D'art9
D'art9 darts were developed in the Netherlands and were made "marketable" with the help of dartplayers Remco van Eijden and Erwin Renkema.
One can buy them since August 2011, but only over the website and there are or will be installed d'art9 centres where one can try them.
D'art9 kindly agreed to send me a set to be able to test them and I got a set of golden grooved darts in 23 g. When the darts arrived I was quite impressed by the quite noble optic. Not that the look of a dart is important for the quality but I nevertheless want to mention it.
At the moment one can buy d'art9 barrels in a grooved version in 23 or 24 g or in a smooth version with only one black groove in 24 g. All darts can be bought either in silver, with a golden or a black coating - the range is at the moment comparatively small. The grip of my grooved barrel is a grade 3 - not really aggressive, but it feels agreeable and is in no way slippery
Accompanied are the barrels by at the moment unique though from the idea not totally new direct shafts in three different lengths. The shafts are
very slim and are directly with a small turn inserted in the rather tapered end of the barrels, there is no thread. They sit very tight and they
didn't get lose while throwing.
The material of the shafts is unusual - around a centre of Kevlar there is a carbon cover. The shafts don't quite lock level with the barrels. The shafts in my eyes might be a weak point anyway - what happens when the shafts snap exactly above the barrel despite the declaration of the manufacturer it's unlikely to happen? (You can find the answer of the German dealer below the review).
Included in the package are a set of pear shaped and a set of shield shaped flights. The flights come with a white edge - you can cut them to your
liking. The material of the flights looks robust and durable. The flights sit very tight in the shaft crowns, till now while playing not a single
flight dropped out.
Barrels, shafts and flights are processed without any flaws and high-class. All materials seem to be top quality and wear-resistant. The weight, length and diameter of the barrels are exactly the same of all three in my set. Shafts and flights are easy to handle.
The flight characteristics are very good, though in a direct comparison with original Laser dart black widows and a set of Anthony Urmston-Toft darts new on the market as well (review will follow shortly) I can't say the characteristics are distinctly better. Might be I more often hit the trebles.
All in all I assess the new d'art9 series very highly. Those are really high quality, very well manufactured darts and worth the comparatively high price of around 70 Euro.
But you should be aware that when you decide for the d'art9 you buy a complete system. You can use the barrels solely with the direct shafts - you can't combine them just as you like with accessories.
Answer of the dealer:
To 99,9 percent the shaft will break should it break directly above the barrel. The Kevlar centre will absorb the breaking and the shaft will
stay at the barrel. You should never try to get out the shaft by twisting it because the Kevlar will tear in this case. You should try to draw
it out straight. Should you not be able to do it with your hands use pliers.
In Germany we till now had one case with a broken Kevlar centre - we replaced the barrel. It happened twice in the Netherlands and we replaced
those barrels as well.
Video