Barrels = 90% Tungsten
Supplied with 100 Micron Flights
Dimensions:
22g – Length 52mm – Max width 6.4mm
Point Length = 32mm (26mm protruding)
In the 1980s television series “Robin of Sherwood”, Nasir was a Saracen outlaw, assasain and a member of Robin Hood’s band. He was portrayed by actor Mark Ryan. Nasir did not feature in the original Robin Hood legend.
The Nasir dart is a classic but elegant brute of a dart with two contrasting but complementary grips and an aggressive, almost flat bull nose.
Designed by Zachary Thornton and Matthew Birch.
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Review by Joe Reid
Inspired by the Saracen Outlaw of Sherwood Forest, the Loxley Nasir darts will ensure you can fight to the end of any match with the same consistency and ruthlessness as when you started. Much like how Nasir rarely spoke, the subtle grip allows you to do the talking on the board, with Loxley themselves likening these darts to ‘brutes’, referring to the thickness of the barrel, and the speed at which they travel to the board.
The darts feature two contrasting grip sections, with an intricately cut grip, featuring a finer, dual ring grip towards the stem. I found this grip to be not too dissimilar from the grip used on PDC professional Gary Anderson’s darts, offering a subtle, yet noticeable style of grip that won’t let you down in the heat of battle. The front grip features a classic grip, with a revolutionary twist. The grip itself is a thicker Eric Bristow style ring grip, common on many darts nowadays, featuring on Rob Cross’s darts, as well as on Loxley’s own Matthew Edgar’s darts! However, what sets the Nasir’s apart from the rest is that the ring grip utilises lateral grooves in order to enhance the grip, as well as maintaining fluency along the full length of the barrel.
For now, the Loxley Nasir’s come in just 22g, and are made from a 90% tungsten billet. They are 52mm long – around the average length for a straight barrel dart in today’s market. At their optimum width, they measure in at 6.4mm, so slightly thicker than a dart of this style – comparing them to the aforementioned Gary Anderson Phase 3 darts (in 21g), the Nasir’s measure up to be 0.3mm thicker.
The darts come in a stylish plastic outer casing, with a Loxley cardboard insert detailing the brand and the darts both on the front, and back of the casing. They darts arrived fitted in a hard black plastic wallet, readily equipped with a set of black Medium Loxley stems. Fitted in a point protector, the darts have a set of 32mm black coated points attached to the barrel – for me, a significant improvement over silver, with coated points gripping the fibres in the board more effectively than their uncoated counterparts. Also included in the case are a set of the stylish and unique Loxley Feather-effect flights, first featured on the Loxley Robin darts.
I found the Nasir’s to be a very easy dart to simply pick up and throw. The thicker barrel allowed me more control over how I set and held the dart, while the two contrasting, yet complimenting grip styles meant that I was able to feel for the same grip section every time I picked the dart up, allowing me greater consistency in my throw.
I feel these darts would be well suited as a transitional dart – for a casual player who is looking to upgrade from the brass darts supplied with most dartboards, to a ‘proper’ set of Tungsten darts. The slightly thicker barrel means that the transition between the two materials will be less noticeable, and the style of grip itself feels very similar to the knurling found on most brass darts, allowing a subtle, and yet noticeable feel to the fingers. While similar to grip found on brass darts, the grip on the Nasir’s introduces you to typical styles found on modern tungsten darts, with the simple ring grip towards the front, and the more intricately cut thinner dual-ring grip towards the rear proving popular amongst many timeless designs. Furthermore, a player looking to transition from bomb style darts, such as John Lowe or Andy Fordham darts, would benefit from using the Nasir’s as an introduction to straighter barrelled darts, owing to the thickness acting as a mid-point between a bomb and straight barrel.
One thing I found to be especially interesting about these darts, was the James Wade-style bullnose taper towards the point. In contrast to the Loxley Robin’s I reviewed previously, these darts feature next to no taper, resulting in the darts clattering into each other at very high speeds. Combined with the 32mm points fitted to the darts, I found they typically tended to bury themselves in the board, leaving me with very little room to negotiate the third dart in, if I managed to find 120 points from my first two. One thing I’d recommend with these darts is to look into fitting a longer point, which allows you more space in the treble bed, as the darts will stand further out from the board.
After many hours of trying – and failing – to hit my first maximum with these darts, I decided to take drastic measures. In a last ditch effort to try to find a 180, I followed my own advice, removing the 32mm points and fitting 41mm points in their stead, allowing me an extra 9mm in order to find my first maximum with these darts…
It didn’t take long! Just 5 minutes later, I hit a beautiful 180, all on the top wire – I could’ve fit another 6 in there! With the darts now standing further out from the board, I was able to use the thicker barrel to my advantage, setting the first dart on the top wire and using it as a marker for the remaining darts. I found my grouping and consistency to drastically improve due to the change, which is a lesson to all darts players – it’s not the darts, sometimes it may be the equipment. As is my job as a reviewer, and yours as a player, it’s always worth looking for new avenues in which to get the best out of your equipment. Subtle changes, like adding 9mm to the point, can make a huge difference – as I found out!
Final thoughts:
Appearance: 8/10 – In terms of the barrel themselves, very little is to be said. For a plain tungsten dart, they have a very robust and practical look to them. The dual-ring grip, and standard ring grip compliment each other well so as to not look out of place, and because of the thick bull-nose taper, the grip itself is protected more from collisions. In terms of the supplied setup, I feel the black stems work well with the points, but not the flights, however a very minor fault in what otherwise is a stunning looking dart!
Balance: 9/10 – With a centralised point of grip, focusing on the dual-ring grip, the darts feel perfectly balanced to hold, with no front, nor rear lean of any kind. Even after swapping out the points for a longer alternative, I felt that the darts felt perfectly weighted to hold and throw, with no grip position feeling overly uncomfortable. I struggled a little throwing from the front, but still found the darts to fly consistently and true, with little deviation in the air from their intended target.
Grip: 7/10 – To me, I felt the grip on these to be rather deceptive. I expected, looking at the centre grip, an aggressive feeling dart, with more of a razor feel. On the contrary, the grip felt light and subtle, sharing similarities in feel to that of a knurled dart. The grip to the front was unique, offering a new variation to a typical Bristow-esque ring grip so commonly seen on darts. The lateral grooves enhance the grip, offering a grenade-like feel, that blends in perfectly with the grip further to the rear.
Quality 9/10 – As with all Loxley products I’ve reviewed to date, I couldn’t fault them. The barrels were in perfect condition on arrival, with slight distortion on one of the flights, where the packaging had been closed over it. After hours of use, the barrels showed no signs of damage, with the grip and taper remaining in the same condition as when I unpacked them not two days previous.
Value for Money 8/10 – These darts retail at a very reasonable £39.95, which is around the market average for a 90% tungsten dart not tied down to a player name. With two contrasting, yet complementing grip styles, these darts are perfect for a player finding their way in the darting world – though not to be overlooked by seasoned players! Suitable for the vast majority of styles, these darts have every reason to go down as an instant classic!
Thank you to Loxley Darts for sending these fantastic arrows out for me to try, and review! Really enjoyed looking further into these darts – can’t wait to get writing the next one! Make sure to check out the Loxley website, in order to get your hands on these revolutionary darts!
Author – Joe Reid