Unicorn Andy Hamilton 25g Maestro Golden 97% Tungsten Darts Review

[Getagrip]

These are the new gold darts that Andy Hamilton recently started using and very well he did too!, reaching the final of the P.D.C. World Championships.

After seeing these darts on tv in that competition I just had to have some. I made a New Years Resolution not to buy any darts in January but then someone had these for sale after winning them in a competition so I had to have them. No way could I pass up the chance to get these for £36 when the cheapest I have seen is £43. They were brand new and unused too!

Ok lets get on with it, here is how they are packaged:

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Here is what you get:
The barrels have a golden titanium coating and are 97% tungsten
supplied with a Unicorn Eclipse Max case
Aluminium Stems
Maestro Signature Flights Standard Shape
8 Flight Protectors (which I never us anyway)

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I cant say I'm a fan of the Unicorn Eclipse case's and kind of wish they would stop making them and supply a better case.
I also think they should supply some rubber "O" rings if they are going to provide alloy stems, so as to help them grip better, and also maybe a set of short stems too. Thats just my personal quibble and its not an issue for me as I have lots of my own but for someone who is buying their first set of darts it would be nice to have them especially if they pay the full retail price of £47.99.

The darts themselves are beautiful looking darts and have the Andy Hamilton signature etched on the nose of the barrels.

They only come in Andy's weight of 25g and they are fitted with the standard silver points which all Unicorn darts seem to be fitted with. They look a great quality set and I would say the level of grip is about a 4, its a thin ring style grip over much of the barrel apart from the 7mm of the nose which is a smooth taper.

As you can see from the pics they are centrally weighted. They are evenly matched too, I weighed two barrels at 25.3g and one barrel at 25.4g:
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Length is 41.7mm and the widest part is 7.9mm:
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Here they are with the medium alloy stems as supplied, with my Cosmos inbetween stems and a short stem:
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Here is the balance point with each stem fitted:
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This is the setup I used to have a throw with them:
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Ok then, my first 9 darts seemed to drift into the 5's, but the very first thing I noticed about these darts was the way they seemed to zip through the air, it was like a little bullet they seemed to fly quicker than what my recent darts the Target Sprint 23g do. No idea if thats down to the shape or the length or what??

Here is what my normal grip is like and the grip I was using on my first 9 darts:
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I decided to alter my grip and place my thumb more in the darts centre of gravity like so:
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Thats not my normal grip but what a huge difference it made!!

My next 3 darts all went into single 20 and my next 3 I scored a 125! a few throws later I hit a 140!! I could not believe how much better they flew once I altered my grip, the only problem I had was trying to concentrate on keeping that grip but I'm sure I could get used to that.

My overall opinion of these darts is that they are a really good quality set that when gripped right flew beautifully and are a joy to throw with.

If I was paying the full retail price for these I would give them an 8/10 but as I got them a little cheaper its a big 10/10 from me.

Replies from old forum:

Saber

Nice review Darren

getagrip

Cheers Larry!

Andy

Best darts review ive seen Darren , Well done !

getagrip

Thanks Andy, glad you like it mate!

Dannyd180

Excellent review Darren 10/10 mate!

getagrip

Thanks Danny!

madzkymadz

nice review grip! would like to buy one these too. I'm in a dilemma in which to buy first.
this one or phase 5 or target lewis silica (all 25g ) ??

getagrip

Thanks Madz!

Its a nightmare when you have your heart set on a few different sets.

Well I have tried the Lewis darts and they felt a little long for me and I have had 2 sets of Phase 5's and never got on very well with them.

I'm going to play with the Hamiltons all this week and see how they work for me.

madzkymadz

I really like to buy the Lewis darts since the barrel is the same as my current darts but a little longer (about 3mm difference). I really want to try phase 5 and the Hamiltons though to see if it really fits me.

getagrip

LOL looks like your going to save some money then, 3 expensive sets to try mate!

madzkymadz

Yeah seems expensive but I'll try to save enough to buy each of those

the_cutter

great review! thanks for sharing. i'm considering getting either a target perfect storm 23g or unicorn andy hamilton ones. so your review is perfect. cheers!

getagrip

Cheers mate, I think if you like to grip the barrels in the centre the Hammys will be perfect, I prefer to grip near the front really.

dvsdog

Ya, that was a nice review Grip.

I could easily see that the grip reposition would suit those darts and it seems validated by your trial. How have ya made out with them and are you still gripping in the middle or back to the old nose pinch?

getagrip

No mate, sadly although it was the right way to grip them I could not get consistently used to it. Back to using my front grip with my Target Sprints and I sold the Hammys.

Very nice darts but I think a centre balance dart is not for me in the end. I always seemed quite good on the 20's with them but was not so good elsewhere round the board, I'm sticking to either straight barrelled darts or front weighted darts now.

dvsdog

Ya, I figured you might go back. Old habits die hard and stick in the head when you should be focussing. I'm sure it's in one of your posts but what weight are the Sprints? I ask in relation to the flights discussion elsewhere.

getagrip

The Sprints are 23g, but I'm very tempted to go a bit heavier to be honest.

dvsdog

Ya, I'm quite surprised by how much better the toss feels to me by going from my 23g Targets to the 24 Ice although it was also a return to a straight barrel from the scallop. It's the wee things that keep us tinkering but as said, I'm sticking to this set up for the proverbial mth lol even if those Rocket flights are calling my name now Mike showed me where to get them. I'll say it again, homeless Wink-can't find the icon lol

getagrip

Thats the problem with being darts addicts, we like to try something all the time, you wont be happy until you satisfy that urge

Saber

And boy do u have the urge !

getagrip

Oh Yes Sir!! I certainly do!

[skyblueadam]

U still got these?

[Getagrip]

Nope sold em.

[skyblueadam]

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[slot]

Nice Review

[McInnis180]

Nice!!! A+ from me!!!!

[Murphy180]

are these the ones you bought from me ?

[Getagrip]

I think they were, I cant remember nowGuests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[mpt]

superb reveiw grip,think you covered it all there mate,lets hope there the ones for you. lol
cheers. tilly

[*Saber*]

I have a set but Diana (wife) now uses them.

[Getagrip]

superb reveiw grip,think you covered it all there mate,lets hope there the ones for you. lol
cheers. tilly

Cheers mate that was a review from the old forum but I must have just had a honey moon period with them, I swapped or sold them to Larry.Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[rabsmith2]

Have won a set of these on another forum, cannot wait until they arrive. Would of thrown Lowes in the past, grip would these be similar but a tad longer ?

[Getagrip]

No dont think they are similar to Lowes, they are a different shape and centre weighted.

[rabsmith2]

Thanks

[JohnK]

Rab, the dart you could probably best compare them to is the Sigma 950. The shape is almost identical, but the grip style is just a little different - the rings are a little closer together on the Hamiltons, and extend farther down the barrell.

Because of Grip's review here, I picked up a set of these in 23g last week, and immediately fell in love. If you like the Sigma-style shape, these darts are fantastic! Perfectly balanced and fly great. I'd never played with the Gold-Ti coating before, but I am a convert. I used to have problems with the grip on my Sigmas when the nerves came on and my hands would sweat a little. They would get a little sticky, but in a bad way. It would randomly grip my fingers in places during my release and my darts would fly all over. With the Gold coating, I've found that the "quality" of the grip stays constant no matter if my hands are dry or damp. And the coating gives a nice "warm" feeling once the darts warm up a bit. Beautiful darts!