By Connor Watkins
Product Information
Despite only coming in one weight (24g), these PVD coated replicas of the original Alan Soutar barrels have a sleek look to them which many will like. The darts are a straight but quite chunky design with a bull nose accompanied by blue and white paint in the grooves. The barrel has a mixture of radial grooves and micro-grip which enhance its grip.
To me, the Alan Soutar barrel is quite like an old Steve Beaton design, simple but effective. These darts, paired with the black mission griplock stems and the “SOOTS” standard shaped flights, will suit most players who prefer a shorter barrel. I also like that Mission have priced these only £2 more than the natural tungsten edition, making them still affordable for the average dart player.
Dimensions:
24g - 6.75mm X 45.8mm
Black standard 26mm point fitted.
Price (as of 17/07/2023): £49.95 from Darts Corner
Grip & Balance
The barrel is centre weighted, with a good amount of grip. The front and middle section have more grip than the rear, as there is a micro-grip that is featured alongside the blue and white rings that appear throughout the barrel. In my experience, micro-grip can often wear out quite quickly, which may be something to note if you are looking for a grip to last for a long time. However, the Mission griplock gel that you can buy from Darts Corner would combat this issue very effectively. The rear has just the blue and white rings which supply a good amount of grip, I think that these simple rings going with the black PVD coating allow for minimal slipping in the hand. Due to the small number of rings and grip in the rear, I cannot imagine this wearing out or getting slippery very quickly. However, if over time you find this issue, I feel that a simply clean with a soft brush and some warm water should do the trick.
Dart Performance
I initially used the standard griplock stems and supplied flights but found the setup to be too short for me with the barrel being only 45mm. I found that for me, these darts felt the best when paired with a medium length stem and a standard flight. As a rear gripper, I held the dart with my thumb directly on the blue and white rings near the end of the barrel, while my finger rested on the rest of the barrel using the micro-grip. I liked that I had the whole barrel under control with my finger and thumb, which is a positive of using a shorter barrel.
Although these darts are 24g, they felt lighter, more around the 22g mark. I am not sure if this is because of how small the barrel is or whether the longer stem that I applied made them feel lighter. As a fan of lighter darts, this played into my favour and after about three to four visits I had hit back-to-back maximums… following by a massive single 5! I will be fitting these with a slightly longer point in the hopes of them suiting my desired angle of entry, but other than that I feel like these darts are very well suited to a player like me.
Watch the video review of the original Alan Soutar Mission darts below.
Summary
These are a great dart for those who prefer a shorter barrel. The design and black PVD coating supply a sleek look but keep the dart simple. I enjoyed throwing these darts and feel like I could begin to use them on a regular basis once fitted with a longer point. The price point is amazing for a player dart and the packaging, supplied setup and quality of products is excellent.
If you are interested in these darts then I thoroughly recommend them!
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