Unicorn John Lowe World Champion Phase 2
DETAILS:
BRAND: Unicorn
WEBSITE: https://www.playwiththebest.com/darts.html
MODEL: John Lowe World Champion Phase 2
WEIGHT REVIEWED: 21g
TUNGSTEN CONTENT: 90%
AVAILABLE WEIGHTS:
STEEL: 21g – 23g
SOFT TIP: None
PRICE: £59.95
Review Date: 30th July 2018
The darts come in a small cardboard box and although its barrels only there is a supplied leatherette bar wallet and the darts are fitted into a point holder:
Its the classic John Lowe short bullet shape but now with a new grip which is the first change Lowe has had in a lot of years! The nose has a gentle taper to it and there is a taper on the rear but the middle section is made up of this fairly wide spaced and flattish angled shark style grip with lateral grooves cut through it. I would say its about verging on to high level grip but probably closer to high medium overall.
I have been looking forward to trying these since I first saw them on Twitter from John Lowe. Its nice to see an update to a classic dart and I cant help feeling a little nostalgia for the Lowe barrels, they were one of my favourite darts before I lost my natural throw, may be even my favourite. But I know a lot like them still. Its a great new look although the style of grip itself is not exactly new but works very well with these darts.
I would not say its a dart that would suit a specific grip really as its so short I think it comes down to whether you feel comfortable with a short barrel dart. If you already like this style but want a little more grip then your going to like them a lot.
I still tried the darts in the video with my usual way of front, middle and rear but the only difference I notice mostly was that when fully on the grip of the middle section the darts had a bit more zip through the air. I guess its just the fact there is some grip to give that forward push to the dart. I got a little spin too but that’s usually normal with such grips for me.
I have played with them for longer now and I think its a very smooth flying dart overall. I am really liking how they are flying and I think its partly down to the shortness which is making the balance feel great but also that grip just interacts perfectly without being overly grippy. It does not stick into the flesh so much that you misfire the darts, its just has a pleasant feel overall.
I have had a few 140’s and plenty of 100 scores so far, I just feel a 180 is coming with these and I think I may have found my new favourites, the Aspria may be going into retirement soon 🙂
As for the darts themselves I like the look but then I have always liked the gold Lowes but quality wise its fine if not spectacular, there is not a great deal to judge on that basis as its a fairly simple design. Two barrels were matched perfect and the third was well within the usualy tolerances so not much wrong there. I guess the only moan would be price but we have done a fair bit of that recently so I will just leave you to check the scores on that.
But if your looking for a nice short barrel dart and fancy a classic revamp then go for it 🙂
RATINGS OUT OF 10:
LOOKS: 9
GRIP: 8
WEIGHT MATCH: 8
QUALITY: 8
VALUE: 6