Official Matthew Edgar Replica darts shirt in Blue and Light-Red.
In a lightweight, breathable material, this shirt is worn by “Prime Time” himself in all PDC tournaments. In a distinctive colour scheme, the shirt incorporates Matthew’s ever popular and highly informative You Tube channel EdgarTV.
Designed by Matthew Edgar.
I’m always up for learning something new, or trying something out of the ordinary. For me, this
review is just that – for the first time, I’ll be reviewing dart shirts! I’ll be taking a closer look at
both of the shirts designed and manufactured by Loxley darts for their ‘Prime Time’ player,
Matthew Edgar, who wears the shirts on the PDC Pro Tour, as well as in any other events he
qualifies for, such as any European Tour events, or major PDC televised events.
Both shirts feature an identical design, utilising bold, vibrant colours – bright blue, deep pink and
white; Matthew changes the primary colour of the shirt on a regular basis, bringing multiple
versions to tournaments. The top half of the shirt, from the front, is completely plain, with space
for Matthew’s three sponsorship patches – Loxley Darts, All Things Darts, and Filta
Environmental. Progressing down to the bottom half of the shirt, stripes of the opposite colour
have been added, as well as white sections featuring ‘Edgar TV’, promoting Matthews
increasingly popular YouTube Channel.
As well as the stripes at the bottom of the shirt, the collar is also of the opposite colour as the
main body of the shirt, which helps it to stand out, and drastically increases the look of the shirt.
For me, I feel that visually the collar is the most important part of the shirt; the blue/pink collar
standing out against the pink/blue body looks stunning, and gives it a sense of completion and
professionalism – without it, the shirt would simply look unfinished.
As for the sleeves, they too feature stripes of the opposite colour, giving the effect, to me, of a
freshly squeezed out tube of toothpaste. The pink, white and blue sleeves compliment the shirt
well, with the top colour flowing directly from the colour on the upper body section of the shirt,
with the other two colours cutting in from the seam of the sleeve. On the left hand sleeve, they
feature another sponsorship patch, this time for DartsMad.com. This patch has been
strategically placed to be in shot of the cameras while Matt is walking to the board on both
streaming and televised boards, as seen in the (low resolution – sorry!) below screenshot from
his match at the PDC Summer Series against Kai-Fan Leung.
Interesting, the shirts do not feature a front pocket as so frequently seen on modern and classic
darts shirts. As well as this, Matthew opted for the shirts to be zipped, rather than buttoned at
the top. This is simply due to Matthew’s personal preference, preferring the feel and style
compared to the alternatives. Interestingly, while Matthew never had a pocket on his older shirt,
he did used to have a button up shirt, rather than a zipped shirt. This change is due to Matthew
preferring to have more control over how the collar rests on his neck, adjusting the feel to
ensure maximum comfort in the heat and stress of a competitive match.
On the back of the shirt, the same colour/stripes theme is kept up, keeping consistent with the
style on the front of the shirt. At the top of the shirt is Matthew’s nickname ‘Prime Time’, in bold,
black writing with a subtle white outline. This white outline helps the text to stand out against the
bold pink/blue of the shirt, keeping it in focus. The centre of the shirt shows off the logo used by
Matthew for his YouTube channel, EdgarTV. The retro style television set, showing static with
‘Edgar TV’ overlaid is something unique to Matthew. Many players elect for simple wording, or a
simplistic logo on the rear of the shirt, such as Michael van Gerwen, with his ‘MvG’ logo, or Gary
Anderson, with his name in the centre of his shirt, along with a star to indicate his world titles.
Under the television set there features 5 stars, in a bright yellow aimed to stand out against the
pink/blue of the shirt. While no real meaning behind the stars, this is something Matthew wanted
to keep consistent with his previous shirts, taking parts from what he had previously to create
the perfect shirt for him.
In terms of the feel of the shirt, they feel very light and thin, perfect for when you’re in the middle
of a match and want to remain cool under pressure. The shirts are made from 100% polyester,
the market standard for dart shirts. When washed, polyester proves resistant to chemicals used
to clean clothes, meaning the shirt itself will be clean, yet the dyes used to colour the shirt will
not fade. Simply put, the shirt will look idental new, as it does after 100 washes. As well as this,
polyester is an extremely durable material, meaning it is both resistant to stretching, as well as
wrinkling and creasing. Due to the fibres used within the shirt, polyester proves to be quick
drying, perfect for those who have a tendency to sweat during matches and competitions. While
the contingency is there for those who are prone to sweating, the shirt is naturally very
lightweight, helping to keep you cool when you need it most.
While using this shirt, I found it offered no resistance to me while playing, with the shoulders not
feeling restrictive as is sometimes the case with dart shirts. The thinner material kept me cool
and comfortable, and reminded me more of Harrows style shirts, as opposed to thicker Target
Coolplay/One80 shirts, which felt heavier in comparison. The collar didn’t feel coarse against my
skin, yet I found it was prone to collapsing. Providing some discomfort and requiring me to reset
the collar regularly while practicing. As the text, logos and sponsorship patches are part of the
shirt, as opposed to a transfer or sewn on, it provides a greater level of comfort than shirts that
utilise 3-dimensional logo, such as Target or One80, in which they sew on their logo, which can
cause discomfort on the chest of the user, feeling the threading through the shirt.
Final Thoughts:
Appearance: 9/10 – For any fan of Matthew Edgar, or his YouTube channel ‘EdgarTV’, these are
a must have. With bright, vibrant colours, you’ll be sure to stand out from the crowd as the
‘Prime Time’ player himself does on the PDC professional circuit. While the back of the shirt
seems a little crowded, the overall design was nailed to perfection by Matthew and the Loxley
design team, resulting in one of the most stylish shirts ever seen in professional darts, the likes
of which we may never see again… until Matthew deems it fit for a new design, that is!
Feel: 9/10 – The only reason these didn’t get a perfect score from me was because of the collar
– I found it to fold over slightly while practicing, which caused me to stop to readjust a few times.
Excluding that, the shirt itself is simply a 10/10. The lightweight material felt comfortable to wear,
with no resistance to me while playing – a definite positive in an age of companies seemingly
opting for thicker and heavier shirts,
Quality: 9/10 – This is the same argument for me as in the ‘Feel’ section. Excluding the collar, for
me these shirts were of perfect quality… I couldn’t find a fault. There were no loose threads
anywhere on the shirt, no discolouration of the dyes used to colour the shirt, and no creases or
folds anywhere along the shirt. Once washed, the shirts were as good as new, with the dyes
holding up as intended. Simply, perfection.
Value for Money: 8/10 – While more expensive than a standard shirt designed for personal use,
for a player replica shirt, they are well priced in accordance with the current market. For £37.95,
you’ll get one of the best looking shirts in the game, endorsed by the ‘Prime Time’ player
himself, Matthew Edgar… what more could you ask for? The shirt to be signed, I hear you
say..? Well, for just £7 extra, you can have exactly that! For £44.95, Matthew himself will hand
sign the shirt – a perfect collectors item for any member of the ‘Edgar Nation’!
Thank you to Loxley for sending these shirts out – something I’ve never had the pleasure of
reviewing before! Definitely one of the best looking shirts in professional darts at the moment, I
for one can’t wait to see what’s next for Matthew while wearing these shirts! On the subject of
Matthew, a review of his darts, as well as his player profile will be coming soon, so stay tuned!
Author – Joe Reid
https://joereiddartsreviews.weeby.com