Masterdarts Vincent Van Der Voort 26g Review

Discontinued bargain hits the high numbers

Despite ignoring these Darts in the clearance section of Darts Corner for months, I decided to pull the trigger and buy some before they finally sold out.

Vendor: Darts Corner

Price: £15 reduced from £30

Description: Vincent Van Der Voort 26g Darts, 90% Tungsten barrels

What's in the Box?: Darts, medium nylon stems and VVDV standard flights

A leap into the dark

Buying these Darts was indeed a trip into the unknown on two counts. The first being that these would be the first Master Darts I had owned and I wasn't sure of their quality and secondly the difference in weight in comparison to what I usually throw. (21g/22g/23g) these were 26g and at first I had visions of me struggling to even get them to the board! lol

First Impressions
Firstly I noticed the packaging was different to the photo posted in the DC product listing. I'm presuming the one I have is a slightly newer design although I'm only guessing. Another feature on the packaging was the phrase "The World's Fastest Player" which although not a deal breaker, calls into question the claim and the disregard of the famous Richie Gardner from yesteryear. (I always thought he was a fast player?) lol

 These were available in 22/24 and 26g variations

Secondly my eyes were drawn to the actual Barrels, the meat, the thing I spent the money on. They look stunning. The engraving is great and the feel and grip is really good. The grip bytheway is around 3 I would say. Not too grippy and not too slippy.
Along with the Darts of course is the standard ensemble of cheap stem and flight combo in a cheap storage case. I would have quite happily bought them 'Barrels only' if that was the case so I consider these extras to be a bonus.
The stems are medium length in the style of the Unicorn gripper with reasonable grip of the flight. Nothing to shout about.
The Vincent signature flights are light weight and perform OK.

First throw
It hasn't taken long to get used to the weight difference. They fly well and seem stable during flight when using my regular short setup. (This could be down to the extra weight) 
The Darts sit nice in the hand and throwing is confident and comfortable. Not bad at all

Conclusion
These are a nice Dart for £15. You could do a lot worse . sadly though they are only available in 26g - that said I wouldn't let that put you off if you fancy a punt at a decent Dart. They feel comfortable and composed. The 3g weight increase has not made a difference to my game. Recommended to the masses

Rating:  ✅✅✅✅ 4 out of 5

High quality, nicely finished and at £15 a absolute bargain. A potential collector's set.

Unicorn Silver Comets

Migrated/Archive Post

Step back in time with Unicorn Heritage Comets

I took an interest in these historic darts when I heard John Lowe talk about them on an old obscure training video from the 80s. 

He remarked that they were a milestone in the history of Unicorn and Frank Lowy dating back to birth of the brand.
Originally marketed by Wisdens under the same name they were a technological leap forward in terms of design. 
Wisdens as a company went and Unicorn took over, the rest is as they say 'history' (bad clich'e)
A couple of years ago Unicorn relaunched the Comets under its Heritage range, changing nothing from the original box of the 1930's.
The Barrels, Shafts and Flights are the exact replicas of the original, even the presentation box has the original literature reprinted on it. The only difference it would seem is the inclusion of an outer card box to make it shop friendly when displaying.



As you might have guessed, these Darts have specialist parts but thankfully spare Stems and Flights can be bought quite cheaply if something goes wrong.

Constituent Pieces
√ sizes shown are approx 

Thread Type: 2ba
Weight: 21g
Barrel: 48mm Chrome plated Brass
Stem: 48mm Aluminium with Aluminium end cap
Flights: Special Fiber board two piece slotted

The Barrels are a nicely finished Chrome plate with the original patent number etched towards the nose. Standard shiny Steel points are fitted.
The Stems are deep slotted Aluminum with a protective end cap which screws tight and locks the Flight in. It also acts as an incoming dart deflector (which it does impressively).
The Flights are made from Fiber board and are V shaped and two-piece in assembly. Each pack of Flights contains 6 pieces.
The Presentation box is made from a textured card with a card darts holder inside (built into the box) the darts can be stored fully constructed without dissassembly.

Points of Happiness
1. Wonderfully and faithfully reproduced Darts which look good in any display cabinet.
2. Owning a piece of history albeit, repro.... but history all the same Unicorn call them "priceless replicas" themselves
3. Stunning design, compact, different. they still look good 75 years later. The end cap innovation is currently being reworked by other manufacturers in one guise or another.
4. Nice to keep as an heirloom... well, from 2015! wish I had some originals!!!

Points of concern
1. I cannot throw these darts! 
2. Flights are cardboard and have a tendency to bend when under any sort of pressure. You may go through a few sets! (more than likely)
3. They fly better when the two parts of the flight are flat?? I dont understand that? 


Point of principle
1. You got to have a set of these, even if you dont throw them. 

Conclusion
I cant throw them as I said before, tried moving fingers forward and back etc etc and they still land funny. 
The flights are a complete mystery as they seem to glide better when you dont fan them out?? I found that they had excessive drag when shaped properly.
The stems again are another bone of contention. Not because of the design. but because of the weight or so it seems. 
The comets seem to be very tail heavy when coupled to the 21g barrel?? 
I dont know, it might just be me?
Having said all that, I still love them for what they are. fantastic value (especially when someone buys them for you!) and a talking point.
The innovation cannot be ignored, specifically the end caps. You feel like you have a piece of history in your hands.
I dont know, some of you guys may be able to make some good scores with these so dont let me put you off if you are up for a challenge.

Target True Play 22g Darts

Tantalising Tungsten for a Tenner! 

Trawling the clearance shelf can be a hit and miss affair as many of us can testify. Stumbling into these however is not such a gamble. In fact these arrows will only bring joy and enjoyment to your game.

Vendor: Darts Corner
Price: £10 reduced from £12
Description: 80% Tungsten Darts Weight: 22g  Length:  48mm
What's in the Box: Darts, 3x Aluminium stems, 3x Target play flights, Tri-fold case.

Here they are with different Stems and Flights fitted.