The Prime Time, Matthew Edgars’ signature dart!
Carefully designed by Matthew Edgar, this dart is the culmination of Matthew’s wealth of experience in darts and his drive for perfection.
The dart is available in Matthew’s match weight 21g and in 23g which has been carefully crafted to ensure the same performance as the 21g.
Both darts carry the Edgar TV logo laser engraved in the barrel as a tribute to Matthew’s hugely popular and informative YouTube channel EdgarTV.
Barrels = 90% Tungsten
Supplied with 100 Micron Flights
Dimensions:
21g – Length 50.7mm – Width 6.1mm
23g – Length 50.7mm – Width 6.36mm
Point Length = 32mm (26mm protruding)
Designed by Matthew Edgar together with Zachary Thornton & Matthew Birch.
Darts Review Channel Review:
Media:
The arrows of choice, for a Prime Time player. Today I take an in-depth look at the new
Matthew Edgar darts, from Loxley. Utilising two popular styles of grip, as well as stylish painted
groves, these darts have every reason to become an instant classic.
Moulded to the exact specifications required for Matthew Edgar, Zachary Thornton, along with
the Loxley design team, have created a dart that suits Matthew perfectly – as well as an
extremely wide range of amateur and semi-professional players alike! With a subtle, thinly
grooved ring grip at the rear, coupled with a more deeply cut dual-ring grip towards the front, the
darts utilise both indistinct and aggressive cuts, resulting in a near universally usable dart –
perhaps the darts of choice for a future PDC title holder?
The darts are currently available in both Matthew’s match-weight, 21g, as well as his former
match-weight, 23g. Both barrel weights are produced from a 90% tungsten billet, providing the
perfect balance of density and durability. This ensures the darts are as thin as possible to
increase your scoring, but resilient enough that with darts clattering into each other in the treble
bed, the grip stays true and will not begin to chip-away or dull, as seen on lower grade tungsten
barrels. Both weights are 50.7mm in length, with the 21g measuring in at 6.1mm in width,
compared to the 23g, which measure at 6.36mm.
The darts arrive in a plastic outer casing, with the Loxley graphics on the front, detailing both the
dart, and the player they were made for. The graphics employ the use of Matthew’s preferred
colours of pink and blue, as seen on his shirts, flights and barrels, allowing the consistent theme
to prevail from product to product. On the rear of the casing, more graphics have been added,
with the logo from Matthew’s YouTube channel, ‘EdgarTV’, in centre view.
Inside the packaging is a simple black darts case, designed to lock the darts in while
transported in order to prevent darts from coming loose. The darts come in a standard black
point protector within the case, and come equipped with a set of Loxley intermediate nylon
stems. The case further contains a set of standard Matthew Edgar dart flights, with one flight
being ready fitted to the stem of the centre dart. While aesthetically pleasing, this can cause the
issue of the flight becoming distorted, as the outer plastic casing presses down on the
assembled flight, meaning that for the duration of transport, the flight is slightly bent out of
shape, which can lead to the dart flying slightly off course if not properly straightened out. The
darts come ready fitted with a set of 32mm silver points, which, while enhancing the look of the
dart, can lead to some darts falling out of the board as the smooth points simply cannot grasp
the fibres in the board. For this, you may need to rough the points up with sandpaper regularly,
to ensure every dart stays firmly lodged in the board.
As a natural rear gripper, I found myself wishing I could flip the dart around, as you can with soft
tip darts. I’ve always preferred an aggressive grip, and so for me, the front grip of the dart
seemed perfect! While the rear grip was noticeable, I found darts had a tendency to slip from my
fingers when propelling from the rear, though this was a rare occurrence. Holding from the front,
I found I had a lot more control over the dart, with the front grip offering a high level of both grip
and comfort; with some darts, a high level of grip can feel as if they’re shredding your fingers,
but I found that with these, I never felt any discomfort.
I found that visually, these darts were unbelievable! The two grip styles both contrast and
complement each other simultaneously, with the more refined rear grip enhancing the feel of the
front grip when switching over, while the rear grip offers a unique level of control, thanks to the
thinner grooves helping the dart to seem thicker to hold, and thus easier to manipulate in your
fingers. The darts feature painted, rather than coated groves as I initially thought. The rear
groves are painted blue and white, while the front grip has been painted a unique metallic pink –
something I’ve never seen on a dart before! The groves inside the dual-ring grip feature a very
fine strip of black paint, which I feel helps the front of the dart to blend in seamlessly with the
black segment of the 20 bed, allowing you to stay focused on your intended target. After
speaking to co-designer Zachary, I discovered the front section had been hand-painted rather
than through a machine, presenting the dedication and precision that the team at Loxley
displays in ensuring every product they sell is in perfect condition.
After experimenting with different styles of throw and grip, as well as stem and flight
combinations, I found that by holding the front and using a similar setup to Matthew himself, with
shorter stems and a set of slim flights, I was able to stack the darts in similar fashion to how Phil
Taylor used to stack his darts during his early days with Unicorn, while still using thinner barrels
not too dissimilar from the Loxley darts I’m reviewing. By throwing from the front (an unnatural
position for me), I found myself throwing the dart harder, and so by using the slimmer flights, I
had more control over the dart, thanks to the smaller surface area in comparison to the supplied
standard shape flights. By using shorter stems, I managed to shift the centre of balance further
forward towards where I was throwing, which again allowed me further control, and helped to
alleviate any unnatural feeling with the rear of the dart beginning to pull down as I prepared to
release. I also found that the preferred setup of Matthew’s rival and friend, Glen Durrant, worked
very well, with the pear flights slowing the dart down in the air, heightening my control over
where the dart was thrown.
Final Thoughts:
Appearance: 10/10 – Faultless. With the striking use of painted groves, Loxley has created, in
my opinion, one of the best looking darts on the market to date. In Matthew’s words, they “are
quite a sexy looking dart”, and combined with the vibrant Matthew Edgar flights, as well as the
recently reviewed Matthew Edgar dart shirts, Matthew has established himself as a true
idiosyncratic character within darts, and these barrels define both him, and his character on and
off the oche.
Balance: 8/10 – I felt these darts had a very slight front weight while throwing, which helped in
more ways than one. While throwing from my natural position (from the rear of the dart), the
front weight helped my darts sit high in the board – the perfect angle for me. When throwing from
the front, coupled with the shorter stems, I found I had more control over the dart, as I was
throwing directly on the centre of balance. While for me, the balance worked perfectly, the slight
front weight could cause problems for those who throw from the rear while using a shorter stem,
and so some tinkering with equipment may be necessary to ensure you get the best results
using these darts.
Grip: 8/10 – The front grip had a pleasant, yet aggressive grip that for me, was perfect. The
raised dual-ring grip felt sharp and precise, offering a high level of control when I needed it,
while allowing for a smooth and consistent release. The rear grip felt very smooth, likening it to
the nano-grip utilised on the Target Stephen Bunting darts. While noticeable, I felt darts begin to
slip from my grasp while throwing from the rear, and so if like me, you prefer a high level of grip
from the rear of the dart, these may not be the best choice for you.
Quality: 9/10 – As with my review of the Loxley Robin darts, the only let down for me was the
centre flight in the packaging, and the way it had been compressed during transport, resulting in
distortion when opened. In terms of the darts themselves, I couldn’t find a fault. Every cut of the
intricate front grip had been manufactured to perfection, resulting in a consistent feel when
holding the dart. The painted groves showed no signs of overlapping, with the care and
precision clear to see from the Loxley team.
Value for Money: 7/10 – The darts are available for £54.95 including tax, direct from the Loxley
website. While expensive in comparison to some darts on the market today, for a player
branded dart with two contrasting styles of grip, these fit right in. While I personally feel that the
darts would be best priced around £40-£45, for a dart used by the ‘Prime Time’ player himself,
Matthew Edgar, it’s a price worth paying. For quality and appearance, you’d be hard pushed to
find a dart that can beat them – they’ll certainly turn heads wherever you throw them!
Thank you again to Loxley for sending these amazing darts out, I really enjoyed taking an in-
depth look into the darts used by PDC professional Matthew Edgar, and discovering just what
he required from his barrels in order to achieve as much as he can in the game – I can’t wait to
see what’s next for him! Best of luck to Matthew in the upcoming PDC Winter Series! Thank you
again to Zachary Thornton for his input into the design of the darts, and congratulations to both
him and the design team at Loxley for the successful creation and release of these works of art!
Author – Joe Reid
https://joereiddartsreviews.weebly.com