Whizlock system review

[Cosmo]

The second of two reviews from me today. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

So along with my new 21g Datadart Mervyn Kings I got me a Whizlock punch system! Here's a picture of the box and contents.

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Here's the flights and stems I'd be using for the review.

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And the darts? What other thean my prized Carreras? Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

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You simply put the flight into the guidehole in the punch and press down. Simple right?

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As it turns out, unfortunately not. It took a lot of force (had to use two hands!) to punch the flight. And even then, it seems to have been off-centre...

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Anyway, it dispenses the cutouts into a nice little tray on the bottom of the punch.

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I tried again with the other 2 flights but couldn't get it to go quite straight...

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The caps went in OK but moved around a bit too.

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Here it is attached to the stem:

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It didn't hold on as well as I'd hoped either. Didn't take too much force to remove. Putting it down to the Pro Grip stems, I tried it with a nylon stem from my 21g Kings, but same story:

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So feeling slightly disappointed if anything, I decided to give them a throw at the board. And surprisingly, they did their job well! Flights stayed on in tight scoring situations. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

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After this I decided to try with some standard Unicorn polyester flights, and they punched a lot easier. Here they are with caps:

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And in the board:

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Maybe it was just the flights then as two of these took some real work to get off the stems! I guess lesson learned then, shame it can't work with those Targets as well.

Overall I give the Whizlock punch a 7/10. Would be better if the caps weren't so loose, and if the punch worked better with flights like the Targets.

[Cankles of Fury]

I am loving your reviews. Very detailed, great pictures and very thorough. another big +1 Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Getagrip]

nice one Josh, great to see more members reviewing! Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images. +1 again Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

I have only ever tried the Shell lock but I think will have to try the Wizlocks at some point too. Conan likes them and I know a lot of others do also Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[rich345]

Great review Josh, thanks. It does seem like a decent system

[Shanesaw]

Nice review and good pics Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[JayKay]

Nice review!

I'm a big fan of whizlock caps. They do their job phenomenally. You have to give them a more firm push down and they lock on. Pro grip though don't work so well, you can get them to click on but it's tough and not worth the hassle.

I actually got on best with them using Laro stems. Cant remember having any problems pushing them off.

For the job required of them they do it perfectly I think. The flights stay stuck on so no need for rings and it protects the end of the stems from robin hoods. I went months and months with one set of laro stems and one set of flights(in conjunction with storm points). Only reason I changed was through boredom as I was used to changing stems and flights weekly so I changed just to mix it up a bit. Still have the same stems and flights in great condition.

Keep up the reviews!

oh and +1!

[brianmontgomery]

Second JayKay's take. No robinhoods at all, no broken stems.

I haven't experienced any problems punching flights and I've done a bunch of different manufacturers, thicknesses, etc.

[Gada]

Just something, people might want to give a try to. I am a big fan of the Whizlocks, they are great, however they come only in black and aluminium silver / gray colors.

I really wanted to try however how a different color cap would affect my vision / view at the board, so decided to try the shell lock system by L-Style, since they offer their caps in 6 different colors ( or so i believe ) . However World of Darts was out of stock on the colors i wanted to try so i decided to paint the black whizlock caps my self.

My first try was a disaster, as i tried it with nail polisher right on top of the black. Didn't go or look that well. For the second try i took a piece of sand paper and carefully scrubbed them to bare aluminium, without damaging the shape of the cap.

This is the result:

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I must say the offer a great target, very subtle, yet very visible from the line. I took a photo from there as well, but the lighting in my room isn't that great to take a good picture.

[Bundy Rum]

I bought a Whizlock and tries it as well. I use harrows supergrip stems and found it didn't work very well. I also use Jocky Wilson nylon stems and found the system work extremely well. So I am thinking that when I chew through my supergrip a, I'm going back to the Jocky Wilson nylon stems.

[JayPro]

Will Whizlock caps fit in Shell-Lock punched holes or are they bigger?

[trekbowl300]

jo$handaz
I have the Whizlock punch and have been using it for awhile.  If you continue to get off center flights you may want to try what I do.

When I punch the flight I take off the white plastic bottom that holds the punchout.  This way you can see the hole when turning the punch upside down.  I then place my flight in the punch and make sure it is aligned correctly.

You can see the folding line on the flight and just line it up with the top point of the hole.  Put a little pressure on the lever to hold it in place while turning over and placing on a desk or table and then press down on the handle all the way.

The first few times it may move according to how tight you keep it while turning over.  If it moves just align it again but after a few tries it gets easier and generally you get perfect straight alignment.  I have done this with Vortex shaped flights which don't seem to fit in straight and have had very good results.

My caps also seem to be loose I have only seen one post on this website that stated their punch and cap was a tight fit.  However, I have purchased a number of nylon shafts and I test the cap on just the shaft before putting it in a flight.  I find which shafts hold the best and keep those in one bag while any that it was loose on I keep apart so I use them when not using the caps.

It is odd how you can open a bag of 3 shafts and it will fit tight on 2 or 1 and not the other.  I think it's just a small difference but there are some brands of shafts that are just made thinner at the top and none fit tight.  I don't remember which they were.  The hole in the flight is also bigger then my caps so I make sure I push the cap down on the shaft not just holding the flight.  When you get caps that fit tight, they generally stay on until your flight is destroyed and needs to be changed.

I also use the shell cap from the L-style in these holes.  It is shorter so there will be an opening above the cap and the shell lock cap is a little fatter so it takes a little more time getting into the hole but it does work. JayPro -  I don't know if the opposite is true because the whizlock cap is longer then the shell lock not much but slightly and it is thinner then a shell lock cap.

[Eyebala]

Nice review Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

Im thinking about getting it for a few months now but couldn´t bring my mind up to it ^^

Btw. how are you playing right now? We should do a rematch sometime ^^

[Jason Guertin]

I use it with lstyle silent carbon shafts and it great, no more looking for popped off flights. Took a bit of adjusting to get the darts to not be angled downwards out of the board, think the little extra weight does that, at least with my throw.