I know this board has been reviewed by many already but as I just recently got one I felt like doing one too, so here goes:
When my Blade 3 was due for renewal the Blade 4 had not came out yet, so at the time I got a Bulls Advantage 2 which is over 2 and half years old now, but I always wanted to try the Blade 4 and now I finally have one.
The usual starting point, the packaging, its the usual glossy cardboard box extolling the features of the board which is fine by me, however they always mention the fact the wires are 50% thinner, I guess they are compared to the old boards from the round wire days but not so sure its a point worth mentioning any more?? But it could be meaning that the wires are 50% thinner than the blade 3 which is possible because they do seem thinner than that to me, but the packaging does not make that clear thats what it means.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Also included in the box is the fixing screws and bracket, a checkout chart, a fixing instruction sheet and a little booklet that also has fixing instructions along with rules and games to play which is a nice touch.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Here is the board after I first took it out the box:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]There was that usual smell of ink when I took it out the box but it was no way near as overpowering as it was with my Bulls 2 and any ink vapours that were around quickly dissipated.
The first impressions of the board as I took it out were very favourable. The colours were nice and clear, the number ring is a nice white anti glare coated steel wire, and the spider looks amazing!
The one thing I have never liked with the Bulls Advantage 2 is the Spider and the way it sticks out so high from the board and also the way it is joined together. Nothing like that with the Blade 4, this spider is awesome, so flush with the board its unreal and incredibly neatly made. Also the surface of the sisal on the Blade 4 was very smooth with no noticeable ridges like I had with my Bulls and still have!
Just check out these pics to see how good the spider is:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The spider is deeply embedded into the sisal and should be much better for avoiding bounceouts off the wire as it is so thin and slightly angled to deflect the darts points.
A close look at the Bull area:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]A close look at a Treble Segment:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]A close look at a Double segment:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]There is the usual veins and little areas where the biscuits are compressed together, where there is very little holes in said joins:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The boards logos:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The board has a neat steel band round it which is painted black:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Number ring is neatly held in by plastic brackets nailed into the board:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Some measurements:
The Treble Segment:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Notice the Double Segment matches the size of the Treble segment as you would hope it would:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]The Bulls area measurements:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Board thickness:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]I compared the treble, double and bull measurement with my old Winmau 1978 board, I found the old boards were exactly 1mm smaller in the treble and double segments, but 0.5mm bigger in the bulls measurements?
Here is the board set up on my dart stand:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]I was given a tip on how to test the hardness of the board, and that was to use a soft tip dart, so thats what I did.
I could push the dart in easily enough on the white segments, the black and red segments were a little harder but the green segments was very hard especially on the single bull I could not push it in there at all. My theory is it must be to do with the ink that probably sticks the sisal together making it a bit harder, and the green for some reason must have the stronger effect. When I threw the soft tip darts at the board though they penetrated the single bull easily enough.
I guess that all boards have a breaking in period but overall the sisal on the Blade 4 seems fine to me, not as hard as it was with my Bulls 2 but hard and dense enough to ensure a good deal of durability. I threw my 24g steel tips without issue and after approx 45 mins of throwing I had no bounceouts, unlike I had with my Bulls, when I first got that I had lots.
The sisal heals nicely enough too, no marks were there for too long.
I have to say that the spider is what does it for me on the Blade 4, it is just so good I wish I had got one sooner.
Overall it seems like a fantastic board and I cant recommend it highly enough it is astounding value for money when they can be bought for as little as £20!
It gets a big 10 out of 10 from me!
Cant imagine how good the Blade 5 is going to be when that comes out!
