Experiment Pack Review 2

Posted: 07.04.16 in Darts Product Reviews category

The Rev - Adrian Underwood is a keen student of the game of darts and he agreed to review our new experiment pack.

Review of the DPC Experiment Pack –Adrian Underwood

Maybe you like me you have a constant sneaking suspicion that tweaking your darts set up will help you towards an elusive personal best average or even a perfect leg. Maybe you’re simply looking to choose the perfect stem and flight combination for your new darts. Well, whatever the reason you have for switching around your stems and flights the opportunity not to do it in a random, hit and miss, frustrating way has arrived in the form of the new improved Ultimate Experiment Pack from the DPC.

Description

The pack contains almost every conceivable length of nylon stem (X short, short, intermediate and medium) as well as 17 sets of flights in a range of shapes and thicknesses (including standard, kites, pears and slims). A really helpful addition to the previous incarnation of this pack (still available on the DPC website is the inclusion of three sets of aluminium stems (Xshort, short and medium). Unlike other such packs I’ve seen, the DPC’s offering is full of good quality items, which means they serve their intended purpose well.

In addition to the collection of goodies listed above, you also get the fantastic Experiment Pack leaflet which features:

• clear step by step instructions,
• diagrams of the 20 segment of the board with which to evaluate your current set up.
• tables in which you record your results as you work through
•  helpful advice on how to finally choose your ideal set up.

This leaflet really does showcase the DPC’s approach to improving darts playing performance, and in my opinion is worth the price of the pack alone.

Evaluation

I admit that to begin with I was a bit daunted by the prospect of sacrificing 4 or 5 hours of precious time in an already busy schedule to experiment with this pack because believe you me if you work through all the flight/ stem combinations made possible by this comprehensive set it’s a time consuming business. I was also sceptical about the benefit of such a product. I was pretty sure I knew exactly what effect many of the different combinations would produce. I was also a bit wary of the fact that changing a piece of kit can give you an initial boost in performance that all too soon soon diminishes.

However, I was wrong to be so sceptical. I completed the whole experiment over a two week period, using any spare twenty minute periods I had. This meant it didn’t effect my regular practice and meant I actually enjoyed the process. In addition I found myself often surprised by the results especially those produced by the aluminium stems which I’ve never used seriously before. These added stability and the extra weight actually complemented the natural straight travel of my DPC Elite darts.

It was also good to try different flight thicknesses and feel how the slimmer flights improved accuracy at the expense of a little stability and consistency. As the process went on it very quickly became obvious which flight and stem combinations I would keep to test against one another in making a final selection and which I would discard and never ever try again.

The real surprise though was that the process taught me or reminded me of quite a few important things. For example firstly, I now know at exactly what angle I want my darts to enter the board. Secondly I found several combinations which allowed me to relax and lessen the effort of my throw, which of course improves accuracy and consistency.   I also found that experimenting with my set up highlighted flaws in my technique, such as a sluggish release and an occasional lazy snatch.

If I was asked how this great piece of kit could be improved, I’d say, “with difficulty”. However, if there is was one thing I’d add to the third addition of this pack it would be an additional column on each of the recording tables which would enable the player to give the setup being tested a score out of 5 for how well the setup cause the dart to fly.

In the final analysis this pack provides a great learning experience and I’d highly recommend it

Adrian Underwood 29th March 2016

You can get your Ultimate Experiment Pack for £10.95 here!

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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 online 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. You also get an invite to our free but exclusive members only events and acess to our members only darts coaching app! Membership is £25 per year!