Questions people often ask are "what is the best dart board on the market ?" or "what dart board should I buy?"

I have already written a general article about different boards and how to maintain them and have given a glossary to their construction with a few pro’s and cons. You can read this by clicking here. But I have taken this a step further by taking some of the leading manufacturers boards and putting them to the test.

Dart boards with blade strip dividers have been around for a number of years but unless you are a darts enthusiast you may not have even seen one. These boards are by choice the preferred dart boards to play according to dart professionals and leading dart authorities the BDO and PDC. I will explain why.

Dart boards over the years have been made from a number of materials: wood, clay, paper, compressed fibre and sisal. The latter sisal is commonly known as bristle and is a material used in rope making. This is by far is the most durable material yet found to make a dart board for steel tipped darts.

The dart board is made in stages the last stage being the insertion of the wires / blades. The wires and blades are there to help divide the scoring areas of the board and to avoid disputes should a dart fall between colour segments. Depending what side of the wire the dart is on will determine the score.

All dart boards will wear in time and this will depend on a number of factors: how much play the board receives; if the board is maintained by turning the board regularly to give each segment even wear; whether your darts have sufficient dart point length (badly worn points can see the barrel embedded in the board) and lastly the conditions the board is left in, dry atmospheres tend to dry the sisal and the board wears faster. (Never soak a sisal board)

Round Wire Dart Boards

For round wire boards, the cheapest on the market, you will find the wire will embed into the board when hit. The pins will come loose and the wiring system will effectively move giving increasing and decreasing scoring areas to the board. The colour scoring segments over time will also bleed into each other which doesn’t help the thrower. Round wiring systems will also have the most bounce outs*.

Diamond Wire Cut Dart Boards

Diamond cut wiring systems are similar to the round wire construction boards. The colour scoring segments over time will also bleed as per the round wire but the wire is less likely to embed into the board when hit due to the flat backing of the wire. However when the pins holding this wiring to the board become loose the wire can turn showing the flat surface to the thrower instead on the knife edge. When this happens you will experience increased bounce outs and the wire will embed itself into the board. Keeping the pins on both of these boards pushed tightly into the board does help, but with general wear the pins will become loose and then the wires will move.

Blade Wire Construction Dart Boards

I have listed three main contenders for a rigid trial to find out which board gives the best performance over time. They are the Winmau Blade III, The Unicorn Eclipse Pro and the Harrow’s Matrix board. The Winmau board is used in the BDO / WDF world championships, the Unicorn Eclipse Pro for all PDC darting events including the Ladbrokes World Professional Darts Championships. Harrow’s are a leading dart manufacture and although we tend not to see their boards in high profile events many players use their darts equipment including myself.

So what makes a good dart board?

I thought this would be a good question to ask dart enthusiasts so I posted this question last year on the Darts501.com forum and a couple of other forums. I asked for visitors to rank in order and or add to the following list:

1. How long the board lasts
2. How the board wears – i.e. bleeding of colour segments
3. Blade Wiring / Staple free / reduced bounce outs
4. Movement of wiring / blade
5. Colour of the blade being highly visible i.e. white
6. Coated numbers for high visibility
7. It’s the board they use in Televised Tournaments
8. The board is endorsed by recognised and respected professionals
9. Cost
10. I would rather play on a PDC endorsed board rather than a BDO
11. I would rather play on a BDO endorsed board rather than a PDC

I only had a few responses, but I thought it would be good for manufacturers to know what non dart professional looks for in a board.

The responses were few and mixed but generally these were the main things darters look for:

Top four issues:

How long a board lasts
Blade construction staple pin free
Bleeding of colour segmentation
Cost

The least important seemed to be whether the board was endorsed by the BDO / PDC. It seemed to make no difference to a purchaser if a world champion or prominent dart celebrity endorsed the board which I find strange and would suggest that manufacturers may wish to push this matter a bit harder.

As far has cost is concerned although there will be a limit to some on how much they will spend on a board all of these boards are of similar retail value @ £30.00 and when you consider darts as a sport buying the best equipment in this field is relatively inexpensive compared to most other sports.

So how was this test of mine constructed?

Well most emails I receive are from individuals practising darts at home with some social play in the local pub. But to be fair I thought all of these boards should be played on by both social and weekly league dart players. So I made sure the landlords used the boards for social play as well as league games as many pubs tend to put up a tatty worn board for social play and then bring out the so called match board on match nights! The offer of a free board ensured this wasn’t going to be a problem.

Each board was dated and turned weekly to ensure even wear. Both home and away darts players gave general comments on all the boards and all seemed to give good press to the staple pin free boards. For many players it was the first time they had seen a board of this nature, let alone played on one, which generally gave a thumbs up to all three boards.

The Winmau Blade III

The board is widely known because it is the board used by the BDO for all of its main darts events including the BDO/WDC World darts championships.

The Winmau Blade III is the third generation of their blade construction boards. This board construction is different than the other two boards which were tested (the Unicorn Eclipse Pro & Harrow’s Matrix). The horizontal blade number dividers are cut directly into the sisal (bristle) however the ring double and treble dividers are attached through the horizontal blade unlike its predecessor the Blade II which seemed to be crimped in place. The bullseye is staple free and the outer bull cut into the sisal angled as per the horizontal dividers. The wire or blade’s colour is natural galvanised steel and is angled as per a diamond wire board however it is slightly narrower. The number ring is plastic coated white which gives good visibility for the number sections

This board was found to give very good wear lasting approximately three months of heavy darts play. The visibility of the scoring segments is bright and this continues even after long periods of play. The colour segments remain constant and crisp, this I found to be a big positive for the board.

Earlier Winmau Blade boards used to have a problem with the blade manifesting from the sisal after a period of wear, an issue I have found with all boards of this nature. But I found this to be the luck of the draw as with one of these boards I found no problems of this nature but with another I did. However there are two negative attributes to this board. Because the ring treble and double dividers are held in place by horizontal blades and are not cut into the sisal, unlike the Unicorn Eclipse Pro or the Harrow’s Matrix boards, allowing greater movement of sisal. This in fact may not be a negative point as this allows the board to wear better and last longer but it also allows the colour treble and double segments to bleed as per round and diamond wire construction boards.  The one major issue I have with the board is to do with the ring dividers. The ring dividers are liable to buckle, flatten and deform if hit hard by a heavy dart. This effectively reduces or increases a scoring area.

During the course of this test I was able to compare the Blade II to the Blade III and the difference between these two boards is down to how the treble and double wires are held in place. The Blade III is an improvement on the Blade II as with this board I found the treble ring became detached and thus making the board unplayable. But the wire buckling and the blades themselves over time manifesting from the board is a big issue. Of all the boards this board did receive the most bounce outs* although a vast improvement on the round and diamond wire boards.

Cost of this board varies depending where you buy it. But it is widely available form £29.99

Improvements I would like to see to this board.

The only main improvement would be to the ring wiring. It deforms when hit hard but overall this is a very good dart board to own and rated higher than any round wire or diamond wire equivalent.

The scoring / valuation I have marked out of ten.

1. How long the board lasts	8
2. How the board wears – i.e. bleeding of colour segments	8
3. Reduced bounce outs*	8
4. Movement of wiring / blade	7
5. Colour of the blade being highly visible i.e. white / coated	8
6. Coated numbers for high visibility	10
7. The board is endorsed by recognised and respected professionals	yes
8. Value for money	8
Overall performance	57/70 81%

The photo Gallery before and after

Unicorn Eclipse Pro.

If you are a follower of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) dart tournaments you will be familiar with the Unicorn Eclipse Pro. Like the Winmau Blade III this board has undergone a few changes over the years and is used exclusively on all televised PDC dart tournaments.

The Eclipse Pro can boast to have one of the thinnest blade constructions of its type. All scoring segments have a blade wire cut into the sisal unlike the Winmau blade III where this only has horizontal blades cut into the sisal. The  Unicorn blade scoring segment dividers allow for the maximum scoring opportunity of all boards.

Boards of the Unicorn Eclipse Pro construction type don’t allow movement in the wired frame. This is advantageous as the scoring area will not increase or decrease unlike other wire construction boards. The embedded blades do not allow for colour segmentation movement or saturation, thus ensuring perfect segmentation throughout the board’s life. Although this type of construction has a number of very good points the rigidity of the segments means the sisal is confined to its scoring area and if you are a big treble hitter you will find this board is likely to wear faster in these scoring areas compared to the Winmau Blade III. But due to the poor wiring of the Winmau Blade III board you will be replacing the Winmau Blade III board well before the Unicorn Eclipse Pro.

The thinness of wire certainly reduces the dart bounce outs but as the board wears it is less inclined to hold the dart firm in the sisal compared to the Winmau Blade III. The colour segments i.e. the blacked area tends to discolour showing though its natural cream sisal and in my opinion this board could possibly do with a better penetration of ink colourant to prevent this happening.

The Blades themselves have undergone a few colour and finish changes: The original galvanised steel, to painted white and now the nickel plate. The changes were made to enhance the television viewing. The white segments in my opinion gave the best clarity both from a player’s perspective and  a television viewer’s perspective. The change from the white to nickel plate was due to chipping. When a dart hit the blade it was very likely to chip the paint off hence the change to nickel, but if you have ever witnessed live darts you will know the board is changed very frequently i.e. at least after every match so not much wear and tear there. The original blade wiring is in my opinion superior to the nickel plate as the nickel tends to shine like glitter which I find distracting.

The Eclipse board has a staple free bullseye although the ring is thicker than the rest of the blades. The numbers are painted white which gives good visibility.

Of all the boards this board had less bounce outs however if you are of average height you may find a few unusual bounce outs on lower trebles 19’s 17’s! Why ? Well, the treble wires are cut into the sisal and when throwing down onto a treble you can effectively hit the score by penetrating the sisal only for the point to hit the embedded blade and  bounce out!

The cost of this board can vary but it is widely available for £29.99

Improvements I would like to see to this board.

Change of blade colour back to the natural galvanised steel and improved ink saturation to stop the natural sisal colour bleeding through on coloured segments.

1. How long the board lasts	9
2. How the board wears – i.e. bleeding of colour segments	9
3. Reduced bounce outs*	9
4. Movement of wiring / blade	9
5. Colour of the blade being highly visible i.e. white / coated	8
6. Coated numbers for high visibility	10
7. The board is endorsed by recognised and respected professionals	yes
8. Value for money	9
Overall performance	63/70 90%

The photo Gallery before and after

The Harrow’s Matrix

Harrow’s Dart Technology is a well respected darts manufacture just like Winmau & Unicorn. They produce quality darts and darts accessories, but are not widely known for dart boards as these do not carry the governing bodies logo’s as per Winmau illustrating the BDO logo and the Unicorn the PDC logo. Never the less on first glance the Matrix board looks like it can compete with either of these boards.

I have tested two versions of the Matrix board, the difference being to the colour of the blades and centre bull. The first Matrix I tested had white blades and inner bull of the same colour the second had natural steel colour and the centre bull was a standard staple free bull as found with diamond wire boards. The construction of this board is similar Unicorn Eclipse.

The first thing you will notice is the clarity of colour and segmentation this board offers. The white blades enhance the scoring area. The centre bull or bullseye is also white and of the same thickness as the blade wire unlike the second Matrix or Unicorn / Winmau boards which all have the standard staple free bullseye for its construction. The colour of the white segments is clean as if the sisal has been bleached. Overall this board looks great but  this is where it stops.

The first board I tested (the white blade version) didn’t come up to expected standard. On closer inspection I noticed some of the blade segments were bowed, something you wouldn’t expect from a top of the range board. But worse was to come from the very first dart that was thrown into the board. Every dart that landed in the board left a hole when the dart was removed as if the board was made from cork. The crisp colours also showed the natural sisal colour when hit and the treble soon became worn. The sisal in my opinion was either dry or packed differently to the Unicorn Eclipse Pro or the Winmau Blade III. Neither of these boards had this type of wear of disfigurement. After only a week a number of players commented on the board unfortunately not in a positive manner. I have never seen a board like this look so tatty after a few hours of play. Like every thing you just may be unlucky and just have a rogue product and Harrows agreed so they sent me a replacement board to test.

The replacement Harrow’s Matrix board had natural wiring and a standard staple free bullseye. The colouring of the board is the same but the white blades had gone.

The second board held up better than the first but out of all of the boards this was by far a disappointment. The board looks great but performance wise very poor. I believe the lack performance was down to the sisal and nothing else. The best looking board but didn’t perform well.

This board is available from some sport shops and specialist dart suppliers, the cost is around £28.00.

1. How long the board lasts	5
2. How the board wears – i.e. bleeding of colour segments	9
3. Reduced bounce outs*	9
4. Movement of wiring / blade	9
5. Colour of the blade being highly visible i.e. white / coated	9
6. Coated numbers for high visibility	10
7. The board is endorsed by recognised and respected professionals	no
8. Value for money	5
Overall performance	56/70 80%

The photo Gallery before and after

Improvements I would like to see with this board.

This board looks great until a dart is put into it. I was expecting a high performance from this board but was extremely disappointed with is wear. It receive high scoring because this is what most players look for and maybe the rating should have been weighted but in the road test didn’t live up to expectations.

Improvements required to be a real contender to the Blade III & Eclipse are as follows:

Blade wiring needs to be stronger to withstand bowing in the manufacturing process.

The sisal needs to be compressed tighter so a withdrawn dart does not leave a hole and to prolong the life of the board.

Colour saturation as per the Eclipse board needs to penetrate the sisal further so the nature sisal colour dose not bleed through the coloured areas when darts are withdrawn.

The overall winner

So the overall winner in this test is the Unicorn Eclipse Pro. It is performs well though out its life with out the colour segments bleeding or without the wires bending. I have never read a bad comment about this board however there is always room for improvement.

The dart players who played on this board also had the opportunity to play on all three boards and general opinion regardless of my scrutiny gave the Unicorn Board the thumbs up. I personally like the colour definition of the Winmau Blade III but the bending of the wires which affects the scoring area is a big issue with any dart player. But all this aside others will have their own views.

Please bear in mind different environments may bring different results i.e. lab tests or personal boards played on in home environments may differ from the street test I have given these boards. This is my personal opinion undertaken purely to establish which board I believe to be the best currently on the market and I am sure further development from all of the these well respected manufacturers will continue to make everyone’s darts experience the best it can be.

If you would like to know how boards are made or would like a read a glossary of the different dart boards available please follow theses links.

How Boards are made
Different Bristle boards, a general view point

             

*Bounce outs - term used when a dart hits a dart board wire and fails to score.