OK, let's start with the elephant in the room. These darts cost £275 and that is a ridiculous amount of money for a set of darts. Absolutely ridiculous. 99.9% of darts players would find it ridiculous that someone would pay £275 for a set of darts, and they're absolutely right.
But guess what, there is a certain 0.1%, mainly consisting of weird-looking fat or spotty enthusiasts and collectors, for whom the thought of such stupidly priced darts is part of the attraction - it's all about exclusivity, and completeness, and having something rare, that others might not have. Are the darts worth £275? Of course not, the thing which carries the value is this:
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I'm a great believer in the Free Market economy. If Target are stupid, these won't sell, and they'll be left with egg on their face when they knock them down to half price to shift them. If Target are greedy they'd make too many - a Limited Edition of 500 or 1000 would give them much bigger returns, but runs the risk of losing that rarity. As it stands, anecdotally, they'v sold pretty much all of them on pre-order. That tells me they've got it just about right.
So yes, they're ridiculously expensive, and no, you can't see how anybody in the right mind would pay that for a set of darts. But guess what, they're not being marketed at you. Darts is a working man's game and always has been cheap to take up. Guess what, it still is. Can we move on, now? Great, thanks.
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According to Target, these are the culmination of years of vision, and is the product of huge innovation and charismatic thinking. Well, as you can see, they have a pointy bit at one end, and a flighty bit at the other, so we'll all agree that was time well spent.
All joking aside, these are not going to be to everyone's taste. The move towards multi-colour, multi-grip and unusually shaped darts is clearly designed to appeal to the emerging markets in the Far East more than the Wednesday night team at the Lamb and Flag, but it has to be said these are pretty darts. The lines are clean, the colours bold, and the machining of the grips is incredibly precise. Coupled with the new pixel-grip shafts, which themselves are about £15 a pop, and the understated Elysian Flights, they look the part.
The grip is excellent. When Target brought out the Pixel Grip a few years back, I was impressed at the way it didn't feel too sharp/abrasive in the hand, but never slipped. These if anything are even better, with the feel being similar to a 'ghost grip' but absolutely no slippage, giving real confidence in the throw.
In terms of balance, I have no idea what that means, so lets just say it's really good, and balances where the centre of gravity is, which is just as Isaac Newton predicted. They do seem very stable in flight, however, which is what I generally find from bullet/bomb shaped darts generally. They also seemed to fly perfectly in the factory set-up, which is unusual. I've now had about half an hour on the board with them, and whilst I have yet to christen them with a maximum, I've hit more trebles than is customary, and come pretty close on a few occasions:
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THE PACKAGE
Here's where Target have come into their own, and really understood the market. The darts come in a very swanky presentation box, numbered to confirm authenticity, and packed with extras again exclusive to the package - A really nice full case, along with a smaller wallet-style case inside, three sets of shafts, three sets of flights, and a lovely pin-badge. You know, to go with all my other pin-badges.
Unfortunately, the box is so integral, partly because, I fear, that's where the darts will spend most of their time. The collector in general doesn't want to run the risk of chipping the coating, or bending a tine on the shaft, so regardless of what was spent on them, for the most part these darts will render the time spent in design and production largely wasted. Sorry Target, but it's true. Most people who have bought these have no intention of throwing them beyond a quick once over to say they've been chucked, after which they'll only see the light of day when someone wants to line them up next to their 'cocked hand' Bristows and the original Lowes with the funny grips.
There has even been suggestions that these represent a good 'appreciating investment' which can be sold on later for a hefty profit. Sorry, but if you're using a set of darts as an investment, you're an idiot. At the end of the day, darts are for throwing, and I'm not going to insult all the thought, care, and most of all marketing know-how that went into these.
So I'm taking a stand. I'm going to throw these until all the coating has worn off, and the points are blunt and they look like any old set from the back of the cupboard. Because that's what real exclusivity is about - there'll only ever be 200 of these made, and 190 odd will be pristine in a few years time, in a slightly dusty box, maybe with a bit of spunk on. Mine won't, except for the spunk maybe. Number 59 will be properly unique, and I'm happy to pay £275 for that.
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But guess what, there is a certain 0.1%, mainly consisting of weird-looking fat or spotty enthusiasts and collectors, for whom the thought of such stupidly priced darts is part of the attraction - it's all about exclusivity, and completeness, and having something rare, that others might not have. Are the darts worth £275? Of course not, the thing which carries the value is this:
Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
I'm a great believer in the Free Market economy. If Target are stupid, these won't sell, and they'll be left with egg on their face when they knock them down to half price to shift them. If Target are greedy they'd make too many - a Limited Edition of 500 or 1000 would give them much bigger returns, but runs the risk of losing that rarity. As it stands, anecdotally, they'v sold pretty much all of them on pre-order. That tells me they've got it just about right.
So yes, they're ridiculously expensive, and no, you can't see how anybody in the right mind would pay that for a set of darts. But guess what, they're not being marketed at you. Darts is a working man's game and always has been cheap to take up. Guess what, it still is. Can we move on, now? Great, thanks.
Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
According to Target, these are the culmination of years of vision, and is the product of huge innovation and charismatic thinking. Well, as you can see, they have a pointy bit at one end, and a flighty bit at the other, so we'll all agree that was time well spent.
All joking aside, these are not going to be to everyone's taste. The move towards multi-colour, multi-grip and unusually shaped darts is clearly designed to appeal to the emerging markets in the Far East more than the Wednesday night team at the Lamb and Flag, but it has to be said these are pretty darts. The lines are clean, the colours bold, and the machining of the grips is incredibly precise. Coupled with the new pixel-grip shafts, which themselves are about £15 a pop, and the understated Elysian Flights, they look the part.
The grip is excellent. When Target brought out the Pixel Grip a few years back, I was impressed at the way it didn't feel too sharp/abrasive in the hand, but never slipped. These if anything are even better, with the feel being similar to a 'ghost grip' but absolutely no slippage, giving real confidence in the throw.
In terms of balance, I have no idea what that means, so lets just say it's really good, and balances where the centre of gravity is, which is just as Isaac Newton predicted. They do seem very stable in flight, however, which is what I generally find from bullet/bomb shaped darts generally. They also seemed to fly perfectly in the factory set-up, which is unusual. I've now had about half an hour on the board with them, and whilst I have yet to christen them with a maximum, I've hit more trebles than is customary, and come pretty close on a few occasions:
Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
THE PACKAGE
Here's where Target have come into their own, and really understood the market. The darts come in a very swanky presentation box, numbered to confirm authenticity, and packed with extras again exclusive to the package - A really nice full case, along with a smaller wallet-style case inside, three sets of shafts, three sets of flights, and a lovely pin-badge. You know, to go with all my other pin-badges.
Unfortunately, the box is so integral, partly because, I fear, that's where the darts will spend most of their time. The collector in general doesn't want to run the risk of chipping the coating, or bending a tine on the shaft, so regardless of what was spent on them, for the most part these darts will render the time spent in design and production largely wasted. Sorry Target, but it's true. Most people who have bought these have no intention of throwing them beyond a quick once over to say they've been chucked, after which they'll only see the light of day when someone wants to line them up next to their 'cocked hand' Bristows and the original Lowes with the funny grips.
There has even been suggestions that these represent a good 'appreciating investment' which can be sold on later for a hefty profit. Sorry, but if you're using a set of darts as an investment, you're an idiot. At the end of the day, darts are for throwing, and I'm not going to insult all the thought, care, and most of all marketing know-how that went into these.
So I'm taking a stand. I'm going to throw these until all the coating has worn off, and the points are blunt and they look like any old set from the back of the cupboard. Because that's what real exclusivity is about - there'll only ever be 200 of these made, and 190 odd will be pristine in a few years time, in a slightly dusty box, maybe with a bit of spunk on. Mine won't, except for the spunk maybe. Number 59 will be properly unique, and I'm happy to pay £275 for that.
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Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
