted.

Deflections happen as we all know but they were minimal by comparison to my Purists phase 2’s that deflect a good inch away from the previous dart. The points are a good quality but were a little short for me as I use 30mm Storm points but I persevered as I didn't want to alter them due to them being given away at the end.

After the first week I changed things a little by using a shorter stem and pear flights for 1 day and kite flights the next. I have to say the darts still felt smooth, but I struggle with these combinations and it showed in my scores. This was no fault of the darts just purely down to my own preference of set up.

I also tried holding the darts in different areas on the barrel but that proved quite difficult to do as I have a set way of throwing but the grip runs the full length of the barrel so wherever you hold them you have the same level of grip and the barrel is similar in thickness for its entire length so in fairness it shouldn't be too much of a problem as to where you hold them. I reverted back to my set up after these 2 days and my scores were back up in the 200’s again.

After the 2 week trail I can see the usual marks on the barrel from the tight grouping but in my opinion the marks stand out a little more than they would on a smooth barrel as the micro grip does go right down to the nose of the darts. For me this isn’t a problem as I like the feel of grip to the end of my darts but it may make some feel their darts look a little more worn in a shorter time. This is something that I have found in the past to be the same with all micro grip darts. I think the trade off here is having a full barrel grip so I was happy with the trade off. 

All in all I found the High Performance Darts a pleasure to play with and a very easy dart to throw and get along with. They would suit all levels of player from beginner to very experienced County players due to their shape and grip. I would have no problems recommending them for any standard of player. They come in 3 weights 21g, 23g and 25g. I used the 23g and at £21-99 with only £1-00 for postage and packing they are a very serious contender in the darting world.

The Original Performance darts have an added weight of 19g and do not have the extra grip at the rear. These cost £18-99 so are great value for money also.

A big thank you to Paul Gillings for allowing me to use their darts for this review. It was an absolute pleasure to work with such a professional set up as the Darts Performance Centre who work tirelessly to improve all aspects of this beautiful game.

Kev Brown