Product Name: Bottlesen Hammerhead GT 24g and Precision Grip 25g
Rating: HH GT's 9/10 Precision Grip: 9/10
Pros: Both sets are very well engineered, and feel very nice to hold. They have great balance and seem to be weighted perfectly, I would say that the GT's fly a bit better than the precision Grip.
Cons: Quite obviously its the high cost, and the expensive replacement parts. Also the fact that you are limited to using Bottlesen Shafts, although there are different sizes available.
My review:
I have two sets of Bottlesens. I have a set of 24g GT Hammerhead (the £99 ones), and a set of 25g Precision Grip.
I am a very average player so probably not the best to judge how great a dart is, but I do have over 200 sets so I have tried a lot of different types.
The first set I got were the Precision Bottlesens, and I was pleasantly surprised by the feel of the darts as the last set I had with moveable points were some Winmau Cyclones and they made an irritating jangly noise everytime I threw them. Not so with the Bottlesens they made no noise and the action of the moveable points was very smooth. I liked the grip of these darts and the balance was very nice. As I said I'm only an average player but these darts almost seemed to be magnetised towards the treble and I came close to getting a 180 on two throws, and its a long time since I got that close.
When I got the GT Bottlsens, I noticed that the point action was not as smooth, don't know why that should be. But the GT darts feel even better in the fingers, I don't know what the barrels are coated with but even though they are smooth they feel very grippy. I have to say that the GT's are very well balanced if you like a front weighted dart, they flew even better than the precision darts and once again I was hitting a lot more trebles than I usually do. I let my friend have a go and he too remarked on how well balanced they were and how well they fly, he was impressed by them.
Of course it could be just a case of new darts syndrome, as I have just put them in my "to try later" pile of darts, as I'm still trying a lot of darts so have not given them a prolonged go yet. But I am impressed with them but I still cannot understand where the high cost is justified.
I think the way the barrels are kind of incorporating part of the shaft is probably why they have a great balance though.
The only justificaton of the high cost I can think of is the fact that they come in a very nice metal case that has a fake crocodile skin pvc cover, and that they come with extra shafts and a mini tool for changing the points and re-tightening them if they need it. The way the darts are engineered must be the main reason for the high price, as well as the coating which is hard to describe but kind of feels like a rubbery sensation.
I doub't if I would pay the full price for them though, for as much as I like them I could never say they are a must buy at the price, so feel free to knock off a point and a half from my score out of 10 when paying full price. If you get the chance to get them cheaper or don't mind paying the full whack then I would say definitely try them.
I felt very tempted to give them a 10/10 score but as I have not played with them for a great length of time was reluctant to do so. But might give an update later on when I have had more time with them, due to various joint problems I can only play a couple of hours a week so its a bit frustrating for me.
Hopefully my pics will show below, and I have one with the Precision Grip taken apart.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Hope that helps anyone whos interested in them, any questions just ask and I will try to help.
