Unicorn Eclipse HD Dartboard Review

[Getagrip]

Originally posted in old forum on Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:51 pm

I recently bought this board from Madhouse Darts for £34.28 (had a 10% discount code). I was intrigued more by the new claim of a
"Seamless playing surface for higher scores" on the box it says Patent Pending, not sure if that will ever be granted unless they have a unique way of achieving a seamless playing surface. The new digital number ring is something I liked the look of too, but the HD which stands for High Definition is more of a cash in on the recent buzzwords associated with new TV's.

Thats not to say the board does not look nice and clear when you open it up, but in all honesty it is no clearer than what my Bulls Advantage 2 was when that was new, and I have had that over 2 years now.

Anyway lets get on with it, here is the box pics and contents:

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There is instructions on the box and a checkout chart is printed on the box too:
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A checkout poster is included and a small instruction booklet along with the fixing bracket and rubber studs:
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The board straight out of the box:

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Has a nice clean look to it, but I think that is more enhanced by the white powder coated spider and its just how my Bulls was when new, sadly it looks a mess when it starts chipping from contact with darts points.

The new Digital Number ring is something I like but some people prefer the traditional number ring, I like the way the numbers are flat against the board and think it gives it a neat look.

Number Ring fixing bracket:
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The Black Steel band round the board, not sure how this is fixed, must be glued maybe? On my Blade 4 it is screwed in:
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The Bull area:

Could be my eyes but I thought my bullseye looked a little off centre?
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Treble Segment:
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Board Logos:

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It seems like the biggest selling point of this board is the Seamless playing surface, it is a nice clear and smooth surface but I dont know for sure if Unicorn have really come out with anything new here, my Bulls Advantage 2 was a very clear board when I first got it and in fact I think it was even clearer than the Eclipse HD.

Here is a pic of my Bulls Advantage 2 when it was about 6 months old, no visible seams!

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Here is some close ups of the Eclipse HD Board:

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Here is the board affixed to my stand without my light on:

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With my light on you can see the shadows around the spider:
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That is the same problem I have with my Bulls Advantage 2, is the raised spider, its one thing I dont like and much prefer the flush spider of the Blade 4, you need to have your lighting strong and directed right to avoid little shadow lines like that.

Here is close ups of the spider:

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You can see the shadow cast by the high wires in that pic, also notice the board is nice and smooth too.

I think the colours of my Blade 4 are a little stronger than the Eclipse which I like better too, on the Eclipse it seems like the ink has not penetrated deep enough into the sisal and I noticed a few areas that looked a little blotchy.

Blade 4 and Eclipse Hd side by side:


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Blotchy areas:
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there is a few spots on the board like this too:

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No major problem really, but expected a little better finishing quality to be honest.

I tested the density of the board with my soft tip dart as I had done so with my Blade 4, I find the Unicorn less dense than the Blade 4 and had not trouble pushing the soft tip dart in anywhere on the board, where as I could not penetrate the green areas of the Blade 4 very easily (I think that has something to do with the ink?). But the Blade 4 is definitely denser than the Eclipse HD, the Bulls 2 is still the densest board though. But the Unicorn Eclipse does not seem to heal up as well as the Blade 4 and my hole marks were still visible after a few days:

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Some measurements:

The thickness of the board, its a little thinner than the Blade 4:

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Big Segment, this is where the comparisons get interesting, I was expecting the Eclipse to have bigger measurements but it has less, the Eclipse is 47.5mm and the Blade 4 is 48.4mm (check my blade 4 review)

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Trebles and double segments were inconsistent in sizes, most were 8.7mm as opposed to the Blade 4 where all the ones I measured were 8.9mm

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The Bulls area is also smaller on the Eclipse HD, the Bulls Eye on the Eclipse is 11.6 but 12.4 on the Blade 4

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Conclusion:

If you really want this board you will buy it no matter what, you wont be totally disappointed with it and may actually love it. But for me it is more of a choice of do I like the spider on it, well yes and no, it is better and neater than the spider on my Bulls Advantage 2 but I was never keen on the way the spider is raised above the board and that is why I still dont like the spider on the Eclipse. Also after measuring the 2 boards scoring areas and finding the Blade 4 has more scoring area I after wonder what the claim on the box of "Higher Scores" is all about. The sisal is denser on the Blade 4 and I think overall it still has the edge, so for me the Eclipse gets a respectable 8 out of 10.

[Getagrip]

Replies from old forum:

Saber:

Wow Darren top notch review mate thanks. You get a plus and a 10 outta 10 from me.

getagrip:

Thanks POPS!

Stuart180:

Fantastic Review there, very informative indeed.
I'm really surprised that the scoring areas are slightly smaller than the Blade board (maybe unicorn have done this on purpose because of all the 'Toy Board' banter over the years).

Anyway, again, great review.

getagrip:

Possible Stuart, I was surprised too really.

USMC80:

Outstanding review +1 from me mate! Ill be sticking with the blade 4. I mean come on a raised spider?

The Rage:

Thanks Darren for another top quality and very detailed review. You've helped me decide to buy another Blade 4 when my current Blade runs out of juice. That won't be for a while though! Nice looking board all the same though but the Blade prevails in my book

Saber:

yeah me too was thinking about the unicorn but after your review Blade 4 for me again.
save me some money.

getagrip:

Well its not that the Unicorn HD is bad, some may like the raised spider, but it was the one thing I was not keen on on the Bulls 2, and I think the Bulls 2 spider is a little higher than the Eclipse HD's spider so its an improvement over that for sure, but for my money the Blade 4 is still the better buy. For me there is not enough going for the Eclipse HD to recommend you rush out and buy it really.

The Rage:

getagrip wrote:
Well its not that the Unicorn HD is bad, some may like the raised spider, but it was the one thing I was not keen on on the Bulls 2, and I think the Bulls 2 spider is a little higher than the Eclipse HD's spider so its an improvement over that for sure, but for my money the Blade 4 is still the better buy. For me there is not enough going for the Eclipse HD to recommend you rush out and buy it really.


Well said mate a +1 for this and your opening review

getagrip:

Cheers Rage!

ochejockey:

A +1 from me also Darren. Another fantastic review. Would the respective thickness of the wires account for the difference in scoring area? Looking at one of the pics, could they have found a way to minimize the seams and tried to hide them in the treble and double rings? I guess to validate the HD description, they had to paint the spider and have it stand out from the board.

The Rage:

Nice video too! Nice to hear your smoggie accent, you sound chilled

Hate to be the cretin that has to let you know mate but right at the end of your video it says Darts Ntus or something lol!

Coulda kept quiet actually lol me n me big mouth!

getagrip:

Could be the reason Oche, the paint must add some thickness too, but if the wires were deeply embedded I dont think the effect of the paint would be as noticeable, so they may have tried that in the early design stages, and thought it looks better raised up, its a trick of the eyes really, kind of fooling you into seeing it better when in actuality the area is smaller.

I may paint my Blade 4 spider white and see how it looks

ochejockey:

getagrip wrote:
Could be the reason Oche, the paint must add some thickness too, but if the wires were deeply embedded I dont think the effect of the paint would be as noticeable, so they may have tried that in the early design stages, and thought it looks better raised up, its a trick of the eyes really, kind of fooling you into seeing it better when in actuality the area is smaller.

I may paint my Blade 4 spider white and see how it looks


Hope you have a lot of patience and a steady hand! A really small paint brush would help too!

getagrip:

LOL! I dont on both accounts so it may be a bad idea!

hamo:

Great review grip lad. thankyou

getagrip:

Thanks Hamo!

Bigshow:

Top notch review Grip. +1

I was very excited about the HD board when it was first announced about 2 years ago and I immediately pre-ordered it but was constantly

disappointed with the constant delay and I eventually just got a Eclipse pro. It had about 10 release dates. I still intended to buy it when it came out

though ( when I was due a new board ) but now I think I`ll go with the Blade 4. I do like the digital number ring though. Thanks for the review

getagrip:

The Rage wrote:
Nice video too! Nice to hear your smoggie accent, you sound chilled

Hate to be the cretin that has to let you know mate but right at the end of your video it says Darts Ntus or something lol!

Coulda kept quiet actually lol me n me big mouth!


I tried to talk without my accent been too strong as I thought people wouldn't understand me, but its not easy lol!

Bigshow wrote:
Top notch review Grip. +1

I was very excited about the HD board when it was first announced about 2 years ago and I immediately pre-ordered it but was constantly

disappointed with the constant delay and I eventually just got a Eclipse pro. It had about 10 release dates. I still intended to buy it when it came out

though ( when I was due a new board ) but now I think I`ll go with the Blade 4. I do like the digital number ring though. Thanks for the review


Cheers Big!

If it goes cheaper at some point then its worth a buy but at present when you can get the Blade 4 cheaper its a no brainer really. I think the digital number ring is a cosmetic touch that some will like and some wont, for me its all about the boards density and the spider and I think the Blade 4 wins on that count.


The Rage:

getagrip wrote:
The Rage wrote:
Nice video too! Nice to hear your smoggie accent, you sound chilled

Hate to be the cretin that has to let you know mate but right at the end of your video it says Darts Ntus or something lol!

Coulda kept quiet actually lol me n me big mouth!


I tried to talk without my accent been too strong as I thought people wouldn't understand me, but its not easy lol!


Imagine that you trying to talk like Prince Phillip!


getagrip:

How very Dare You! I was trying to talk like Queenie!

Veni:

Very nice review Darren!!

I will buy myself a blade 4 or the Harrows Matchplay or even maybe the Target Pro Tour Board.

And yes, the bull is a bit off centre, but thats the standard with Unicorn everything are a bit off


Cheerio!

getagrip:

Thanks Glen, I should measure around the Bullseye to be certain about that.

Goofy:

First good review i've seen about this board Darren, cheers mate

Had been considering grabbing one but i think i may go for a Bulls Advantage 2 now....... been wanting one for ages!

getagrip:

First good review i've seen about this board Darren, cheers mate Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.((1.14:

Had been considering grabbing one but i think i may go for a Bulls Advantage 2 now....... been wanting one for ages!

I dont think the Eclipse HD will last as well as the Bulls 2, but my spider on the Bulls 2 is a little broke in parts. But its the hardest wearing board I have known, but it is very hard when new.

Here is my Bulls 2 which I bought in Jan 2010 and have played approx 45 mins each day, I took this pic a few days ago:

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This is where the spider is not so good, it twangs apart sometimes but is easy to put together again:

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Shouldn't have that problem with the Blade 4 as it is embedded deep into the sisal.

Goofy:

Yeah, i've had blade4's for a while now, just always liked the look of the bulls :thumbsup:

mc1958:

I echo what's been said above - excellent review, and along with a couple of other comments I've seen about it not being worth the extra, I've removed it from my wishlist over at DC.

I've got enough boards to keep me happy for another year or two anyway at the moment, but I'm well happy with the latest Blade 4 I bought which was half the Eclipse HD price when I got it at Argos (think they are now £22 there).

Looking forward to your review of the Harrow's Pro board now

Oh yeah, +1 from me as well

getagrip:

Cheers Mike, dont think you can go wrong with the Blade 4 especially at that price, there is a Bulls Advantage 3 out in Holland and Germany but don't know if it is going to be released over here. The spider on the Bulls 3 looks slightly improved but not enough to my liking to be honest, but cant deny that the Bulls is very durable.

the_cutter:

Very nice review, Darren. Thanks for all the information and the comparisons among the boards. +1. Keep the reviews coming!

getagrip:

Cheers Mark!

Will do more when I can mate!

chalky:

I love this board
only problem i have with it is the bull isnt "mini"
compared to my champions choice II

USMC80:

what do you mean by "mini"?

And welcome to the forum!

Skyblueadam:

Very good pics grip :-)

chalky:

ah i was meaning the trainer dart board doesnt have a minibull

getagrip:

chalky wrote:
I love this board
only problem i have with it is the bull isnt "mini"
compared to my champions choice II


Welcome to the forum, you prefer the Bull to be smaller?

I have trouble hitting a normal size Bull

Skyblueadam wrote:
Very good pics grip :-)

Cheers!

chalky:

yeah i do for practice i got the Unicorn Eclipse HD Trainer Dartboard half size trebles doubles amd its suposed to have a mini bull but mine only seems about 2mls smaller than the normal one.

getagrip:

Not sure on that, but 2mm smaller is still quite small. But if it is meant to be smaller still I dont know?

Veni:

The people I have talked to that has this board they just want to sell it again. The board looks good but the spider isnt up to par.
That its to big in the trebles, and when the darts hit the board they sink into the barrel in the board, and that makes hitting the treble and so.

But I would like to try it. =)

dukefnwayne:

Hey thanks for the review, i'm due for an upgrade for my board, the old nodor is starting to have the bristles move. When I was in the navy my friends and family didnt know how to rotate the board so I'm dealing with the repercussions of it now.

But I dont like how the spider is raised, or that the wires are painted.

Awesome review and pics though.

getagrip:

Hold your horses on getting a new board, I will have an exclusive of the One80 Gladiator 2 board soon, and from what I hear it sounds very good.

Glad you liked the review though

dukefnwayne:

Will do, I'm going to the dart store saturday with full intent on a nice new shiny set of darts. That and a bottle of scotch i'll be in my own world.

bentnbroken:

Great review, after getting excited about the HD marketing. I buying the Blade 4 instead.

Thanks for the review

getagrip:

Thanks mate, its not that its a bad board as such, just not the advancement they made it out to be really. Although my spider did lift from the board, Unicorn at least sent me a new one which seemed a little better embedded into the sisal and has behaved so far.

But for value for money the Blade 4 is great.

Eslotes:

I thought that Unicorn Eclipse HD Dartboard was using in the new competitions for 2013 but i can only see the normal... , that's what i read

Greetings

getagrip:

they have not used it yet, not sure if they will?

jamie373:

maybe because strong studio lights and the white spider and numbers to much glare ???

getagrip:

possibly, I wouldn't like to say for sure though, might be worth tweeting Unicorn and asking.

McInnis180:

Wicked review buddy.....agree with you on the raised spider...don't like it....the Bulls board is nice, just like my DMI Bandit flush with the board!!!! A 1 Darren!!!!

getagrip:

Thanks Trev, so far the replacement I got from Unicorn seems to be doing well though, so I wonder if its a case of hit and miss as to what you get?

Infiniti Darts:

Unicorn produce so many boards in the factory that it normally may be a case that you may get a bad one.

This is why if you get an issue, Unicorn normally are not too fussed with replacing it.

Now I'm not just saying this (I have used Unicorn, Target & Harrows boards) but the One80 Gladiator is an awesome board.

I can't wait for the new pro level Gladiator 2 & the new 'king of bling' Gold board too!!!

getagrip:

I cant wait too!

[NiteEyez]

Hi guys

got my new board today.......from argos

5 mins in i hit the 19 and it snaps right off. my old board ring took weapons grade abuse and is in good nick!

[Getagrip]

lol thats unlucky!

[rich345]

i really believe that when the new version comes out this board will seem better. it will have the same excellent silver spider from the standard eclipse pro.
however, for me the blade 4 dual core is still a much better board.

[Getagrip]

My B4DC has had more use than my Eclipse HD but the HD looks much worse.

[mc1958]

I've had my Eclipse HD up since either end of January or February (can't remember which) and from the oche it still looks nice and clear. It's looking a bit tatty close up, but still in better shape than most other boards I've had up for the same period - all in all I'm well pleased with it.

I got it from an online shop and was going to get another from Argos last weekend with the cabinet and mat offer they had, but after seeing a couple of comments in the shout box I decided against it. I'll stick to buying my boards online.

I've not tried a Blade DC yet, but as I'm happy with the HD I think my next one will be one of the new slver wired ones.

[rich345]

My B4DC has had more use than my Eclipse HD but the HD looks much worse.

same for me. i think my HD lasted 3-4 months. my DC is over 6 months old and still looks a lot better, although 2 treble sections have now gone quite hard.

[Fred-180]

It looked yesterday that Unicorn used a new type of sisal on them, did somebody see it ?

[Getagrip]

It looked yesterday that Unicorn used a new type of sisal on them, did somebody see it ?

not sure, I thought sisal was a plant fibre so how they can differ I have no idea?

Maybe some properties of one plant are stronger fibres?

[Fred-180]

Just got informed by Mr: Lowy, it must be a TV look.

Sisal is the same

[rich345]

thanks Fred. i think its a better board than the eclipse pro and the silver spider will make it even better. not sure whether to go for a second blade 4 DC or try a G2 with a rotafix back.

[Fred-180]

It's just like the 1st Eclipse with chrome spider and darker coloring.

Just with flat number ring and HD painted

[Joene]

Watching PDC@ Dublin, awful how quickly this board wears during a single match!