Something a little different for this review – I will be reviewing a set of darts as I am playing a Best of 5 game against the computer, and adding my thoughts in between throws. After their superb performance in the recent World Cup its a pleasure to be looking at Winmau’s Thibault Tricole arrows.
- Products
- Darts (Steel Tip)
- Brand: Winmau
- Material: 90% Tungsten
- Variation: 23g
- Price: £40
We are trying an experimental format, but we shall see. The computer shall be set to Level 12 on the Russ Bray App, and so shall be around a 70 average. I play at around a 24/25 average, so with my own darts, I’d expect to win. With the Tricoles – who knows…
Early Doors:
I won the bull, and started the opening leg with a score of 46. Immediately, I could feel the lack of grip the knurling offered, and knew it would be a tall order to play well with them. Scores of 57, 41, 50 and 58 followed, before my first treble 20 of the leg, after 17 darts, was hit. This swiftly followed with a bounce-out, scoring 80 and leaving me on 169. The bot left 16 from 101, as I tried to pressure. 57 left me 112, and the bot missed three at D8, leaving me with my first checkout attempt. A score of 44 failed to make an impact, and the bot found D4 with its second dart.
The second leg was a write off – I’m really struggling with these darts. The subtle grip really isn’t working for me at all, and the barrel thickness, at 6.6mm, is wider than I am used too. The coating doesn’t help with this either, as it smooths over the lighter grip that existed in the first place. I hit one treble in the entirety of the leg, a solitary T19 with my fifth dart, and that was all she, or more, I, wrote. The bot finished in 19, so maybe I shouldn’t be too harsh on myself…
Warming Up Nicely:
By the start of leg three, I’d begun to find some positives in these darts. Firstly, the thickness of the barrel was excellent for use as a marker. A couple of T20’s were located, and despite a plethora of ton-plus scores from the Level 12 bot, I managed to sneak a leg on the board. The barrels, due to the combination of length (48.30mm), thickness and weight (23g), as well as my own throwing style, truly bury the 32mm pain black coated points in the board, which means that in many instances, it can be tougher to miss the target than to hit it, if the first dart is at such an angle that provides a useful marker.
A Breakthrough?:
I’d finally started to clock on to the advantages of the lack of grip – it’s excellent if you’re a player that releases the darts quickly, as opposed to setting them before you throw, as I do. I attempted a more fast-paced throwing action and found the darts landed much straighter, and much more accurately. My first ton of the game was followed immediately by my first 140, and finally I felt I’d begun to understand these darts.
Then the bot took out D12 and crushed my dreams, my spirit, and any semblance of enjoyment and tolerance I had left for this game…
Summary and Reflection:
Looking back on it, I can see how these darts are perfect for a player such as The French Touch.
Having used an old, battered set of Harrows Magnums for years, I’d imagine the grip on them has, by now, completely faded away, and so the PVD coated knurling would offer Thibault a familiar feel right out of the box, as opposed to having to break the darts in over a period of weeks and months, avoiding the struggles that Winmau stable-mate Michael van Gerwen had in the months following his changes back in 2021 and 22.
Interesting that both this method and the use of the atomised type coating used on ‘Exact’ MVG models are effectively designed to produce or emulate a ‘used feel’ on brand new darts.
—–ENDS—–
Words: Joe Reid
Images: Chris Sargeant / WDF
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