As most Darts World readers will know, I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting companies that offer their own unique style and range of products. Whether it’s Original Dartboard Overlays with their Practice and Games Packs, or Mission with their new Torus 270 lighting system, I’m always searching for any products that look to fill a gap in a market previously unbeknownst to the darting public.
It was this mindset that led me to following Dutch company ‘QB’ on Instagram a few years ago, and keeping tabs on their flagship product, the ‘QB One’. I was very kindly sent one to review, allowing me to get ‘hands on’ with what could truly be a game-changing product!
The idea behind the QB One is to allow the user to pick up their darts in exactly the same position every time, rather than fumbling and feeling around the barrel before pulling it back to release. The QB One is fully height adjustable, allowing you to position both your grip point for the barrel, as well as for the point, irrespective of the length of barrel or point you use. The device is designed to fit both steel and soft-tip points, as shown in the wide range of players that use/have used the QB One in the past, such as PDC professional Ron Meulenkamp, and Dutch soft-tip champion Jeremy van der Winkel!
The QB One arrives smartly packaged, with a matte black outer sleeve housing the device, which is kept secure in a vibrant orange box. As well as the device itself, the package contains a 3mm Allen Key to adjust the QB One’s height, as well as a ‘thank you’ card. To save on unnecessary printing costs, all instructions are on QB’s website, with the address printed on the back of the outer sleeve.
A relatively small and lightweight device, the QB One has a height of 112mm, and a width of 60mm, as well as a 27.5mm depth. Thanks in part to its sturdy plastic construction, it weighs just 81.5g – just over that of an average set of darts! With a compact design, it will fit in most larger darts cases, such as the Mission Freedom Luxor or Harrows Z800.
The ergonomic shape fits into your hand perfectly, allowing for a comfortable, firm grip. The wider top prevents your holding hand from blocking or making contact with darts already in the device, keeping the barrels clear and unobstructed for a fluent and unrestrictive throw.
The QB website claims the QB One will lead to much higher scores – as much as a 10% improvement! To put this to the test, I threw 99 darts with, and without the QB One.
Without the use of the QB One, I scored a total of 2,545 points, giving me an average of 77.12 – not too bad for an early morning practice! With the “10% higher” claim from QB’s website in mind, my target using the QB One was to score around 2,800 – just under an 85 average!
While 2,800 proved a target too high for me, I did manage to beat my previous score, scoring 2,633 and increasing my average from my last attempt by 2.87 points to 79.79! It may not have been a 10% increase, but I was more than happy to see my score improve by 3.46% after just one try using the QB One!
As a player with an awkward grip, I was skeptical about how the QB One would work for me. I hold the barrel and point, and shift my grip during my throwing action before release. I had to set the device up to its maximum height to be able to incorporate my 35mm points, and so I will add that if you use 32mm or less dart points and prefer to hold the point, you may struggle. Once set up, I had no issues at all with grip position, with the QB One providing me with everything it had promised! I was picking up and holding the dart exactly the same throw after throw, and after a few hours, I was beginning to see the results I had hoped for.
Strangely, I found the QB One to assist me in other ways other than just grip position. The device seemed to force me to concentrate more on the simplicity of my throw. The setup seemed to be taken out of the picture, leaving just my release to think about. It offered me peace of mind, and as such, I felt more comfortable while throwing. It’s a strange one to put into words, but it felt like one less thing to concern myself with. I just had to propel the darts forward.
The QB One, as of now, is solely available from QB’s website – https://www.qbdarts.com. It costs just €34.95, which works out at just £29.94, not including shipping costs, which will cost an additional £5.10 to the UK. For retailers, you can email QB directly at info@qbdarts.com to purchase stock.
A huge thank you to QB for sending the QB One out! I’ve been intrigued by this for years, and my excitement was immeasurable to finally give it a go! I highly recommend giving it a go, with, as QB’s website rightly states, the device lending itself to ‘every level’ of player. I truly hope the QB One can, as QB’s slogan suggests, ‘bring out the best dart player in you’!
—–ENDS—–
Words: Joe Reid – More of Joe’s Reviews Here
Grab a copy of the 50th Anniversary Darts World 581 here or the new Issue 583 here :
The Darts World 50 limited edition dart set is available to order (Here) in your choice of pack/bundle.
Also Available Free: Darts World Extra 9 – Gezzy Nice
Darts World Magazine‘s fantastic value bundles:
Subscribe or purchase your copy
