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First Impressions:
Shape... that's the first thing I look at! I have NEVER thrown a set like this before and I was dreading it. But saying that, I did find my range and I did hit some decent scores too. They come in the standard Mission player dart packaging with black and gold very much the theme here. Mission sabre shafts and a set of black and gold Sniper flights in standard shape are all included in the box.
How They Fly:
Obviously I had to adjust out of my comfort zone with these. There is absolutely no grip on the front of the barrel, and the scallop is set back off the mid/rear. So these are a rear grip players kind of dart and you basically just crack on! So, once I was happy and gotten used to my thumb slotting into the scallop to use as a rear push point I was pleasantly happy to be in or around my target area. These dipped quite a bit on landing but that didn't matter too much as the front of the dart is so narrow that you'd do well to get a bad deflection or cover a target completely anyway. I found myself getting more joy with being less firm with my throw but I would imaging that was more a case of me getting a better release through concentrating harder as my muscle memory was constantly telling me that I was doing it all wrong!!
Pros and Cons:
As mentioned, the main pro with these is the narrow front which really does help minimise nasty deflections and keep target areas larger. But the con (for me) was having to do literally everything differently to how I normally play to make it happen. So it is purely personal when I talk negatively of my lack of comfort, and I am sure that anyone who is a rear gripper would get on with these quite happily. Price point is about right for a player dart from Mission, especially as these are outside of the norm and are a different colour to the standards we see. They are only available in 22g and 24g and this is understandable given the shape, as it would be a hell of a job to add or remove weight to this kind of dart.
The Final Score
Grip Rating Front & Middle - 0/10
Grip Rating Rear - 5/10
Overall = 4/10 - Purely personal, but I am too long in the tooth to change how I hold a dart. I have to be honest and impartial as I really do love the Mission brand. But as well made and attractive as these are, they will only cater for a smaller range of players and will only be appealing to players who already know what they like/want. These players will not be disappointed though!