Red Dragon Scorpions 23g darts review

[Getagrip]

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5aI-A3d8hM

As you know I often have a bit of a passion for quirky/strange looking darts and my interest was piqued when I first seen these Red Dragon Scorpions, so I was always going to get a set at some point. So here they are in 23g, there is also a 21g version available and they are 85% tungsten and cost £24.90 from Red Dragons site here: Scorpion 23g darts

CONTENTS AND PACKAGING:

As seems to be the norm with the RD darts you get a good package of items for your money. The darts come in a plastic wrapper containing the very useful RD XS wallet or Tri-fold wallet as its also known which has plenty of storage. Supplied with the barrels is a point protector, 1 set alloy medium stems and 1 set of nylon medium stems with springs. There is three sets of standard shape flights and the RD guarantee card:

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PICS OF THE DARTS IN DETAIL:

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CLOSE UP PICS:

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As I said above the darts are quite a quirky style with a very deeply cut out rear section. The front has a fairly long taper with a smooth chunkier section before it goes into the square indented scalloped rear then a short taper to the end of the barrel. The sections of grip are made up of a high level razor style grip.

DIMENSIONS:

Length:

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Width:

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Dimensions in detail:

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WEIGHT:

Two barrels are almost and exact match with just one hundredth of a gram difference but the third barrel is 1.8 tenths of a gram heavier, so a bit of a mismatch on the third barrel.

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Weight of the full set up as supplied:

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BALANCE:

With nothing attached the balance is front of centre around where the rings are on the smooth chunky section:

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Its a little difficult to ascertain the true balance with the full set up as the rear is cut out so deep it automatically dictates where the dart settles, but with my finger I felt the balance was somewhere around the front half of the cut out rear section, so pretty much how it appears in the pic below:

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Balance with my own medium, short and extra short nylon stems and standard flights but with same issue as above:

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MY GRIP WITH THESE DARTS:

As is usual I like to try a few types of grip and as a natural front gripper I was not really expecting the darts to suit me but I started by gripping the front taper and it was not quite right so I settled for this grip below which worked a bit better:

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Darts landed in the board mostly angled up, had a few that seemed to lie a bit flat though, think it was just a few bad releases on my part though Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

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CONCLUSION:

I was not really expecting these darts to work well with my front grip as they do look a rear/middle grippers dart mainly but I had to try them anyway.

My expectations were correct though and I kind of did not feel right with them. They did fly a little better than I thought they would and when holding them on the tapered section the grip was great but I was getting a lot of spiralling of the dart and my grip felt a bit on the cramped side here. So I moved my grip more on the smooth chunky section and it felt a bit better balance here with more comfort but although the darts were flying a little better it still kind of felt not right for me.

I tried the main grip section on the rear and that definitely felt the most comfortable part for holding the barrel it was also better behaved through the air and should be great for a natural rear and possibly centre or just past centre gripper. If you grip just behind the chunky section you also have a kind of step to push against on release.

As for the darts themselves I like the look of them and the grip is great its just a shame they don't suit me really Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

SUMMARY RATINGS:

Looks: 7.5 (Quirky look but kind of cool with it)
Grip: 8.5 (on a 1 to 10 Scale, 10 been severe grip)
Weight match: 7 (2 were close but third off a fair bit)
Quality: 8 (good quality)
Value: 8 (fine)
Suitability for me: 6 (don't really suit me)

Best Feature: Hmmm, I think the grip Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[jc14]

I nearly missed this among all the Winmau threads!
Great review and pics as ever Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Getagrip]

I nearly missed this among all the Winmau threads!
Great review and pics as ever Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

Cheers mate! Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[ElusiveDouble85]

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

[Getagrip]

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

[Kev]

Might try these one day. Great review Darren! Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Getagrip]

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

[pOLLEPAP]

Great review - weird dart :-)

[Getagrip]

Thanks mate, yeah they are a little weird looking Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[WhiskyPops]

Hello Getagrip,

Wonderful review, one of the first I have seen from you and all the details have really convinced me to seriously consider switching my standard darts set-up to these, as I am a natural rear gripper, and I like to have a grippy area to push the darts away from near the back. 

I have a few simple questions about these darts, if you don't minder answering them: 
In general, would you say these darts are quite thick compared to other tungsten darts? Do you recon it is more difficult hitting multiple trebbles with them? 
Do you have any experience with the quality of red dragon aluminium shafts? And what about the red dragon flights, are they very fragile? (I am used to throwing extra thick Harrows Carbon flights)

Kind regards and thanks again for the nice review.

[Getagrip]

Hello Getagrip,

Wonderful review, one of the first I have seen from you and all the details have really convinced me to seriously consider switching my standard darts set-up to these, as I am a natural rear gripper, and I like to have a grippy area to push the darts away from near the back. 

I have a few simple questions about these darts, if you don't minder answering them: 
In general, would you say these darts are quite thick compared to other tungsten darts? Do you recon it is more difficult hitting multiple trebbles with them? 
Do you have any experience with the quality of red dragon aluminium shafts? And what about the red dragon flights, are they very fragile? (I am used to throwing extra thick Harrows Carbon flights)

Kind regards and thanks again for the nice review.

Hello mate and thanks for the kind words. As you can see I have reviewed lots of darts but I am a natural front gripper although some barrels I can throw ok from other grip positions Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

The dart is quit an unusual shape and as you can see the widest part is over 7mm which is thicker than most darts which tend to be around the 6.5mm size but the grippy section on the rear is 6.2mmn which is fairly thin so its a bit of a mixture really.

I don't think the barrels are any worse than other darts for grouping in the segments as the nose tapers quite thin so should be fine.

Aluminium stems are pretty much the same wherever they are from the tangs can bend quite easily in an impact from a robin hood but you don't have to use them if you don't want to, nothing to stop you using nylon stems.

Same goes for the flights really, I think the RD Hardcore flights are rather good but again you can use your own preferred flights. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[WhiskyPops]

I bought the Scorpions and I am very satisfied with them. As mid to rear gripper the razor sharp indentation makes sure I grip the same way and I can put less pressure on the barrel while throwing. The darts are slim for a tapered shape and grouping is quite easy. The only disadvantage is that the aluminium shafts loosen very easily, which can be resolved with o rings, but these are not included. 

Thanks again Getagrip for helping me decide which darts are right for me.

[Getagrip]

Sounds good! Glad to help, just get some nylon stems Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Pac]

Your reviews are marvellous