Former PDC World Youth Champion, Luke Humphries, has been steadily on the rise for a few years and finally Red Dragon have released the darts he uses on the PDC Pro Tour. For years Luke used a set of old Simon Whitlock barrels and was very particular and strong that he didn't want to change barrels, even one of his points wasn't quite right but he couldn't change it and wouldn't change barrels. Finally, just before the 2022 World Championships, Luke with help from Lee Huxtable, had a dart made that was very similar to his previous darts.
Luke Humphries TX1 darts that were released as part of the 2023 Red Dragon product launch.
The darts are an exact replica of what Humphries throws on tour, meaning fans or collectors can finally get their hands on the actual set that Luke uses, rather than special editions versions. The darts are a simple design with no coatings or paint and feature a few simple ring cuts.
Product Information
22g Steel Tip - 90% Tungsten (Also available in 24g Steel Tip and 20g Soft Tip)
Length: 43.2mm
Width: 7.05mm
Supplied with short RD Nitrotech shafts and No2 Luke Humphries player flights.
Price (As of 26/12/2022): £39.90
Grip & Balance
The grip is not overly grippy but I believe there is enough for players who don't like or need aggressive feeling grips. Red Dragon's website rate the grip a level 1 (out of 5) I personally will say it's a 1.5 just because the rings on the dart do make that small amount of difference compared to a smooth barrel dart.
The darts as expected are front weighted however don't have the same characteristics of say a bulbous style of dart where they will suddenly kick nose downwards mid flight, the flight of the dart with any setup I chose remained smooth and consistent, similar to when I use straight barrel darts.
Dart Performance
The darts are a great example of not needing to go overboard with fancy grips or coatings to work. Even for myself who generally uses a straight barrel dart, the darts didn't actually feel too wide or that different to normal. The shape gives a very natural push point from anywhere behind the widest section on the front end of the darts.
For me personally, I think the darts play best with a medium shaft and standard flight rather than the supplied short shaft, just because it adds a little extra stability in the air and provides a more consistent angle of entry into the board.
Summary
To summarise, I think the darts provide an excellent alternative to other torpedo shape darts on the market. They're perhaps a little shorter but also narrower because of the lack of cuts made into the tungsten, it allows the dart to have the more compact style meaning they fly through the air with ease. To finally have the actual darts that Luke Humphries uses on the market is long overdue and I think fans of this style of dart or fans of Luke Humphries will enjoy the darts. The price I think is fair as any player dart in the current market sells for around £40 so you can't expect anything less, even if the manufacturing process isn't as complex as some other darts.
Once again, I feel like Red Dragon done an job with their launch this year and really added something worthwhile to the market!