Unicorn Chris Dobey Contender 23g
DETAILS:
BRAND: Unicorn
WEBSITE: https://www.playwiththebest.com/darts.html
MODEL: Chris Dobey Contender
WEIGHT REVIEWED: 23g
TUNGSTEN CONTENT: 90%
AVAILABLE WEIGHTS:
STEEL: 23g
SOFT TIP: None
PRICE: £31.95
Review Date: 2nd April 2017
Its a straight barrel dart with a rounded bullnose and is very similar in style to the Winmau Nicholson darts. These have some rings and grooves at the front and then its smooth before it gets into the main part of the barrel which is wide spaced rounded ring grip. Overall the grip is a medium level.
I thought these looked similar to the Nico darts and they fly almost similar too. Its not a bad looking dart and was quite pleasant to throw. With my grip on the smooth section it was fine, almost felt grippy which I think is a result of my natural oils and finger prints etc making it feel that way but I suspect if you have very dry fingers it will feel slippy. It threw fine from my front grip but I found they worked better with tweenie stems and balanced was nicer too.
From the middle was a bit mixed for me, may be fine for natural middle grippers as I don’t see why it should not be.
Throwing from the rear the darts felt better though and certainly the front bias was producing a nice arc to the flight of the dart. I think Dobey is a rear gripper anyway so if your a rear gripper that likes a slightly front weighted straight barrel style it could be great for you. Flight seemed generally smooth from the rear also whereas I strangely got a bit of fishtailing from the middle.
The rounded ring grip is a little curious though, as its not edgy you don’t get that biting sensation into your skin but because the rings are widely spaced there is still some grippines but it also releases smoothly due to the round rings. I suspect some people may experience it differently like with the smooth section near the nose, if you have very sweaty or very dry skin you may want a more edgy style of grip. I thought it felt quite good overall, with just the right amount to keep control.
So overall its a nice little dart but I suspect rear grippers will get the best from it but the grip is probably something you need to try to see if it suits.
RATINGS OUT OF 10:
LOOKS: 8
GRIP: 7
WEIGHT MATCH: 7.5
QUALITY: 8
VALUE: 8