57 replies to this topic

[cheerios]

So my order of China darts came in today so I had to test them out.

 

First thing I did was cut them down to 35mm in length so that they were similar in length to my MHA silicone dome darts. These darts have a bigger dart tip comparable to those that Xplorer produce, and the foam they are made out of is denser than that of NERF elite darts. These darts do weigh a noticeable amount more than MHA darts just by feel, but I don't have a scale cause I'm not a drug lord and I don't have any use for a scale that weighs .00 grams.

 

 

Then I tested them in an overhauled SM1500, Zorn's FAL2, and then a Plusbow. The FAL2 was fitted with the same hopper setup I've been using with MHA darts since 2013 so as to eliminate that as a variable for their hopper-ability. The Plusbow was fitted with an unmodified 1/2" PVC Wye hopper and a 12" CPVC barrel.

 

 

Both the FAL2 and Plusbow were fired 100 times and their record of fires to misfires were recorded, and the results are as follows:

China Darts

FAL2: 97/100

+Bow: 100/100

 

MHA Darts (Minor Cornstarch)

FAL2: 92/100

+Bow: 92/100

 

#6 Slugs

FAL2: 99/100

+bow: 100/100

 

The accuracy of these darts is superb; even out of a ridiculously overpowered overhauled SM1500 the darts didn't spin out and shot laser straight. The same can be said about the FAL2 and Plusbow.

 

As for range variance between these, MHA silicone domes, and Slugs... I didn't test it cause It's too cold and it honestly doesn't matter, but I would take an educated guess and say that these will out range MHA domes and slugs when fired out of the same blaster.

 

Pros:

• They seem to feed more reliably than MHA darts, but more testing needs to be done before this can be confirmed.
• Significantly more aerodynamic than slugs
• $0.05 per dart
• METAL FREE

Cons

• They're made with black foam which will make recovery a bit of an issue.
• They're more aerodynamic tip could inflict more pain compared to Slugs or MHA domes.
• You have to cut them down to make them hopper.

Edited by cheerios, 12 January 2016 - 10:24 PM.

[Langley]

This has a lot of information and seemed worthy of it's own thread, moved from pictures thread.

[cheerios]

This has a lot of information and seemed worthy of it's own thread, moved from pictures thread.

 

Thanks, I wasn't sure whether or not to so I went with the picture thread.

 

Also, I liked these darts so much that I proceeded to buy an extra 1000 darts off ebay after writing the review.

 

EDIT:

 

To make this post more worthwhile I ripped one of the tips of the dart and sliced it in half to give you guys a better idea what they're like.

 

Edited by cheerios, 11 January 2016 - 07:57 PM.

[jwasko]

Given the fact that not all ebay, etc sellers are completely honest about shipping what they advertise, can we have a link as to where you bought these?

 

$0.05 is right around the cost of slugs made using mcmaster materials (shipping included), so I am intrigued.

Edited by jwasko, 11 January 2016 - 11:46 PM.

[cheerios]

Right, I got mine from a seller named amazing-box for future reference when the current listing expires.

 

http://www.ebay.com/...=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

I personally bought them when they were discounted 30% but at its current price darts are $0.0584 per dart.

[The2ndBluesBro]

Hey, what's the fit on these? I'm guessing cpvc springer? I already ordered 350 and when they come in I will try to make a testing/review video. These seem much better than making silicone domes, especially while they're this cheap. Premade sili domes for the price of slugs (including your time saved that you didn't have to spend making them). However you do have to wait about a month for them.

[shandsgator8]

Thanks for the review. It's good to see a slug alternative that feeds reliably.

[The2ndBluesBro]

Thanks for the review. It's good to see a slug alternative that feeds reliably.

This is more of a sili dome alternative, as it seems from initial testing these make sili domes and most of those sili tips obsolete due to availability and price. (And the lack of having to do any actual work except order them, which is nice, now modders can spend more time actually modding instead of making ammo). I can see these becoming the prevalent standard in the community, although us Canadians will have to do comparative testing with glue domes to see which is better. I'm sure super domes go further than these, but with these being so cheap, and metal-free, I think these should replace most stefans we use now.

[shandsgator8]

I agree. But it also looks like these darts can be a slug alternative, too. While I don't think that metal-free darts are inherently any safer than darts with metal in them (my thought process, backed by no empirical data), if trying to convince the officer of a municipality or law enforcement officer that NIC-style wars are safe, it's nice to be able to say that the projectiles fired do not contain metal components.

Edited by shandsgator8, 12 January 2016 - 11:34 AM.

[The2ndBluesBro]

Oh, I hate the metal-free debate. No one can name the last time anyone was injured by a regular Stefan. I have really high hopes for these.

[Birch]

Was about to order some best materials foam and felt from mcmaster, then I saw this. 400 pre-made darts on the way for less money than slugs. Thanks cheerios.

[cheerios]

UPDATE:

 

I went back to mess with these today and see if I could get anymore data for you guys, and the black magic that hoppers work off of seem to have reversed over night. The darts decided to stop feeding in the regular wye yet continue to feed in the 3D printed Wye prototype that I got from Kane in 2013. I did Isolate a couple darts and dipped the tips in cornstarch and they seem to work again, but as most people know that's not the most convenient thing to do at a war (though I've been doing it for a couple years).

 

I have a couple different ideas as to why they decided not to feed anymore:

• I tested these darts in a much colder environment 20° Fahrenheit ambient temperature versus a 74° Fahrenheit ambient temperature. The darts were also much colder than they were this afternoon.


• The tips seem to have become more "rough" on the surface after firing them continuously at a concrete wall / wooden board.


• Black Magic... ("who knows how hoppers really work")

 

EDIT:

 

After some further investigation it seems that my barrel got screwed up by some black magic and that seems to have been the reason for the feeding issues. The barrel somehow managed to get shoved back causing a big lip to interfere with the feeding.

 

Edited by cheerios, 12 January 2016 - 08:40 PM.

[Pineapplepies]

Cool, I have these too and was considering cutting them down and doing the same you did but just didn't. Also, I disagree that these hurt more than slugs, but I am not stating that it isn't possible that they can hurt more. Finally, although it doesn't matter too much, most people including me refer to them as either ACC darts, accurates, or Chunlin darts(after the seller on amazon were originally found) and while I don't mean annoying about it but it may help some to know what exactly these are called or at least have a name for these.

http://www.amazon.co...rts bullet head(where I bought mine)

[The2ndBluesBro]

I propose "Bullseyes" as the name for these cut down darts, since it sounds equal parts jargon and the original ACCurate name, while also being a play on words with the accuracy thing. It will make it easy to distinguish the full length ones from these since these are more than just cut-down streamlines, they are pretty much sili tips/silicone domes. Also, this is more activity in one topic than the darts and barrels forum has had as a whole in years.

Edited by The2ndBluesBro, 12 January 2016 - 10:06 PM.

[cheerios]

Cool, I have these too and was considering cutting them down and doing the same you did but just didn't. Also, I disagree that these hurt more than slugs, but I am not stating that it isn't possible that they can hurt more. Finally, although it doesn't matter too much, most people including me refer to them as either ACC darts, accurates, or Chunlin darts(after the seller on amazon were originally found) and while I don't mean annoying about it but it may help some to know what exactly these are called or at least have a name for these.

http://www.amazon.co...rts bullet head(where I bought mine)

 

 

I propose "Bullseyes" as the name for these cut down darts, since it sounds equal parts jargon and the original ACCurate name, while also being a play on words with the accuracy thing. It will make it easy to distinguish the full length ones from these since these are more than just cut-down streamlines, they are pretty much sili tips/silicone domes. Also, this is more activity in one topic than the darts and barrels forum has had as a whole in years.

 

The name "China Darts" was initially just a joke but I'm still going to refer to them as such since that's what the thread is titled.

Edited by cheerios, 12 January 2016 - 10:32 PM.

[Langley]

Feel free to add more accurate info to the title to make the thread easier to find. It's too bad these are black, and not something easier to find.

BluesBro: Just a heads up, you don't have to reply to every post in every thread.

[orangeparkour]

If that shape does in fact feed through hoppers I may need to make some new molds.

[Birch]

I propose "Bullseyes" as the name for these cut down darts, since it sounds equal parts jargon and the original ACCurate name, while also being a play on words with the accuracy thing. It will make it easy to distinguish the full length ones from these since these are more than just cut-down streamlines, they are pretty much sili tips/silicone domes. Also, this is more activity in one topic than the darts and barrels forum has had as a whole in years.

 Nah its nipple darts, no other name can even compete. 

[jwasko]

I think it would be best to refer to them as just "ACCs" or "shortened ACCs" you need to be specific.

 

If that shape does in fact feed through hoppers I may need to make some new molds.

I don't have any of these darts (or silicone domes for that matter) to be able to make a comparison, but I wonder if it has more to do with the shape or the friction of the material.

 

Cheerios, how do these tips feel compared to MHA darts? Particularly, how much do they "stick" to PVC?

[TheNerfZilla]

I used some of these darts (not cut down) at COSTCOH, and I noticed heads flying off darts after one or two uses, sometimes on the first shot. Have you experienced anything like that, or was my batch just bad?

My accuracy was no where near as good as what you were describing, but when I was talking to NOM about them he and I both felt that the length was the issue, and I needed to cut them down.

In regards to pain, the rubber heads compress so much that I feel comfortable using them at 200+ fps at superstock range, in my yard. From my experience, slugs hurt WAY more.

Also, thanks for finding an eBay listing, I was disappointed when they went away on Amazon.

[Birch]

 It's too bad these are black, and not something easier to find.

 

I'm just going to paint the back of my darts with pink spray-paint, just like Ice9 and other nerfers did back in the golden age. Hopefully that will make them easier to find!

[KaneTheMediocre]

 

I'm just going to paint the back of my darts with pink spray-paint, just like Ice9 and other nerfers did back in the golden age. Hopefully that will make them easier to find!

This is how you get spraypaint inside all of your blasters.  Especially those without check valves.  It's what happened in the gilded age.  Never caused any problems that we know of, aside from Merzlin getting cancer, but some people that are into pretty clear plunger tubes might not like it.

 

 

No one can name the last time anyone was injured by a regular Stefan.

That's because it's so routine as not to be particularly memorable.  Someone bleeds from a dart impact at over a third of events I'm at where they are allowed.

 

 if trying to convince the officer of a municipality or law enforcement officer that NIC-style wars are safe, it's nice to be able to say that the projectiles fired do not contain metal components.

So much this.  It also makes me feel much more honest when describing it as a nerf war.

 

 

 

I'm super disappointed in your 92% rate WITH cornstarch, that's about what I get WITHOUT cornstarch. And I doubt the blasters were an issue.

 

 In any case, if this tip shape feeds better I'm hoping we can either put them on not-black foam or clone them.  By we I mean I'll ask OJParkour to do it for me b/c I don't do darts anymore.  I'd always expected larger / taller domes to create problems but never was able to test.  It would be nice to add a little more mass too.

[The2ndBluesBro]

 
That's because it's so routine as not to be particularly memorable.  Someone bleeds from a dart impact at over a third of events I'm at where they are allowed.

I meant seriously injured, basically a justification for banning them. A couple bleeding welts are just part of the nerf experience IMO.

[jwasko]

Someone bleeds from a dart impact at over a third of events I'm at where they are allowed.

 

A couple bleeding welts are just part of the nerf experience IMO.

 
...you guys must nerf with some thin-skinned folks. I get that things can happen with exposed metal, but I've seen maybe one person bleed from a dart impact.

Edited by jwasko, 16 January 2016 - 07:27 PM.

[KaneTheMediocre]

I meant seriously injured, basically a justification for banning them. A couple bleeding welts are just part of the nerf experience IMO.

It's more than I'm willing to inflict on a stranger at a "Nerf" event (especially in a public park, like most Nerf outings) and it discourages well-adjusted people in general from participating.  We're OK with bleeding from this stuff because it's already our obsession, and we're probably not well-adjusted, but we can't operate like that and expect to broaden the hobby. Personally, want more people to shoot at the wars I attend.

So yeah, it's a justification for banning them at any event I'm hosting, which are all open to the public.  

 

Maybe not your event, which has only hardcore nerfers you know in a remote or closed-off area.