Dual Grip Darts Review

Posted: 07.11.16 in Darts Product Reviews category

We sent our darts to Barry G for his take on our new Dual Grip Performance Darts.

 I was very kindly sent these darts by Paul at the DPC (Darts Performance Centre) to review. These are the newly released Dual Grip model, as designed by Paul himself, and they come in 23g and 25g. The model I am reviewing is the 23g model.  They are available from the Darts Performance Centre Shop and retail for £24.95 - http://dartsperformancecentre.com/shop/performance-darts/dual-grip-performance-darts/

The darts are 90% tungsten and, as suggested by the name, have 2 distinct grip regions on the barrel.  As stated on the packaging:

“Micro grip at the back of the barrel for secure release and thrust.  Grooved grip at the front of the barrel for perfect finger placement and control”.

Going by this description the darts have been designed with a rear grip in mind.  I grip at the front of the barrel so let’s see how these will fit up for me – more to come on that later, but first, some pictures of the darts themselves!

The darts come packaged in the usual DPC way with the plastic clam shell outer and the stylish paper insert with the details on the darts.  Inside this the darts are packaged in a hard plastic case that contains the 3 darts in a point protector with short 2 tone shafts and standard size 2 tone flights.

The setup that comes with the darts looks very nice and gives them a really slick appearance. Good job from me on that one.

Let’s take a look at the darts in some detail.  The darts come fitted with a standard silver steel-tip point that leads up to a slanted nose. This leads into the first grip area which is a thin ring grip type grip. This provides a medium level grip. The rings are quite edgy when new and they do feel nice and secure. Past these is a plain tungsten section with the DPC logo laser etched. 

After this comes what would be considered the main grip area of the dart.  This is a series of 10 rings with micro grip on the top of each ring. These provide a medium / high level of grip and the micro grip is such a nice feeling grip. For me it provides a good non-slip grip, but one that doesn’t stick to the fingers on release.

My only problem with micro grip however is that it tends to wear quite quickly. However, with the shape of these darts I would suggest that the micro grip will be protected well and should last a long time.  My reasoning for this is that the micro grip section of the dart tapers from the end of plain tungsten section to the shaft. It’s not quite a scallop, but rather a taper. 

Therefore, when the darts clang into each other in the board the front section is going to take the brunt of the impact, with the plain tungsten taking the next force and the micro grip section after that, but as it tapers the micro grip is going to take a lot less impact than the other sections. This can be seen if you lay the darts next to each other and see that after the plain tungsten section the darts are no longer in direct contact with each other. A very clever design to protect the main grip area.

Now to take some measurements and weigh them for manufacturing quality!

On my scales the darts come in at 23.0g, 23.1g and 23.0g which is pretty much bang on the mark – no quibbles there.

I think my callipers could do with new batteries as the display is a bit faded!  On the callipers the darts are 51.08mm in length. The front ring grip section is 6.69mm thick, the plain tungsten section is 6.74mm thick with the micro grip section tapering from 5.94mm down to 5.88mm.  This gives a dart with a slight front bias.

The darts for me landed in the board with a slight upward angle and grouped nice and tight (whenever I managed to get them close!).

Conclusion

First of all I have to say that the darts look great, are made to a really high standard and the grip is very very nice.

I was mainly gripping the dart at the front on the first ring section. These were nice to grip and the darts flew well for me from there. However, I roll the darts slightly on drawback and my thumb would slip onto the plain tungsten so I felt like I wasn’t quite getting the purchase I needed with my grip.  That’s just me though and the way that I roll the dart on drawback.  If you grip right at the front and your grip is on the front rings then it is really nice.

Of course I had to try out that rear grip as the design and text on the packaging quoted at the start of the review leads me to believe that it was designed with a rear grip in mind.  This was awkward for me at first to try and get comfortable and took a little bit of experimentation, but once I got comfortable the dart felt great from that back section of grip. 

I used the front section as a guide for a front finger (as suggested on the packaging) which in turn enabled me to get my thumb in the same place each time.  The micro grip is fantastic; non-slip and yet doesn’t stick, gives a really clean release and flight path to the board.  The shape of the taper on the rear section of the dart adds to the feel as well.  I could feel the taper under my grip and was able to use it push off against to provide that thrust for the dart into the board. Again, a nice design feature.

Even though I would suggest that the dart has been designed with a rear grip in mind, it will and does work with a front grip.  The rings are nice and comfortable to hold and provide a good medium level of grip.  Rear grippers that like a slightly front biased dart are going to love these.  The grip is superb, the shape of the barrel adds to the overall feel and they fly smooth.  Another top dart from the DPC and at a very reasonable price too.