I fancied trying these when I first seen the pics Caven (I think) posted on Twitter. I thought they looked great but I kind of also knew that I did not get along too well with shark grip, but I have since tried a few sets with shark grip on and I don't know if it has anything to do with my recent hand injury but it is starting to grow on me and my deftness of touch is not as heavy as it once was which I think makes a difference with such a grip, you really don't want to grip it too tight (you shouldn't anyway!). So how did I get on with the Caven darts? Well lets start at the beginning Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
These as far as I am aware are only available in 23g and they are 90% tungsten. They come with a compact case, 8 flight protectors and Gripper 2 shafts and Jamie Caven signature pear shape flights. The retail price is £29.99 (shop around and you can find them cheaper).
The darts have an aggressive shark grip for the front of the barrel and then a scallop at the rear which has a very thin micro style grip, I think they are very smart looking darts:
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You can get a good impression of the contrasting grips in the above close up shot, but you may be surprised to learn that the grip on the scallop is also surprisingly grippy, not as strong as the shark grip of course but much grippier than it looks.
Dimensions:
Length:
There must be something about scallops that create an optical illusion as I was sure they looked longer than this:
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Width:
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Barrel dimensions in full:
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Weight:
The barrels were very closely match weighted which was good, only 7 100ths of a gram difference:
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Weight of full set up as supplied:
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Balance with nothing attached was towards the front of the barrel, no doubt influenced by the scallop section:
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with the supplied set up the balance moved just in front of the scallop:
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Balance point with medium, short and extra short nylon stems and standard flights:
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My natural grip as is usual is to grip near the front of the barrel, so the scallop is kind of wasted for me:
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Darts landed in the board quite flat, my guess is it has to do with the pear flights, they cut through the air that little quicker than my normal standard shape:
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Conclusion:
Well when I did the video review I had a few comedy error style moments but they were good fun to throw overall. My first dart I think was a genuine bounce out (check the vid) and I think it is the first I have had on the B4DC. Of course the dart had to roll under some drawers which got me a bit flustered after I finally retrieved it. I resumed throwing and I noticed the darts where fishtailing a fair bit and dropping a bit low so I kind of altered my throw to compensate as I think it was because I was using pear flights which don't really suit my floaty/loopy kind of throw. With a little extra thrust in my throw the darts were flying a lot better and the fishtailing was minimized. I had a couple of more comedy moments (captured on the video and replayed in slow mo Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images. ) where I broke the shaft and had a heavy contact twice. But it took me a while to settle into a rhythm with the darts but I was starting to get the hang of them and was enjoying throwing them but I could not help feeling that somehow the balance was not quite right for me. I think the scallop part has a strange affect on the balance for my front style throw and when I had a couple of throws holding the dart on the scallop section, although I could not throw them accurately with that grip they did fly smoother through the air. So I can only conclude that they are more than likely going to suit rear gripper best (I guess that's the point of the rear scallop anyway Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images. ).
I think I remember having a similar issue with the Anderson darts with the rear scallop, it just does not work with my natural throw but with a bit of extra push and a flatter throw they fly great!
I think with more practice with these (they are for a comp) I would get the hang of them, and probably with a change of set up I could get them to behave better through the air.
They are very smart looking darts and the grip on the scallop will be more than adequate if your a rear gripper.
Summary Rating:
Looks = 8/10 (Smart darts )
Grip = 8.5 (on a 1 to 10 scale or level)
Weight match = 8.5 (very close)
Quality = 8/10 (ver nicely made)
Value = 7.5/10 (good value )
Suitability for me = 6/10 (had to work at it a little)
Best Feature: the grip
P.S. these will be our Week 2 Easter draw prize Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
