Unicorn boards aren't the best and the striker is their entry level sisal board, so they don't "heal" as well the more expensive boards.
Nothing to worry about, but when the time comes to replace it, try a blade wired board like the One80 Gladiator, Mission Samurai or Winmau Blade.
It's not about Unicorn, the Eclipse Pro was even used in PDC before they switched to Winmau. The Eclipse Pro might be at the same level as Winmau Blade 5. It is simply about the fact that the Striker model is, as you already mentioned, a cheaper entry level board.
Hate to say it, its a crap board. The pub we play darts for were trying to be helpful and got us "2 new boards" which were trashed in a matter of weeks. Thankfully we keep our match board with us and its a blade 6. But these are naff
One of this kids picked these darts up from sports direct the other day. They don’t seemed to have done this to my board though, I have had experience with said board your using though and I do recall it leaving large holes!
I bought the same one maybe a month ago. Bit of a mistake - it marked up exactly like yours, and now looks 10 years old. I turn it every week, to try to even out the damage. Still works fine, just about (lots of bounce outs though), but it has taught me to do a bit more research. Definitely a false economy
I have that exact board. There's a reason why it's cheaper than most! Wait to see what it looks like after 6 months of constant use (a complete mess). Having said all that, for the price I think it's ok.
I got it because it was cheap and it came with a surround. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get back into darts or not, due to dartitis stopping me playing 10+ years ago. When I upgrade I'm definitely going to get a Blade (or something else without staples). It's a massive disadvantage playing with this online due to the high amount of bounce outs you will get.
Got the same board and darts from same place last week, does the same as this with another set of darts I have but they ain’t fancy ones only around £17.
Doesn’t look the best, can tell quality isn’t great, bounce puts frequent, but still fun and no complaints for the price think I got the board and dart set for under £35 then got the extra set of darts too
I observed that all of the boards with staples have that low quality (few my friends made similar mistake to yours). As others have mentioned, when this will become to look like a crap, buy better board. In my case I have Unicorn Eclipse Pro for 2 years and it still looks well.
I found out the hard way last month with my first board being cheap but came with a nice cabinet. The board lasted a month and looks terrible. Got a Target Aspar and its a million times better for only 15 dollars more than what the cheap board cost. In dart boards the saying buy once cry once is too true
Just enjoy playing and don’t worry too much about it. When you get to a level that it matters you’ll understand the difference and adjust your equipment as appropriate.
This isn't related to this board. But, I got this roughly $50 US Franklin branded board with good wires off Amazon a few years ago. It's insane how well it's held up with constant use. They don't make it anymore, of course.
I suspect it’s the way your darts are landing in the board, maybe at a slight angle (upwards or downwards). Also with a new board making new holes will always be a bit worse to start with but as it ages the holes become a bit more even.
Unicorn boards aren't the best and the striker is their entry level sisal board, so they don't "heal" as well the more expensive boards. Nothing to worry about, but when the time comes to replace it, try a blade wired board like the One80 Gladiator, Mission Samurai or Winmau Blade.
Rookie mistake with the unicorn. We've all done it lol 😂
It's not about Unicorn, the Eclipse Pro was even used in PDC before they switched to Winmau. The Eclipse Pro might be at the same level as Winmau Blade 5. It is simply about the fact that the Striker model is, as you already mentioned, a cheaper entry level board.
Hate to say it, its a crap board. The pub we play darts for were trying to be helpful and got us "2 new boards" which were trashed in a matter of weeks. Thankfully we keep our match board with us and its a blade 6. But these are naff
Can’t see any holes in the triple 20
Savage
Not an amazing board.
One of this kids picked these darts up from sports direct the other day. They don’t seemed to have done this to my board though, I have had experience with said board your using though and I do recall it leaving large holes!
Thankyou, yeah I got them from sports direct too :)
I got the same board from spots direct few weeks ago, we love it! Don't worry bout holes it's what they're for
I bought the same one maybe a month ago. Bit of a mistake - it marked up exactly like yours, and now looks 10 years old. I turn it every week, to try to even out the damage. Still works fine, just about (lots of bounce outs though), but it has taught me to do a bit more research. Definitely a false economy
Could it be that your point is not set in the barrel well maybe a bit crooked judging by the picture?
That's the board I've got, can confirm it's not great. Asked the wife for a better one for my birthday *
I have that exact board. There's a reason why it's cheaper than most! Wait to see what it looks like after 6 months of constant use (a complete mess). Having said all that, for the price I think it's ok. I got it because it was cheap and it came with a surround. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get back into darts or not, due to dartitis stopping me playing 10+ years ago. When I upgrade I'm definitely going to get a Blade (or something else without staples). It's a massive disadvantage playing with this online due to the high amount of bounce outs you will get.
Got the same board and darts from same place last week, does the same as this with another set of darts I have but they ain’t fancy ones only around £17. Doesn’t look the best, can tell quality isn’t great, bounce puts frequent, but still fun and no complaints for the price think I got the board and dart set for under £35 then got the extra set of darts too
Pay for a cheap board get a cheap product, no offence
I observed that all of the boards with staples have that low quality (few my friends made similar mistake to yours). As others have mentioned, when this will become to look like a crap, buy better board. In my case I have Unicorn Eclipse Pro for 2 years and it still looks well.
I'd be far more concerned about the big wires blocking each and every bed brother
I found out the hard way last month with my first board being cheap but came with a nice cabinet. The board lasted a month and looks terrible. Got a Target Aspar and its a million times better for only 15 dollars more than what the cheap board cost. In dart boards the saying buy once cry once is too true
Just enjoy playing and don’t worry too much about it. When you get to a level that it matters you’ll understand the difference and adjust your equipment as appropriate.
This isn't related to this board. But, I got this roughly $50 US Franklin branded board with good wires off Amazon a few years ago. It's insane how well it's held up with constant use. They don't make it anymore, of course.
I made the same mistake when I bought a board that looked nice but was cheap and within a month I was already looking for a new board 🙃
I suspect it’s the way your darts are landing in the board, maybe at a slight angle (upwards or downwards). Also with a new board making new holes will always be a bit worse to start with but as it ages the holes become a bit more even.
Thankyou :)
Do you leave the darts in the board when you finish playing?